Rant - Feeling so hopeless about sleep!

[bananaz]

Is it so bad that a little part of me thought how nice it would be if Mia went to bed at 4:30pm?

I hope Elsie isn't sick. If she sleeps through until 6 though, it's not that weird is it? A lot of kids seem to sleep 13 hours.. could that be when she needs to go to sleep for the night?

Haha, yeah I guess when you put it like that it's not that weird, except she's always only slept 10-11 hours a night. Maybe she hasn't been getting enough though?

And I totally wouldn't mind if she decided to make a habit of the schedule she had yesterday. 4:30 seems like a crazy early bedtime though!

 

[veganmama]

my LO literally wakes up like 7 times a night but he doesnt just wake up with a little eh eh noise he like totally freaks out kicking his legs all about and and giving me a LOUD ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

lol. but my LO always wakes up crying (like angry) is it just mine that does that? it's kind of depressing, if he was going to wake up 7 times a night i wish he at least wake up happy (we co sleep btw)

 

[Irish Eyes]

He does normally go back down easily with a cuddle but tonight he won't be put down, he screams a minute later. I wouldn't mind if he would co-sleep but he won't do that either. He has to be up right on me to sleep my hubby is off work for a few days at the moment which helps but he's going back Wednesday and will be working away for 10 days so it's just me & Lo!

It sounds like some of you ladies are making more progress now. It's hopeful to see!

 

[Aimee1003]

This thread is now my sanity. Just took 75 minutes of nursing, rocking, and 4 lay downs to get little man to sleep. Did I mention we have company over? Ergh. But now I am positive he is teething. His diapers are mucousy and he is pulling off the breast and screaming then wanting right back on... I don't see a tooth yet but those are two major signs of teething.

Oh and Irish: every 20 minutes? Omg!!!

Bananas and Libby: I am so sorry that your LOs are demanding both day and night. That must be exhausting!

 

[libbylou]

bananaz - it is exhausting isn't it! I can't ever just rest, I'm constantly trying to ward off her crying and melting down...and when she's sleeping I end up trying to get stuff done around the house instead of resting because I can't do anything when she's awake because God forbid I'm not touching her and interacting with her at all times!!

veganmama - My LO wakes up screaming when she's in her crib but when she wakes up in our bed, she hardly makes a peep...I can usually feel her start to move and I just position her at my boob and she latches on and goes back to sleep. Tough when you're cosleeping and your LO is still having such rough wake ups!

aimee - oh no LO used to be like that at bedtime. We still have the odd naptime where it's like that. Today was like an hour of crying, rocking, nursing and trying to settle her into her second nap...and then she only napped for like 20 mins and was miserable for the rest of the night
Teething definitely makes a huge impact on their sleeping and temperment, hopefully it doesn't last long!

 

[MiniKiwi]

Bananaz, Mia sleeps 11 or so hours at night too but I did think it was too little. I thought 12 was standard and then 11 and 13 would be somewhat normal too, surely? I'm obviously not an expert on baby sleep - my LO drove me mental for months trying to get her to sleep Though I do agree, 4:30 sounds like a very early bedtime

Veganmama, my LO doesn't usually cry when she wakes up. Her first waking of the night is sometimes a really horrible scream but imo that's cause she's still just really tired. Sorry you're having such a hard time

 

[libbylou]

double post

 

[libbylou]

Can I join please?!

My LO was an okay sleeper until about 6 weeks ago. He would wake between 1-3 times per night between 7pm & 6am. He got a cold and started waking about once an hour. However he's perfectly well now but his sleep is getting worse. For the past month he's been waking every 20 minutes or so. Occasionally I get a 2 hour stretch but that's rare. I'm exhausted

I keep telling myself this will pass but it's so hard. Really don't know what to do now!

Oh jeez I thought I was dying when LO was awake every 45-60 mins, I couldn't deal with every 20 mins. Poor you and your LO must be a miserable overtired mess too!
I hate to ask the dirty little question, but have you/would you consider some sort of sleep training if it doesn't change soon? Doesn't have to be CIO or CC, there are gentler methods if you aren't comfortable with those.

I've already almost had a mental breakdown tonight (again).
LO went down at 7:30...woke up at 10:30 (I'd been lying in bed for over an hour trying to get to sleep by this point, yay anxiety induced insomnia!).
Spent half hour nursing, rocking and cuddling her and then put her in her crib. She seemed quite asleep and then popped her head up, sat up, looked at me and started screaming...which is how almost all of her 2-3 hour refusal to sleep periods have started. I walked out of the room, promptly threatened to throw myself down the stairs (and very nearly did) and then threatened to walk out of the house and never come back.
It's now 11:25 and luckily she appears to have actually gone back to sleep but I'm so anxious and wired now that I doubt I'll sleep for ages

 

[Irish Eyes]

Can I join please?!

My LO was an okay sleeper until about 6 weeks ago. He would wake between 1-3 times per night between 7pm & 6am. He got a cold and started waking about once an hour. However he's perfectly well now but his sleep is getting worse. For the past month he's been waking every 20 minutes or so. Occasionally I get a 2 hour stretch but that's rare. I'm exhausted

I keep telling myself this will pass but it's so hard. Really don't know what to do now!

