1/16/06 - Sleep Deprivation

Eva's sleep hasn't improved much, but I blame the swollen bumps in her lower gums caused by emerging teeth. I hate that she has to go through this. I wonder why it has to be so painful for them. Dave is so used to her noises that they rarely wake him anymore, and he's been known to remark, "Eva must have slept well last night!" the morning after she spent the night waking me every two hours. Occasionally he'll take her for an hour or two in the morning so I can catch some sleep before he goes to work. I'd ask him to take a couple turns of night duty, but he can't afford to be dragging at work the next day. Eva's naps have been erratic as well. She has no problem falling asleep; it's staying asleep that's the problem. She'll rarely nap for more than a half hour. It's worse when she catches a catnap, because it gives her just enough of a re-charge to keep her awake and fussy for another hour or two.

Sunday was the worst. I had tried all afternoon to get Eva to sleep: nursing, rocking, even throwing her in the car and driving around the block a few times. She'd rub her eyes and nod off for a few minutes, but always wake up. We decided to still go to the couple's meeting at our pastor's house and see how she did. We left her in childcare around 5pm and told them to call us when she started fussing, because she'd had a rough day. At 6:30 we got the call that they couldn't calm her down. I went over and found her on the floor, trying to consol herself chewing on a toy, her glasses fogged with tears. There were too many other babies crying and not enough arms to go around. She saw me and burst into tears, and when she finally quieted down she'd still hiccough and sniffle every couple minutes, so worked up she couldn't even nurse. She held onto me with an iron grip, and it took her at least half an hour to completely calm down. I felt so guilty for leaving her when I knew how tired she was. I've never seen her that upset.