Rant - Feeling so hopeless about sleep!

[Boo44]

Noelle are you really? That's amazing! I think you give fab advice and I think you'll be excellent at that! In fact I'll give you a reference if needed haha x

 

[seaweed eater]

22 mins of crying so far. I think it would be easier for me to get through this if I had a specific day in mind when we will definitely want to change course if it's still bad. As much as nursing to sleep wasn't working for us, and as much as I believe that this is a gentle technique that he should be developmentally able to adjust to, I don't want to ignore evidence that it's not working.

Let's say next Tuesday, since things started getting worse again on Wednesday. If Mon and Tues average more than 6 minutes of crying AND I feel like things aren't moving forward, then we make a change. That'll be a week since things got worse again and 2 1/2 weeks since we stopped nursing to sleep. Does that sound reasonable?

Hope bedtime is going/went well for everyone else.

 

[gaiagirl]

I think so Seaweed! You definitely know best and if on Tuesday that's what feel right, I would trust yourself

But then here I am, lying in my bed nursing my baby to sleep for the second time in an hour...lol. So I may not be in the position to give advice!

 

[Twister]

The night was going pretty well until now. She woke every 3-3.5 hours which is good for her, last wake up being 3am and she went backdown like a dream. It's 4:45 now and it's proving difficult to settle her but I'm remaining calm this time. Just not sure why she won't settle as easy, what's changed in the last 1.5 hours

 

[stephie_corin]

We had some slight improvements! Lat night he had 4 wakeups, the worst at 2am as it took me over an hour to settle him, but I definitely think he slept better after his two 30 minute naps yesterday. I'm going to aim for two naps again, with his lovey, and hope we see more improvements tonight.

For those that have a lovey, what is it? I'm just using a blue rabbit head attached to a small satin blanket. It sounds bizarre but its not that strange would a teddy bear be better?

And what if you lose the lovey? Should I get more than one?

How was everyone's night?

 

[seaweed eater]

Glad 2 naps was better for him, Stephie! LO's lovey is just a little blankie with satin on one side and a kind of velvety fabric on the other. DH calls it his "napkin." I don't think it matters what it is as long as it's cuddly (and small enough to be safe).

 

[stephie_corin]

Thanks SE! How is bedtime going?

 

[polaris]

Hi everyone!

We had another good night! She is actually asleep now but I'm wide awake after more uninterrupted sleep than I've had in 8 months! She went to bed at 7.30, woke at about 11.30 and had a feed, then slept right through without a peep until 5.30. I fed her again to try to get her back to sleep quickly and she went right back off. I honestly don't know what's changed. It's like magic! Really hoping this is the start of a new pattern!

 

[stephie_corin]

Polaris, awesome news I'm really happy for you!

 

[polaris]

Seaweed, that definitely sounds reasonable to give it until Tuesday and then reassess the situation. I do think it's best to stick with what you are doing until your Tuesday deadline though. Hopefully things will turn a corner over the weekend. I do think separation anxiety must make it harder to do any sort of sleep training, it's hard enough at the best of times.

Stephie, glad you had a better night. To answer your question about loveys, Clara has a little cuddly lamb but Thomas had one of those blankets with a head on it. I don't think it matters what it is really as long as it is soft and cuddly and feels nice when you stroke it or rub it against your face.

Twister - yay for a better night for you too! I think it does get harder for them to resettle as the night progresses because they've already had the bulk of their night's sleep so they are not as tired as they were at the start of the night. I definitely (used to) find myself that it's much easier to go back to sleep during the first half of the night whereas if I'm woken up after 5ish I find it much harder to get back to sleep (back when I used to get a full night's sleep that is, LOL).

Hope everyone else had restful nights.

 

[NotNic]

Boo have a lovely holiday. You might find he sleeps better now he's crawling. F's nights got better after he learnt as he was more worn out.

F sleeps better but his wake ups are getting earlier. I went to the office yesterday ahead of returning in 2 weeks and I set my alarm for 5.45 so I could shower and get ready in relative peace. The whatsit woke up at 5am. I was exhausted by 9pm last night. Today he woke at 5am again. I don't think its the light as I've been teaching him to nap and go to sleep when the room isn't dark, which has gone quite well. I'm hoping nursery wears him out and he starts sleeping 6.30/7am instead.

 

[polaris]

Boo have a lovely holiday. You might find he sleeps better now he's crawling. F's nights got better after he learnt as he was more worn out.

F sleeps better but his wake ups are getting earlier. I went to the office yesterday ahead of returning in 2 weeks and I set my alarm for 5.45 so I could shower and get ready in relative peace. The whatsit woke up at 5am. I was exhausted by 9pm last night. Today he woke at 5am again. I don't think its the light as I've been teaching him to nap and go to sleep when the room isn't dark, which has gone quite well. I'm hoping nursery wears him outand he starts sleeping 6.30/7am instead.

