Rant - Feeling so hopeless about sleep!

[NotNic]

Shadowy you're almost about that point I was with Finlay, when suddenly he started sleeping again. Bang on 38 weeks things improved immensely for us. I don't know why but WW37 was painful for us and the point I came to you all for help. TBH teething hasn't made that much difference. Sometimes he cries out in pain and gets disrupted sleep but at least medicine and bonjela can help. Far better than the nights they are unsettled without an obvious reason. To be truthful we've had very few motn parties where he's awake more than ten minutes. Most of the time he settles easily but can wake umpteen times in the night so I feel like I'm constantly being dragged out of bed. On those nights just one longish wake up would be preferable to 7/8 trips.

Saying that last night was a dream. 8pm-7am and no wake ups! I feel like dancing! I also managed to get him to do a 2 1/2 hr nap at 1.30pm with just a tiny car journey nod off mid morning. Perhaps that is the solution. Must try to recreate that every day. Haha!

 

[mellyboo]

Jordyn wouldn't nap yesterday at all barely she would take cat naps here and there and i had to put her in the car and even at that .. it was barely working she would wake after 30 mins of being in there sorta unusual car's usually a good way for her to nap when all else fails..

well she woke up ONCE last night woooo!!!!! i thought she would deff be up a zillion times from being over tired.

 

[Noelle610]

I missed a lot! OK, I'm back

Noelle - Daytime schedule is pretty baby led. She's up around 7am. OH watches her during the day. He says she almost always naps around 9, then around 12 and again around 2 or 3. Sometimes again if I take her on a walk after work around 5:30 or 6. But these naps are usually pretty short - 15-30 minutes. She's done this since about 3 months. She hasn't eaten well during the day for the past month or so. OH says most days, she'll eat a couple of ounces, then start playing with bottle. We're just starting to give her food during the day. She eats well when she nurses.

I think I would try stretching her a bit during the day it hopes of longer naps. My DD transitioned to 2 naps around 6 months and that's a bit early, but it really improved night sleep. This is the age when babies start to get tired out of habit rather than necessity, so sometimes it takes a week or so to see results, but I think with a 7am waking I'd try naps at 9:30am and then again at 1pm. You could do an optional cat nap around 4pm if she doesn't sleep well and then an early-ish bedtime.

Shadowy Lady, what's Sofia's daytime schedule like now? If she's having happy night wakings I do wonder if perhaps she's getting too much daytime sleep.

 

[bananaz]

NotNic - So glad you had a good night! I always try to recreate the days before good nights too, lol. It never works and I just drive myself crazy!

mellyboo - Hooray for only one night waking! I think as long as babies are getting some kind of sleep regularly during the day they won't get too overtired, even if it's only catnaps. I remember in the "90 minute Nap Solution" they said that anything over 10 minutes counted.

seaweed eater - Big hugs to you. I hope the rest of the night went better. The first night is the hardest. Once your LO realizes that he can go to sleep without the boob and that it's okay to be comforted by daddy things should be much easier.


Last night was Elsie's best night ever She slept straight through from 7:40pm to 6:35am with only a single little peep at 3am (most people probably wouldn't have even heard it but I'm a light sleeper).

It may be a coincidence but yesterday she had the biggest dinner of her life. She ate almost a whole CUP of macaroni and cheese, plus some fruit and veggie puree and a small bowl of rice cereal (yes, I give my almost-11-month-old rice cereal before bed, don't judge! ). So now of course the plan is to force feed her truckloads of mac and cheese every night. Just kidding. (maybe )

 

[Shadowy Lady]

Radkat and seaweed - thanks ladies
Notnic - I really do hope so. I don't like the fact that I'm so tired that I'm not enjoying her as much these days.
Noelle - she has a 1-1.5 hour nap around 10 am and a 30-40 mins nap around 2:30. It doesn't seem like too much day time sleep, does it?

Last night was better. She cried out in her sleep for 10 mins at midnight and then again at 5:30am but otherwise she slept through. I still didn't though as once she woke me up at midnight I stayed up stressed out and nursing a headache till past 2am.

Ughhhhh can't wait for whatever this phase is to pass

 

[Shadowy Lady]

So happy for u Bananaz! I'm craving Mac n cheese now lol!!

 

[seaweed eater]

Thanks ladies

Socity, yes he was sick...I don't blame you for chickening at that point. I think I would have done the same. Made me glad that I chose a method that I am willing to stick with. Still, I was feeling ok before but then felt much worse after

The night went fine afterward I guess...he woke to nurse twice and fell asleep promptly afterward so there was no re-settling drama. Naps today will be in the car so that he actually gets some sleep but also isn't nursing. So we'll see how tonight goes.

Vikki, mine has rotated almost 90 degrees too ever since he started sleeping on his side. In fact part of what he does to fall asleep in the crib is to push himself to a diagonal position.

NotNic, that sounds wonderful! And bananaz, fantastic!! And melly! So glad for all the good nights! Long may it continue!

Shadowy, hope Sofia grows out of whatever it is soon, too and maybe that you at least get some teeth out of it!

