is/was your LO a really bad sleeper? support and advise thread!

[Storm1jet2]

Clairey so glad to hear your mum is doing so well that is brilliant news!!!!!

Ladies my LO has been FF and has been a nightmare sleeper - that said I think since starting losec she is a bit better! Tonight we have started operation get her into her cot again, so not game enough to go straight to cot I had DH remove one side and now have it propped up against the bed so when she wakes for me I'm here but she is actually in her cot - I hope it works! I do worry about her in the bed now she is so mobile, I don't care if she is in the same room for years but I would like her in her own space - wish me luck!

I know Storm, it would be amazing if they let her home on Friday.....I do hope so!
Good luck with the cot sleeping! I wish I could take a side off our cot, but they are fixed sides and it's a cotbed so it's quite large
I know what you mean about having them in their own space, I sleep in the funniest positions with lo in the bed too

Here's hoping Friday it is! So good to hear she has done so well from being so ill

L has an obsession with sleeping with her head in my bum, its sooo uncomfortable for me so as the cot is literally an inch lower than the bed I'm hoping she wont be able to roll over to me as readily but I can still cuddle her when she needs it - heres hoping! Maybe some day I will be able to have my DH back in the same room Mind you he snores so maybe I will keep L instead - heehee

 

[lisa1980]

A tooth. A pesky tooth is to blame for last night. Can see the edges of it coming through today. Thing is, he never seems in pain, he just WON'T settle for anything in the motn.

Kosh - I'm now only BF once in the morning (for about the last month or so)and even that is going to stop soon due to some new meds I have to go onto. The FF hasn't made any difference to his sleep but he has definitely consolidated his eating. He used to bf ALL THE TIME. Seriously, he never got the memo about cluster-feeding being particular to newborns. He would take what I consider to be a good amount EVERY time he woke at night and at least 3-hourly during the day.

Now that I'm FF he still drinks a lot (so far this evening....yes he's still awake, bloody teeth...he's had around 15oz, and that's after 3x8oz bottles already today plus three meals and snacks ) but he tends to do it in one go at least and spaces them out lots. He also doesn't feed overnight now at all, although he obviously still wakes

I'm starting to wonder whether he just couldn't get the amount he wanted quickly enough from a BF as it's more effort and he'd get sleepy before he finished, so he had to feed more often I just can't believe that he would have been taking 15oz plus in the evenings from my boobs, plus at least 25oz the rest of the day and more overnight ...surely he'd be an actual giant by now if that was the case?!

Obviously none of this theorising helps with the sleep problem though

 

[kosh]

I have thought for a while that my lo doesn't get enough milk in the day? mainly due to everything distracting her and taking booby is just time she could be doing something else like crawling or standing!! I think she makes u for it at night,so for this reason I really don't want to stop her feeding if she needs it
I often wonder if this is the reason she isn't sttn, but what would I know??? lol

a LC said to me that my LO might have day and night mixed (food-wise), and that he's making up for it during the night. but again who knows

sorry claire, forgot to say - really glad your mum is doing better, you sound much more relaxed too!

 

[kosh]

A tooth. A pesky tooth is to blame for last night. Can see the edges of it coming through today. Thing is, he never seems in pain, he just WON'T settle for anything in the motn.

Kosh - I'm now only BF once in the morning (for about the last month or so)and even that is going to stop soon due to some new meds I have to go onto. The FF hasn't made any difference to his sleep but he has definitely consolidated his eating. He used to bf ALL THE TIME. Seriously, he never got the memo about cluster-feeding being particular to newborns. He would take what I consider to be a good amount EVERY time he woke at night and at least 3-hourly during the day.

Now that I'm FF he still drinks a lot (so far this evening....yes he's still awake, bloody teeth...he's had around 15oz, and that's after 3x8oz bottles already today plus three meals and snacks ) but he tends to do it in one go at least and spaces them out lots. He also doesn't feed overnight now at all, although he obviously still wakes

I'm starting to wonder whether he just couldn't get the amount he wanted quickly enough from a BF as it's more effort and he'd get sleepy before he finished, so he had to feed more often I just can't believe that he would have been taking 15oz plus in the evenings from my boobs, plus at least 25oz the rest of the day and more overnight ...surely he'd be an actual giant by now if that was the case?!

