Rant - Feeling so hopeless about sleep!

[Shadowy Lady]

ughhh more pooping for us last night except this time at 3 am!!! I'm rushing out the door now gotta come back and read about everyone's night

 

[bananaz]

MiniKiwi - Oh man, I know that feeling! Having them sleep well one night and get your hopes up is worse than having them consistently sleep badly. Hopefully those good nights will start happening more frequently for you and Mia!

Shadowy - Ugh, that's so frustrating. Maybe you can play around with when she eats during her evening routine to see if that helps? Or try different foods?

Noelle - Sorry you've had a rough go of it, but yay for STTN! I hope she keeps it up.


We've had a weird week. Five days in a row she was awake and screaming for 1-1.5 hours around 3am, then yesterday her waking was only 15 minutes long but she woke for the day at 5:30am. This morning she slept straight through from 8pm to 5:15am (hooray! ) but of course now she won't go back to sleep. She usually gets 10-11 hours of sleep a night, so 9 hours really isn't going to cut it.

I'm wondering if her body has caught on to the time change and I need to start moving her bedtime again? I was really enjoying those 7am wakeups

 

[gaiagirl]

Glad for those getting some solid night sleep! Even just one night would seriously be lovely

Such a weird night for us. My LO was restless from 1-3 and constantly waking, then finally at 5:30 pretty much woke up (he's usually up at 7:30) and I made DH deal with him for a bit. He finally brought him back to me at 6:30 and he fell asleep and is still sleeping now at 9:30! Wtf!? There goes any bit of routine we had going...

Oh well, hopefully we get back on track a bit with morning and daytime tomorrow.

Nights on the other hand...I think might be a lost cause for awhile!

 

[bananaz]

Holy crap y'all, I just put LO in her crib for her nap and she fell asleep after 5 minutes. On her own! No nursing or patting whatsoever! I was prepared to do CC but she barely even whined. And I didn't even tell her to have a good nap this time.

I think having a by-the-clock schedule is really helping. Or maybe someone stole my baby and replaced her with one who self-settles during the day.

 

[socitycourty]

lucky you! Maybe it's the invasion of the body-snatchers or something, LOL

 

[Boo44]

Holy crap y'all, I just put LO in her crib for her nap and she fell asleep after 5 minutes. On her own! No nursing or patting whatsoever! I was prepared to do CC but she barely even whined. And I didn't even tell her to have a good nap this time.

I think having a by-the-clock schedule is really helping. Or maybe someone stole my baby and replaced her with one who self-settles during the day.

Amazing! Yay Elsie ❤

 

[polaris]

I just feel like giving up at the moment.

I don't understand why she won't sleep.

Her daytime routine is fine, three naps or occasionally two if she's up late and has a longer than normal lunchtime nap. She self-settles for naps and used to self-settle at bedtime although she's becoming impossible to get to sleep at bedtime now.

Bedtime usually 8 p.m., I have tried earlier but she never falls asleep before 8. Then she usually wakes every hour until I go to bed at about 10 or 11 at which point she won't settle in the cot and I have to bring her into bed. She then continues to wake up every 60 to 90 minutes until about 4.30 or 5, after which she usually does a longer stretch of sleep until about 7ish when she gets up for the day.

Naps are usually 9.30, 1, and 4.30 (times approximate). She often only does 45 minutes but sometimes will do 1.5 to 2 hours.

She is just doing my head in, especially the evenings. I actually could handle constant feeds all night if she would just do a longer stretch in the evenings. She obviously has a nurse/sleep association but she is usually awake going into the cot.

She is awake and crying at the moment and won't settle at all no matter what I do and I had to walk out of the room because I felt like shaking her which obviously I won't do.

I worry she might be going through separation anxiety but honestly I feel like just leaving her to cry because my head is just melted from lack of sleep. I have a toddler to look after too who thankfully sleeps really well.

 

[socitycourty]

the lack of sleep is really a killer. it affects your moods, appetite, energy, etc.

I have had those nights where I got so upset I thought I could do something like that because I was so frustrated. I never did but I finally realized what people meant about the lack of sleep.

We're not BF anymore but she still never STTN and I'm going to have to start CIO/CC soon.

There are a few BF ladies here who might have some advice, Bananaz has done some night weaning recently

 

[mrsbeano]

Polaris I've noticed quite a few of us having a dodgy time at your los age. It then seems to improve at around 7 months for a few weeks. Hang in there x

 

[gaiagirl]

Polaris that sounds SO much like my day to day with LO! Almost exactly word for word everything...I've tried so many things and sometimes we get a 3-5 hour stretch but usually it's every 1-2 hours at night.

 

[mellyboo]

Wow oddly enough today I put her down for her naps she took 4 .. And all I had to do was lay her down turn her aquirum on kiss her and walked out ?? I had to go in maybe 2 times each because she lost her suckie while trying to settle and she dropped off ? Not to mention he was napping for an hour each time .... Either shes tired today because this is the first time this has ever happened.. Prob just a one time thing I do have a little bit of hope this is the turning point for her .

