Just as Tabitha’s nighttime sleeping has improved, she has typically now become very difficult to put down in the daytime.
She is still waking once or twice during the night, however it is so much better than it was and she doesn’t have any milk overnight at all now. The downside of this is that she is waking for the day much earlier, at 6am, because she’s ravenous (and usually always has filled her nappy). So, even though we’re getting more sleep overnight (she actually slept all the way through til 5:50am one night), the early starts are knackering. It’s still pitch black at 6am!
Over the past few days Tabitha has completely resisted daytime naps – arching her back, thrusting and screaming as soon as I put her in the pram. We’d got to the point where I literally put her in, left the room and she’d nod off on her own with no tears. So I can’t believe how suddenly it has all changed.
I think it is safe to say she’s down to two naps in the day now, as it’s been a while since she’s squeezed in three, and therefore she staying awake for much longer periods. I’m finding it hard to judge when to put her down to nap; too early and she’s having none of it, too late and she’s over tired and fractious. I try to follow her cues of rubbing eyes, yawning etc, but even then she still screams when I lay her down. Yesterday we had to resort to going for a walk to get her to nod off (she then slept for almost 2 hours), and today I’ve had to rock the pram again, so a complete U-turn in terms of progress. I also think we’re in the early stages of teething again as Tabitha gets very grumpy at times.
As I’m slowly learning, we just overcome one challenge and immediately a new one arises, so I have to accept it’s never going to be all plain sailing. I just have to try my best to stay patient and level headed, which is hard when I’m so tired. Unfortunately Tom often has to bear the brunt of my frustration, which I must make a concious effort to not do, as we are on the same team, not opposing ones.
Anyway, we’ve only got a few more days to get through until the Christmas break, when inevitably Tabitha’s routine is going to be thrown into disarray, so it’s not worth worrying too much about it. Then, by the time the new year starts and we’re back to normal again, it will probably be a different set of challenges once more.
Life with Peachy & Polp 