Retirement is a week filled with Saturdays and Sundays interrupted only occasionally by a holiday.

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Monday, March 26, 2007

Rock-a-bye Joey

Since I've been so depressed the last few days, I decided to visit Joey and his Grandma today to give myself a lift and to see how things are going over there. Joey looks happy and healthy while Grandma looks like hell...bags under the eyes, hair in disarray, clothes dotted with dribble and spit. I know it's been a tough first few days, particularly at night. Joey apparently is not the best sleeper in the world (even at home) and it's not any better at Grandma's. Grandma and Grandpa have been trying every tactic in their parenting arsenal to help him get back to sleep when he wakes up in the middle of the night and, so far, nothing seems to be working...not even putting him in his swing which is his mom's desperation method. So....if there are any moms or dads out there who can offer successful methods for putting a baby back to sleep at night, please let me know and I will pass them on to the happy but tired grandparents.

14 comments:

Susie said...

Music? rocking? milk? dry diaper?
walking the floor? riding in the car? (If they're desperate!)
:)

Lynn said...

What about putting him in his car seat and placing it on top of the dryer?... the vibrations from the dryer are supposed to be comforting/calming. Not that they should leave him there, but it may be enough to put him to sleep.

Joan said...

Susie: Grandparents have tried music, rocking, milk, dry diaper, and walking the floor in addition to the swing idea but nothing has worked. I know they'd like to find a fairly easy solution and driving around in a car in the middle of the night would not be their first choice...although, desperation may move it to the top of their list. ;-)

Lynn: Oh, I like the dryer idea...I'll pass it on. Did you have to use it for Twelve or Ten? Just curious...

jaded said...

Sorry, Joan, babies are out of my league....but if you rescue a pot-bellied pig or a kitten.

meno said...

Benadryl. Just kidding, really.

Hell if i know. Mine is 16 and i am blocking the memories of those days.

Renee Nefe said...

Well we co-slept with DD and MIL knew this. So when she was babysitting our neice and couldn't get her back to sleep they tried having her sleep with them...that didn't work. But then she put her in the car seat and then placed the car seat in the bed with them. That worked! The next night they put her in the car seat in the crib and that worked for them... neice was a premie and was used to sleeping in the isolette...so it seemed the crib was just too much room for her.

Try www.askdrsears.com

Joan said...

Patches: Babies are definitely out of my league too!

Meno: That's OK...my hubby suggested amaretto which at least tastes better than benadryl...I think. ;-)

Renee: The car seat in bed sounds like a great idea. We think part of the problem is that the Pack-n-Play thing he is sleeping in is too low to the ground. The car seat would certainly raise him up a bit.

Renee Nefe said...

re: the mattress pad http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5019318

very toasty. when it gets really cold, DH will be a sweety and "turn on my bed" to heat it for me. Then i get to slip into warm sheets. ahhhh!

Pam said...

Wish I had a useful nugget of advice to offer. I had one who slept, slept, slept, and I had one who never slept and got up at all hours of the night to get into stuff. We never found the magic bullet... I was very tired, as I recall. Good luck!

sari said...

They can get a bouncy seat - it worked wonders with my oldest.

They just sit in it (you can set it on the floor) and turn it on. It has batteries in it so it gently vibrates and babies love it.

Kind of like the dryer idea, but safer if you're sleep deprived. You wouldn't want to set the baby up on a dryer and nod off, heaven forbid! ;-)

Anonymous said...

I had the same thought as Lynn car seat but I was thinking Car seat and drive him around. That worked on both you and Lynn and zonked you out within two blocks.

Joan said...

Renee: Thanks for the link to the heated mattress pad. I only wish it was cold enough here to need it although today we've actually had our version of a cold snap...50+ degrees!!!

Pam: It seems the need for sleep is an individual thing and apparently Joey doesn't need much...poor Grandma and Grandpa.

Sari: Thanks for the bouncy seat tip. I've seen bouncy seats before but never one which is motorized. What a clever idea.

Only oldest: Actually I never needed much sleep and Lynn could and would sleep just about anywhere. Talk about opposites.

Val said...

Thank you for your visit to my blog. I don't have your email so have to let you know via a comment that it's wonderful finding another happily retired librarian and I LOVE your blog title and the great definition of retirement. And your simple statement I was a librarian. Now I'm not. - perfect!

I am confident you will get over your temporary depression soon - afterall, you are retired!

Val said...

P.S. re the handmade books: look for oriental bookbinding classes - you'd love it.