Baby Jumper has always been a terrible napper. I can count on her taking a morning and afternoon snooze, but after a measly 20 minutes she’s usually feeling well-rested and ready to play. We’ve never been able to figure out why, but she’ll sleep longer in our arms than in her crib. The minute we lay her in her crib, she’s wide awake. It’s like a light switch! There is absolutely no in-between with her. Oddly enough, when it’s bedtime, she’s out like a light and will sleep 10-12 hours alone in her crib. So, why won’t she do this during her nap times?
Baby Jumper turned seven months old just before Papa Jumper went on a ten day long business trip to another country. She’s been teething and has been having some trouble sleeping. Her sleep returned back to normal the week Papa Jumper left, so I felt pretty confident that she’d continue to be a great night time sleeper while Papa Jumper was gone. She wasn’t though, and I spent ten miserable days with a miserable baby who simply didn’t want to go to bed.
At first, I thought it was due to her teething. She still doesn’t have any teeth, but she’s been a cranky drool machine and has been chomping on everything in sight for the last few weeks. By Day 3 of her miserableness, I figured it had to be something else. My sweet baby, who has been sleeping 10-12 hours a night since she was a mere eight weeks old, was suddenly waking 4-5 times a night. I was exhausted and cranky myself, and my patience was starting to run thin. How was I supposed to survive another week without any sleep? By Day 4, I got Baby Jumper to take a three hour long nap with me on the couch. We both felt much better afterwards, but she was back to her no sleeping at night routine that night.
I’m fortunate enough that my parents live locally and were able to come by and help me out. I still had a business to run, and was starting to fall behind on orders. My mom came over a few times during Papa Jumper’s business trip to give me a break, let me take a nap, and let me catch up on my work. Baby Jumper spent a cranky afternoon at her house, too, so I could get caught up on housework.
By mid-week, I was at my wit’s end. Poor baby was being a terrible eater and a terrible sleeper, and I just didn’t know what to do. I turned to my good friend Dr. Google and while I didn’t find a definitive answer, I did find that a lot of other moms were complaining that their baby was suddenly waking up several times throughout the night around 7-8 months of age. I found some comfort knowing that I wasn’t the only one going through a rough patch.
Papa Jumper’s internet service was spotty overseas, but we did get to video chat a few times. Each time Baby Jumper would see him, she’d jump up and down and squeal with delight. She started waving to the phone and saying, “Hi Dada!!!” She was visibly upset when the video chat ended, so I showed her a few pictures of Papa Jumper that I had on my phone. She would get really excited and say, “Hi Dada!!” again and again. He’s home now and her new favorite thing is to wave to him across the room and say, “Hi Dada!”
Papa Jumper came home this past Sunday, and Baby Jumper was over the moon excited to see him walk through the door. He brought her back a stuffed animal, and she won’t let the poor thing go. She is definitely a Daddy’s Girl, and won’t leave his side now that he’s home. Her reaction to him made me wonder if maybe she just missed her Papa. She’s never shown any signs of separation anxiety before, but she seemed to fit the bill for sleep regression, too. Now that he’s home, she’s sleeping through the night again and taking better naps.
Has your child ever shown signs of separation anxiety or sleep regression? How did you differentiate the two?
blogger / nectarine / 2010 posts
Wow, I hope this doesn’t hit baby S when we’re away from daddy for ten(!) weeks!
pomegranate / 3329 posts
We are currently on week 5 of a 16 week stint away from Daddy. There has definitely been some lost sleep on Maddy’s side..
I love the your LO is saying “Hi Dada” I can’t get my 8 month old to say anything
GOLD / apricot / 341 posts
My husband has been away for up to a week or ten days now and then since our little one was born and I don’t think we used to experience any real issues with it. Then when our baby was ten months old, we had a 3-month stint when my husband had to be away 3-4 days most weeks. He travels less now (Baby is 18 months old today) but it has definitely had a huge effect on our baby. He is extremely daddy-focused and “chooses” Daddy over me whenever he can. He freaks out when Daddy goes anywhere, even just to have a shower in the morning. I definitely think that there are “windows” in children’s development when they are more sensitive to this type of thing and more prone to developing separation anxiety, and I believe that 7-8 months is an extra sensitive time.
Regarding sleep – our baby has almost always been an awesome night sleeper, but we have had to really struggle with naps too!
grapefruit / 4649 posts
I have seen toddlers go through this- generally not sleeping as well and being much more clingy and crabby when a parent is away. It is hard to watch but things like video chat and photos go a long way. If it is a separation thing, I find home movies help as does recording the traveling parent reading a favorite bedtime story. I am glad she seems back to herself though!