Hah!
Can you tell that I clearly haven’t had much of the precious commodity known as sleep?
Little man is right smack in the middle of his Mental Leap 5 (WE ARE HALFWAY THERE!!) and it’s been sheer hell around here. Okay, okay, I exaggerate. But still.
These days, nobody – and I mean NOBODY – but mama can hold and cuddle Mister A to sleep. Never mind that Daddy has always been the one putting him to bed. While I used to be able to kiss him goodnight and stroll out of the room breezily, things have certainly changed. He sobs and wails if mama isn’t holding him, as if Daddy is mistreating him and chewing on his juicy thighs. And when mama here has him in my arms, all 7.25kg of him, he leans his head on my chest and starts “talking”. And then we go through this whole cycle a few rounds before he is finally able to fall asleep: he squirms around like the very fat caterpillar, I put him in his cot, he cries, I carry him, he squirms around like the very fat caterpillar…
And the night wakings! How can we forget about that. He’s up every two hours on average. There’s some crying involved, as well as a whole bunch of cussing. Some nights, he wakes up more than usual and I look at my clock, horrified to find out that it’s only 1.45am and not 5am as I had thought.
HORROR!
We plough on, of course. I mean, what else can we do? It’s been six months of parenthood and no one night is the same. We have learnt to go with the flow and not have any expectations.
On the positive side, how often do we get surprises in life? Now, EVERYDAY IS A SUPPLISE!
Thank God the child is cute, I tell you.
Yannisms 
Good grief. I totally empathise with the horror of “It’s ONLY 1.45am?!?” Well, for us, when it happens, it’s now “It’s ONLY 4.45am?!” So…. hang in there. The nights will get relatively less horrific!
Aidan’s 7.25kg?! Coco is only 8kg! You’ve been getting a good daily work out on those arm muscles, girl!
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Aw that pic is so super adorable!! Hee hee… yeah I know all about these sleepless nights… :b Hugz. Thank God for Coffee! And chocolate. And online shopping…
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Hang in there, love. ONLINE SHOPPING, FTW! And brace yourself for Leap 6. It’s THE WORST LEAP EVAH.
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That is the most adorable baby boy I’ve ever seen! I read somewhere: “You will never regret time spent cuddling with your child”. This has become my mantra through those kind of nights. Hang in there! As another mum’s mantra goes: “This too shall pass.”
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Sorry to hear about the sleepless nights. Hope it gets better soon. I like your photo caption though. I think that about my kids when they drive me up the wall with their antics.
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Thanks for the encouragement, everyone!
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Gosh Yann, I don’t know how you do it and stay so positive. My 7 month old has been waking every 1.5 – 2 hrs every night when she was once upon a time capable of sleeping 4-5 hrs straight. I am so sleep deprived I am actually considering crying it out but terribly reluctant to as it is so evil. But really I feel I can’t function anymore and I know she is just waking out of habit, just wants so suck her bottle.
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Jchua: Still in the midst of the sleep regression, maybe? Urghs! I hear you. If it’s any consolation, I think we are out of the woods. He’s back to sleeping through the night and husband can put him down to sleep again. Not sure if you have already tried this: we night weaned by accident when the husband managed to settle him without me nursing one night. He did this consistently and soon, we realised that Aidan didn’t need to be nursed back to sleep. So perhaps try getting your husband to handle the night wakings? Good luck!
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I reckon it’s separation anxiety! She doesn’t seem to really want or need milk, rather she wakes to check we are around. During the day, I can’t leave her sight at all! Guess it’s just another development milestone we have to ride out. Lord, grant me patience!
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