Lately, Lily has been going to sleep around 7:30. Sometimes it's a fight to get her to fall asleep, sometimes it's peaceful. Well, I should say most of the time it's a fight...anyways, then almost every 30m-1hr she wakes up screaming crying. We go in, pat her or pick her up if she's hysterical. Sometimes it's a burp, or gas (I do give mylicon before bed) and sometimes she is so out of control that I have to just put her to the boob and nurse her all over again.
Which brings me to problem #2. She has thrush! UGH. Can we catch a break here!? Dennis noticed some white patches on the tip of her tongue. We watched it and the next day it got worse so we went into the doctor. The first thing she asked was about blisters on her hands or feet and my heart just dropped. Hands, foot and mouth disease for anyone that doesn't know is going rampant lately! All I could think is, she's probably going to be hospitalized for it because she won't be able to eat, thus won't be able to keep her blood sugar up enough. But luckily, it was just thrush (so was that our break?) So she's on anti fungal "mouth wash" that I have to rub in her mouth 3 times a day. Just one more medicine to the list. And so, every time I nurse her I have to go and wash my nipples with soap and water and dry really well. EVERY TIME. This doesn't sound so bad in theory because I should be nursing Lillian every 3-4 hours. But no, I'm one of those moms who put her baby to the breast for everything. Oh, she's crying and we don't know why? Put her to the boob! So, that's just an annoying thing I'll have to be doing constantly...ugh.
I'm hoping the thrush was making her uncomfortable and thus, she was waking up crying? Then when this is gone we can get back to some kind of sleep schedule. I don't even need a schedule. I just need SLEEP. The worst part is, I have no idea how long this will last. Is this a permanent thing? Is it the thrush? Is it a growth spurt? If I had an idea of what was causing her to sleep so awful I would fix it or I would at least be a little more sane knowing someday down the road we would be okay and be able to sleep better.
I'm just not a nice person going on such little sleep. I get overly emotional, even more so than my personality already is. And I cry at the drop of a hat. And I'm useless! I mean, I'm waking up almost every hour at night to her crying. And sometimes the only thing she wants is me, or my breasts. So it's not like I can send Dennis in there so often. Plus, he has to work. And honestly, when I do send him in there, most time's I ask myself, "Why did I do that? I'm awake and will be until she goes back to sleep anyways." It's like I have some kind of Lily radar that won't let me relax or sleep unless she is.
And on top of it all, She's not napping great either!!! We have no nap schedule anymore. I'm lucky if I get her down for one, one hour nap. But lately it's like 2 cat naps during the day. Not nearly long enough for me to lay down and nap with her.
So right now I am patiently waiting for my mom to get up and take her so I can go lay down for a few blessedly, uninterrupted hours. Or for Lily to get tired and want to go lay back down. The best thing about my mom taking her is that she understands how tired I am. And how much this is all catching up with me. And she doesn't make me feel bad for giving her Lily so I can try and catch up on some sleep.
I'm so sorry -- getting no sleep is the WORST.
ReplyDeleteI was diagnosed with a yeast infection on my nipples the other week, but Asher never showed signs of thrush. They put him on the anti-fungal rinse anyways to make sure we don't swap it back and forth. Are you on any meds? I had to take oral anti-fungal pills for 10 days. You might want to ask your OB/Gyn about it if you're not on any -- I'd hate for you to go through all of this, just to pass it back to Lily accidentally!
Hopefully little one will start sleeping better soon. If there doesn't appear to be anything wrong, have you considered crying it out? I know that is awful to endure, I know!
Asher started waking up a ton at night a little while ago, but didn't want anything when I went in (no food, no diaper change...). I finally realized that he just wanted me to come. That's well and good, except that night time is for sleeping, not playing and he just wanted to play.
We did a few nights of a quick check to make sure nothing was wrong, then just tried to ignore the wailing. He stopped in just a few days and sleeps great now.
Just an idea if you're getting desperate!
I have to totally agree with Emily...I would solely go in to make sure nothings wrong and leave it at that...I know it's hard but I would not put her to the breast unless you think she's hungry but at this point it sounds like she's using your breast for comfort (which is understandable) but you will never get her to sleep longer stretches if you go in there and pick her up, put het to the boob, etc...I hope you're not thinking I'm being mean but babies are smart at this stage! Coop was doing this crying (more like a whine)thing but the very instant that I would enter his room he would break out into a huge smile and laugh! I love being around him but nighttime is for sleeping not hanging out! I had to just be steadfast and he stopped within a few days. I watched him on the video monitor to see if he had his real sad face (corners of lips frowning, wrinkled brows) but otherwise I just had to let him whine...
ReplyDeleteGood luck and I hope the thrush goes away soon!
Emily, She just said to wash my nipples with soap and water after each feeding since I wasn't showing any symptoms of having it. It made me worrisome too though, that we would continue to pass it back and forth. But she said not to worry about that.
ReplyDeleteAnd as for CIO. Ugh. It sucks, but I did try it. She just gets WAY too worked up and then I have to spend twice as long trying to calm her down. My husband doesn't agree with it, at least right now. He thinks she's not ready. At night when she wakes up to PLAY, I just let her play. I don't bother trying to get her back to sleep because I know it'll just get me frustrated. But she's been waking up SCREAMING crying and it's like she's half asleep-half awake. So I don't think cio would be the answer to this one...I just don't know. We're gonna try and play it out and see if she can out grow it, or if it's the thrush.
Awww... this does not sound like a pleasant situation. I'm so sorry to hear about this!!!! I can't give you any advice as I haven't really experienced sleepless nights (since B was super small) or thrush, but my heart does go out to you. I hope this gets better for you all .. and soon!!! Hang in there! And don't feel bad about having your Mother come to watch Lily... Mommies need breaks too! And often ones!
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