The months of October and November brought me to my knees… 😥 . It started in mid-October with our daughter’s sniffles and I thought she was ok to go swimming but sure enough, the next day she looked and felt much worse. The following day she didn’t look well at all and was just clinging on to me so I got a last minute doctor’s appointment. I was astonished when she announced our little girl had tonsillitis! That was the last thing I thought she could have.
Massive mum guilt there, I knew I shouldn’t have brought her swimming. She hadn’t been enjoying the last few lessons anyway (water wobbles…) and I cancelled Water Babies for the winter. I may start again next year because I still want her to continue the classes but winter time is just horrible for germs. So, anyway, that’s how we started with the first course of antibiotics. She was so poorly for a few days and just slept, day and night, which in a way was quite nice as I had loads of time for myself. And after a week she was actually getting better and was only coughing slightly but then she caught another cold… and started coughing even more. In contrast to tonsillitis, her sleep was so bad I was weeping with exhaustion. Some naps I held her upright on my chest so she could sleep better but nighttime… she was up so many times I brought her to our bed because my husband was away for work for a few weeks. Co-sleeping kind of saved me but I knew there would be consequences. I’ll get to that…
I went to see a doctor again, because even if she didn’t have a fever, she was miserable, and the doctor confirmed she had a minor ear infection. I wanted to cry. Second course of antibiotics for a week. We persisted. We co-slept. Oh, and she was also in leap 9 (Wonder Week 64) and became extremely clingy. Then again, with all the illnesses I couldn’t care less about the leap because she was in a wretched mood most of the time anyway. I was strict with nap times and slept when she slept and somehow survived till my husband came back. We both agreed that I had to do whatever I could just to get through this, there’s nothing wrong in co-sleeping but… we also knew that it would be difficult to get her back to her room.
After finishing the antibiotics for the ear infection she was doing better again until she caught another cold. I cried, I really did. I know their immune system is weakened once on antibiotics but it’s a vicious cycle. I give her probiotics and try to keep her well and warm, I didn’t take her to toddler classes etc. but still! She doesn’t even go to nursery and is at home with me but she caught more viruses. Her nose was constantly running and I was paranoid she’ll start coughing again but luckily she didn’t. I did go see the doctor again though 🙄 because I noticed she was really scratching and pulling the same ear where the infection was. And yes… the infection was there again or maybe never went away. So a different kind of antibiotic, third course! I was told to continue for 10 days so I made sure she finished it properly and knock wood! she’s been fine for a week since the end of November.
I was so glad to see the back of that month. 😢
But leap 9 then. Once there were no illnesses and we were working on getting her back to her room again, we noticed huge separation anxiety emerging. Yes, co-sleeping, thank you. For naps and bedtime I now have to stay in her bedroom until she’s asleep and she’s up multiple times during the night. I was hoping that might end with the leap because I’ve read during those five weeks sleep can really deteriorate. I didn’t know any better because she was ill most of the time anyway 🤷🏻♀️ but I was still counting days until the end of the leap.
We’re over a week out of the leap now and while she is back to being her lovely smiley cute self and we have no issues really during the naps (she’s still doing two naps, short morning and long afternoon one) but some nights she’s up every sleep cycle (3-4 times a night…) and we have to go in to re-settle her as she’s standing up in the cot screaming, not looking like she’s going to lie down herself and go back to sleep! Some nights she has slept through though so I really don’t get it! We’re taking a slow gentle approach and stay in her room but I’ve started testing with walking out before she’s asleep and yes, she protests but when I calm her down she’s asleep soon enough. It’s the nights though… We sometimes sleep next to her in a single bed we have in her room and yes, she sleeps much better then but is that really a long-term solution? Should we do something about it or just wait until she grows out of the separation anxiety?!
On a positive note, she started walking during that leap, also climbing everywhere and without much effort from our side she learnt how to get down by herself, which means I’m not overly worried when I find her on our bed or on the sofa as I know she can get down. She has become irresistibly sweet, she hugs and kisses us and her cuddly toys and she also has a few more words. Her vocabulary is still tiny, only five or so words but I’m not concerned. When she walks towards me and hugs me I’m in tears and ultimately, it outweighs all the broken sleep in the world 💗.
Liv Living Her Life | Lifestyle Blog 