Whew.....finally, a good night's sleep!

Last night was AWESOME!!! I will preface this first:

Since birth, Brandon has always been an excellent sleeper. He started out sleeping in 4 hour blocks at night. Believe it or not, that is a great block of time. It allows to you get just enough sleep to function, especially considering that newborns sleep so much, and he would go right back to sleep after a diaper change (by Dad) and some nursing. So, it was nice. At about 2-3 weeks, he started sleeping through the night. He went to sleep around 11 and slept until around 5 or 6 am. He would then get a diaper change, and a bottle, and went back to sleep until around 8 or 9. That worked out great as well. Around 3 months, he started sleeping for 12 hours a night!! He went to bed around 9pm and slept util anywhere from 8-9am!!! He has comtinued to have the same sleep schedule since. It has been pure bliss. Anyone that kmew me pre-baby, knows that I LOVE my sleep!!! Haha. So, I am truly blessed with an excellent sleeper!!!

So, here is the problem. I should say that I feel bad for even complaining because I have been so lucky, but for the past week, Brandon has been waking up at least once a night. If he wakes up more than once, the first time is usually between 11pm and 1am. He usually falls right back to sleep after I pick him on and snuggle him a little. The second time he wakes up is usually around 4-6am. THAT is the bad one. He wakes up for good! I have been able to get him back to sleep around 4am, but it requires a great deal of patience, rocking, possibly a bottle, and time. All of which I don't feel like doing at 4am. I do it, because I am a Mommy, and that is my job, but it makes for a grumpy Mommy later that day. There are a number of reasons why he could be waking up all of a sudden. It could be that he is going through a growth spurt, teething, not feeling well, getting older thus needing less sleep, or trying to reach a milestone. I did not know that when a baby is getting close to reaching a milestone that it could interfere with their sleep, but I read that it can. They want to practice their milestone instead of sleep. Isn't that cute?? Anyway, I have been trying to figure out why he isn't sleeping as well, and I am still confused. I have tried giving him more formula at night thinking that he is hugry. This worked one night, but not again. I have tried making sure that he has tylenol and oragel when he goes to bed in case it is his teeth that are bothering him, but that has not helped. I am sure that the medicine is wearing off in the middle of the night, so it isn't really helping at 5am. I took him to the doctor to have his ears checked because he is pulling at them and smacking the side of his head sometimes, but he does not have an ear infection. The doctor said that it could potentially be allergies, so she started him on some claritin. Last night was his first night with the allergy meds. It says that they do not have any side effects, so it isn't supposed to cause drowsiness. She did say that if I gave it to him at night, if it DID cause drowsiness, it could help him sleep better. So, last night he got the meds. I also gave him tylenol and oragel because the doctor also said that his gums are swollen and he is teething. So, that was in my arsenal for the night. He went to sleep around 8:45-9pm, and slept until 8:15am!!! I took a long, hot shower, and went to bed around 10pm, and slept until 8am! Oh man, I slept SO good!!! So, I am hoping that this new regiment will be the key to getting him back to his normal sleep routine. It is so much more convenient when I have to do school work and study. A good night's sleep also helps in that department as well. Especially the night before my first exam......tonight, in Psychology. Wish me luck!!!! Oh, and THANK YOU BRANDON for sleeping so good last night!!!!