Sleepless in suburbia {again}

For whatever reason, the 2nd Grader has been having a very hard time falling asleep lately. It started when we went to the beach last month, and for the last month or so since she has been worried about everything under the sun at bedtime and unable to calm her mind and relax enough to drift off to sleep. We’ve been trying to start earlier, reading books, saying special prayers… but nothing seems to do the trick to ease her bedtime anxiety.

This is especially disheartening to us because we have never had a lot of success in the sleep department with our children. But, she has always been the best sleeper of the three!

When she was a baby we swaddled, we rocked, we walked, we drove {many, many miles}, we let her cry, we consoled at intervals… all to no avail. In retrospect, I know we made many rookie mistakes and didn’t stick to any one method of sleep training long enough to reap results. But, after months of sleep deprivation, I couldn’t focus long enough to read the books and implement the tactics. Our goal was simply survival. And so, with both her and the Kindergartener, we did what worked in the moment.

{With the older two, their best sleep was always in the carseat… sometimes with a spoon}

When the Toddler was a newborn she was a great sleeper. In fact, we were so shocked by the fact that she was sleeping through the night so early on that I distinctly remember googling “11 week old sleeps 11 hours” just to make sure it wasn’t abnormal or dangerous… because we had never seen anything like it.

{The Toddler had to be rolled up like a burrito, and the tighter the swaddle the better she slept}

We had also never seen anything like the shape of the back of her head at around five months old. It had become so flat.

Our pediatrician took notice of it and grew concerned. He wanted to rule out any serious causes and get a second opinion about the matter. But, after some testing, he determined that the flatness might be linked to the bassinet she was sleeping in at night. He recommended we stop using it, which we did, and she immediately began waking up several times at night. We were dismayed. And now, her head has rounded back out. But, she hasn’t slept 11 straight hours since she was five months old. Some nights she does really well; other nights she struggles.

To this day, the Kindergartener comes into our room {anytime between midnight and 4 AM} and sleeps on a little pallet in the floor every night. Fortunately, it doesn’t really interrupt our sleep. But, it’s not ideal.

A couple of years ago the 2nd Grader went through a season where she would roll right over her foam guardrails {and all the many stuffed animals that slept with her} and out of the bed. Amazingly, she usually slept through the whole incident. In both pictures below, she is sound asleep.

Obviously, she has the ability to stay asleep. Our {new} problem is on the front end, and we’re perplexed. We’re also a bit tired.

This is a conversation I had at the beginning of the summer with the Kindergartener.

Her: When you’re a mom can you do anything you want?
Me: Um, sort of.
Her {thoughtfully processing my response}: Hmm.
Me: What would you do if you were a mom?
Her: Go to Jump Jam and eat Doritos.

I think we can all agree I’ve set the mom bar very high around here.

The truth is, of course, there are many things you can’t do when you’re a mom… like make your children sleep… or take away all their fears.

We know this season will pass in time. We just hope it’s sooner than later.

Meanwhile, I guess I should be going to more trampoline parks and eating unlimited amounts of Doritos. Those are a couple of forgotten freedoms I’ve not taken advantage of lately.

Share this:

Leave a Reply Cancel reply