gone awry

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I was planning on sharing a post today about Christmas traditions, but those plans have gone awry (don't worry, I'll still post it at some point).  Monday has not been easy on me this week, and it's not even halfway over.  Riggs had a very rough night last night, probably the hardest for all of us since he was born!  He's always been a great sleeper, wherever he was, whether in his cradle, our bed, or his crib.  Although he's never really slept through the night regularly, he falls asleep so easily that it's never really bothered me.  If he wakes up, he usually just wants to nurse and when he's finished just falls back asleep in his crib.  

[happier times with daddy at the hardware store on Sunday]

I don't know what was going on last night, but things got a little crazy around here.  He woke up at 11pm and wanted to nurse, just like usual.  But I think I might have cut him off a little too soon, because when I removed him from the breast and set him in his crib he got mad, like really mad, and from that point on he stayed mad and somewhat inconsolable.  I immediately tried to let him continue nursing, but he only nursed for a moment and then started biting.  I tried offering him the other side, and he did the same thing, crying the whole time.  Long story short, no matter what I did, he would only calm down for about 10 minutes, then start biting his hands and crying again.  He has been having such a hard time cutting these new bottom teeth, and they were really hurting last night.  I gave him baby ibuprofen early on, probably around 11:30, but it never really seemed to help.  I was at my wits end and woke Steve up to help.  I have never ever had to wake him up, and I really hated doing it, especially on a work night, but I was starting to get so frustrated I just knew I needed to calm down.  Steve really calmed Riggs down while I cried a little and then prayed a lot in our room, but after laying in his crib quietly for about 10 minutes, he started up again.

Finally, at about 2 am, I just took him out to the car, buckled him in and drove around for about 10 minutes.  He was out almost instantly, and when I got back to the house woke up just a little as I got him out of his seat, then snuggled right into his crib and fell back asleep.  I was completely drained but was calm thanks to that break Steve had given me and the patience that had been restored through prayer.  He then slept the rest of the night normally, and woke up right around 7 or 7:10.  Our morning was uneventful, and then came morning nap time.  Again, he completely resisted and wouldn't sleep.  So frustrating!  I think I probably put him down a little too early, because we went on a walk and he fell asleep and slept in the stroller in the house for an hour and 15 minutes.  The thing that I'm realizing is that he has such a narrow window for being sleepy and able to peacefully drift off to sleep.  I don't mind taking him on a walk to help him get the sleep he needs (especially after last night) but I don't want to establish any bad habits either.  I also found out during late night googling that there is a "normal" stage of sleep regression anywhere from 8-9-10 months.  Plus if is teeth are giving him problems, I know that could be causing some of this. 

For me it's not even upsetting because of lack of sleep (for myself - I do worry about lack of sleep for him), it's more that my mind starts going crazy imagining/worrying that he's never going to sleep good again and that it's just going to get worse and worse and that just makes me lose it.  I have such a problem with worrying, and I just have to learn to give it up to God.  I would appreciate prayers during the next couple days, the more the better as I have no idea what to expect.  Everything could be back to normal tonight, or not and I just need to be prepared emotionally and spiritually either way.

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