okay, i have a mom question for all of you.
pratt turned seven months on monday.
and i promise you that on monday...he started doing this thing before he naps or sleeps at bedtime.
as soon as he realizes i'm about to put him down, he starts to cry. it only lasts about 15 seconds...but it's a real cry. a heartbreaking cry. and it's loud. when he wakes up though..he's fine. no crying. just talking to himself in the bed. i always immediately get him up as soon as i know he's awake.
i've tried different things this week. like the first time i noticed it, i apologized to him...and thought maybe i was wrong. like, maybe i was putting him down too soon. so i carried him back to play. well, ten minutes in...and he's fussy again. totally ready for a nap (he typically cannot be up more than 2 hours without needing a nap). so i take him back in his room. he realizes what i'm doing and cries. or screams really.
so i sort of soothe him. rock him..or attempt to. he's not much of a cuddler. he has his two middle fingers in his mouth. totally exhausted. and i put him back in his bed. screams/cries. for 15 seconds. i get downstairs, check the monitor and he's asleep.
he's pretty much done this the entire week. and i cannot figure out why.
i have tried to get him down before the magic 2 hour mark. cry.
i have waited until it's been 2 hours and ten minutes...even three hours. he's completely pooped. and he cries.
tonight when i put him to bed...we were literally walking in his room..and he did it.
it is heartbreaking. and i'm crying as i type this. even though it only lasts 15 seconds...it's the worst 15 seconds of my day.
i've convinced myself that it's because he's getting older. and he's smarter. and he knows he is about to have to nap or go to bed for the night. and he doesn't want to.
but he has to, right? i mean, he HAS to sleep.
this summer, i kept a little boy. he was 18 months old. and he did the same thing. he was a wonderful sleeper. but as soon as you would walk into his room at naptime, he'd cry. for about a minute. then fall fast asleep.
i just don't know. but it's killing me. and making me doubt everything i've done up to this point.
do you have any pointers? any advice?
thank you....i'm dying over here.
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About Me
- hannah
- i'm a girl who likes to write. not a girl that's necessarily good at writing. it's cathartic, i think. and boy do i need that from time to time. i married a wonderful man named clint in may of 2007. he is everything i am not. he is calm. he makes plans. he is organized. his truck is always clean. his clothes are hung by types of shirt/color/size/etc. i'm full of nervous energy. i'm spur of the moment. i can't ever find what i'm looking for. we live in my car...pretty much. i'm lucky if my clothes are within ten feet of my closet. God gave us a precious angel of a baby in september of 2008. his name is pratt allen. he is 2.5 years old.we have another little one on the way. his name is max wesley. and he is due may 19th. somehow i'll be the mother of two boys. craaaaa.zy. i spend my days cleaning house. picking worms and caterpillars out of the flower beds. cooking meals. shopping at target. washing clothes. playing on the floor. reading books. doing puzzles. traveling to sonic. and the library. and blogging. i hope you enjoy our blog. feel free to leave a comment. hopefully it's a nice one. i tend to wear my heart on my sleeve.
9 comments:
you'll have several stages like this. we just finished another one ourselves. The DAY that jackson turned 18 months he started up again. Full out, thought something was drastically wrong with him cry. After a night of rocking and consoling I finally realized he just wanted to be with us and not go to bed.
Pratt's starting to realize that he's missing out and missing his mom/dad. Such is the beginning of seperation anxiety. They'll say it doesnt start this soon but trust me, it does. This is what I did when jackson was at Pratt's age and it's only bc I wasn't big into the cry it out method...
I would lay him down and if he cried for too much I would lay on the bed next to his crib. Not look at him, not talk to him - just so he knew I was there. After a few days I didnt do it anymore and he either grew out of it on his own or it was helpful. who knows. As long as you're sure he doesnt have an ear infection (which will get worse as they lay down), isnt teething (again puts pressure on the ears) then it's probably developmental/behavioral and as his mom you'll figure out what's best :)
Oh and we were down to two naps a day at this point. Up around 730 down around 10...Up around noon down around 2-230 and up from whenever he got up for the rest of the day. It was difficult bc I had to play with him a lot more bc he got bored really easily but eventually we got into a new routine :)
My advice is to keep doing what you are doing. Let him cry for a while and because he stops so quickly, you know you are doing the right thing. I know its hard sometimes when they cry, but remember you are his mom and you know what is best for him. He's tired, and rested babies make happy babies. We actually have a 15 minute rule (which makes me sound like a horrible mom), but if he was still crying after 15 minutes, we would go in and soothe him and then lay him back down. I think its good to let them self-soothe..which sometimes means crying themself to sleep.
It worked for Joe, because now when we lay him down he will play 30 minutes to an hour sometimes in his crib before he falls asleep.
Separation anxiety already huh? He is a smarty to figure this out so soon!
He is smart. He is trying to communicate with you. I bet he will be an early talker!
My doc said that at this stage they can manipulate...I thought she was crazy, but I think there is some truth to that...in a way.
Just keep doing what you are doing...being one of the best mothers I know.
Trust your motherly instinct. You know what is best for Pratt.
Whoever said separation anxiety is probably right, since it's probably genetic and I don't mean from Clint's genes!
Cookie
I agree is sounds like separation anxiety. I've noticed with Noah that he goes through stages of it--for maybe 3 days or so he will do this, then be totally fine, then a few weeks later he may do it again. They just go through stages ALL the time. Don't worry about it, he's totally fine
i don't know what people did before blogs. seriously, i don't. i mean, i know i could call you guys...and ask...but this is so much easier...and i get such a wide range of advice.
i appreciate so much what each of you said...well, except i'm pretty sure my mom was making fun of me :)
i had separation anxiety BAD. i would vomit on the way to mothers day out. and i couldn't spend the night away from home...well, let's just say i was homesick the entire first year of college. sad, i know.
anyway, thank you all for your help. i feel so much better knowing it's normal.
have great weekends!
Hannah,
This is totally normal. Will started this at the same age and still does it but we do the same thing everytime we put him down. We take him in there turn on the monitor, his music, give him kisses and tell him we love him and say good night then lay him down and walk out of the room. I try to let him cry it out as long as I can. It usually is about 15-20 min. but sometimes longer, however he usually fuses until we close the door and walk down the hall and then he is done (which is usually about 30 sec.). They will grow out of it!!!
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