Wearily I roll over and check the clock. Three hours. Sweet Pea slept three whole hours! For most people with a 5 month old, three hours of sleep would be a major regression, but we’d gone on for almost two weeks with her waking up Every. Single. Hour. Three hours was a luxury!
I’d given myself a two week deadline to wait out this latest sleep challenge before considering some form of (gentle!) sleep training, and she pulled through with two days to spare. I’m really not sure if I’d have actually turned to sleep training, or whether I would have waited some more, but giving myself permission to consider gave me the endurance to make it through those long days.
That night, Sweet Pea slept several multiple-hour stretches, much to my relief. Later that afternoon, she was chewing on my finger (a favorite past-time of hers) and I discovered a teeny little tooth. Now the sleeplessness made sense! And it boosted my confidence; I had been responsive to my daughter’s need for extra comforting in the night, though I didn’t know at the time why she needed me more.
And maybe that’s the takeaway message. At her age, communication is limited, but it’s still there if I am willing to tune in.
