Since she was four or five months old, LP has been sleeping through the night. Of course, there was an occasional late night or mid-night wake-up call due to teething or some other somewhat easily identifiable reason, but for the most part her sleeping has been consistently good. This leaves the Hoos and me at a loss for what to do when our little muffin wakes up for no apparent reason.
For probably seven out of the last 10 nights, LP has woken up around 2:30 and refused to go back to sleep. We have tried various tactics to get her to slumber, from ignoring her to holding her to bringing her into bed with us. Each has its limits in terms of both effectiveness and our tolerance.
This morning LP entertained herself in her crib from 2:30-3:30; I heard it, the Hoos did not. At 3:30 she was bored of playing alone and began crying out. The Hoos went in to check on her after we heard her pacifier hit the floor. I went to check on them a few minutes later and LP was in her daddy's arms, resting her head on his shoulder.
Oddly enough, as soon as we pick her up, she immediately stops crying. To us this seems to eliminate the majority of the "causes" of her wakefulness and many of the solutions we have at hand (e.g., orajel, tylenol).
Anyway, after placing a bottle full of water in her crib (in the event thirst was waking her up), we put LP back down, closed her bedroom door and closed our bedroom door in an effort to minimize the noise intrusion. Fortunately, LP fell back asleep relatively quickly (well, if you consider half an hour quick).
This morning my evil alarm clock went off at 6:30 and I dragged my sorry butt out of bed at 6:40. LP must have heard me because she started fussing and sat up in her crib. What's a mommy to do?! Being the sucker that I am, I took her into the bathroom with me and placed her in the exersaucer while I showered in hopes of keeping her quiet so the Hoos could enjoy at least a few more minutes of rest. Even this desperate ploy didn't work and LP was cranky the entire time I was in the shower. Suffice it to say, I was late for work because my next tactic was to nurse LP back into sleep. Again, an ineffective strategy.
When I left this morning, LP was wide awake laying on the Hoos' back in bed while he tried to pretend he was sleeping.
Moms of the world - thoughts? Ideas? Successful strategies?
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