Calvin use to sleep through the night until waking up sometime between 6-7am. However, ever since daylight savings time changed, Calvin has been waking up multiple times a night, usually between 3-4am, without being able to put himself back to sleep. I have multiple theories about why this could be happening.
My first thought was that the switch from daylight savings messed up his internal schedule and that he would eventually readjust. However, it’s been multiple weeks now and I think he might be getting worst. He was also teething at the time so I thought he might be waking up because his mouth hurt. However, Tylenol didn’t seem to be particularly effective. My next theory was that he was hungry. Calvin still has trouble eating solid food so I thought maybe he wasn’t getting enough calories via formula and needed a “midnight” snack. Thus, I gave in and fed him when he woke up if he didn’t go back to sleep within 10-30 minutes.
Feeding Calvin after he wakes up usually does make him go back to sleep. However, he has started decreasing the amount of food he’ll eat during the day. I’m worried that he’s swapping his schedule to lean towards eating at night instead of the day. So, for the next couple of days I going to try not feeding him at night (though I might start with reducing the amount I’ll give him). I’m really worried this will result in hours of crying. However, the advantage of trying this now is Jaeger won’t be working so can take him in the morning while I catch up on sleep.
I’m really worried about this plan. I believe the “cry-it-out” approach is appropriate for some children but I don’t feel it is for Calvin. That is, I will let him cry for up to 1/2 hr but after that I’m uncomfortable leaving him to scream. Instead of winding down, he seems to get shriller and shriller with his screaming. So, I’m not sure what I’m going to do instead of feeding him. One of the reasons the “he’s hungry” thought was so appealing was the ease with which he usually goes back to sleep after eating.
Stay tuned to see how it turns out. I have a feeling I will be tweeting in the middle of the night. After all, what use is a sleepless night if I can’t complain about it to the world?
In other news, this Thanksgiving will be the first Thanksgiving away from family (either mine or Jaeger’s). Jaeger and I decided we didn’t want the expense or the inconvenience of trying to drag Calvin to Washington two months in a row. So, we’ll be having our own mini-Thanksgiving celebration at home tomorrow. Our menu consists of Apricot-Orange Gel (a Logan tradition), lightly steamed Asparagus, Roasted Fingerling Potatoes with Garlic and Herbs, Baked Brie with Cranberries in Puff Pastry (an experiment), and Pumpkin Pie with real whipped cream.
Due to the complexity of both Jaeger and I eating while Calvin is awake, we’re going to schedule Thanksgiving dinner after he goes to bed. We’re probably also going to video conference with the Stone relatives either before or after the Thanksgiving meal at my parents’ house.