Sleepless Nights Support Thread

I used to post in this thread all the time when my LO was a baby. I was so tired I thought I would die.

Hope... my LO is 17months and sleeps 12-14hours at night and 3during the day xx

I haven't checked in quite awhile, but not because we've been sleeping unfortunately! We've reached critical mass around here--the baby is totally refusing to go to sleep unless I'm holding her or she's in my bed. I put her into the cot asleep and she's instantly awake and crying! Repeat again and again with no luck. This has been going on for weeks. Last night I had to go to bed at 7pm! Which wouldn't be so bad, but I get no sleep when she's in bed with me. She wants to nurse all night long and wedges herself up against me so I can't move at all. 12 hours in bed and I think I slept less than 4!

Originally Posted by stardust599

I used to post in this thread all the time when my LO was a baby. I was so tired I thought I would die.

Hope... my LO is 17months and sleeps 12-14hours at night and 3during the day xx

Can I ask how old your LO was when your baby finally started to sleep? We're going on 9 months of no sleep here and I'm not holding out much hope of her sleeping before her first birthday!

Originally Posted by Green Lady

I haven't checked in quite awhile, but not because we've been sleeping unfortunately! We've reached critical mass around here--the baby is totally refusing to go to sleep unless I'm holding her or she's in my bed. I put her into the cot asleep and she's instantly awake and crying! Repeat again and again with no luck. This has been going on for weeks. Last night I had to go to bed at 7pm! Which wouldn't be so bad, but I get no sleep when she's in bed with me. She wants to nurse all night long and wedges herself up against me so I can't move at all. 12 hours in bed and I think I slept less than 4!

Can I ask how old your LO was when your baby finally started to sleep? We're going on 9 months of no sleep here and I'm not holding out much hope of her sleeping before her first birthday!

Green Lady - I am so sorry you are experiancing the hell of continous sleepless nights. As your LO is over 6mths old and I presume you are weaning then she doesn't need night feeds anymore. Have a look on online about cutting them out and also about sleep training. I did the whole CC thing with my DD once she turned 6mths as she was bottle feed and she cut out the night feeds herself she just needed to learn how to self settle. She is now 20mths and I know bath her at about 6:30pm til she is ready to cme out which is just after 7pm, once she is dried and in her pj's and sleeping bag with dummy attached, she has cuddles and slow dance with Daddy then, I give her her bedtime bottle, once she has taken what she wants I give her a last cuddle and put her to bed awake wish her a good night, tell her I love her and sweet dreams then walk out of her room. She can take 10min to 1hr to go to sleep but, she isn't screaming/crying she is fighting sleep as everytime she lies down and starts to drift off she will force herself to move, talk or play with her sleep toys she is usually sound asleep by 8pm. She will rouse about 2hrs later and all I do is go in pick her up give her more of her bedtime bottle and when she has had enough I put her straight back in her cot and I don't hear a peep out of her until gone 7am the following morning. I am in her room when she rouses for no more than 10mins max and she wakes up every morning happy and playing/talking to her sleep toys. I really hope you find something to help you all get a good nights sleep soon as, it is just as important for baby to get her full night sleep as you.

Thanks, Shmoo! Unfortunately we're doing worse here right now as me and DH have both been hit by a nasty stomach virus. >.< Nothing worse than being ill and having to share a bed with a baby who constantly wants to nurse and is kicking you in the stomach all night long! So exhausted...

I think once we're all feeling fit and well again I'm going to start some sleep training. It's really time to nip this in the bud for all our sakes! We breastfeed so it's a little different for us. I'm going to start by trying to lay her down to sleep awake at bedtime, rather than nursing her to sleep and see how it goes from there. We've had mixed luck with that approach before but maybe now that she's older it will work. She can self-settle when she has a mind to, so I'm hoping to encourage her!

Originally Posted by Green Lady

Thanks, Shmoo! Unfortunately we're doing worse here right now as me and DH have both been hit by a nasty stomach virus. >.< Nothing worse than being ill and having to share a bed with a baby who constantly wants to nurse and is kicking you in the stomach all night long! So exhausted...

I think once we're all feeling fit and well again I'm going to start some sleep training. It's really time to nip this in the bud for all our sakes! We breastfeed so it's a little different for us. I'm going to start by trying to lay her down to sleep awake at bedtime, rather than nursing her to sleep and see how it goes from there. We've had mixed luck with that approach before but maybe now that she's older it will work. She can self-settle when she has a mind to, so I'm hoping to encourage her!

i dont know if you remember my desperate threads hun, but there is hope!

