![\"Jon](\"http:\/\/boydsnest.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/05\/IMG_0666.JPG\")
<\/p>\nIt was just me, the long-haul truckers, the drunks — and the other dads with sleepless babies — out on the highway last night at 2:30 am. <\/p>\n
First the good news. As Ann has “mentioned briefly”:\/news\/2006\/to-pacify-or-not-to-pacify\/, yesterday we had something of a breakthrough, it seems like. (Maybe it’s still too early to say, and we feel shy to be too optimistic, but….) Ann put two observations together in a new way, and it seemed to offer Lucy some extra peace:<\/p>\n
* Diaper changing either before feeding or after feeding _both_ had their advantages — so how about changing her half-way through? (Thanks to those of you who have suggested that.)
\n* Are bouncing, walking, patting, etc. (the classic soothing techniques) sometimes actually over-stimulating for Lucy, rather than calming?<\/p>\n
So Ann tried just gently hushing Lucy right after nursing, putting her down in a dim room with a white-noise machine on, even though she might still appear to be in “quiet alert” stage. Then we wait, hoping she finds sleep.<\/p>\n
On the whole, this has seemed to suit Lucy’s needs! For two or more cycles yesterday, she fell asleep smoothly and rested well. (And so far this morning, she seems to be on her way again, though she did just give a little squawk that we hope doesn’t blossom into crying….)<\/p>\n
But then there’s the bad news.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
For whatever reason — and believe me, we mean “whatever,” since we have little idea what it is — Lucy’s nighttime nursing-napping cycles don’t work the same way. For two or three nights now, she’s more often than not simply never slept for one or more cycles. (That is, she fusses and cries until we realize three hours have passed and she’s probably just hungry again.) Some of these episodes have gotten her quite worked up, crying insistently, limbs flailing (whether in or out of swaddling), and just a heart-breaking display of angst in general. And nothing seems to calm her. It’s very hard.<\/p>\n
So yesterday our friend Jay was over, and remarked, “Remember, if it comes to it, you can always take her for a drive.” We hadn’t ever felt like we’d come to that point — but last night about 2:30 we did. I suited her up, strapped her in, and headed for the highway. Within two minutes of leaving the garage, she was quiet, but since I couldn’t really see her face and didn’t want to lose the opportunity for a deep sleep, I just kept driving.<\/p>\n
In the end, I hit two counties and logged almost 40 miles. We could go broke at this rate, with gas prices what they are. :) But Lucy was out like a light, Mama got some sound sleep while we were gone (and after), and I enjoyed the Chicago expressways in a way they almost never are: traffic-free.<\/p>\n
This morning, we just let her sleep on and on. So she got maybe as much as six hours of sleep in one shot. She’s had a good feed now, and is napping again.<\/p>\n
But it’s occurred to us: there are lactation consultants, but no sleep consultants! And isn’t the whole question of lactation really one of balance with sleep? She doesn’t wake herself up to feed really, so since we have been wanting to keep her weight climbing again (after quite a dip in the first week), we’ve been prioritizing the nursing by waking her up every 2.5 to 3 hours in a “flexible routine” approach. But we have questions:<\/p>\n
* Should an 11-day-old be waking herself up to feed yet? If she’s not, what does that mean?
\n* If we let her sleep till her hunger prompts her, will that be too few feedings a day and she won’t gain the weight she needs?<\/p>\n
Today we’re trying to find a baby swing to borrow so we can test whether she might be a swing-lover. They make cool models now that can rock in two different directions, so I sure wish I had one for myself!<\/p>\n
Sigh. It’s hard not to know quite what to do.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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