 

[mellyboo]

Opps I ment she my iPhone always wants to write he ... She did the same thing when I put her in her crib I've decided to put her in her crib every night but if she wakes up every 30 min to bring her in my bed ..does this sound okay?

 

[bananaz]

polaris - That is really tough. 6 months was a particularly awful time for my LO's sleep. Honestly it seems like giving her a chance to settle herself is probably a good idea in your situation, especially since she's not responding to your attempts to soothe her. It does sound like her nursing to sleep association may be the culprit with the night wakings, and if that's the case then sleep training is likely to be quite effective. The key is just having a gameplan ahead of time and being consistent (which is obviously way, way easier said than done when it's the middle of the night and you're exhausted!). Big hugs to you, I hope things improve soon.

 

[mellyboo]

Sleep training would Only work some time with us but other times she got to upset if this happens my dr said to try again in a few weeks don't give up on it just have to wait till there ready I guess!

 

[Larkspur]

Polaris and Gaiagirl, I've got another one exactly the same here. Polaris, he's pretty much exactly the same age as yours.

We're going to start a gentle break-the-nurse-to-sleep-association plan over Easter as it will be four days off for OH and I, and we can nap during the days with him if we have to. This is the basic plan (formulated after reading The No-Cry Sleep Solution).

In the lead-up to Easter:
- work on solids and increased nursing during the day
- make bathtimes calmer
- introduce a lovey/transitional object (which for me is a little snuggly muslin bear made for just such a purpose) by cuddling it with us as we nurse
- introduce white noise
- increase how quickly I unlatch him as he finishes nursing and drifts to sleep
- decrease the time I hold him for after he unlatches before putting into cot, and if he wakes up and protests, try soothing him in cot before picking up and cuddling/nursing again
- at night, if it is less than three hours since his last feed, try settling with cuddling only unless he really struggles and protests. Am having some success with this for the early night wakings, not so much later on

Once Easter hits, the plan is (for bedtimes and naptime):
- nurse but stopping while awake, story or lullaby, then cuddling/humming till calm and drowsy with me for first two days, then with OH or I for following days, and putting down in cot
- pat and soothe as first option if he becomes more awake, PU and cuddle if he starts protesting, then put down again when calm and drowsy
- I am okay with crying in arms till calm if it comes to that, but no crying in cot
- the object is that he goes to sleep in his cot by himself every time

Eeeep, wish me luck! I will update on how it goes.

 

[anti]

Ladies please could I have some advice... The last week ashlynn has been screaming blue murder at nap time, it's really bad! I end up taking her out in the buggy to get her to sleep. She's tired coz she falls asleep quick in the buggy but she just screams blue murder at home. The last two night she's done it at bedtime to. She's cut 3 teeth in two weeks and I can see three more just under the surface. Could that be the problem? Do I need to do anything or is it just a phase that will pass?

 

[Noelle610]

Hi girls! My mom departs today, so I should have more time to catch up with you lovely ladies

Shadowy Lady, the poops, UGH! That sounds awful. I hope Sofia's digestive system adjusts soon.

Melly, sounds like your LO is beginning to settle herself, how wonderful! Hope it continues.

Polaris, I'm so sorry. I think I started this thread just before my LO turned 6 months, so that was not a great time for sleep for us either. I think some sleep training to break the nurse to sleep association would work well - whether it's gentle methods or CC.

Larkspur, great plan! Keep us posted on how it goes. I'm sure it's going to be very helpful for other moms in the same situation, which is just so common.

Anti, how long is LO awake before you put her down? The screaming could mean she's overtired, especially if she's crashing in the buggy. It also could be related to teething. You could try some ibuprofin to see if that helps.

Sleep has been pretty good here the past two nights. Here's hoping it continues.

I was thinking about something when reading another Baby Club thread on sleep... Are there babies that really STTN without a peep from 7 to 7? Even when Charlotte does STTN, she often will cry out in her sleep or wake up around 3am to chat to herself for five minutes. I just assumed that all babies were loud, but someone mentioned they don't consider it STTN if there's any fussing during the night at all. I just can't imagine having a baby like that, although I would love it!

 

[anti]

Noelle she's awake for quite a while. Mornings are about 4 hours and afternoons are about 5 hours. It's Ben like that for about 2 months now. I spoke to my health visitor about only one nap a day and she says its fine, some babies are just like that. Her routine hasn't changed recently so I don't know what's happened! She never shows sleepy signs, no eye rubbing, ear pulling, yawning... Nothing! So it's really difficult. I know she's in a wonder week at the moment. They usually affect naps but not this badly!

 

[anti]

Also to add, I've tried putting her down earlier for naps but she just won't go to sleep. Talks to herself for a while then screams till I go get her. I'm so lost!

 

[aliss]

3am wakeup... "oooo.... oooo....oooo" for hours, what the hell do you do??? He's in our room (there's no other bedroom except his brother's and I'm not dealing with a cranky toddler).

I'm confuzzled.