Obviously none of this theorising helps with the sleep problem though

that's interesting re. maybe not getting the amount he wanted quickly enough. who knows. I sometimes wonder if I don't store enough milk - I know my supply overall is good for him (he's well chubby) but because I can't store enough,he has to feed more often

again who knows

 

[Claireyb1]

Clairey so glad to hear your mum is doing so well that is brilliant news!!!!!

Ladies my LO has been FF and has been a nightmare sleeper - that said I think since starting losec she is a bit better! Tonight we have started operation get her into her cot again, so not game enough to go straight to cot I had DH remove one side and now have it propped up against the bed so when she wakes for me I'm here but she is actually in her cot - I hope it works! I do worry about her in the bed now she is so mobile, I don't care if she is in the same room for years but I would like her in her own space - wish me luck!

I know Storm, it would be amazing if they let her home on Friday.....I do hope so!
Good luck with the cot sleeping! I wish I could take a side off our cot, but they are fixed sides and it's a cotbed so it's quite large
I know what you mean about having them in their own space, I sleep in the funniest positions with lo in the bed too

Here's hoping Friday it is! So good to hear she has done so well from being so ill

L has an obsession with sleeping with her head in my bum, its sooo uncomfortable for me so as the cot is literally an inch lower than the bed I'm hoping she wont be able to roll over to me as readily but I can still cuddle her when she needs it - heres hoping! Maybe some day I will be able to have my DH back in the same room Mind you he snores so maybe I will keep L instead - heehee

Haha, I know what you mean about the snoring! I don't miss that about DF sleeping in the other room lol. I guess one day we will share a bed again? then, perhaps if we have another baby we might not get the chance for a another few years!!!

Yes, fingers are crossed for Friday for Mum. I can't believe she has come so far in such a short space of time.

 

[AngelUK]

Crossing my fingers for your mum too Claire

As for snoring, both my boys snore! And Dominic often squeaks in his sleep too. When I used to still sleep in the nursery with them, I found that really hard going. When OH snores (whenever he is lying on his back) I just give his shoulders a shove and he'll turn over. The same would not be a good idea with a notoriously badly sleeping baby Now with the monitor and the white noise in the nursery I don't hear their snores so much and it doesn't bother me any more.

 

[Claireyb1]

I have thought for a while that my lo doesn't get enough milk in the day? mainly due to everything distracting her and taking booby is just time she could be doing something else like crawling or standing!! I think she makes u for it at night,so for this reason I really don't want to stop her feeding if she needs it
I often wonder if this is the reason she isn't sttn, but what would I know??? lol

a LC said to me that my LO might have day and night mixed (food-wise), and that he's making up for it during the night. but again who knows

sorry claire, forgot to say - really glad your mum is doing better, you sound much more relaxed too!

The problem we have with feeding during the day is that she just doesn't want to sit still and have booby. I don't think it's because she has her night and day mixed up. She will feed fine in a quiet room,but god help us if there is something going on etc as she just won't take it,too busy looking round - hence why I think she finds it easier to feed at night.
Oh who knows?

Thanks Kosh, I do feel more relaxed as the major stress seems to be over as she is out of danger now

 

[kosh]

i seem to be missing something - what happens on friday?

storm - good luck with the new sleeping arragement

re. side cots - you can take sides off the ikea cots!


1st october today - going back to work in a month. can't stop crying when i think about it.

 

[kosh]

I have thought for a while that my lo doesn't get enough milk in the day? mainly due to everything distracting her and taking booby is just time she could be doing something else like crawling or standing!! I think she makes u for it at night,so for this reason I really don't want to stop her feeding if she needs it
I often wonder if this is the reason she isn't sttn, but what would I know??? lol

a LC said to me that my LO might have day and night mixed (food-wise), and that he's making up for it during the night. but again who knows

sorry claire, forgot to say - really glad your mum is doing better, you sound much more relaxed too!

