sleep issues

Last night, for the second time in three days, Evie slept in her crib until 5am.

She cried when I first put her down and didn’t stop after about 5 or 10 minutes so I retrieved her, nursed her some more, and tried again. Kile and Harry both were out in the loft at the time too, watching television and playing Halo and the lights were on and all that good stuff. So I had to walk by them to get her to her room and she was thinking, “Hey, I wanna join the party!” Also, she had drowsed off while nursing the first time and I think she actually falls asleep in her crib better if she doesn’t also fall asleep while nursing.

The next attempt, she cried again but this time for only about five minutes. And then she was quiet. ZOMG.

I didn’t make the same mistake I made on Sunday night where I went to get her if she was only fussing. But, looking back, I’m not sure ever really fussed. In fact, Kile went to peek in on her when we went to bed at nearly midnight (what is WRONG with us? what do we have against going to bed at a reasonable hour??) and she was fast asleep.

I actually thought it was earlier than it was when she woke up. I listened to her fuss for a few minutes until it was clear that she was not going to fall back asleep. In fact, as soon as I brought her back into bed with us and got to nursing her, she fell right back asleep. I imagine I could have put her back in her crib then, but I like being able to cuddle with her, at least a little bit. Though I think I’ll have to toughen up in a couple months.

But that’s not the end of it! She went back to sleep after I nursed her at 5am and I woke up, as I always do, when Kile got out of the shower a couple hours later. I nursed her again at that point and… she went back to sleep. She NEVER does that. Here it was 7:30 and she was sleeping MORE? In fact, she didn’t wake up until after Harry left for school, at nearly 9am. Wow.

I hestitate to call the battle “won” at this point. And, according to Kile, his parents are coming this weekend so she’ll be back in with us for a couple more days (I always worry about consistency, but I imagine it’ll all be okay). But these are definitely some wonderful steps in the right direction. Sleeping, on her own, in her own crib, without nursing, for NINE hours… well, that’s something I can get behind. Way to go, Evie!

Hate is such a strong word, isn’t it? Still, in certain situations, little else seems to fit the bill. Or, say, if one has had a rough night, then the word “hate” is rather appropriate. So here is what I find myself hating at this particular moment in time:

that if we don’t close the bathroom door when we leave the dogs (Beetoe in particular) unsupervised, then they’ll get into the diaper trash (Liam still wears disposables at least half the time) and make a huge, disgusting mess.
that the diaper covers I bought online for Evie that say they’re mediums and good to six months just came yesterday and they barely fit her. Now i need to sell them and look for other, bigger diaper covers.
that Evie is having such a hard time sleeping with us right now. With me, in particular. The same thing happened with Harry so I wonder if it’s related to nursing. She has a hard time settling down in the night and will squirm and kick and thrash unless she has a boob in her mouth at all times. It translates to crappy sleep for her (right now she’s passed out in her bouncy seat, poor thing) and crappy sleep for me (nursing a headache and a huge cup of coffee).
that this means it might be time to try moving her into her own room.
that we don’t have a dual room baby monitor and I need to have something like that in place to even consider moving her into her room.
that if she does move into her room, I’d be signing up for trudging into her room at least once a night for the next year or so.
getting up in the middle of the night. ‘Nuff said.
the pain I’m feeling across my shoulders that is increasing every day. I swear, last night, I couldn’t even swivel at my torso without wincing in pain. I suspect this has to do with the heavy lifting I’ve been doing around here.
that I’m still having to do all the lifting around here. It really sorta sucks.
that I feel so resentful of all the lifting and stuff I have to do around here.
that it’s Sunday and that means the weekend is almost over.
that Harry starts the third grade tomorrow. Even though I’m excited for him, I’ll actually sorta miss having him around during the day. Plus, you know, he’s growing up TOO DAMN FAST.