We have a grunter. A loud, can't figure out why she does it all night long grunter. And did I mention loud?
Ever since we brought Ava home from the hospital, she has grunted throughout the night. She grunts in her sleep. It's not the kind of grunting that is particularly concerning, like she's having a hard time breathing or anything, it's simply LOUD. Throw in a few squeaks, squicks, and acks, and it makes for a rather poor night's sleep for us.
We have tried everything to figure out why she does it. Is it because she is swaddled too tight? Too loose? Does she want out of her swaddle? Does she want a different swaddle blanket? Is it a symptom of her reflux? Is it gas? Is she too cold? Too hot? Is she pooping? Am I a little OCD about this? So many questions...
Since we couldn't figure out what was causing it, we've tried several different things to get her to sleep more quietly at night. The problem is not that she is not a good sleeper - she is, to the extent that I would expect at seven weeks. She usually wakes up twice a night to eat. So the issue is not hers, it's ours. The grunting certainly doesn't seem to be bothering her. Just us.
When I explain to people what she does, they just nod their head knowingly. But they don't know. They really don't. This isn't the occasional little squeak, or a poop grunt. There have been nights where it's gone on for hours on end. Grunt. Gruuuuunt. Squiiiick. GRRRRRRRRUNT.
So, after several weeks of trial and error, we headed up to Triad #2's house for the Fourth of July weekend. And wouldn't you know it? She didn't make a grunty peep for three nights. She also slept for eight hours straight one night, and six hours another.
Why? How? We were on a quest. When we got home on Sunday, we began trying to recreate the environment she slept in those three days. Aha! We finally figured it must be the fan. My sister has an oscillating fan in her bedroom. The white noise must have soothed Ava or something. So I went in search of the exact same fan that my sister has. Of course, I couldn't find it but bought a similar one at Target. We tried it Sunday night. There was grunting. Not full out, all night long grunting, but still. We tried it again the next night, and it was worse. We despaired and figured that we might have to move in with Triad #2 and her magical fan. But we persevered. Last night I ventured off to the dreaded Wal Mart in search of a louder fan. (This trip to Wal Mart reminded me why I have not set foot in a Wal Mart in years.) I bought a bigger fan and came home with high hopes.
Drum roll...
There was no grunting last night! And...Ava slept from 10:30 until 5am, then went back down until 8:30! This was major for me, since I don't sleep in the Bose noise cancelling headphones when she grunts (like someone who shall remain nameless does) and so I normally hear Every. Little. Noise.
I wonder if it was a just a coincidence or if we have finally stumbled upon the way to a peaceful night for all?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Bridget was the same way. No one believed us when we said how loud it was. Jake can't hear out of one ear so it wasn't so bad for him but damn! I don't think we ever tried to make it stop and I don't remember when it did stop. At some point we moved her out of our bed to a pack and play in our room, and then eventually at about 2 months I think she went to her own room I think the grunting continued until she got into her own room.
I wonder why they do that?
Post a Comment