The problem we have with feeding during the day is that she just doesn't want to sit still and have booby. I don't think it's because she has her night and day mixed up. She will feed fine in a quiet room,but god help us if there is something going on etc as she just won't take it,too busy looking round - hence why I think she finds it easier to feed at night.
Oh who knows?

Thanks Kosh, I do feel more relaxed as the major stress seems to be over as she is out of danger now

^^mine is exactly the same.
in fact we can't leave the house for too many hours as he won't feed

 

[Claireyb1]

i seem to be missing something - what happens on friday?

storm - good luck with the new sleeping arragement

re. side cots - you can take sides off the ikea cots!


1st october today - going back to work in a month. can't stop crying when i think about it.

^^^
my Mum might come home from hospital? is that what you mean?

Oh Kosh, I feel so sorry for you and the other Mums who are dreading going back to work. I know I would be exactly the same if it were me

Storm, how did it go?

 

[Claireyb1]

So how were all your nights?? Mine was errr interesting
I feel like I have been hit by a big stick today as I am so tired
Started off well, bed at 7pm with no drama.I went to bed at 10pm and lo woke up,fed and back to sleep.....all good so far. then we had a waking at midnight,then 1.30am and then again at 3.30am and this is where it all went wrong.
When she woke at 3.30am Lucy decided that it was a great time to play!! As we cosleep it's not safe to let her play on the bed whilst I'm semi conscious,so I put her in the travel cot I have next to the bed. She cried after a while when she got bored so after I got her out she settled on my boob for a lovely feed and went to sleep.I then put her down to sleep and she woke up wanting to play again byt his time I think it was 4.30am.
I put her back in the cot again and she played for a bit, then whinged and then it went strangely quiet,so I peered into the cot and she had gone to sleep all by herself
I was shocked and happy,but it was now 5am and I couldn't get back to sleep,so lay there with the bed all to myself wide awake.I really do't know how long I was awake for, but lo woke up for the day at 6.50am,so slept for nearly 2 hours in the travel cot (a record) she is as bright as a button, but mummy feels like cr*p
I wonder what tonight will bring?? lol

 

[kosh]

interesting night claire! hope you can recover and are not too tired

i'm in shock today - LO went to sleep last night at 7:45pm, woke up at 11:30 for a feed, then 2:30am, then 6am and up for the day at 7am. that's only 3 (three) times!!!!!! he hasn't done that since april!!!!

now the question is, will this be just a one off?

 

[Claireyb1]

interesting night claire! hope you can recover and do not too tired

i'm in shock today - LO went to sleep last night at 7:45pm, woke up at 11:30 for a feed, then 2:30am, then 6am and up for the day at 7am. that's only 3 (three) times!!!!!! he hasn't done that since april!!!!

now the question is, will this be just a one off?

OMG Kosh, that's great!! I hope you managed to sleep too? you could almost call it 2 wake ups as the last one was only at 6am and up for the day at 7am
I hope you get some more of this!!

 

[Storm1jet2]

Odd night for us - apart from the sleep squeaks, shuffling, crying cause she was upside down and had her head rammed against the cot bars (cot now beside bed like co sleeping cot) she started SCREAMING at 3, standing up, crawling, trying to crawl over me etc etc - I gave her calpol as I think her teeth are bothering her and 4.30 and the crying, crawling, standing, screaming continued - by this stage I just think she was exhausted and when she is like that she just has to squirm and cry and roll about until she settles herself - it took me months to work out I make her worse trying to comfort her! So back to sleep after 2 hours and 22 minutes (yes I was timing it) and up again just after 7.30 when she woke me by jumping on my head and pulling MORE of my hair out. She is terrible for pulling my hair out and then trying to eat it - I swear I'm going to bald.

Nap time for her now, she hardly ate any breakfast and was a bit constipated this am so I'm guessing it's teeth/wind..... I'm wrecked and DH is at work and won't be home til after L is in bed - bah!

