Friday, September 11, 2009

Sucking and Sleeping

Our little bub will. not. take. a. pacifier. WHY WON'T SHE TAKE A PACIFIER??? I do not know. We have bought her three different kinds. The green hospital kind, the Nuk, and the Mam. No go. We can balance them atop her open screaming mouth, but as far as sucking goes, there's none of it. Other babies suck them. Other babies enjoy them. Other babies are soothed into bliss beyond measure. Ours screams. Gags. Flings her appendages in a fury that demonstrates she is all-too-aware of our attempt to trick her and deny her the boob she actually desires. Mind you, she is supplied with said boob on a nearly hourly basis, but for the fussing inbetween, it would be nice to employ a separate means of comfort. I try every day. Many times. To no avail. She is having none of it.

Additionally, Anna-baby is having some sleep issues. The issue is she can't do it. To be fair, she does pretty well at night. She wakes up a time or two, but after nursing, will usually go right back down. During the day is another story though. Now, if it's day and she is supposed to be nursing, she sleeps. If she is in your arms, she might sleep. But if she is laying down or in any way in a position that is not majorly impairing your daily life, she absolutely can not do it. She can be in the deepest snoring-est sleep known to man, and if an attempt is made to set her down, she awakens and screams at you for trying. To combat this, we bought a reclining glider that I can nurse her off to sleep in and then hopefully recline back to get some sleep myself. As it is, we have no naps during the day. That is, I have no naps. She of course sleeps when it's time to nurse while I'm hunched over in a position that would make slumber impossible.

The glider came today. Dave put it together tonight. I will report back on its effectiveness.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

You might want to try sticking a blanket of hers in the dryer when you start to nurse or rock her to sleep, right before you lay her down wrap her in the blanket. She might just not like the sudden shock no body warmth. It has worked with all of our kids, but all babies are different just keep trying new things. You will find something that works for her.

[M] said...

My kids never took a pacifier either. It's so hard. She will settle into a sleep pattern in the next couple months and life will get easier. I promise. Hang in there. My favorite sleep book is "Healthy sleep habits, happy child".

[M] said...

p.s. I know this is totally illegal in the world of responsible parenting, but my kids always woke up if I put them on their backs but did just fine if I put them on their tummies. I only did it during the day and only if I was watching them the whole time, but it gave my arms a break. I also swaddled them and put them on their side, propped up by rolled blankets. Bad mom, I know...

CommonMama said...

We have also had success with the warm blanket trick. You can also heat the bed with a heating pad, but turn it off just before you lay her down. Good luck

D. said...

Hmmm...I have no advice, but I feel for you. Does that count? I wish you luck on finding a trick that works!

Rachel said...

Do you have a carrier? A wrap, or a sling, these things are God sends for babies with High needs. You can wear her all day everyday doing your daily things and she can sleep or just be along for the ride. It really is a miracle worker. Staci Has about a million, you should ask her.

Valerie and Mercado Family said...

I agree with M-A, on her illegal mom moves. Those things are ok during the day, when you can watch her better. They worked for Victoria and she was pretty fussy, but she took a pacifier, though Karissa never did and she liked those positions too. Rachel also had good advice, except for that baby bjorns kind of get in the way and make you tired after a while, but I've never tried a sling. She will get better and this will just be something you're glad is over. Good luck!

Jessica said...

I totally lay her on her stomach and side for naps. As long as it's not at night I figure it's fine.

I need to get a wrap- we have an Ergo but not a sling. I have to get one.

Thanks for the empathy Delori- that's at LEAST as good as advice! :)

SassyMama said...

I hope the glider has helped!
My kids took pacifiers, so I am no help on that whatsoever. Sounds like you have been given some good advice. I second M-A on the book choice-- manna from heaven if you ask me.

You WILL find something that will work, I promise...

btw, I read like five books on sleeping and eating techniques. If you are interested in the names of a few that were great, let me know.

Julie and Todd said...

Matthew wouldn't take the bink either. Torture. I have a sling...you wanna borrow?

Staci said...

It's sounds like Olivia, the only way she would sleep was latched on, or sometimes with me lying next to her.

The true way to freedom and peace is to accept the whole enchilada and stop trying to put her down. You have to figure out how to wear her through the day, or accept just lying in the rocker and nursing all day and getting very little done. Babies want to be near the mommy's body because that is where they SHOULD be. Remember the continuum concept?

In my experience, the baby that is given the full in arms phase, will grow into a happy, independent child. You will be surprised how quickly this happens (especially if you wear her). I think you should order the sleepy wrap asap. If you don't want to do that, maybe you can borrow a good sling (Zolowear or Sakura Bloom are my favorites). There is even a place online that you can buy used slings.