Rant - Feeling so hopeless about sleep!

[Noelle610]

We're having some weird early morning wake-ups here too, Boo. I can't quite figure it out... Our clocks moved foward an hour, so you would think she'd been sleeping in if anything! But this morning Charlotte wanted to be up at 5:30am. I didn't get her up until 6am, but she was a mess at daycare and already ready for a nap at 8am. This is going to sound crazy to some of you, but I wonder if I actually need to start capping her naps. She takes really long ones and I wonder if they're cutting into her night sleep.

My daycare only has 3 babies and they're all the same age, so I think it's relatively easy for them to get them to nap at the same time. Two (Charlotte and her little friend) have been there since they were just 10 weeks old. The third baby actually isn't the best napper. She goes down with the girls, but often wakes 20 minutes later. My daycare provider joked that "they spend a lot of time together"

 

[Boo44]

Aww how cute!! It's so nice for her to have such a good routine! We have good naps here too (touch wood!) he has 1.5hrs at 10am and then usually 1 hour at 3. I have to admit though that I do wake him at 4! Because I want him to go to bed as normal. I've often wondered if this is stupid or not lol!

It's 13.45 here now and he's in bed asleep. After his early morning we went into town and he went to sleep in his pram at 9.30 but woke after 45 mins. We've also got a healthy eating class at 3.30 (first time ever) which is bang on his usual nap time, so with both things added together I've just put him down at 1pm as he seemed tired. Who knows what will happen later....!

An early morning wakings can kiss my a*% !!

 

[Noelle610]

Aww how cute!! It's so nice for her to have such a good routine! We have good naps here too (touch wood!) he has 1.5hrs at 10am and then usually 1 hour at 3. I have to admit though that I do wake him at 4! Because I want him to go to bed as normal. I've often wondered if this is stupid or not lol!

It's 13.45 here now and he's in bed asleep. After his early morning we went into town and he went to sleep in his pram at 9.30 but woke after 45 mins. We've also got a healthy eating class at 3.30 (first time ever) which is bang on his usual nap time, so with both things added together I've just put him down at 1pm as he seemed tired. Who knows what will happen later....!

An early morning wakings can kiss my a*% !!

No, I think it's smart! I try not to do naps after 4pm. I like our current 7pm bedtime. Charlotte has to get up no later than 7am anyway and I like that she has an opportunity to get 12 hours. I also appreciate my alone time with DH! We eat dinner together and watch TV. It's nice.

Those early morning just throw everything off!

 

[bananaz]

libby - I'm so glad to see that you're doing well, I've been wondering about you! I'm sorry Ever has been so sick but it's great that her temperament has been improving. Hopefully her sleep will get back to normal soon.

Boo - Honestly I can't blame you for wanting him to be mobile, I know that I was crazy impatient for months waiting for Elsie to start crawling because she was so fussy and frustrated all the time. 9 months is when a lot of babies start moving though so hopefully you guys don't have much longer to wait!

Noelle - Ugh, the early morning wakeups really are the worst. I can deal with being up for an hour in the middle of the night but when she decides to get up before 6am that just makes me want to cry. It's great that Charlotte has such a nice daycare situation. Out of curiosity, how did you find it? I'm thinking of putting Elsie in daycare part-time soon as kind of a transition since she'll have to go full-time this fall.

 

[Noelle610]

Noelle - Ugh, the early morning wakeups really are the worst. I can deal with being up for an hour in the middle of the night but when she decides to get up before 6am that just makes me want to cry. It's great that Charlotte has such a nice daycare situation. Out of curiosity, how did you find it? I'm thinking of putting Elsie in daycare part-time soon as kind of a transition since she'll have to go full-time this fall.

Honestly, we got really lucky. My neighborhood has a local list serve for families. It's mostly for buying and selling stuff, but once in awhile someone will advertise daycare openings. When I was pregnant, a woman sent out an email that she was opening her own in-home daycare. She had previously been a nanny and her mom had owned a daycare in the same neighborhood for 30 years. She had one infant spot open (the second was being given to a family friend) and she interviewed several families. She selected us! I'm not really sure why. It has been a god-send and she is amazing. I love that Charlotte gets to interact with other kids, but has one main provider that she's comfortable with. She is constantly buying and selling toys, so she always has new stuff as the girls (there are three babies now - all 9/10 months) grow.

If your neighborhood or city has a family-oriented list serve, I'd start there. In-home daycares really vary, but if you can find one that is certified and has good references I think they can be wonderful. We started with part-time at ten weeks to prepare for full-time at three months and it worked well.

 

[MiniKiwi]

Boo - Mia crawled at about 9 months. She didn't get up on her hands and knees and rock or anything, she just took off one day. She's a much happier, less frustrated baby because of it. Jack will be crawling soon and I hope you notice the same change in his mood, it's lovely!

Libby - So nice to hear that Everette is doing better with her mood! I'm really hoping for you that her sleep goes back to how it was once she recovers from her illness, you really deserve that.

Shadowy - It sounds like you're having some great nights, what a gem Sofia is! Out of curiosity, what sort of exercise are you doing?

