Has anyone seen my friend sleep?

Nugget started sleeping through the night when she was about 2.5 months old and it was glorious. I swear colors actually looked brighter that first morning …  I was seeing the world for the first time in HD. The glory of sleep continued until one night about 4 months in it just stopped … and it has never returned. I’ve been ghosted by sleep and it’s a relationship I’m not willing to forfeit.

I thought at first maybe Nugget didn’t feel good … or she was hungry … or it was her shots … I made an entire laundry list of excuses. Then Google in all her kindness showed me the “4 month sleep regression.” I learned to my horror it can last anywhere from 2-6 weeks. Well we’ve been at this for about 4 weeks now … so i’m thinking the end is in sight … if it’s not please be kind and just don’t tell me.

Relationships with Google are tricky to navigate … because she shows you something and then gives you the worst possible case scenario … causing mass panic in households around the country and world I’m sure. I became convinced my baby would never sleep again unless I got her a vibrating pad, tucked her into a sleep sack, rocked her to sleep while reciting nursery rhymes, inclined her mattress and hovered over her constantly like a creep in the night.

Thank goodness for kind and patient pediatricians. With the help of her doctor we’ve given up most of her sleep crutches. The hardest thing to say goodbye too was the “magical chair.” This chair was her favorite thing to hang out in as a teeny tiny baby … it was a godsend. I hope the chair knows it wasn’t personal … just time for Nugget and her to part ways.

Now little miss Nugget is only waking up (on average) once per night … and I honestly believe it’s because she needs a little snack! She is her mother’s daughter after all and snacks are life. Sometimes I forget she’s only been at this breathing, sleeping and experiencing the earth thing for about 5 months. It would be hard for anyone … and probably was … poor my mom and mom’s everywhere!

So if you’ve purchased the expensive vibrating pad, forced your baby to wear a glorified sleeping bag and spent hours on Google searching for ways to restore your precious sleep … you aren’t alone. I hear it will even get easier and sleep in all her fickleness will one day return. Maybe by then my relationship with coffee will be secure enough that I can give sleep the cold shoulder for abandoning me so callously one night … when I needed her most.

As for me … I’ll be soaking in the extra cuddles, smiles and laughs the twilight hours bring. Because I live for those big blue eyes … I’ll even give up sleep for them.