My AHA moment (alternate title: DUH!)

So, maybe I mentioned Brynn's little sleep issues of late. She went from sleeping 9 glorious hours every night to waking up 3 and 4 (or more) times each night. It was brutal. This non-sleeping thing started around the beginning of October. At first, she would just wake up once or twice at night. Then, she would sleep through the night for a night or two and start waking up again. By last week, she would only sleep in her bed for about 30 minutes at a time, then she would wake up flailing and crying. The only way we could get her to sleep was to put her in bed with us. Then, amazingly, she slept all night long without budging.

We tried everything to make her comfortable. First, we thought she was hungry. So, I nursed her every time she woke up. This, of course, soothed her back to sleep. When that didn't keep her asleep, we thought that maybe she had a tummy ache or wasn't satisfied with just milk. So, we spent the days adjusting her solid food intake to see if that helped. It didn't. Then, we noticed she had teeth. Maybe that was doing it? Maybe, but we saw no measurable relief after a few days.

Finally, FINALLY last week it dawned on me that she was comfortable when she was (1) nursing, or (2) sleeping in our bed. And, she started this whole non-sleeping thing right around the time that it started to get cooler here. That's when it hit me: she's freaking COLD!!!! I could not be dumber, you guys. I haven't mentioned this on here, but Brynn is notoriously cold-natured. She spent the majority of the sweltering summer months bundled up in long-sleeved footie pajamas. While everyone else was sweating outside, she was content in her winter clothing. And, the only times she has ever, ever been inconsolable was when she was cold. I can count those instances on one hand. Why I didn't think of this utterly simple, and very common sense solution, sooner, I have no idea. For some reason, even though it's the most likely culprit, I always consider "cold" last. Another strike for Mama.

Since my AHA moment, I have been dressing Brynn for bed like she is going out to play in the snow-- on the North Pole. She looks like the kid in A Christmas Story who can't move his arms because he is so bundled up. She wears footie, long-sleeved pajamas, a hat, and a fleece, long-sleeved sleep sack. I get hot just looking at her. But, it's working. She has slept through the night for the past three nights. She doesn't make a peep for 9 straight, glorious hours.

So, next time I complain that Brynn won't sleep, smack me! She's probably just cold and I'm too busy adjusting her fruit intake to notice. Sometimes I just need a quick reminder that some things really are that simple.