Anti - Sorry you're having such a rough time lately

Bananaz - Having had a bad napper and a bad night sleeper now, I know for a fact that I'd rather a bad night sleeper! Fighting for naps might just be the most infuriating thing ever. We have definitely had so much more luck since Mia started having by the clock naps. I used to wait for her to rub her eyes or yawn and by that stage, she's turned into a nightmare to get to sleep. I get the same, that people think I'm nuts for walking LO to sleep and "letting" her wake up so much at night... So good luck if you try some CC

Noelle - We know all about the early wakings here! They suck! I think you should just have a go at capping the naps if you think it could help. It's always daunting trying something new incase it ruins everything! But I hope you have some luck with it

We had the best night here! She had a motn party the night before last again but only a 1.5 hour one. I do think she's not tired enough at night times, so thanks again Noelle for that advice. Last night I couldn't keep her up any longer so at 6:40 she went to sleep, stirred at 10pm when I went to bed, woke once for a resettle cuddle only and then up for the day at 4am. I'm honestly so happy with that, if she would sleep a little later in the morning that'd be great but this is a huge improvement so I shouldn't complain

 

[bananaz]

We had the best night here! She had a motn party the night before last again but only a 1.5 hour one. I do think she's not tired enough at night times, so thanks again Noelle for that advice. Last night I couldn't keep her up any longer so at 6:40 she went to sleep, stirred at 10pm when I went to bed, woke once for a resettle cuddle only and then up for the day at 4am. I'm honestly so happy with that, if she would sleep a little later in the morning that'd be great but this is a huge improvement so I shouldn't complain

Yay, so glad you're making progress! I hope you're able to get rid of that 4am wakeup call though. That's brutal, and I'm guessing once your body starts getting used to having longer stretches of sleep it's going to want to sleep past 4am lol



I just put Elsie down for her first nap. I gave her the opportunity to nurse to sleep but she pulled off so I put her in her crib, said "Have a good nap" and left the room. She yelled for 10 minutes, threw all of her stuffed animals on the floor and then conked out!

Also, she woke up a half hour earlier today than she did yesterday but she still fell asleep right at 10am so I think doing by-the-clock naps is definitely the way to go from now on.

 

[gaiagirl]

That's great Bananaz! 10 min of yelling seems pretty reasonable at her age, lol.

I decided to swaddle LO again last night and have him sleep 'on his own' as in a few feet from me on the mattress. He still woke for a quick bite to eat every 2-3 hours but there was no thrashing and restlessness. All in all not terrible for my new standards, lol.

 

[MiniKiwi]

"Have a good nap" I should try that with Mia, she'd lose the plot

 

[bananaz]

"Have a good nap" I should try that with Mia, she'd lose the plot

Haha, I wasn't sure what to say, but it felt like some kind of farewell was appropriate. Judging by the way she screamed and launched herself at me, she did not appreciate my choice of words

 

[Noelle610]

Gaia, I remember going through the 4 month sleep regression and being oh so grateful for a 2-3 hour solid stretch. It's okay! It won't last forever

MiniKiwi, I am thrilled that my advice helped! I always worry I'm going to advise something that will totally mess up a babies sleep, since they are all so different... It's good to know my instincts were right with that little tidibit

Bananaz, "have a good nap" Honestly, when you spend so much time soothing a baby to sleep, I think it's usually their way of telling you that they're ready to do it independently. Sounds like a success.

 

[Boo44]

Bananaz that's fab!!

Mini what have you changed to get Mia sleeping? (I like to stock up on this good advice just in case hehe)

 

[MiniKiwi]

Well even though she starts getting grumpy during her dinner and bath at 5:30pm, I've been trying to keep her up until 7pm. I used to make sure she was in bed, asleep by 6pm and she'd wake every 30-60 mins until 9ish then have a good, long motn party. Last night the poor thing was so shattered that I couldn't wait past 6:40pm but she slept until 4am with two very brief wakings

 

[Shadowy Lady]

Bananaz- haha love how Elsie listened to you. Maybe at night time you should go like "go to sleep and don't wake up till 8 am" hehehe!

Minikiwi - I do a variety of things: Tracy Anderson's post pregnancy DVD at home, various boot camp classes (core, steps,...) at the gym and also Zumba and Salsa dancing. I've become a bit obsessed with working out now though; I work out 6-7 days a week :/

Sofia slept through again till 5 am when she woke again COZ SHE HAD POOPED!! What is with the 5 am pooping? She never before had pooped at night. She did go to sleep after till 8 pm which is good....she had also popped at 8 am :/

 

[bananaz]

Bananaz- haha love how Elsie listened to you. Maybe at night time you should go like "go to sleep and don't wake up till 8 am" hehehe!

Totally trying that tonight! Wish me luck...

Sofia slept through again till 5 am when she woke again COZ SHE HAD POOPED!! What is with the 5 am pooping? She never before had pooped at night. She did go to sleep after till 8 pm which is good....she had also popped at 8 am :/

Agh, that's frustrating. Has her diet changed recently? I know that when Elsie started having more solids she had a few early morning poops, but thankfully they stopped quickly.

 

[Noelle610]

The poop thing is annoying. We've never had night poops, but we've had night wakings as a result of constipation and that sucks. We've also had short naps due to poop!

 

[Shadowy Lady]

Her diet has changed as she's been on solids for the past month. But only a few days ago we went from 2 meals to 3. Maybe I should go back to 2 meals again? She just always seems like she wants food!

 

[Boo44]

Shadowy we have the same issue here! 6am poop. Could almost set my watch by it. Am trying new nappies tonight as he leaked in a major way this morning. At least Sofia can sleep after! There is no way jack would sleep after. I'm assuming its due to food. He loves his food there's no way he'd be full with just 2 meals! But now I've been told to cut out his afternoon bottle I'm wondering if that will help.... Pleeeease

Asargh it's so frustrating!!!'

 

[bananaz]

I don't think you necessarily need to reduce the amount of solids she's getting, there just may be an adjustment period for her digestive system. Hopefully it will be over soon!

 

[Noelle610]

I agree with bananaz. Just an adjustment period. She has to move to 3 meals at some point!