How to survive sleepless nights
I have a little 11 month old girl who never slept . Even as an infant she refused naps. Now that she is a little older, it is getting
easier to put her down for the night and we all love the routine of bath play
and cuddles. But then teeth entered the picture. I don’t know about you but I
HATE teeth. I know, you say ‘wow Jen
hate is a big word’ but seriously if I were to find teeth walking down an ally
at 3 in the morning (yes I am awake walking at night---because of teeth!) I would…. I digress. But putting a screaming baby back down for
the night can be very difficult. Here are some tips to keep your sanity during
these long nights.
FOR BABY
#1 Recognize the Cry
When my Little One first cried for teething pain it was noticeable. It was a cry we had never heard before. The cry seemed like a half asleep annoyed and
hurting cry. It was loud and all of the sudden. When she cries like this we immediately go to
her bed side. Our first trick for
getting her back to sleep is to place our hand on her while she is still
laying. If she needs more from us she
will stand in her bed or scream louder.
#2 Cuddle
When all else fails cuddle.
I love to rock my little one and when she isn’t feeling well getting
close is good for her and for me. Try to
hold her upright as teething often causes issues with sinuses. Holding them upright may relieve some of that
pain and irritation for them.
#3 Medicate
If you can catch the
signs before you put them down, medication in advance will be a life
saver. My littles, however, would give
no signals during the days and teething seemed so sporadic that I feared giving
her medication and over medicating unnecessarily. So if I can’t calm her down this is when I
administer the medication.
There are several ways to do this. I like using the syringe the medicine comes
with I simply hold her in a declining position and use the syringe in the
corner of her mouth. I let it all out in one fast go and immediately kiss
her. She doesn’t mind taking medication
on most occasions.
Consult your doctor as to what medications and what dosages
are right for your baby.
#4 Asses the situation
At this time I feel it’s all about her happiness. If she wants to cuddle great if she wants to
get down and walk around I will let her, You never want to fight a baby. If she is still struggling and doesn’t want
me to hold her I will put her in her crib and offer her my hand which she
usually falls asleep on.
#5 Feed the baby
This goes against everything I was taught but after trying
everything I had I felt this could help.
Some babies prefer to eat when teething.
One night out of desperation I tried feeding and boom that was the
answer. Now again this isn’t my go to
trick I first like to asses and see if there are any other solutions but if all
else fails, give this a try.
FOR MAMA
#1 Start the day right
Wake up early…I know you don’t have to tell me…You’re
tired. I am too… but if you don’t start
doing something different you will always be tired. I’m not going to lie, starting this was hard.
I set my alarm and never woke up for weeks. Then one day I said ‘Now is the
time, today is the day’ and I left my phone in my bathroom, far away from my
bed. When my alarm went off at 5:00 am I
BOLTED to the bathroom. I needed to get
there and turn it off faster than the noise would wake my sleeping baby. Talk about motivation. And that fright for life had me beaming
awake. This wake up time was an hour and
half earlier then my normal wake up time but that butt kick had me up and
enjoying the day already. I seriously felt like I had slept longer then I
usually do.
#2 Eat an apple
Skip the crazy desserts and have an apple. Eating right will give you the nutrition your
body needs to handle the imbalance of sleep.
Eating an apple gives you twice as much caffeine as coffee, and won’t
give you jitters or prevent you from sleeping.
#3 Deep Breaths
I remember a recent night when my littles wouldn't sleep a
wink the WHOLE night. I told her I had
to work the next day and I was tired but she didn't listen. I let her play in her room while making a bed
for myself on her floor so I could sleep… or not… she just kept smacking me in
the face and pulling my hair, at 3 in the morning, I was so unhappy I started
to cry. Here’s the thing I was so tired
I didn’t even go through the checklist of things she might need. The whole thing could have been avoided with
a bottle. Take deep breaths step away if needed.
How did you survive the dreaded teeth??? Do you have any
suggestions and tricks that worked for you?
