Mummascribbles – Who stole my sleep loving baby? – Mummascribbles

Come on, own up – which one of you was it that had a little whisper in my sleep loving baby’s ear and told him that he was giving us too much of an easy time? 

I’ve never really written about Oscar’s sleeping habits because, well, they were amazing but I knew that it could change at any moment!

When Zach was a baby, he was a terrible night sleeper, awaking every couple of hours and only sleeping on us. With Zach, I saw a lot of hours in the middle of the night – often awake for an hour at a time, rocking him in the front room in the darkness. So when Oscar came along and from the word go, slept, I couldn’t believe my luck. I was prepared for the no sleeping thing to happen again but instead I had a baby who loved sleeping at night.

The night he was born, he slept through. The following nights after that, he set himself a little routine. He would come up to bed with us at about 11, have a feed and then sleep until 3.30, have another feed and then sleep again until 3.30. It was amazing, He is a quick feeder and so I was only ever really awake for about half an hour each time. Then after a few weeks, he started sleeping through! Not every night but more often than not. 

Then…

He got a cold!

At first, he was still being the little legend that he always had been and we couldn’t believe that even with a cough and a snotty nose, he was still sleeping brilliantly, sometimes waking for a feed, sometimes waking with a cough – but generally sleeping for hours, meaning we were pretty well rested. Then it changed.

Christmas Eve was the last time that I can recall that he slept through the night. I can see no reason as to why this has happened. He still has a cold that is making him cough but it is so much better than when he was really poorly and still sleeping through! 

It’s not only that he isn’t sleeping well but that he is mostly only sleeping directly next to me. Not even in his Snuzpod which is directly next to me! Nope, he wants to be as close to me as possible. Which means a very uncomfortable sleep for me! And then there are the nights when he only wants to sleep on daddy’s chest! Meaning a very uncomfortable night for the other half! 

Because of his waking, his not wanting to sleep in his snuzpod, his coughing and my discomfort, for the last few nights I have mostly seen every hour! I think the longest period of time that I have been asleep is between 4 and 6. Last night, I definitely saw 00.30, 1.30, 2.30, 3.30, 4.30 and then 6.30 before we were re-awoken by Zach at 7.15.

I. am. tired.

Being given a wonderful first many weeks of sleep lulled me into a false sense of security. Even though I was initially ready for a non sleeping baby, when I got one that did sleep, I got totally used to having a really good kip. I would wake up in the morning feeling pretty refreshed considering I had a newborn.

Now…

I feel a bit like that zombie that I remember from when Zach was born! The one that found herself gorging on anything sugary to get her through the day. The one that had a permanent headache through lack of sleep. The one whose eyes felt so heavy they could barely stay open. The one who found it difficult to function.

She is coming back. In fact she is here. And whilst I am typing this, I know I should be laying on the sofa with my eyes closed because Oscar is still asleep in his car seat after we dropped Zach off at nursery. Only I had to have some toast and some tea and so I figured I may as well sit down and do some work on here!

Plus it’s one of those things isn’t it? They sense everything so I have no doubt that as soon as I do close my eyes, he will wake up!

I am pleading with this cold of his to just go away. To disappear and leave him to experience life as normal, without coughing. All he has pretty much known of life so far is one with a cough! Which makes him upset. He’s such a happy little boy but I know he’d be so much happier if he didn’t have a ton of mucus stuck in his throat!

I am also pleading for his good sleep to return. I know we had it good for many weeks and that there are people who have never had a sleep though the night (trust me, I know how it feels!) but I want our little legend baby back, I want my sleep back and I want my half of the bed back!  

Tags: baby, co-sleeping, newborn, sleep, sleep deprivation