Sleep Issues

People who say they sleep like a baby usually don't have one. ~Leo J. Burke


Quite a few of these precious children who come home from China seem to have "Sleep Issues." Perhaps it should be labeled "Lack of Sleep Issues."






To those of you moms whose children (biological or adopted) have slept through the night within weeks of being home, I am so jealous. None of my children have slept through the night until they were home at least 8 months (JT) and 11 months (Bryan) and now that Luci's been home for 28 months, I'm still waiting on her to sleep through the night for a whole week straight. I've never been one to let the kids "cry it out," and when you add abandonment issues to the mix, it seems too cruel by far.




We've had 4 days in a row this week! A record! And then she messed it up by waking up before 6 a.m. today. I did manage to get her to go back to sleep, but by then I was wide awake (and doing laundry--JT was sick in the night and the boys' whole bathroom needed attention).

When we were in the apartment, I held Luci as she fell asleep, keeping her from crying out as she had done in the crib at home. While in the old house, I was able to lay Luci in her crib and then sneak out of the room. If she cried longer than 5 minutes I was back in there to soothe her. But in the apartment, I could not do that--it would bother 3 other apartments so I continued to rock her to sleep. Now I am paying for it, as she needs to be held to go to sleep. I like doing that, but I'd rather have her go to sleep on her own. I'd also like that half-hour to spend with JT (still dealing with jealousy) or just read a book or something. She can get out of her bed and run off, and her bed is in our room so she won't just wander the house getting into things when she wakes up. Also, John goes to sleep about an hour before she does (he gets up so early!) and she would disturb him if I let her stay in the bed to fall asleep on her own.





We had her in the crib for a long time, but Luci's sweet little nieces taught her how to climb in and out (thank you Heath and Audrey for having such athletic daughters!), so we had to move to a toddler bed. That was no good: you can't really put a bed rail all around those because of the way they are built. She falls out of everything. She ended up on the floor. Smack! that little head hit the floor hard. I would get up and find her in the oddest positions--once, all I could find were her feet sticking out from under the toddler bed, just like the Wicked Witch of the East under Dorothy's house in The Wizard of Oz.








So we put her baby bed mattress on the floor. That was no good, either: she rolls off of that and still smacks her head on the floor--and it's only a 3-4 inch drop. Or: she would roll off the mattress and then roll underneath our bed. She tries harder than most children her age. Now her mattress is next to my side of the bed, with the bed rail next to the big bed, blocking her way. There are pillows around the mattress but that hasn't stopped the head-smacking completely. Her "bed" is close to the bathroom door--I found her once, sound asleep, in the bathroom near John's sink. Did I mention that she moves in her sleep like a wrestling octopus?

I've read quite a few blogs written by moms with children from China and laughed and sighed about the sleep problems. I guess this post is meant to show solidarity with you.





Here are some rare shots:




Completely sacked out after a trip to the zoo:




This had never ever happened before: sleeping on the floor. Luci's sound asleep as I put away groceries from our trip to Redstone Arsenal Commissary:

Fell asleep on the couch by herself (a rare thing--usually she needs to be in my lap to fall asleep--another issue I can't seem to get around):

Payback for JT's octopus-wrestling when he was younger:

And some quotes I couldn't pass up:

And if tonight my soul may find her peace in sleep, and sink in good oblivion, and in the morning wake like a new-opened flower then I have been dipped again in God, and new-created.~D.H. Lawrence





If people were meant to pop out of bed, we'd all sleep in toasters. ~Author unknown, attributed to Jim Davis





The best bridge between despair and hope is a good night's sleep. ~E. Joseph Cossman





I'm not asleep... but that doesn't mean I'm awake. ~Author Unknown