Oh jeez I thought I was dying when LO was awake every 45-60 mins, I couldn't deal with every 20 mins. Poor you and your LO must be a miserable overtired mess too!
I hate to ask the dirty little question, but have you/would you consider some sort of sleep training if it doesn't change soon? Doesn't have to be CIO or CC, there are gentler methods if you aren't comfortable with those.

LO is actually fine & playing away happily right now trying to chew my toes! He doesn't seem to be affected by the nights but maybe that's because he falls straight back to sleep when I pick him up?
Last night hubby suggested we leave him 2 minutes instead of rushing to him. After one minute even OH broke and I went to get LO, he was so upset and had real tears everywhere! I think that's what makes it worse, it's not a moan or groan but he does real crying and is really upset. You can't touch him or talk to him without picking him up otherwise he goes crazy!

I guess I'm lucky that he's a happy baby during the day, sounds like you don't get a break in the day? His daytime naps aren't too bad, he has 3 about 45 minutes long in his crib.

 

[Noelle610]

Aimee & Libby, so sorry for your rough nights. We are here for you! Aimee, teething sounds likely. It seemed like with that first tooth Charlotte was teething for weeks! The second popped through with very little fanfare and I've heard that's common. So here's hoping it's a phase for you.

Veganmama, I remember you from third tri! Sorry you're joining us. Charlotte often wakes angry too.... although I'd be pissed if I kept waking up from a deep sleep ;-) I think it means they're tired, but need our help to get back to sleep. Who knows with these babies.

Irish, you mentioned your little man had been sick recently. Have you had his ears checked? I'm wondering if he has an ear infection. If he's waking sometimes after only 20 minutes, he's not even making it through a sleep cycle. Even if he had a sleep association problem or something, he'd at least make it that far. When Charlotte was up all night, it turned out to be her ears. It often happens AFTER they're sick and babies usually are fine during the day. It's the pressure when they lay down that hurts them.

Charlotte and I had an okay night. She woke once at 11pm, again screaming! Not sure what this is about. I just picked her up and cuddled her and she fell straight back to sleep in my arms. Bad dream? Separation anxiety? I'm not sure, but you won't find me complaining about one short waking. She would only take one nap yesterday, so I put her down at 6pm and at 7:15am she's still sleeping. I have to wake her to go to daycare.... hope she's not sick! Over 13 hours seems like a lot of sleep, but I guess she's making up for the lack of naps.

 

[Irish Eyes]

Irish, you mentioned your little man had been sick recently. Have you had his ears checked? I'm wondering if he has an ear infection. If he's waking sometimes after only 20 minutes, he's not even making it through a sleep cycle. Even if he had a sleep association problem or something, he'd at least make it that far. When Charlotte was up all night, it turned out to be her ears. It often happens AFTER they're sick and babies usually are fine during the day. It's the pressure when they lay down that hurts them

We actually went to the doctors at 9am as I thought the same! He has ear infections in both ears and possible asthma. Before it was his coughing waking him up. I'm hoping that he starts feeling better soon now! I've also started letting him take his naps in his rocker as that keeps him more upright.

How did everyone else nights go? Has anyone found a connection between their babies sleep habits & they're own? I've always battled with sleep & insomnia, I wonder if you can pass them on?

 

[Noelle610]

Irish, you mentioned your little man had been sick recently. Have you had his ears checked? I'm wondering if he has an ear infection. If he's waking sometimes after only 20 minutes, he's not even making it through a sleep cycle. Even if he had a sleep association problem or something, he'd at least make it that far. When Charlotte was up all night, it turned out to be her ears. It often happens AFTER they're sick and babies usually are fine during the day. It's the pressure when they lay down that hurts them

We actually went to the doctors at 9am as I thought the same! He has ear infections in both ears and possible asthma. Before it was his coughing waking him up. I'm hoping that he starts feeling better soon now! I've also started letting him take his naps in his rocker as that keeps him more upright.

How did everyone else nights go? Has anyone found a connection between their babies sleep habits & they're own? I've always battled with sleep & insomnia, I wonder if you can pass them on?

Oh poor baby! No wonder he was sleeping so poorly. Once Charlotte got on antibiotics for her ear infections (also in both ears!), she went to back to sleeping normally. Keeping him upright is smart. We actually put a towel under one side of her crib mattress to slightly elevate it. It only kind of worked, though, because she's a tummy sleeper and would sometimes just slide down to the other side of the crib.

I never had insomnia until I had a baby. My husband and I have always been great sleepers. That said, my mom said I was a terrible sleeper as a baby and a three hour stretch for her felt like bliss. So perhaps there's something to that

 

[bananaz]

Irish Eyes - Aw, poor guy, I'm glad you figured out what the issue is. I'm sure he'll start sleeping much better once the antibiotics have a chance to kick in. And that's an interesting question. I've always had a difficult time falling asleep and there have been brief periods in my life where I dealt with insomnia but for the most part I think I've been a fairly "good sleeper." Given how many people have some kids who sleep amazingly right away and other kids who are up all night I'm guessing the parents' sleep habits aren't a big factor, but who knows.