 

[AngelUK]

Kosh that sounds blissful! I hope you managed to get some sleep?

Claire it seems that our boys also were awake at 2:30 to 3:30. It was my OH's night but at 3:30 he woke me and asked me to help as both boys were wide awake and crying and had been for the past hour. He was really stressed and actually quite angry. So I made up bottles for them which were early but it does calm them the best. And in the meantime, OH was trying to calm down Dom and I heard a loud smacking and then a wail and cry from Dom and I thought oh my god he spanked my baby! I was crying by the time I ran into the room. Seems OH had given him three pats on his nappy but no harder than when he pats his back to burp him and only did this to jolt him out of his frenzy (he gets into one sometimes when he is impatient for his bottle) and I suppose it sounded louder in the quiet of the night. But I wouldn't believe him at first and thought OH turned into an abuser of babies in his anger. His anger always distresses me and I find it frightening cause my dad had occasional moments of rage when he went out of control... We had such a huge fight after until I calmed down and saw reason. So yes last night was not good. Dom has started to go from sleeping into downright sobbing and wailing in one go and it's hard to calm him other than with a bottle. Sigh.

 

[firefly15]

Claire, I'm so pleased to hear your mum might be home by the weekend

Lisa - the teeth may be pesky but at least you have a bit of an explanation! I'm desperate for more teeth to appear so that I can finally say 'AHA! Teething was the cause!'. LO hasn't had any appear in nearly 4 months now so I'm half convinced that he'll wake up one morning with a full set

Kosh, woohoo for a good night! Lets hope this is just the start of things to come...(we can dream, right?!)

Angel, Storm and Claire - boo for bad and 'interesting' nights. Really hope tonight is better for you all.

We actually had a good night last night. A slight fight at bedtime but he was asleep at 6.20 (early bedtime atm as one nap leaves him knackered). He then slept til 10.15 which is the longest stretch he's done in ages, had a feed then back down til 1.45, fed and then slept til 5.30! He woke up at 6.40 and had a tiny feed then dozed for 15 mins or so before waking up properly for the day. Am really hoping that once we get into the swing of things with one nap his night time sleep might improve!!

I might have jinxed myself though...just as I was typing that we had another exploding nappy. Nooooooo! I thought we were done with that for hopefully a very long time *sigh*

About the feeding in the night, I would say that LO is definitely a snacker and always has been. The nights he wants to eat every 2 hours though I am convinced is comfort rather than genuine hunger as he used to easily go 4 hours between feeds as a newborn and right through the night up til 4 months. I'm sure that because he's so used to me coming to him in the night as OH very rarely gets up I think he just looks for the fastest and easiest way to get back to sleep, which is boob. I'm convinced that if OH had got up to him in the night when the sleep regression hit then he might not have become so fixated on feeding all night long. I blame myself partly though - when he was waking up 20 times a night I got so desperate for him to go back to sleep that I just shoved the boob in his mouth. In hindsight I shouldn't have done that I'm stuck though - as soon as he sees me in the night he wants to feed and screams the house down if I try to get away with not feeding. Unless OH takes some time off work and gets up instead if he wakes more than 4 hourly I don't see that I have a hope in hell of changing this. That really is the only way I can think of that might break these habits but it will involve even less sleep and I don't think OH will do it unless I beg.

Kosh, like you said about your LO, with us all feeds with the exception of 4am onwards are proper feeds and so I really don't see how I could drop them at the moment. LO is rubbish about eating solids and so I really don't know what to do for the best. It drives me nuts that he will only eat tiny amounts and no matter what I try he just really isn't interested in eating. If I cut down on his milk then he still refuses to eat solids and just gets frantic and upset because he's hungry

Angel - I think you should continue to give as many bottles of milk as you think your LOs need. All my friends who FF their babies of around 11 months old have only just got down to 3 bottles a day in the last couple of weeks. I thought that until 1 year old milk was still the main source of nutrition so I vote you cut the milk down only as and when you think they're ready and eating really well. They'll let you know when they don't want it anymore

 

[chistiana]

Hi Ladies...
kosh that s great!!!And i agree with claire, 6 doesnt really count as a night wake for me! I cant wait to hear what tonight brings for you, maybe you re our light in the tunnel!!!

