Since we got bebe S, we consider ourselves fortunate parents to have a baby who sleeps through the night. Except for the jetlag that we suffered after coming back from China, we never have to wake up in the middle of the night to pacify a crying baby.
Until last month……when every night in October, bebe S was waking up, crying in the dead of the night. Hubby and I took turns, comforting and rocking her back to sleep. But as soon as we put her down on the crib, she would wake up and cry again.
I guessed that she might be cold and need some warmth. When the cold weather started setting in, I decided to cover her cotton sheets with a knitted woolen blanket and layer it with another flannel blanket. But it seemed that this was not enough.
I suggested to hubby to let bebe S sleep beside us. I felt this was what she wanted because as soon as I pick her up from the crib, she would snuggle, wrapping her tiny little arms around my neck, resting her head on my shoulder. That for me, was a little piece of heaven. Even if I was very exhausted, I can’t help but relish these tender moments with my baby.
Hubby isn’t really keen on having bebe S sleep with us since she moves a lot. She twirls around like a helicopter. Oftentimes, her head will be on my chest while her feet are on hubby’s face.
But in spite of the sleeping discomfort, I was all for the idea of co-sleeping since it seemed that this was the shortest way to calm bebe S. Since hubs was so adamant about bebe S sleeping in her crib, no matter what, I decided to sleep in the other room with bebe S defying hubby’s wishes. But this sleeping arrangement wasn’t working as I thought it would be because bebe S wanted so much sleeping space that I was literally sleeping at the edge of the bed. I had to transfer her back to the crib when she’s sleeping soundly and crawl back to the matrimonial bed to get a few hours of sleep.
So this arrangement was going on every night.
We even thought that she had teething pain since there were two teeth appearing. We gave her some homeopathic medicine to relieve her pain but it didn’t work. She still wakes up and cries until she’s exhausted.
By the end of the month, both hubby and I were walking witless zombies. I was so exhausted to the bones. We can’t find any more reason to what’s causing our baby’s nightly wailings. October 31st, bebe S really gave it to us. She didn’t let us sleep at all. She was just bawling, wanting to be let out from the crib. Hubby had enough. He concluded that bebe S was getting too spoiled and he, more or less, told bebe S with a firm voice, that no, she’s going to sleep in the crib whether she likes it or not. With our hearts aching, we let her cry in the crib until she fell asleep from sheer exhaustion. Gosh, I was so driven with guilt. I was thinking that maybe bebe S is regressing and having attachment problems which isn’t uncommon to adopted kids.
Come morning, bebe S woke up her weary parents with a smile on her face. Hubby asked her if she was upset with us and much to our relief, our 16-month old bebe shook her head as if she understands what we’re asking her.
As hubby was tidying up her crib, he grabbed her woolen knitted blanket and thought….hmmm…the texture is quite ticklish. Can this be the reason of her nightly distress? Her recent favorite sleeping position is to crouch on her knees with her cheeks down on the mattress. Maybe that’s the reason why she’s waking up because the cover is textured and ticklish to the touch.
We decided to remove it and just let her sleep on the cotton sheets. Wonders of wonder! Bebe S slept through the night with nary of a whimper. We thought that it might be a fluke so with our fingers crossed, we hoped for another night of slumber bliss. Well, it’s been more than week now that we’re getting good night sleep.
So, we conclude that sh#$%&t, it was the woolen bedsheet that was causing our sleepless grief. Not teething pain, not the nippy temperature, not attachment problems…but simply the bedsheet!!!
I wanted to kick myself for being so stupid and dumb for not figuring it out right away. I could have save everyone from a monthlong misery. 
