since I've attempted to post anything on here. That's because Rabbit still hasn't been sleeping through the night, and it has all caught up with me. That's right, the 4 month sleep regression, or whatever you want to call it, is still going on at 8 months and I feel like a frog in a fog all the time. Last night Rabbit woke up every single hour. EVERY SINGLE HOUR!
The interwebs is full of advice on how to handle these problems. Most of the advice is judge-y. It's your fault you have this problem! seems to be the overall message. I have nothing against the sleep-training folks out there but it's just not something I feel totally comfortable with yet. Rabbit also doesn't seem to be able to stay asleep without me right next to him. So instead of putting him in a crib and letting him cry, we bought a twin size mattress so I can lay down next to him on the floor. This is an improvement over getting up and down every hour, so I'll take it.
According to the interwebs, in addition to being my fault for not sleep training him, this all may be due to the teeth that are breaking through his gums, or the amazing new skills (monkey walking!) that he's developing. But I have a sneaky suspicion that this is really just his personality. In the hospital, right after he was born, the nurses in the nursery told me, "THIS one needs to be held all the time!" Which I thought was odd at the time, because what newborn baby doesn't need to be held all the time? But some babies, even newborn ones, are apparently more needy than others. I've only ever had one newborn, so I have nothing to compare my experience to, but those nurses have seen lots and lots of newborns, so they must have some perspective on this matter.
I think if this whole parenthood thing has taught me anything, it's that we are all just winging it. And hopefully as long as you're trying your best and everyone is as happy, kind and healthy as possible then that has to be good enough.