Sweet Dreams

It seems that once we’re on the brink of perfection when it comes to our girlies sleep routines, something happens to upset the applecart!

Abigail was the perfect child. At three months old she found her thumb and then slept for twelve hours a night every night and had a couple of two hour naps during the day. I had friends asking me what my secret was and if I could bottle it ... and others avoiding me at mothers and toddlers groups because they were jealous! Apart from a four month blip last year when Abigail had night terrors, we have been plain sailing and it rocks.

Consider then, the shock when it seems that second time round my secret is safely locked away somewhere that not even I can access it! Naomi is not all that fussed about sleeping solidly either during the day or night.

We had just about cracked it last year ... getting about five nights out of seven without having to share our bed with her. Then we had to fly back to the UK to renew our visas and update our supporters and it all went to pot! Ironically with a US birth certificate Naomi didn’t even have a visa to renew like the rest of us. When we returned to the States we were all sick, so it wasn’t til the New Year that she settled back into having a good nights sleep. 

Then there was teething and Mark’s month away in Papua New Guinea and some more teething. Sound familiar?! There’s always something. This last month has been pretty uneventful. Thankfully the night sleeps got better and Naomi’s even been happy to sleep in her bed during the day for the first time in a long time (I was working on cracking the night’s before I tackled the days!)

Then ... Florida happened! We’re having a great time down here but it seems like we’re back to square one with Naomi’s sleep. We’ve been playing musical beds most nights and even once with Abigail when she fell out of bed twice in one night!! In the almost two weeks that we’ve been away, we’ve only had two uninterrupted nights and most of the others Naomi has spent the majority of the night anywhere but her bed! (The bed is so small that when she moves in, Mark has to move out!)

Day time naps since we got here are completely non-existent unless we’re driving somewhere, she’s tucked into her sling or she’s curled up on me ... the minute I even go to lay her in her cot even if she’s soundly asleep, she instantly wakes up and freaks out! It does make some things a little bit more difficult to negotiate but I’m holding it all together somehow!

It appears that Naomi needs more time to adjust to change than the rest of us. At least we know in advance and so can be prepared. Everything in life is about being flexible ... this is just another one of those learning experiences that comes with parenthood. We’re waiting for this ‘season’ to end and for sleep to reign in our house once again. I know it’s out there somewhere!