So I wanted to give an update on a post I wrote a few weeks ago. After five months of a ridiculous lack of sleep, and I do mean ridiculous, I broke down and called the lactation consultant at the hospital where I gave birth. She refered me to The Parenting Center out of Children's Hospital. If I had a million dollars, I would give these people a huge donation. They have saved my life! I called to tell her that Raegan had been waking up for five months multiple times a night (when "multiple" got to be five times, this is when I called) even though I had tried everything. She told me to use a technique that is a little more bearable than the cry it out approach since we live in an apartment and share a wall with our neighbors. The way it works: when the child wakes up to cry, go in and pat her for three minutes and "shush" really loud, but don't look at the child or offer any entertainment, smiles, etc. After three minutes, walk out and let her cry for ten minutes, then go back in and do the same thing. If after an hour the baby is still crying, pick her up and hold her for fifteen minutes, then repeat the process if the baby is still crying. Well, we did this and after the third day, she slept through the night for two nights. Then she started waking up again. By the ninth day I was desperate again and back on the phone with the lady from the Center. She told me to give her some oatmeal at night because it may last her longer (and then I decided to add another feeding in there), but to keep repeating our ritual. Well, so far, she has slept through the night every night since then! I can't tell you how blissful this is. Maybe this is common sense for some people. Or who knows, maybe she really was getting hungry. I will say that she has noticably gained some weight. Either way, I am grateful and feeling so much better.
