Last March, I hurt it in much the same way. I had severe muscle spasms in my lower back. This time it was worse though. Much worse. My back had been sore for about a week, so I was trying to be really careful. But one day when I bent down to pick up Hannah, my back suddenly hurt so badly that I didn't dare carry her very far. I was heading to Hannah's room to rock her to sleep for a nap, but I knew my back wouldn't be able to handle that. So I set her in her crib and headed to my room to collapse in bed. Well, Hannah started to freak out and proceeded to cry quite hysterically for 20 minutes before she abruptly fell asleep. Those 20 minutes were complete agony for me. My back wouldn't allow me to move, let alone stand to go rescue Hannah. I just laid there and bawled, feeling terrible that I was physically incapable of helping my baby. Fortunately, Scott arrived home from work shortly after Hannah fell asleep, and a couple hours later he and his bro (thanks, John!) gave me a blessing. An hour later, I could finally move after 4 hours of being completely immobile. Let me tell you, I was getting desperate to use the bathroom, and so Scott and I were debating whether we would rather have him give me a catheter or call the ambulance to take me to Emergency Room. Yes, it really was that bad. Fortunately, earlier that day, I was able to get a new prescription for a muscle relaxant without having to go in to see my doctor. It kicked in fairly quickly, and I felt quite a bit better.
Oh yeah. Sleep. What does all of this have to do with sleep? A lot--remember? One of the main reasons I hurt my back again is because I had been holding Hannah too much--and even holding her for most of her naps. Don't judge me. I'm a softie, and I really had tried a couple of times to get her to take naps in her crib (she has always slept very well in her crib at night). Back in April, Scott and I were quite successful in getting Hannah to take naps in her crib. We had been very hesitant to let her cry it out--due to the fact that her oxygen levels used to drop a lot when she cried. And we also just liked keeping her with us so that we could constantly monitor her. Hannah did well with naps in her crib for about 6 weeks, and then she start teething--and that was the end of that. We did try another time to get her to nap in her crib again, but she was having none of it.
So I had gotten back in the habit of holding her for most of her naps. Please know I did try to put her down in her crib from time to time, especially after she would fall asleep in my arms, but she would wake up and completely freak out and then refuse to go back to sleep. It just didn't seem worth the struggle. I preferred to see her get some good naps in my arms rather than worry about making her nap in her crib.
But a couple of weeks ago, I suddenly didn't have much choice. My back wouldn't allow me to hold her for her naps. And you know what? Hannah did awesome with it! (I'm pretty sure the purpose behind my hurt back was to discover that Hannah CAN nap in her crib. Hallelujah!) That first week, she would only cry for a few minutes, babble tiredly for about 10 minutes, and then promptly fall asleep. And she took much longer naps than usual. One day she even took a 1 1/2 nap in the morning and a 2 1/2 hour nap in the afternoon. Unheard of! I think she was catching up on some much-needed sleep. Me too. I was actually able to nap during some of her naps those first few days back on the muscles relaxant (it makes me SO sleepy). And I am NOT a napper. I seriously haven't been able to nap since I was a kid. Almost every time I try to take a nap, I lie there thinking of all the things I could/should be doing, and I just can't sleep. I think my dislike of naps may have had something to do with 2 recurrent nightmares from my childhood. During naps I used to dream that I was driving my family's VW bus through a maze, and then I would wake up feeling afraid of wooden jewelry boxes (like the ones each of my sisters and I had). I also used to wake up at night feeling afraid of my bed. So I would go and lie to one of my sisters, telling them that my bed was gone so that I could sleep with them. They didn't fall for it. Anyway, I digress.
I really did try to follow everyone's advice and take naps when Hannah was a newborn, but once or twice when I was able to actually fall asleep, I would wake up in a huge panic and feeling much more tired and out of it than before. SO not worth it. So it truly is amazing that I was able to nap for a few days when I first got on the muscle relaxant. Too bad it didn't last long. I'm seriously sleep deprived. I've never been much of a night sleeper either. I'm a night owl, and I haven't been able to sleep in since my mission (eons ago). And now that the only time I'm able to get anything done around here (eg. cleaning, showering, blogging, pumping, reading. etc.) is at night, I stay up even later than I used to. Pre-Hannah, I used to live off of 5 or 6 hours of sleep a night (7 on an unusually good night). Now I live off of 4 or 5 hours, sometime less--very occasionally more. I can count on one hand the times I have been in bed before midnight since Hannah was born--my bedtime averages out to be about 2am. I know, I'm crazy. What can I say? I do want to have a goal to get to bed by midnight for a week straight and then reward myself with some amazing prize--most likely fattening food--but I think I should start with a realistic goal of once a week. Do you think I can do it? Yeah, we'll see. For now, I'm blogging at 2:30am, even though I have to get up early to catch a plane to DC. Here's hoping Hannah lets me sleep on the plane (one of few places I am actually able to doze briefly). Speaking of Hannah, she has continued to be pretty good with taking naps in her crib, although her naps are sometimes short and sporadic. Like today, she only took one 30-minute nap. Silly girl.
I think the point of my rambling was to ask for advice. Do any of you have my same napping problem? How can I get anything done with a baby--unless I do it at night?
And now some cute pics of Hannah:
Oh yeah. Sleep. What does all of this have to do with sleep? A lot--remember? One of the main reasons I hurt my back again is because I had been holding Hannah too much--and even holding her for most of her naps. Don't judge me. I'm a softie, and I really had tried a couple of times to get her to take naps in her crib (she has always slept very well in her crib at night). Back in April, Scott and I were quite successful in getting Hannah to take naps in her crib. We had been very hesitant to let her cry it out--due to the fact that her oxygen levels used to drop a lot when she cried. And we also just liked keeping her with us so that we could constantly monitor her. Hannah did well with naps in her crib for about 6 weeks, and then she start teething--and that was the end of that. We did try another time to get her to nap in her crib again, but she was having none of it.
