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What, me sleep?

It all started on Friday. The Bug had a good nap in the morning, lasting about 45 minutes. Then when I tried to put her down for a nap in the afternoon - she was already asleep - she started screaming when she touched the mattress. I got her back to sleep on my lap and tried again the transfer to the bed, and once again I got screams. C and I ended the day on Friday sans nap.

This morning I tried to look past Friday’s lack of naps. The Bug fell happily asleep in my lap around 10. I did what I always did; I picked her up and put her gently down in her bed.

Screams.

I tried getting her back to sleep, but she was now wide awake. A new tactic was required.

I gave up on sleep for the moment and took C for a nice, thirty minute walk around the neighborhood. When we got back, I gave her a bottle, and she drifted gently off to sleep. She was down for the count. I waited about ten minutes, and tried again to put her in bed.

Screams.

She’s now playing happily at my feet (perhaps she doesn’t need sleep so much right now?). She loves the board books.

Well, at least we’re making progress with “no.”

Obviously, she woke up

Obviously, from looking at my last post, the Bug awoke within seconds of hitting publish.

Sometimes, it’s hard to get her to stay asleep. Yesterday was an awesome day, and I had fun hanging out with her (hanging out with E wasn’t as “fun,” because he was too sick to do anything other than watch tv), but I never got the two to three hour stretch of nap time I was expecting.

First she was wakened by H cleaning the hall bookshelves; then it was H talking on the phone. Obviously, neither time was his fault. Then she fell asleep in the stroller but awoke on returning to the house.

But we did eventually get some good time together outside. I put some music on and gave her a few toys. I must’ve sat on the porch for an hour, just watching her be happy. She played with one toy, then the next, then wanted to play the stand and sit game, and then it was back to her toys.

It’s a rough life.

I’m sure I’m jinxing myself

I can’t believe the Bug is still asleep!

Usually, she sleeps in her bed until around two in the morning, and after that is a mixed bag - she might wake every fifteen minutes and fuss, or she might sleep pretty well.

Last night was the exception. She slept until four, and went back to sleep pretty easily. She’s almost always awake by 6:30 or 7, but now it’s almost 8 and I’m going to have to wake her up to get ready for E’s doctor appointment.

It’d be nice if she slept this well on the weekend!

edit: forgot to click publish at 8.

Once again

Once again the Bug is asleep.

What to do, what to do.

To C:

You know, C, if you hate waking up so much, you could always sleep a bit longer.

You’d think NPR would bore her to sleep

For some reason - cuteness, perhaps - the Bug sleeps really well in the car … when music is playing. I have to maintain a good selection of cds in the car so I won’t go insane. But I can’t listen to NPR - she simply won’t sleep. The last thing I need is a thirty minute commute with a fussy baby.

Doesn’t it seem like she’d sleep well to NPR? Shouldn’t she find it boring? Shouldn’t my turning it on directly lead to her nodding off? All I know is it doesn’t. She will only very rarely sleep to anything but music, and woe unto me if I give something else a try.

Oh, and she sleeps the worst when her mother is talking. Katie simply cannot talk in the car. Of course that’s not a problem for my daily commute.

I guess it could be worse. At least she doesn’t sleep best to absolute silence.

The baby is asleep 30 minutes before closing time

Great. The child who refused to sleep all day is now fast asleep in my lap, and it’s thirty minutes before closing time.

My great fear when this happens is that she will get a good nap and then be awake and fussy for the +30 minute commute. I’d almost rather wake her now and leave work early, hoping she’ll fall back asleep once in the car.

Of course the best case scenario would be 30 minutes of sleep now followed by 30 minutes of sleep in the car, with just a brief interlude in the middle.

But experience tells me that’s unlikely.

Joy.

Baby naps

Like just about all babies, the Bug’s sleep patterns have changed a lot over the nine months that make up her life. Lately, Katie and I have found that she’s been taking really good naps at home on the weekends, although she’s nursing a lot at nights to make up for not being with her mama during the day. At home, the Bug often gets at least one nap a day that is several hours long in addition to other shorter naps.

Elsewhere, things are different. At my work, where her bed is in the corner of my office, she tends to sleep a consistent thirty minutes in the morning, and her afternoon naps vary from nonexistent to an hour or so.

The real cuteness happens at my mother’s house, though. The Bug is blessed to get to spend a couple of days a week with her Mimi. On those days, she rarely sleeps unless held. You can try putting her down and she will fuss, but if you can let yourself go (pick up a book, watch television, take a nap), she will sleep in your arms for two or three hours.

I just love being able to kick back and hold the baby as she sleeps. There are few things greater than holding a lightly snoring baby in your lap. I alternate between jealousy of the time my mom gets with the sleeping Bug and wanting to apologize to her for C keeping her from getting anything done while she sleeps.

Mostly it’s jealousy.

Sleepiness

C is having one of those days when she only really sleeps if she’s in your lap. I’ve repeatedly had her fast asleep just to have her beautiful blue eyes pop wide open the second I try to put her in her bed.

It’s not that I’m complaining, really. Yes, I could stand to be getting more done. But what really bothers me is how sleepy I’m getting, watching her sleep so much!

Won’t someone tell me

Why is it that some people are so good at getting by on little sleep, while others of us almost can’t function on less than 7-8 hours?

She no longer sleeps alone

At work, she falls asleep in my lap. She seems nice and cozy. I let her get into a good, deep sleep and move her to her bed or the swing. I tuck her in, breathe a sigh of relief, and go back to my desk.

Her eyes pop open. She is awake.

My daughter no longer sleeps during the day unless she is actually in your lap - fine if you’re up for watching television all day, not so great if you want to do anything that’s not baby-related.

My mother suggested warming her blanket before putting her down. Something tells me a heating pad would be a no no, but it’s definitely crossed my mind.