Sleep Regression

I'll be honest. I thought we'd be sleeping through the night by now. In fact, I thought we'd be sleeping through the night around a month ago. Adelyn was giving us promising signs. At 6 weeks, she dropped from two night feedings to one. She was consistently sleeping to around 4- 5 am. However, we've majorly regressed. I thought it was a fluke but it's lasted over two weeks now. I'm pretty sure it started because she was eating small amounts during the day (thank you reflux). But now I think she's gotten back into the habit of eating at 1am. It's brutal to regress. At least it was in the beginning.

What's weird is that I've almost gotten used to it. Somehow my body has learned to cope with small stretches of sleep and frequent wakings. It's almost like I've forgotten what it feels like to not be tired and I've accepted a new normal. I've been told that we need to let her cry it out rather than feed her. I'm just not ready to do that yet. I'm not 100% convinced the reflux isn't bothering her or that she is getting the calories she needs during the day. I'm probably making excuses for her but I just can't bring myself to really pull the "cry it out" trigger. It's not like we rush to her aid the moment she cries at night. In fact, we've made a special effort to give her time to soothe herself back down (which I have yet to see her do...). So until something changes, we will continue to comply to our daughters request of a 1am and 5am visit.

I'm continuing to learn that my child is not a formula. I want to treat her like that though. I want to do "A" and get "B" as a result. But it doesn't work that way. At least not for my kiddo so far. She's a unique individual that God has wired differently than any other baby in the world. I can read all the books and talk to every parent out there and still not know exactly what to do. I have found that so hard for me but something I have to accept.

I know every mom says this about their baby but I really am learning to love her more every day. Her personality continues to reveal itself more every single day. We are learning what makes her smile, what surprises her, what makes her giggle, what makes her frustrated. It's so fun to see a little person evolve right before our eyes! I just would prefer to see the evolving in the day time hours rather than in the wee hours of the morning. :)

Well, better get to bed soon. Maybe tonight will be a good night... One can hope, right?

And for your viewing pleasure... A video from this afternoon!

httpv://youtu.be/qdFjAGuyIjk