Sleep Deprivation and Screaming
It's funny. I've been getting less sleep these days than I did when Freya was around 2-3 months old, because I've abandoned the attempts to sleep train her at all. I just let her decide what she needs, because she's still at that point in her life where wants and needs are often the same thing. She is still unsullied in that way--she can't reaaaaally over indulge yet, at least not with the things she needs like sleep or food. Her body tells her when to eat, when to stop, and she doesn't know how to overcome the cues. Literally, actually. Babies can't do what adults can, like carry a hot cup. Their instincts tell them to drop it, and they do. An adult might use their frontal lobe to say, "If you drop this cup right here, it'll ruin the carpet. You need to carry it back to the table." That same ability lets us overdo things even while our bodies say, "Enough."
So, even though my body is saying, "You need to sleep more" and "You need to eat more often" and "You need to move around more" I'm using that frontal lobe to say, No.
The good news is that Freya is thriving. For a girl that eats so often, she's actually pretty trim. Oh, sure, she has her fat rolls on her legs and her belly is rounded, but she is remarkably lean looking. Granted, my knowledge informs me that breastfed babies are actually less fat that formula fed babies, thanks to the fact that one is for growing humans and the other is for cows. But, I think because I let her eat when she gets hungry, and she can control the flow of the food, she eats enough to be satiated without over-stuffing herself. The frequent eating helps regulate her blood sugar, which given her history is actually important.
The bad news is that I am not thriving. I've been having trouble getting to sleep, which is responsible for who I am today: a humorless bitch. I seriously don't have a sense of humor today. I can't even stand a joke--they piss me off, and any joke aimed at/near/around me makes me bare my fangs. I just have no patience for anything.
Plus, we didn't go to Gymboree at all last week, because I was tired as fuck, and Brian didn't sleep well on Saturday, so there ya go. I've been out for picking up food and grocery shopping, but not really OUT, and I'm going a little stir-crazy. I just have this really antsy feeling.
It doesn't help that lately Freya has started shrieking. All kids go through this period. The key is to know what makes them shriek (Freya: hunger, boredom, exhaustion), and give the help that they're asking for. It's hard though, to listen to the screaming all day. It gets particularly bad because Freya is bored most days. She doesn't want to do the same things anymore, but she can't do anything new yet. She has taken to rolling, finally, but that is only so interesting. I cannot wait for her to crawl, so that she can be entertained that way. I look up suggestions for 8-9 month olds, and they ALL are crawling based.
Like with most things involving babies, they all say, "Babies are different, blah blah, not every baby is going to be doing these things at the same time, blah blah" and then go right on to describe what I should be able to do with my baby, without any alternatives. And I can't just do the things that are for a 4-6 month old who is pre-mobile because those things are BORING to her now. It's like, your baby may not be mobile enough to do any of these things, but here are zero alternatives. Kthx.
I hate how I feel so trapped in the Baby Land. I am so looking forward to toddlerhood, it's not funny. I see these possible toddler activities, and I'm like, "YES. Now see THAT I can do!" Baby games are like, "Give the baby a thing that makes noise" and "Give the baby something to put in her mouth." Yes, I do those things. I can't buy or make a new thing for her every single day.
As it is, we rotate all her toys in the hopes that being away from something for a day or two will renew some interest. Sometimes it works, other times it doesn't. We want so much to be a toy-minimalistic household, but without Freya able to entertain herself through movement, we're in a bind. I can't even express my frustrations on this properly.
So, even though my body is saying, "You need to sleep more" and "You need to eat more often" and "You need to move around more" I'm using that frontal lobe to say, No.
The good news is that Freya is thriving. For a girl that eats so often, she's actually pretty trim. Oh, sure, she has her fat rolls on her legs and her belly is rounded, but she is remarkably lean looking. Granted, my knowledge informs me that breastfed babies are actually less fat that formula fed babies, thanks to the fact that one is for growing humans and the other is for cows. But, I think because I let her eat when she gets hungry, and she can control the flow of the food, she eats enough to be satiated without over-stuffing herself. The frequent eating helps regulate her blood sugar, which given her history is actually important.
The bad news is that I am not thriving. I've been having trouble getting to sleep, which is responsible for who I am today: a humorless bitch. I seriously don't have a sense of humor today. I can't even stand a joke--they piss me off, and any joke aimed at/near/around me makes me bare my fangs. I just have no patience for anything.
Plus, we didn't go to Gymboree at all last week, because I was tired as fuck, and Brian didn't sleep well on Saturday, so there ya go. I've been out for picking up food and grocery shopping, but not really OUT, and I'm going a little stir-crazy. I just have this really antsy feeling.
It doesn't help that lately Freya has started shrieking. All kids go through this period. The key is to know what makes them shriek (Freya: hunger, boredom, exhaustion), and give the help that they're asking for. It's hard though, to listen to the screaming all day. It gets particularly bad because Freya is bored most days. She doesn't want to do the same things anymore, but she can't do anything new yet. She has taken to rolling, finally, but that is only so interesting. I cannot wait for her to crawl, so that she can be entertained that way. I look up suggestions for 8-9 month olds, and they ALL are crawling based.
Like with most things involving babies, they all say, "Babies are different, blah blah, not every baby is going to be doing these things at the same time, blah blah" and then go right on to describe what I should be able to do with my baby, without any alternatives. And I can't just do the things that are for a 4-6 month old who is pre-mobile because those things are BORING to her now. It's like, your baby may not be mobile enough to do any of these things, but here are zero alternatives. Kthx.
I hate how I feel so trapped in the Baby Land. I am so looking forward to toddlerhood, it's not funny. I see these possible toddler activities, and I'm like, "YES. Now see THAT I can do!" Baby games are like, "Give the baby a thing that makes noise" and "Give the baby something to put in her mouth." Yes, I do those things. I can't buy or make a new thing for her every single day.
As it is, we rotate all her toys in the hopes that being away from something for a day or two will renew some interest. Sometimes it works, other times it doesn't. We want so much to be a toy-minimalistic household, but without Freya able to entertain herself through movement, we're in a bind. I can't even express my frustrations on this properly.