So I had gotten back in the habit of holding her for most of her naps. Please know I did try to put her down in her crib from time to time, especially after she would fall asleep in my arms, but she would wake up and completely freak out and then refuse to go back to sleep. It just didn't seem worth the struggle. I preferred to see her get some good naps in my arms rather than worry about making her nap in her crib.
But a couple of weeks ago, I suddenly didn't have much choice. My back wouldn't allow me to hold her for her naps. And you know what? Hannah did awesome with it! (I'm pretty sure the purpose behind my hurt back was to discover that Hannah CAN nap in her crib. Hallelujah!) That first week, she would only cry for a few minutes, babble tiredly for about 10 minutes, and then promptly fall asleep. And she took much longer naps than usual. One day she even took a 1 1/2 nap in the morning and a 2 1/2 hour nap in the afternoon. Unheard of! I think she was catching up on some much-needed sleep. Me too. I was actually able to nap during some of her naps those first few days back on the muscles relaxant (it makes me SO sleepy). And I am NOT a napper. I seriously haven't been able to nap since I was a kid. Almost every time I try to take a nap, I lie there thinking of all the things I could/should be doing, and I just can't sleep. I think my dislike of naps may have had something to do with 2 recurrent nightmares from my childhood. During naps I used to dream that I was driving my family's VW bus through a maze, and then I would wake up feeling afraid of wooden jewelry boxes (like the ones each of my sisters and I had). I also used to wake up at night feeling afraid of my bed. So I would go and lie to one of my sisters, telling them that my bed was gone so that I could sleep with them. They didn't fall for it. Anyway, I digress.
I really did try to follow everyone's advice and take naps when Hannah was a newborn, but once or twice when I was able to actually fall asleep, I would wake up in a huge panic and feeling much more tired and out of it than before. SO not worth it. So it truly is amazing that I was able to nap for a few days when I first got on the muscle relaxant. Too bad it didn't last long. I'm seriously sleep deprived. I've never been much of a night sleeper either. I'm a night owl, and I haven't been able to sleep in since my mission (eons ago). And now that the only time I'm able to get anything done around here (eg. cleaning, showering, blogging, pumping, reading. etc.) is at night, I stay up even later than I used to. Pre-Hannah, I used to live off of 5 or 6 hours of sleep a night (7 on an unusually good night). Now I live off of 4 or 5 hours, sometime less--very occasionally more. I can count on one hand the times I have been in bed before midnight since Hannah was born--my bedtime averages out to be about 2am. I know, I'm crazy. What can I say? I do want to have a goal to get to bed by midnight for a week straight and then reward myself with some amazing prize--most likely fattening food--but I think I should start with a realistic goal of once a week. Do you think I can do it? Yeah, we'll see. For now, I'm blogging at 2:30am, even though I have to get up early to catch a plane to DC. Here's hoping Hannah lets me sleep on the plane (one of few places I am actually able to doze briefly). Speaking of Hannah, she has continued to be pretty good with taking naps in her crib, although her naps are sometimes short and sporadic. Like today, she only took one 30-minute nap. Silly girl.
I think the point of my rambling was to ask for advice. Do any of you have my same napping problem? How can I get anything done with a baby--unless I do it at night?
And now some cute pics of Hannah:
Lately she's just like her daddy and loves to sleep with a blanket or burp cloth over her head. Silly baby.
Adorable but slightly nerve-wracking. I'm still a bit paranoid about her breathing, you know.And a few pics that I took of Hannah the other day:
What a happy baby!
I just love her crazy hair that sticks up all over. Super cute!
And those eyes... Yowza!A couple of updates:
Hannah's 5th tooth finally broke through today. And a 6th tooth is close behind.
Last week, I took Hannah in for a weight check, and she weighed just over 17 lbs. She had gained almost a pound in just over 3 weeks. Amazing! And she is now in the 23rd percentile! She usually fluctuates between 13th and 20th, so YAY!!! I love my kind-of-chubby baby! :)
3 comments:
So I'm up at 4 a.m. reading blogs. Naps for you or Hannah. My kids didn't nap a lot after a year or so old. Naps for me: if I nap longer than about half an hour, I get sick and dizzy. So the trick is to take short power naps and save the sleep for night. Now that you're not holding Hannah for naps, maybe you can get stuff done while she is sleeping and get to bed earlier. Good luck, and have a good trip. Aunt Lynda
Ok, well I thought staying up until midnight was crazy...2 AM?? I am a sleep girl though. I need 7-8 hours or I am a complete beast the next day. Just ask my family... :)
Both my kids have been completely different sleepers, and Elsie sure is making it hard to sleep these days. One thing I have noticed during daytime naps is that she always wakes up after 30 minutes and starts to cry/fuss. One day I couldn't get to her right away like usual and she fell back asleep before I got in there (5-10 minutes?). So the next day I made myself wait 5 minutes and she fell asleep again. Her "second" nap is always longer too, so her total nap time jumped from 30 minutes to 1.5-2 hours!
Not advice that helps your sleep issues, but extra naptime might help you get more done during the day right?
I could not function on 4-5 hours of sleep. I need 8-9 to be a happy person. I have no sleep advice - I'm a total softy and my kids always end up sleeping in bed with Tim and I. Good luck - hopefully you will figure out something that works for you guys. Enjoy DC!
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