The first several weeks of Ian's life I handled the sleep deprivation rather well. That hasn't been the case lately, particularly from about 5-11am. During that time frame I typically have a really, really bad headache and also can just barely keep my eyes open. I kept thinking that I've been through this before and should have known what to expect, but I recently searched on the blog to read what Nadia was doing at this stage, and this is what I wrote 2 days before she turned 3 months old. "She's getting one stretch of 6.5 to 8.5 hours (7 is about the norm) and then nursing 30 minutes and then sleeping another 1.5 to 3 hours." I also noted that she was going to bed between 8-9 pm, which I found interesting as that's also been Ian's bedtime lately. That's the only thing they have in common though regarding sleeping at night at this stage. Ian has never slept 6.5 hours straight much less 8.5 hours straight. His longest stretch thus far has been 6 hours, and that has happened less than 5 times total, with the most recent being on March 3rd. At this stage with Nadia I was already back to getting at least 8 hours of sleep a night. With Ian I still have many nights where my total sleep (broken into 3-4 segments) is less than 6 hours. He's a bit unpredictable, but if I had to say an "average" I'd say his stretches are about three then two then one hour long, and he nurses for 45-60 minutes in between each segment. I was nursing Nadia about 30 minutes over a span of 8-10 hours whereas over a span of 9-10 hours (for example 9pm to 6am) I am typically nursing Ian for 2-3 hours. I really hope he starts sleeping more in the VERY near future.
Last night he slept from 8:00-11:30, 12:30-3:00, and 4:25-6:30. I had put him down (asleep) at 4:00, but he woke up at 4:15. I had Paul go down and at first just try putting the pacifier in, and when that didn't work Paul gave him 2 oz of formula which was fine with me as after nursing him one hour I just wanted to sleep. When I get him back down the last segment is never more than 90 minutes. He definitely slept longer and later because he got a bottle. Aside from the fact I was very tired, the reason I sent Paul down was because when I came down at 3:00 I missed a couple of steps and injured my left foot. There was a fair amount of bleeding (I left a trail on the floor as I didn't realize I was bleeding), and two toes are very swollen and somewhat bruised. Last night was a better night than usual because of the extra almost 2 hours he slept after the bottle. If it hadn't been for the bottle, I bet I wouldn't have gotten any sleep past 3:00am. Many believe that weight plays a role in how soon a baby will sleep well at night. Nadia weighed about 4 lbs more than Ian did at 3 months old (even though their birth weights were almost identical). Needless to say I am again contemplating supplementing with formula more if it will fatten him up and that will mean more sleep for me.
I was thinking about postpartum depression. I always figured it was due to the hormonal changes. However lately I was thinking that sleep deprivation and also the frustration over how long it can take to fit into one's clothes again could also be contributing factors. I looked up PPD this morning and one site listed the symptoms as, "sadness, fatigue, insomnia, appetite changes, reduced libido, crying episodes, anxiety, and irritability." Well that description could fit just about any woman who has recently given birth! While reading about PPD, I discovered there also are conditions called PPE (postpartum exhaustion) and PPF (postpartum fatigue). One website gave a description of the differences between tiredness, fatigue (next level), and exhaustion (most severe). I would say I fit the description of PPF. I am definitely not to what they described as the "exhaustion" stage although I have used that word to describe how I've felt.
This morning we went to Sunday School, church, and the fellowship tea after the service. We were late. Oops. Nadia had a blast playing with Abby (whom she now calls Gabby, which is the name of one of the neighbor girls who babysit her). During the luncheon she was driving in a Little Tikes car. She was NOT happy when I told her it was time to go home. When she got home she started asking for her nap and she slept almost 3 hours. She woke up around 7am and was playing happily in her crib when I went in to get her at 7:10. What a delight to have her sleeping at least 11 hours at night and waking up in a good mood! I held Ian during Sunday School and the first 45 minutes of the worship service (he was sleeping). I passed him off to someone before the choir was going to sing, but then it turned out they had a lengthy prayer time and near the end of that he started crying. By the time I walked to the nursing room the choir had started singing. I just needed him to make it about 5 more minutes! Oh well. I tried! I had rehearsed at 10am with the choir with him in my arms. He had gone 2.5 hours without nursing which is long for him, and I had started to leak. Thankfully I was wearing a black top so I don't think the spot was very visible. I need to remember to wear pads to church on Sunday. I do wear them to school. I was calculating in my mind and although I haven't kept a log, my estimate is that I am nursing him about 9 hours a day (not counting days I go to school). That seems a bit more than usual for a 3 month old, doesn't it????
P.S. I was reminded today of something else I should have added to yesterday's list. Daddy comes up with outfits for Nadia that Mommy considers to be well um shall we say "interesting"? LOL!!!
1 comment:
Hi Ruth, just skimmed through your post - just wanted to let you know that Ian's sleep pattern (unfortunately) is not uncommon as both Jaco and Sofia were waking up at 3 and 5 am all the way until they were past 4 months old (and they were born at 38 weeks). Oh, and of course they were not quite on the same schedule so it was really hard. I was "dreamfeeding" them at around 11pm (which now I kind of regret because it does not seem like a good idea but at the time I was desperate for some sleep). I don't know if it really worked... I think that supplementing, at least in the evening, might be the way to go. I totally sympathize with you. I became totally insomniac and could not sleep even when the kids were, all the way until they were 18 months old. I was a wreck. Not sure how this might be helping you - my recommendation is that you try and get all the help you can. Maybe you can consider having one your relatives (mom or MIL?) to come and help some nights. Maybe they can give him pumped milk and you can sleep through the night every so often. Hang in there, it will get better.
Post a Comment