A Night for the Record Books
Last night was one for the record books, but not in a good way. By midnight F had yet to fall asleep. When she finally did, J got up, sobbing and wailing. He proceeded to scream, sob and wail until about 2:00, when I took him into the bathroom and turned the hot water on to fill the room with steam.
Interestingly enough (she writes with poorly conveyed sarcasm) the steam managed to clear up the feeling that my head was going to explode from sinus pressure.
I finally got him down at about 2:45.
The kids are I are all sick, probably with spring allergies, and let us say not sleeping well because “Oh my God someone please do something to make it possible for them to sleep I am losing my mind help help help help” might scare people. Throw in some teething and basic developmental spurts and life is not pretty around here. B stayed home from work today so I could get some sleep and we are resting in shifts. This afternoon, after nap, I plan a call to the pediatrician. If it’s allergies there has to be something they can take to be more comfortable. Benadryl, anyone?
Stumble it!
Donate to the Zoë and Lennox Simpson Memorial Fund
and the 529 college savings accounts get a kickback.
May 23rd, 2007 11:05
Yikes, Mama, hang in there.I’ve had those nights and they are not fun. But when it’s over it makes normal life seem so awesome, so that’s something…
May 23rd, 2007 11:31
Will they sleep in a swing, or in a vibrating bouncy seat? Desperate times/measures.
May 23rd, 2007 11:40
Oh my goodness I’m so sorry. I feel for you. These are probably all things you’ve tried already but just to throw it out there:
Do they sleep on their stomachs yet? That can sometimes help with stuffed noses.
We have towels underneath the crib mattresses at one end so the babes are never lying flat (oops, is it laying? GET is going to be on my case if I’m wrong!). S. slept in a bouncy seat for a while but I’m guessing F & J are too big for one now.
Other random things that work for us in moments of desperation:
running water (the sound soothes S.)
walking up and down the stairs (I think it’s the bouncing)
massaging an ear (I have no idea why)
Of course, if you’re at the point you’re describing I’m sure you’ve tried all these things and more. I’m just sorry. I hope tonight is better for all.
May 23rd, 2007 11:43
PS You were complaining about the Google Ads and now you have one for “sleep deprivation” which seemed amusingly appropriate.
May 23rd, 2007 12:04
I have horrible seasonal allergies, but from what I’ve read it’s extremely uncommon for babies to have them because they develop over being exposed to the allergens over several seasons so they typically aren’t seen in children until around 3 or 4.
That said, I have given Benedryl for sleep as directed by the pediatrician as a desperate measure. It helped. He said to give it for a week then see what happens. I did then weaned his dose down over the next few days (didn’t want rebound insomnia) and after that he seemed to get over whatever the problem was. We still had to do a little CIO which isn’t the right choice for everyone, but before the week with Benedryl, CIO wasn’t even an option because he was too upset.
May 23rd, 2007 13:22
Thanks, everyone. We have been cleared by the pediatrician to try Benadryl to see if that helps.
May 23rd, 2007 14:20
Car seats? Jman slept in his in bad times.
Hang in there.
May 23rd, 2007 15:50
YOWZA. Benadryl will, of course, have that pleasant side effect of allowing YOU to catch a nap. {smile}
My daughter’s been on Zyrtec since she was about one - she’s seven now. We’ve tried to go off a few times with terrible, snot-filled results (oddly, pollen doesn’t bother her but we have the abomination of mold spores from the humidity and bad air quality from the city).
May 23rd, 2007 16:18
Sorry to hear you are having a rough time. I too have read that it is extremely uncommon for little ones to develop allergies prior to 3-4 years of age. A vaporizer always works for us, along with a shot of Tyenol Infant cold medicine. Also, vicks vapor rub for infants works well too. I just hate to expose them to all the meds at such a young age, but sometimes you have to do what you have to do. Good luck….
May 24th, 2007 14:44
UGH! That stinks. It is so hard when everyone is sick. I hope you guys get over the crud quickly.
May 25th, 2007 00:10
I have one word for you… chiropractor. Seriously, Jude was stuffy and couldn’t sleep every night. We always had the humidifier going and he was on infant’s Dimetapp (which is really good for runny noses and nasal congestion). I got fed up one night after neither of them slept, and I took them to the chiropractor the next day. From that visit, the stuffiness was gone. It was amazing! All three of them go (along with myself) once a month. It has helped with so many things, allergies and digestion included.
I hope you get some sleep soon. Motrin is really good for teething and we run the humidifier every night when they are sick.