Sleepless in Singapore

Argh.. the pains of parenthood... chronic sleep deprivation.

Madison was TERRIBLE last night... Chris and I nearly collapsed with exhaustion at the end, which of course signalled the start of a new WORKING day!

I really don't know what the true cause of her recent night wakings are, and from searching the internet I realize that it is a frequent problem faced by many parents. Madison gets really tired by 8 Pm and we usually put her to bed after a bath and a good feed. Last night she was very unsettled and started crying out every 5 to 10 minutes until close to 10 PM. Then she woke for a feed at 2 Am and the nightmare started. She started crying just prior to 4AM and would not stop for a good 30 minutes, until I tried to rock her, and finally ended up feeding her even though I know I should not encourage poor sleep associations. We even tried to take her to our bed but she ended up playing with us and not sleeping!

The previous nights were similar albeit less severe: I could still pat her down to sleep. Yesterday we were trying to see if the daytime naps were excessive so we completely cut out her last nap at 4PM. BIG MISTAKE. She was awake since 230PM and by the time we got to 630PM she was fast asleep in her car seat on the way home from the Novena house... my heart broke when I got home and found her doubled up in her seat FAST ASLEEP! I felt terrible...

So... we paid the price... Pa and Chris both thought that she was old enough to do without the last nap, but I had my reservations.. but I guess you never know until you test her limits! Chris was post call last night too.. but he put up a brave front and was up for her at 4am.

I cannot imagine doing this for a second time with another child!!