Angel- with my son we were told only to give him milk morning and bedtime but he really enjoyed his milk and given as he is under weight (under the 3rd percentile) i just continued giving milk whenever he asked for it. he dropped the bottles way easier when he started being a little bit more interested in food but even now when he asks for a bottle i ll give it to him if he s already had his meal..i dont think it hurt them!

Storm- so sorry for your night, are you trying the cot tonight again?

well our night hasnt started off so well but it s not so bad either (yet). Lo went down at 8.30 then woke up for a change of diaper at 9.30 and she s been down since (so 2 hours now). Last night t was the first time she woke up and didnt want to sleep again (usually she ll feed and go back down) so if it happens again tonight i m dropping the whole cot in her room thing and getting on with co sleeping...i cant afford to lose any more sleep, i m becoming crankier by the minute and so is my son because of it!

 

[flippityflop]

Hey all. Thought I'd stop in and say hi. Yay for those having good nights andbig hugs to those who are still suffering.

We've had great nights and okish nights, nothing that causes any real problems. His naps are pretty crap at the moment, only seems to sleep for 20 mins in the morning and an hour at lunch which means he's usually awake from 1-7 and is just a mess come 5pm. I desperately wait for 5.50pm when oh walks through the door! I'm sure he's trying to shift his naps about but haven't figured out the right schedule yet. It doesnt help that all his activities are st different times everyday!

Hope your mum comes home soon Clairey

 

[Storm1jet2]

Hi everyone - had another bizarre night last night, she slept ok from 9 until 3.15 (when will I learn to sleep when she does?) then cried and moaned and fussed from then until 7, so I got zero sleep from 3.15 onwards - sigh.

We are still trying the cot beside the bed and given its level with the bed and if she feels the need to throw herself at me in the middle of the night she can I don't think it should be too traumatic! Its more traumatic for me getting head butted in the face at high speed!

PPPlllllleeeeasseeeeee let her sleep tonight or at least settle down again if she starts crying! Im ever hopeful!

Hope everyone else gets a decent night tonight!!!!!!!!!!1

 

[lisa1980]

Hi all,

Irrational, hormonal rant alert. I apologise in advance for how self-indulgent this is.

Sigh. LO is SO whingy atm, I don't know whether it's teeth or the fact that he has a bit of a cold or what but OMG it's doing my head in. He literally moans ALL DAY and is only happy when I'm holding his hand so he can practise walking (I wish he'd cruise the furniture or something but he's only interested in walking across open space whilst simultaneously grabbing the most dangerous/breakable thing within a 5 mile radius). He was up from 1am to 4am last night just whinging with spurts of laughing then crying. He's like a little crazy person. I feel trapped in that the only way to get any peace is to walk him around but then I get no time to myself all day and nothing done, but if i try to sit him down to play with him or anything the moaning starts and I want to rip my own ears off

I think he's trying to drop a nap or something maybe as he's been fighting his naps like a demon so maybe that's got something to do with it too

I want to re-do the CC as it worked so well last time with minimal fuss, but I don't want to do it whilst he's in pain with teething or can't breathe through his nose because of his cold, so I'm stuck and it feels like it's going on forever.

I just feel so resentful of the fact that his sleep (or lack thereof) has ruined my maternity leave with him. I know I may look back with fondness in time but atm it feels like we've just struggled through, desperately trying to get him to sleep or not wake him or to maintain his naps etc. I can't believe my mat leave is almost over and I've mainly spent it absolutely exhausted and just trying to get from one day to the next. Just when I think we're making progress we go back to square one so I can't even enjoy it when he sleeps better as I know it doesn't mean it will last.

I cannot fathom how I will cope when back at work

I'm so sorry for all the 'woe is me' ramblings...I know a lot of you have it worse, but I can't seem to slap myself out of it today for some reason

Sleepy dust to all for tonight.