I've Created a Pacifier Monster
When I told you about Penelope's 3 month update last week, I mentioned that we started transitioning her to her crib. It's been set up and waiting for her since before she was born.
Until now, it had mostly been used as a holding ground for extra clothes that didn't quite make their way into her drawers. But we knew that once she hit 3 months old, it was time to make the switch. We started with naps. Though she did fall asleep once or twice, she spent most of the time in there screaming bloody murder. I think she had one 10 minute nap in which I quickly ran up to snap this photo:
Separately, I should mention that Penelope has never taken a pacifier (this ties back into the crib woes, I promise). We had tried over and over to give her a pacifier, especially during those first 8 weeks when she cried seemingly all.the.time. Not only would she not take it, but it made her even more angry during those crazy witching hours (of which I've completely blocked out of my mind by now...almost).
But when she began chewing, sucking and stuffing her hands so far into her mouth that she was gagging...
...we thought that maybe we should try the pacifier again. I think it's too early for teething, but for some reason, she feels the need to chomp and chew. More power to her.
And unbelievably, she took the pacifier. Happily. It seems to soothe her and - my favorite part - help her sleep in her crib. In fact, she is so content with her pacifier in her crib that she goes right to sleep at 8PM...no crying, no fussing...just sleep. The first night she did it, I think I actually got air. I kept saying over and over to Shaun, Oh my God, I cannot believe this! Our lives are forever changed! As I ran around dancing happily.
Before you get all angry with me for having a baby who sleeps, let me continue my story.
So while Penelope happily falls asleep in her crib with her pacifier...she has a really tough time staying asleep in her crib. We realized that everytime she dropped the pacifier, she cries. And kicks. And generally freaks out.
Allow me to reenact for you, just imagine she is sleeping then crying incessantly, instead of being all cute.
And this continues all.night.long. Like 1 - 3 times per hour. And so Shaun and I take turns doing the zombie walk down to her bedroom, replacing the paci, and returning to faceplant into bed. Penelope happily takes the pacifier back and falls back into her slumber. Since this happens all night long, I almost cry when my alarm goes off at 6AM. I'm thrilled that she doesn't wake to eat or continue crying, but the frequency of having to do this every single night is starting to take its toll.
So, my friends, it appears that i have in fact created a pacifier monster, foiling my sleep for the last week and a half. We've tried letting her cry, but after 5 minutes of crying at 3:00AM, I just give in. And so I ask you...what can I do about this? Any advice? Do I just let her cry it out until she falls back to sleep? Or get the caffeine IV ready?
7 Comments | May 14, 2013 | Share Article | Email Article | in Baby Talk Tuesday, Mom things, Penelope Jane Print Article | Permalink
Reader Comments (7)
Oh, gosh. I don't know, I have no advice, I have no children. But I just want you to know I'm so sorry it's like this right now!!!! Ugh!!!!
Oh my. I have no idea either! She sure is cute though. :)
My girls did the same thing. Unfortunately since you can't tape the paci to her cheeks (as tempting as the thought is..) it will just take some time. Eventually she will figure out how to put it back into her own mouth and then you are golden!
I agree with Wendy. Or, she'll find her thumb or hand or something else to stuff in there to soothe herself. You can try letting her cry a little bit -- we used to give our Baby Girl 3-5 minutes to try and calm herself and if she didn't, we'd intervene and help. I believe this helps them become self-sufficient (in a baby sense) and prevents you from having to attend to every little cry and whimper. Maybe only 90% of them. :-)
Hi, same thing with Sam, although at time, we took turns sleeping in daybed in her room, so we could literally fall right back out. She will in time, do it by herself. This too shall pass...
I just wanted to mention that my son started teething at 3 months old, so it is possible that those teeth are moving around causing her to be uncomfortable. The 3-5 month mark was difficult for us too with the paci.. we just went in every 10-15 min to soothe him back to sleep... the great thing was one day he figured out he could grab the paci himself and put it in his mouth! Not to be a downer but our baby didn't sleep through the night until 7 months... we also had witching hours at night from 6-midnight... keep at it, you are doing a great job. I promise it does get better with time.
Although you're probably out of this phase already, we used some sleep training techniques by Richard Ferber who was famous for the "cry it out" method. It's not as cruel as it sounds, but I also wasn't able to use it step by step because sometimes it was counterproductive to let her cry for 10 minutes when all it did was make her over-the-top upset & she couldn't fall back to sleep anyways. We used it in a way that worked for us.