Flower bath

I thought by now I would see a definite sleep pattern in Hayley but I was wrong. Her patterns changes like the weather. Sometimes she would sleep throughout from 9pm till 7am, sometimes she wakes up a few times in the night and sometimes she fusses the moment we put her in the cot. These patterns tends to last a few days before it changes again.

The same goes for her afternoon naps. Although she is tired (rubbing her eyes and nose and yawning away), she is not the type of baby who would fall asleep on her own. I don't put her in a cradle nor does she get a pacifier. So in order to put her to sleep, I will need to gently pat her buttocks. It can either be with her lying face down on the bed or me carrying her with her head resting on my shoulders. It all depends on her moods and what she prefers. Either way she would still cry (without tears most of the time) until she falls asleep. Her naps are often very short. Mostly 30 mins to an hour and occasionally between 1.5 - 2 hours.

Last weeked was terrible. I think it was becuase of the jab on Saturday. She became very cranky and fusses more than usual whenever we tried to put her to sleep be it in the afternoon or night. I became a zombie over the weekend due to lack of sleep. She would wake up every 2 or 3 hours in the night crying. I will need to carry her out of the cot and pat her until she falls asleep again. This went on for 2 nights. The papa tried to help but she refused him.

When I brought her to aunty's on Monday morning, I told aunty my dilemma. Aunty believes she got frightened (maybe because of the jab) hence the night crying. When I pick Hayley up in the evening aunty told me she gave her a flower bath (flowers used in Chinese prayers). She said after the bath, Hayley napped for long hours in the afternoon without any fuss. She also said that Hayley would also sleep well in the night after the bath and I really hope she is right.

That night she really did sleep throughout the night! She did wake up once with some light cries but then she went back to sleep on her own without needing us to pat or carry her. That was amazing. The consecutive nights were even better. She slept throughout until I woke her at 7am. The best thing about this is she doesn't fuss anymore when we put her in the cot or when we pat her gently to help her sleep. It doesn't sound like she's being forced to sleep anymore.

I hope this pattern would stay for good. I had 2 nights of good sleep and I am looking for another good night sleep tonight :-)

This may be a superstitions or this may be true. I don't really know but since it is harmless to my baby, I don't mind trying and I am glad it turned out well.