Working for Sleep


August 13, 2008| Jason Michael Reynolds|4 Minutes
August 13, 2008|By Jason Michael Reynolds|4 Minutes

Working for Sleep


So Jonny is a month and a day old today! Sooooo big. He now weighs 9lbs 3oz, which means he’s gained a whole pound since he was born. (He actually dropped to 7bls 14oz after he was born so he’s fattened up rather nicely).

Our first few weeks, we were trying to figure out his little quirks and had many long cranky nights changing him, rechanging him, feeding him, attempting to burp him, attempting to feed him again and so on. Then for a while there, we figured out his different cries, he figured out how to sleep at night and we sort of slept from 11pm to around 3 or 4 am, then he would eat, fall back asleep, and get up again around 7 or 8am to feed. It was heaven. It truly was.

For the last weekish, Jonny caught a bit of a sinus cold and has had trouble sleeping on his back. It took the last week-ish to figure that out as he has sort of ‘reverted’ to a nocturnal phase where he will fuss and fuss and fuss from 11:00pm to between 3-5am. ugh. I would lull him to sleep, put him down, and he would sleep for about 5 minutes before waking up and screaming again. We didn’t know why. Then we remembered a trick Uncle G. had told us about putting the baby in the car seat to sleep. He was able to breathe easier and it actually worked for a couple days. The only problem is it has taken us so long to put him to sleep at night and he has grown used to falling asleep at 3-5am. It is really frustrating. I had to do my first put the baby down and walk away move where you about reach the end of your rope at about 3am last night. I ceased trying to put him to sleep, carried him downstairs, turned on the TV, and proceeded to watch the olympics live while he just stayed awake. He would not go to sleep. Then mommy fed him later and he slept …and slept…and slept until mid-afternoon.

So to remedy it, tonight we are attempting to keep him awake for as long as possible before bed time so we can quite honestly, sleep at night. We are trying to not let him nap more than an hour and a half (btw, how do you wake a sleeping baby?), we are refusing to lull him to sleep (holding/rocking/soothing are strictly taboo until bed time), putting off feeding when he is obviously hungry until 10pm. (It is 9:30 now so I don’t know if we will make it). To distract him from his hunger, Mama is *gasp* GIVING HIM A BATH. He is fussing, but at least it is not 3am

Are we just awful parents?

“He’s still asleep. “


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Jason Michael Reynolds

Writer. Photographer. Ausome Parent.

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