Non-sleeping kiddos make one harried mama

Five nights in a row now of crummy sleep. I am turning more and more into a zombie. Tons of conflicting thoughts in my head about what to do about it, or whether to do anything about it. Figured I'd just type it all out, however confusing it ends up sounding, to see if that act alone helps me find some clarity or gives me a sense of a plan to follow.

First, LG is taking at least an hour to fall asleep for naptime and for bedtime. He just changed daycares (huge adjustment!), he's still adjusting to having a baby sister and not being the sole center of our universe, and he's still a victim of the molars-that-are-taking-eighteen-months-to-come-in. In addition to the fighting sleep when it's time to sleep, he's been waking up in the middle of the night. Add to all his adjustments the fact that he's almost constantly overtired from not getting enough sleep and we have a toddler who's more often wired or melting down than one that's happy. Best I can figure this one is to just show him as much love as I can (or as I have patience for, which is difficult when I'm not sleeping either), and ride it out.

My sweet BabyG is such a wonderful baby. I can't get enough of her. And sleeping was going okay until a week ago - I would get 5 to 5.5 hours of uninterrupted sleep many nights, with just one feeding during the night. That feeding would last under 40 minutes. True, she wasn't great at napping (usually 30-40 minutes at most at a time), but she was cheerful. She got one shot (the dtap combo) and the rotavirus immunization at her 4-month visit on Monday. That night she didn't sleep great, but I attributed it to her feeling icky from the shot. Then Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and now last night. Wednesday was probably the worst (think that was the night for which I posted my status message on facebook?). I can't remember the patterns from each night anymore, so let's just go with last night. Usually BabyG falls asleep fairly well around 8-9, then REALLY well after a dream feeding of sorts around 10-11. At that point, I can put her in her Tucker sling and she goes RIGHT back to sleep. Last night she woke UP around 10 and decided it was playtime. I got her to bed around 12:15. She woke up at 4:10 (I think?) - four hours was pretty good for this week! I got her back down before 5. But then she woke up at 5:50 (just put the binky back in her mouth), 6:30 (binky didn't work so I got her up to feed her), and 8 (binky didn't work again so here we are). The hourly thing is typical for this week, that much I can remember. Why is she waking on an hourly basis? Random thoughts about this, in no particular order:

1. Growth spurt of the century? Do baby growth spurts ever last a week long? 2. One of the past nights she was refluxing quite a bit...could have been something I'd eaten - but not most of these last five nights that hasn't seemed to be a major issue. 3. Is she done using the Tucker sling? But with #2 that doesn't seem right. 4. Would she sleep better if I stopped swaddling her? I can't imagine she would... 5. Is she just wanting attention? Should I sleep train now?

And sleep training leads us to another quandary: 1. When BabyG cries, she does NOT stop unless she's picked up (and recently only if I'm the one that picks her up - even though I've made sure that lots of my coworkers, who are understandably in love with her, watch her whenever they're willing). She will cry and cry and cry - doesn't seem to tire from it. And when this girl cries, she CRIES. We're going to have a drama queen on our hands when she becomes a teenager. I just don't foresee my being able to sleep train her right now. 2. BabyG's crib is in the closet of her room, which shares a wall with the closet of LG's room where his bed is (neither closet has the doors on, in case you think we're that weird of parents). I can't really put either of them in the basement (not a super kid-friendly place), so how do I even attempt to sleep train her when he'll hear every sound she makes?

Or is this just a temporary phase she'll grow out of and I just need to ride it out? Her crazy short naps could be a result of her napping with me at work and never in a crib, but I haven't been able to help that, as I obviously couldn't nap train her at work - it's just a factor of the situation we've had, and BabyG and I have had to make due with our circumstances.

Sigh. If you've made it this long reading, thanks for listening to my rambling thoughts. There's likely no golden solution. I'll just do the best I can, try one or two ideas, use a lot of prayer (for ideas and for getting through this and for not getting sick from lack of sleep). I'm grateful for this gorgeous baby who MOST of the time is a bundle of smiles and joy. Amazingly, she doesn't seem to need as much sleep to be a happy baby. I guess I'd rather a happy baby than a grumpy baby who sleeps. I think. ;) I know I'll get through this and things will get better. That's the advantage of being on #2. I'm better able to just enjoy BabyG despite the challenges, knowing she will be this little for far too short a time. I just can't help hoping this little phase she's in is about over.

Mystery Baby Problem...Help, Please!

I am desperate for help with this issue, so I appreciate any moms or dads who can read through this quickly and let me know if they've experienced anything similar with any of their children and can guide me with what to do. BabyG has been a spitter-upper from day one, but was not anywhere as bad as her reflux-ed older brother. She's also been notorious for not having the greatest latch during nursing and often sputters/sucks in air while nursing (I'm hoping to talk to my aunt, who's a lactation consultant, at my awesome cousin Amy's bridal shower next Saturday). However, last Thursday or Friday(so when she turned five weeks old, basically) there was a sudden change in BabyG and I just can't figure out why. Symptoms that all began simultaneously and continue now include the following: 1. She went from pooping regularly (several times a day) to going a day or two in between. 2. She started being extremely gassy. I don't recall her having gas at all before but now she has it all the time, sometimes almost explosively. 3. Her spitting up increased (I would venture to say it doubled or even tripled) in both frequency and quantity. It also can be very explosive and projectile in nature. She now rivals LG in his spitting-up glory days. 4. From number 2 and 3, she seems extremely uncomfortable a lot of the time. Sometimes during nursing, sometimes afterward, sometimes in between feedings. 5. I don't think this one started at the same time as numbers 1-3 but is likely a result of them - she hesitates to nurse and sometimes won't start for a full minute or more. She obviously will WANT to nurse but will resist latching on. This doesn't seem like reflux to me - I don't see a ton of tongue-thrusting or back-arching (though she has done a bit of each in the past). I've been able to put my finger on dairy, chocolate, and raw tomato bothering her, so I already avoid those. I thought initially that all of this behavior change was due to my having hummus a couple of times (and her reacting badly to trying to digest beans), but I haven't had hummus since Monday. I think it's chiefly a gassiness issue - she sucks in air all the time. When she spits up, she gags and sucks LOTS of air in. I think that covers everything. I'd really like to get this solved so she's not miserable so much of the time. I guess it could all come down to that poor latch that I hope to fix, but it's just weird to me that this all came on at once. I will likely take her to the pediatrician next week if I can't figure anything out. Thanks for any help or wisdom you can provide in advance!