9 Month Sleep Regression

Mara has never been a great sleeper.  Sleeping through the night you say.  What's that?  Even at 9 months I still count 5 straight hours as a good thing.  Then she started only waking once at night.  What's this I thought?  This is amazing.  I can get a solid 6 hours minimum before she woke up to nurse.

Enter our recent couple of weeks.  Suddenly my sleeping child is waking up every two hours or so.  Yes I did this with my newborn but wow did it frazzle this mama 9 months in.  I was angry.  I was sleep deprived.  I was frustrated.  To top it off I was in this new sleep battle alone.  Now I didn't have Josh there to converse with; bounce ideas off.  It was up to me.

There was tears from both Mara and me.  Long restless hours in the middle of the night where she frankly refused to fall asleep.  Nights that once I got her to sleep I laid there willing my now awake brain to shut down and go back to sleep.  Mornings where all I wanted to do was throw the covers over my head and escape from it all.

We are in no way emerging from this regression.  (as I write this Mara is stirring and likely to wake up) But I am starting to come to terms with it with a whole lot of prayer and grace.  When I feel like I can't do another day, He gives me the strength to go another hour then that beautiful girl flashes me the most amazing smile and makes it all better.

I have also been blessed with the most amazing community of family and friends around me.  They have surrounded me with love and laughter.  They have lifted me up in prayer when I was too discouraged to turn to Him myself.  And my poor husband.  I can't even imagine what he's feeling when I text him about ready to pull my hair out in the middle of the night; in the middle of my struggle.  How helpless he must feel.  But he's amazing and encouraging.  He's never once downgraded my feelings or made me feel like I was overreacting.  He may be thinking it (haha) but he's never expressed it.  Even halfway around the world he's great.

Currently Mara is waking up anywhere from 3 to 4 times a night.  She seems frazzled and restless.  I read that 9 months can be a really difficult time for them as they are learning all sorts of new motor skills as well as their brain is really starting to remember and analyze their world.  It's hard for them to shut it off.  Sure some babies sail through this phase without a blink of the eye but not Mara.  But that's ok.  We'll get through this.  She will sleep again.  I will sleep again.