- I'm a terrible mother. OK maybe not "terrible" but there is a reason why the doctor asks you at their one year appointment how long they are sleeping through the night. Because obviously...they are suppose to be. I'm sure there is some study out there how children who sleep through the night when they are supposed to are much, much smarter and nicer and more beautiful, and more likely to be rich...other wise why would they ask? I may or may not have answered that question entirely truthfully last week. I did say the 10 hour thing, just not the "but she nurses 1-2 times during that also" thing. I know...repent.
- I have the wonderful luck of having ridiculously terrible boobs. From the start it's drink or drown, then it goes to normal, then to none available, then crying (me and the baby-not my boobs), then very stressful feedings wondering if anything will be there for her to eat, then more frustrated crying, then back to good. So as you can see, with such a finicky milk supply how could I possibly risk not nursing during the middle of the night. Apparently it's a hereditary thing because my mom had trouble and my sister. sad, but this is where most of the craziness comes from. oh, and yes we have tried everything and no we are not normal, and yes we do really cry about it.
- I'm a wimp. A mother's mind plays tricks on itself when it hears it's baby crying. Lately when I have been working on having her sleep through the night (cuz yes, I know she can) i keep laying there listening to her cry, thinking...maybe she's poopy, maybe she really is hungry, she didn't eat that much for dinner, what if her leg got caught in the crib, what if she's cold, what if ants got into her bed and are biting her...even though we don't really have ants in the house, but I know I have definitely seen them outside, I'm sure they could find a way in, and all of them would head straight for her crib..........
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Alright...I confess.
OK, I'm just going to come out and say it. I'm a closet nighttime nurser. That's right, my child is 12 and a half months old and she doesn't sleep through the night. Go on, say it, get it out of the way. "Holy Cow! Are you serious? You are so dumb. What a terrible mother". Harsh I know. I would like however to take a moment to explain/defend myself. It's not is if I enjoy waking up in the middle of the night, or that I like the fact that I haven't slept through the night in about 18 months (ya know-including those lovely pregnant months where you have to pee all the time including the middle of the night.) I actually have some really good reasons. Would you like to hear them? great.
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7 comments:
Well, you're not a terrible mother. I don't even take my kids to check ups! (They're so dumb!) Yes, mommy brains do funny things when their baby cries, I agree! I let Emma get up in the night until she was 14 months old. I didn't breastfeed, because she wouldn't do it (she was a preemie and learned to bottle feed first). But, I pumped breastmilk and I made all my excuses for her too....whatever works for you works for them. If you want her to sleep, when you're ready, it's the right time.
My kid didn't sleep through the night until I weaned him either. Apparently a lot of nursing babies are like that. And yes, the only way I could wean him was let him cry it out, I felt like a mean mom too. I totally sympathize with what your going through. Don't worry you'll get there and you'll be glad you did because a good nights sleep is wonderful!!
Dude. My kids don't sleep through the night until they're TWO. I still have a girl. (what is she, 19 months now?) that gets a bottle every night.
P.S. I totally lie to the doctor. What does she know anyways? Pshaw.
That's tough. Did you see my post where Thacks could get out of his crib? Well, every night since when I first wrote that he has gotten into our bed. And you know what? I love it. I'm not sure when it will end. But that probably means we will never ever have another child. :) I guess every parent has their guilty secret!
I think having kids that sleep through the night has very little connection to how good of a Mom you are.
It has to do with the personality of the kid. Sometimes no matter what you try, your kid only sleeps through 5 times in the first year. (Lia) Meaning she slept at least 6 hours. Nightmare. Notice the 4.5 year gap. It was painful.
I would feel very angry at people who thought it was normal for kids to sleep through from 6 weeks on. They have no idea the pain of insomnia! I just figure they must have other trials in life.
Charlie's done much better, he's slept through about 1/2 the time. Only once in recent weeks though. He wakes up only half way, coughing and crying. Sometimes we give him a bottle, sometimes we bring him to our bed, sometimes we let him cry a bit.
Who knows what works? Just enjoy nursing your baby while it lasts.
Nursing the baby back to sleep again as i read:) and we are not bad moms!
No judgements here! Just do what you can!! I can't believe you're still sane with out a full night's sleep in over a year! Having a baby cry at night is super hard! I've read a few books that might be of help if you're interested.
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