Notnic, it could still be the light even though he is able to nap when it isn't dark. My older boy was very sensitive to light in the mornings, even a chink of light would wake him, but during the day he was fine although he did still like the room reasonably dark. I think it's the change in light that wakes them in the mornings. I think most babies do need black out blinds during the summer months to try and keep them asleep until a reasonable hour - you could always try hanging a heavy blanket/towel at the window just to see if it makes a difference.

 

[VikkiD]

Hope everyone's well little update Daniel is now sleeping alot better and for the first time in god knows how long I have not been in to him for the past 3 nights he goes 7pm till 6 I hear him shuffling around at times but he settles himself. Long may it continue just need to work on me sttn now lol

 

[NotNic]

Thanks Polaris. We do have a blackout blind but its not amazing. I will give the blanket trick a try. He is bright eyed and full of it first thing in the morning. I do wonder if he is naturally an early bird though. He has a lot of personality traits similar to my sister and she would wake between 4 and 5 as a child. As an adult she's still up before 7am every day even with a hangover! Come to think about it, my parents are early birds too. I'm doomed!

 

[Noelle610]

Yay Vikki! We love success stories

Notnic, I agree with Polaris. Different parts of the brain are responsible for day and night sleep, so it could be the light Give the towels a try!

It's interesting that so many are struggling with early morning wakings. It seems like it's such a common problem. It's funny that no one comes on here to say, "My baby sleeps in too late"! LOL

 

[Twister]

I miss the newborn days when my LO would sleep all morning. Granted she was usually up till 2am but at least I got a lie in

 

[mellyboo]

all around to the mamas of 6 month olds. That does seem to be the time a lot of us join this thread

Melly, I really hope tonight is better!

Twister, YAY for amazing naps! I hope tonight is going well so far after the second feed.

Have fun on vacation, Boo! I was just wondering how you and Jack and all his teeth were doing. Hope you have a wonderful and restful time!

Noelle, I didn't know you were doing a sleep coaching certification great fit for you, obviously!

Polaris, I'm so glad to hear about the good night!!! I really hope it turns out not to be a fluke. It's your turn for some good sleep.

Munchkin does have separation anxiety during the day. He gets upset when I leave the room, or when I'm in the room but not holding him. Just this week he has started crying when I say goodbye at daycare, so I think it's still on the increase and maybe could have just started affecting his sleep.

Hope everyone had good nights jordyn did well for the babysitter she didn't wake up at all we got back around 12 she woke up at 1 to eat and then woke up at 630 for the day which is early for her but only woke up once .. So ours was good except we were out till midnight so we got ripped off on sleep .. It's like you have to choose your life when you have a bad sleeper do I want possible good sleep tonight or do we risk and go out we won't sleeper proper anyway hmmm ...

 

[seaweed eater]

Polaris! Sooo happy to read this!!! Long may it continue!

Thanks Stephie, he was asleep about 10 minutes after I posted. So, not great but still getting better. Hopefully that trend will continue.

Melly, I'm glad J did well for the sitter, but I totally know what you mean about having to put everything else on hold while you prioritize sleep. Sometimes I think parenting would just be a whole different thing if I had a baby I could count on to sleep a solid 12 hours every night, and I could still do normal things in the evening.

Our night was ok, he was up at 11:30 -- first time in a couple weeks he's been up before 1, I think. I fed him anyway. Then he slept until 3, then up just before 6. So, a little short at just 10 hours, but not bad at all.

However, he has gotten into a very consistent habit of sticking his feet out of the crib. This morning when I put him down for a nap he immediately rolled onto his side and stuck out both feet. At bedtime when he finally falls asleep I've been finding him with his leg out up to the thigh! I don't want to deny him a means of self-soothing, but it seems dangerous. I think it's time to get a bumper!

 

[Twister]

Well tonight has been a load of crap. She's already been up 4 times and its only half past midnight. Naps have been rubbish today also.

Why is it we tend to have one good day (by her standards) followed by an absolutely rubbish day the next? What am I doing wrong?? It seems like whenever we go out during the day it messes everything up, either by her falling asleep in the car on the way back or her not sleeping at all but surely we can't just stay in forever? This Is so frustrating. I never wanted to become too hung up on a routine, but it seems like my LO needs it and she doesn't seem to be very flexible otherwise it all goes to crap. I do try and plan things around her naps but it always seems to get spoiled usually by her only cat napping for half an hour instead of 1 hour+ in the morning before we go out. The time when I need her to nap properly the most so she's not whiney whilst out Then by the time we get her home she's over tired so it will be yet another cat nap followed by a rubbish night.

 

[mellyboo]

Awe twister hugs ... Jordyns the same way accept wont sleep
While we are out... But one night is good the next you wanna cry ... Oh went and put her to bed at 630 real frigging awesome its 103o and she is acting like
She's up for the day FFs ....I'm so tired I want to cry I feel
Like its never getting better at this point I've given up