I have this person in my bed that never sleeps for longer
than a few hours. There is a constant
needy thing that is going on in the bedroom and my hair is about to fall out in
chunks, precisely because I’m about to yank it out. I’m
pretty sure that it’s time to kick the
insomniac out from under my sheets if I want to save the brunette locks
of hair still dangling from my sleepy head. Let's address the
situation shall we...
Probelm #1 – Enough with the co-sleeping.
Problem #2 – Let’s try sleeping through the night!
When the G was in-utero I would play her The Postal Service
album Give Up over and over again,
feed her any olive I could get my hands on, and soak in baths daily. I would also rub my tummy and imagine the
days and nights blending into one another as we lay, sleepily, in bed all
day. My parents bought the crib I wanted
for me as a present for the babe, but we all knew that it wouldn’t get much use
because I intended on co-sleeping for as long as it made sense for the two of
us.
Now that GiGi is the numero uno, both in my life and in age,
I have decided that sleeping in her beautiful crib is the best choice for both
of us. The issue SHE is having with that
idea is nothing short of total hatred for her little place to rest. She will amuse my wants during the daytime
and catch a wink or two in her crib, but at night…forget it. She requests that I slip into bed and wrap my
giant mommy arms around her teensy bod, press my nose against hers and sing in
a low voice. (This week’s favorite amongst megg-bed co-habitants is a little
ditty by the Beatles called “With a Little help From My Friends.”)
I know ultimately the problem we are facing is my fault, but
there are so many excuses (I mean factors) that go with it. The first and most major item at hand is GiGi’s
vision. A few + six months ago I googled
sleep disorders in blind children like crazy when I started to read on my
forums and in books that babies her age were sleeping through the night. I know that every child’s point of sleeping
through the night differed but much like
her eyes, I knew that something was amiss. Of the many articles I found, one explained that basically, my daughter has no internal
clock. There is nothing in place to shout
out “Hey little girl, it’s time to close those eyes and get some rest,” so at a
year old she seems to have mini-insomnia.
Every toddler on the planet is as unique as a thumbprint, so it stands
to reason that every child with Optic Nerve Hypoplasia has a different level of
vision and a possible list of other conditions.
For GiGi, we know that she will look toward a very bright light, or she
will giggle when you flicker a flashlight in her eyes. Does this mean when the lights are out at
night, she knows it’s time to go to bed?
No.
Still yet, I place her in her crib when she finally falls
asleep and tip-toe out, forgetting that there are funky toys and debris on the
floor. Once a robot arm wedges itself
under my heel I scream silently and do a series of leaps and throw my arms out
for balance, hobbling toward the door trying my hardest not to wake the
babe.
30 minutes later….inconsolable crying.
She looks so peaceful in the first 10 minutes of sleep...
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