 

[seaweed eater]

If hypothetically tonight is even worse than last night, do you think that means this approach is not working? From what I've read it's common for the third night to be worse than the second because they have an extinction burst, but it seems like the second night is usually better than the first...or is that not always the case? Too soon to say but 43 mins so far...

 

[seaweed eater]

Argh...63 mins and he's been quiet for a minute or so...just 7 minutes shorter. At least he wasn't sick tonight.

 

[Sunnie1984]

Seaweed - quick reply as I'm trying to contain my exhausted child!

I think it takes at least a week if not two of a new method to see if its working.

Even then you'll get the odd regression after that.

Eventually they have to be able to settle without nursing, and you have decided that now is the right time for you as a family.

I didn't breast feed so probably not in best position to advise, but I would keep going with any routine change for a couple of weeks to see if it helps.

X

 

[bananaz]

Argh...63 mins and he's been quiet for a minute or so...just 7 minutes shorter. At least he wasn't sick tonight.

 

[seaweed eater]

Thank you ladies

 

[VikkiD]

Lo as taken to sleeping on his tum it's so terrifying to go in there and see him face down. I change him back but he does it again I don't know if its got anything to do with his desperation to crawl. Last night he went bed around 7:45 an he was up at 7:45 this morning we did have about four wake ups where I just had to reposition him an he went back skeep

 

[Noelle610]

Seaweed you definitely need to give it a week. When we weaned my daughter off of all but 1 night feed the third night was the very worst. Next night she STTN with a dream feed.

Vikki, don't worry. Once they can roll on their tummies they're safe to sleep that way. I know it's seems scary, but many babies prefer this position once they figure it out.

Our night was okay. DH didn't put Charlotte to bed until 8pm (I was out with friends). He wanted to see if she'd sleep in haha. She slept pretty well until around 5am when she woke briefly (I gave her a pacifier) and then she woke again around 6am (her normal time). It's 6:30am now and I think she's snoozing. I really wanted to give her the opportunity to get her normal 11 hours. I think she's overtired. And of course I'm not "sleeping in"

 

[mellyboo]

so we woke up once again tonight :S dont no whats going on... how it went from 10 to 1 is beyond me! will see about tonight.

She's been resisting her naps all weekend too and sleeping better at night? odd child of mind !! lol

 

[Bean66]

Seaweed you definitely need to give it a week. When we weaned my daughter off of all but 1 night feed the third night was the very worst. Next night she STTN with a dream feed.

Vikki, don't worry. Once they can roll on their tummies they're safe to sleep that way. I know it's seems scary, but many babies prefer this position once they figure it out.

Our night was okay. DH didn't put Charlotte to bed until 8pm (I was out with friends). He wanted to see if she'd sleep in haha. She slept pretty well until around 5am when she woke briefly (I gave her a pacifier) and then she woke again around 6am (her normal time). It's 6:30am now and I think she's snoozing. I really wanted to give her the opportunity to get her normal 11 hours. I think she's overtired. And of course I'm not "sleeping in"

What about babies that can roll on to tummy but not back again? My LO has perfected back to front rolling but not the other way. She does have good neck strength.

 

[Noelle610]

Seaweed you definitely need to give it a week. When we weaned my daughter off of all but 1 night feed the third night was the very worst. Next night she STTN with a dream feed.

Vikki, don't worry. Once they can roll on their tummies they're safe to sleep that way. I know it's seems scary, but many babies prefer this position once they figure it out.

Our night was okay. DH didn't put Charlotte to bed until 8pm (I was out with friends). He wanted to see if she'd sleep in haha. She slept pretty well until around 5am when she woke briefly (I gave her a pacifier) and then she woke again around 6am (her normal time). It's 6:30am now and I think she's snoozing. I really wanted to give her the opportunity to get her normal 11 hours. I think she's overtired. And of course I'm not "sleeping in"

What about babies that can roll on to tummy but not back again? My LO has perfected back to front rolling but not the other way. She does have good neck strength.

It's still okay. It's really all about the neck strength. My DD learned to roll onto tummy probably a month before being able to go the other way. I think that's common

 

[daneuse27]

Noelles right. My mom tells me that its great once babies learn to roll on their tummies in their sleep (she raised 3 of them) and says they sleep great once they figure it out. Apparently they eventually crawl into the corner of the crib and wedge their head in there with their bum up in the air, and they are perfectly happy that way. Even though it doesnt look like a comfortable position to us

 

[seaweed eater]

GAHHHHH I AM SO UPSET. LO and I both woke up with a cold. This means we have to put it on hold, right? I thought the only upside to this was that at least we had the first two nights over with. Now we have to do it all again and if he makes the connection between his crying and our stopping, it will be even worse. This has been a NIGHTMARE.

 

[socitycourty]

GAHHHHH I AM SO UPSET. LO and I both woke up with a cold. This means we have to put it on hold, right? I thought the only upside to this was that at least we had the first two nights over with. Now we have to do it all again and if he makes the connection between his crying and our stopping, it will be even worse. This has been a NIGHTMARE.

both times i tried sleep training hadley got sick. it is frustrating