I’ve been spending most of my mental energy trying to figure out what’s bugging Baby Linus. A few weeks ago, he suddenly went from sleeping relatively well (waking once or twice a night to eat) to hardly sleeping at all. Well, that’s not entirely accurate. He has been sleeping just fine in my arms, but every time I try to put him down, he starts to wail. All night long. I’ve been lucky to get an hour or two of sleep at a time, and Josh hasn’t done much better.
I’ve been wracking my brain to discover the problem. The typical baby woes have come to mind: ear infection, reflux, teething. He’s been to the doctor twice. Last week, the doctor and I suspected milk-soy protein intolerance (MSPI), which Linnea suffered from as an infant. Six days ago, I cut all dairy and soy from my diet. The boy partied on.
We’ve also noticed that he tends to wake himself up a lot by flailing his arms. I guess this is called “startle reflex.” So my mom bought Linus something akin to a baby straightjacket. It’s called a Woombie. We tried this sleeveless sleeper out last night and bingo, we’re back in business. He woke up once at 3 a.m. and once at 6 a.m. I’ll take it. But I’m still not sure—was it the milk/soy thing, the startle thing, or did he just decide to sleep? I’m going to stick with the diet and the Woombie and see if the sleep continues (Though let’s be honest; I’m asking for trouble by writing about it). Then I’ll go back to my ice-cream-eating ways and see what happens.
I keep thinking, “This would be a whole lot easier if he could talk.” He could just tell me what the problem is, right? While I was out running this morning, I realized that it might not be that simple. How many times have I struggled without knowing what’s really wrong? How many people wander into a therapist’s office without knowing why they’re sad or anxious? How many people suffer from insomnia and can’t kick it with some chamomile tea and a nice bath?
Life is one big experiment. There are rarely magic answers, and what works for one person might not work for another. We all have different things that comfort, calm, and cure us—our own Woombies.
So I’m wondering: What’s yours? What helps you relax, sleep, smile, or thrive?
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Hi Emma,
My son Greg cried for the first year pretty much nonstop. I changed to soy milk and tried several other things but nothing seemed to help. He would cry whenever I put him down. He didn’t like the backpack but was content in the front pack. I carried him with me at all times; vacuuming, washing dishes, and shopping (where he would cry whenever I walked into a store. I believe that his father taught him that trick). I never did figure out what made him so fussy. Good news is that he finally grew out of it and is now a healthy happy 27 year old. Hang in there!
Thanks, Sue!
You crack me up. Love the part about shopping.
Lucky for me (and Josh and the grandmas), he’s pretty darn good during the day!
Watch a movie or a mini-marathon of a favorite TV show of mine or if its needed relaxataion due to stress, I’ll play one of my First Person Shooters on Playstation 3
I don’t even remember the last time I watched a movie all the way through, but that’s definitely one of my favorite escapes!
Okay, I have to admit. To someone who doesn’t play video games, it sounds a little funny to think of shooting as relaxing.
But I guess lots of people can get into the zone with games like that or they wouldn’t be so popular.
It took some figuring… but we hit paydirt with the straightjacket combined with this baby hat that pulled down over his eyes. It was like a baby eye mask that wouldn’t strangle him. But, boy! Did it take a while to figure out that combo!
Wow, sounds like you can relate! Glad to know that I’m not the only one who has struggled with this. The visual of a baby eye mask is pretty good.
We swore by swaddling Mari when she was a baby. I’m convinced it helped her sleep much better. We liked the Velcro kidopotomus swaddle. We swaddled her until she started breaking out of it at 6 months! Good luck; I hope it’s still helping!
It IS still helping! Thanks.
Such a thoughtful post, Emma. I often think about how much easier life would be if my baby could tell me what she wants. But you’re right, I’m not always that good about listening to my own needs and I’ve been talking (often too much) for years. Recently I’ve found that there are a few habits which help me feel calmer through my days: exercise, writing, quiet time with my husband. Hard to come by, but always worth it.
Sounds like you and I have many of the same coping mechanisms.