Sleep Wont Come to These Tired Eyes

The past couple of weeks I feel as if I have been robbed of sleep and I am in search of any and all advice.I can not remember the last time I slept through the night but im pretty for sure it was over five months ago.

Vada typically sleeps quite a bit, or she will if you let her. I think that her sleeping habits seem more like ones that you would see in a new born baby verses a ten month old. She used to be on a great sleeing schedule. In fact, before the seizures started she was sleeping through the night and had been for some time. Since the seizures and especially since the ACTH she has been up pretty much on the hour every hour. Usually, I am too tired to answer when Justin asks me how many times she got up during a particular night. Typically I just reply with an "I don't know the number, I just know that it was too much!"

These past two nights I have paid attention to how often or at least how many times Vada is waking up. Last night she went to sleep at 9:30 PM and got back up at 11 PM. She stayed up until 12:30 AM then from 12:30 AM until 4 AM she was up six times! At 4 AM I was exhausted, and sore (my neck and back are killing me from all of the odd ways I am trying to hold her to help her sleep, so in return I can too). So,at 4 AM I came up to Vada and Kiliegh's room. I laid Vada in her crib and said "night night" and I crawled into Kiliegh's bed (Kiliegh is at her dad's, so I had her bed to myself). I didn't really get to go to sleep because Vada never really went to sleep herself. She fussed a little and stirred then moved all around. I stayed in Kiliegh's bed and in a soothing voice I would "shush" her and tell her "night, night" some more. This was the first time, ever, that I have done this. Vada doesn't cry herself to sleep. When she does cry I usually pick her up and sooth her. Yes, I wait for a few seconds (yes seconds) before picking her up, just in case it is a "false alarm cry" and she is able to put herself back to sleep.

Vada may have her days and nights flopped. I have been working extremely hard on keeping her up during the day because of this and surprisingly I have been doing a pretty good job at it. However, it almost seems to not make a difference on how much she doesn't sleep during the day, she still doesn't wont sleep during the night.

I think that I will start to log every moment. When she wakes up. When she goes down for a nap. How long the nap was and so forth. Although im not quite for sure what I expect to learn from this or how I would use the information in the first place. I got the idea from Justin's mom, she said that his sister did it but I forgot why, so I guess that would be a good question to ask the next time I see her. I think a friend of mine is doing something similar as well. Only she is doing it to "train" her new born into having good sleeping patterns before the bad ones settle in. I may be past that point..., maybe not?

The intention for this post was not to vent or to complain. It is a cry for help, suggestions, advice and opinions (yes, opinions). If you have any of the above then I'd love to hear it. I may not use the advice you give me, but I am open to hear/read anything (even if its to tell me im a wuss and V is a spoiled baby).

Keep in mind that Vada is on a few medications that as a side effect may or may not be causing her to be more sleepy after taking them (three different times throughout the day). She also has the heart issue and letting her cry out for any prolonged amount of time probably is not in her best interest, nor is it something that I personally could stand to do.

Here's one more idea. My Chiropractor brought up doing acupuncture on Vada today. She said that we could "reset" her internal time clock. She said that she does it for those going out of the country and then when they come back. Now there's a thought..., lets hear yours!