My LO now STTn 2/3x a week and only has one wakeup on the other nights, i think its a waiting game as this has inly been in the last 3 weeks, hang in there!

Green Lady - sorry you and hubby are both ill as well really not fun. just remember when you start the sleep training stay strong and stick to it. also have you thought about expressing and letting your hubby give her her bedtime feed? I know sleep training for breastfeed babies is very different and I'm sure there is plenty about it on the net.

Originally Posted by NewMummyx

i dont know if you remember my desperate threads hun, but there is hope!

My LO now STTn 2/3x a week and only has one wakeup on the other nights, i think its a waiting game as this has inly been in the last 3 weeks, hang in there!

I remember! Glad to hear you're finally getting some sleep at last. I always keep hoping some night she'll just "get it" and decide to sleep from 8pm till 6am, lol. I guess it can happen! Hope your little one sticks with it. Enjoy your sleep!

Originally Posted by shmoo75

Green Lady - sorry you and hubby are both ill as well really not fun. just remember when you start the sleep training stay strong and stick to it. also have you thought about expressing and letting your hubby give her her bedtime feed? I know sleep training for breastfeed babies is very different and I'm sure there is plenty about it on the net.

Thanks, we're feeling a bit better today but still under the weather. Started for me as a cold early in the week but morphed into something nastier. I can't remember the last time I was this ill. I wonder if it's two different things though as DH has the stomach bug but no cold. Either way I really hope the baby doesn't get sick too! She was already ill over Easter, poor little mite.

She's never taken a bottle, unfortunately, and her being exclusively dependent on breastfeeding to sleep has been one of the hardest things about it, since my husband can't help at all. She won't even settle in his arms at night if I need to get up. It's nice she loves her mama so much but it can get really frustrating at 3am! Co-sleeping was never much help in me getting more sleep, and now that she's become mobile I'm more and more reluctant to have her in bed with me. Don't want her crawling off the bed in the middle of the night!

I've always tried to respond to her cries but looking back I think I might've overdone it. At some point I should have just let her try and sort herself out, provided she wasn't really upset obviously. I think she is trying to self-settle but I never give her enough time. The HV suggested giving her a cup of water instead of the breast when she wakes at night, so I might start doing that too.

I'm/were longing for sleep. Our daughter is nearly 8 months (FF) and wakes twice a night "just for a cuddle" we end up with her in our bed and were completely shattered.

I'm exhausted and it's putting a huge strain on our relationship. We need to move DD to her own room but it's if she"ll settle & I'll still be getting up? Anyone have any advice on where to start with the self settling? I don't like the thought of CC but I'm not ruling anything out at this stage. She isn't hungry as we've try this and is sick normally if fed in the night. I've tried Ewan (dreamsheep) and trying to calm her in cot to no avail

Xx

Originally Posted by prettykitty

I'm/were longing for sleep. Our daughter is nearly 8 months (FF) and wakes twice a night "just for a cuddle" we end up with her in our bed and were completely shattered.

I'm exhausted and it's putting a huge strain on our relationship. We need to move DD to her own room but it's if she"ll settle & I'll still be getting up? Anyone have any advice on where to start with the self settling? I don't like the thought of CC but I'm not ruling anything out at this stage. She isn't hungry as we've try this and is sick normally if fed in the night. I've tried Ewan (dreamsheep) and trying to calm her in cot to no avail

Xx

Hi Hun. It def sounds like moving her into her own room needs to happen soon. I moved my DD into her own room at 10wks old as she was just disturbing us and we were also disturbing her. I know CC isn't for everyone but, it isn't as cruel and wicked as some would have you believe. You do go into them you just don't pick them up and cuddle them. I would suggest you do what I did before I started the sleep training and that was research on the net and also spoke to friends who has also done the whole CC before I made up my mind. DD does disturb in the night but she settles herself down and half the time and DH aren't even aware that she does! I wish you luck hun and I hope you, DH & DD get a decent nights sleep soon.

Were still not having any sleep generally, but he has managed a 5.5 hr sleep and a 3.5 hr sleep on a couple of occasions... post match analysis isnt helping and I cant work out why he is sometimes able to sleep, but sometimes not.

I know I am not able to do the cc ... no point in even attempting it. I just haven't got the ear drums or the nerves for it. But at some point he must sleep, right?!?!? I go back to work in July when he will be nearly 10 months and didnt think for a minute I would be co-sleeping (it's not how we start but how we usually end up...) Has anyone co-slept when they've gone back to work???

How are you getting on Green lady?? I hope you're feeling better!!!