Last night was awful for us. After going down at 4:30 she had a nice long stretch until 10:30 but then woke every 30-90 minutes after that until she was up for the day at 5 And of course I didn't go to bed until 9 so I didn't really get any benefit from that initial 6-hour sleep period.

From now on I'm just not going to put her down for naps after 4pm, even if it means she's up too long and gets overtired. She usually has two long nursing sessions and a small solid meal in that 4:30-6:30pm window and I think that missing them was part of why she was up so much. Fingers crossed that she'll go back to taking 1-2 hour naps and it won't be an issue though (please please please!)

 

[Shadowy Lady]

Irish - I'm sorry to see you here...IT's always great to have more ppl in the threat on one hand but then again that means more moms not sleeping I hope your LO's ear infection clears soon...

Bananaz - you know what I thought the same thing yesterday. No napping after 4 pm! Hope you have a better night this time...Elsie's picture is beautiful btw, I don't know if I said to you or not already

We had a weird night here. Sofia went down quickly at 7 pm as per usual. However, she woke up at around 10 pm. I was looking at her in the monitor and she wasn't crying...just fussing and trying to sleep. But each time as she was about the fall asleep, she would start fighting the Woombie and wake herself up. After an hour or so of that I fed her. She didn't really eat just nibbled at the boob and went to sleep so I put her back down. She proceeded to sleep till 4:30 am when she was actually hungry, fed and slept again till 7:30 am.

She's been napping now for 2 hours. I'm not sure what to do anymore. She hates being without the Woombie yet she fights it in her sleep now :/ Also I think tomorrow I'm gonna keep her up from 7 am till 9 am and put her down for a nap then...

I may be overthinking this whole thing but I want my sleep back and I wanna sleep in the same bed as DH (right now we're sleeping in shifts).

 

[jessicatunnel]

Okay, this is my third time typing this because I'm sitting on the floor with the laptop and Lilly keeps crawling over here and climbing onto my lap and banging on the keyboard.
Maybe that's a sign I should move up to the couch?

Bananaz, oh my! Your night sounds awful, I'm SO sorry! I feel for you, try to get some rest today!

Shadowy Lady, when we stopped swaddling Lilly, those first few nights were HELL! She woke up constantly like every 30 minutes to an hour. On the third night she was just fine. Have you tried just dropping the woombie altogether? Even if those first nights suck, it will get better. (We still swaddle Lilly if she's sick and isn't sleeping well at all).

Lilly slept through again, 7:15pm-8:30am.
If this continues, I won't be able to post in this thread anymore. (That should be a good thing, haha!)

 

[Noelle610]

GO LILLY! Not only did she sleep through, but she slept for a looong time. Growing girl needs and loves her sleep!

 

[bananaz]

WOW, that's so amazing, Jessica! It seems like just yesterday Lilly was up half a dozen times a night, and now she's sleeping over 13 hours straight! The couple of times Elsie slept through it was "only" for 10 hours.

 

[jessicatunnel]

WOW, that's so amazing, Jessica! It seems like just yesterday Lilly was up half a dozen times a night, and now she's sleeping over 13 hours straight! The couple of times Elsie slept through it was "only" for 10 hours.

I know! And it's really surprised me because while we were home in Texas her sleep was HORRIBLE!! And just as soon as we got home, BAM! Sleeping through the night, it came out of nowhere! I honestly thought we'd never get here. I still don't know if it's going to be a regular thing, I'm just waiting for the day when she's back to waking every few hours. I can't imagine her sleeping through from here on out.

I feel kinda bad posting that she's sleeping through the night, because a lot of the ladies on here, including you, aren't having the best of nights lately..

 

[bananaz]

I know! And it's really surprised me because while we were home in Texas her sleep was HORRIBLE!! And just as soon as we got home, BAM! Sleeping through the night, it came out of nowhere! I honestly thought we'd never get here. I still don't know if it's going to be a regular thing, I'm just waiting for the day when she's back to waking every few hours. I can't imagine her sleeping through from here on out.

I feel kinda bad posting that she's sleeping through the night, because a lot of the ladies on here, including you, aren't having the best of nights lately..

Haha, yeah I felt bad posting here when Elsie was doing 7-8 hour stretches, but actually it gives me hope to see how well Lilly is sleeping (though of course I'm jealous!), especially given how poorly she slept for so long. Sooner or later you're going to have to share your secret STTN training method though

 

[Irish Eyes]

WOW, that's so amazing, Jessica! It seems like just yesterday Lilly was up half a dozen times a night, and now she's sleeping over 13 hours straight! The couple of times Elsie slept through it was "only" for 10 hours.

I know! And it's really surprised me because while we were home in Texas her sleep was HORRIBLE!! And just as soon as we got home, BAM! Sleeping through the night, it came out of nowhere! I honestly thought we'd never get here. I still don't know if it's going to be a regular thing, I'm just waiting for the day when she's back to waking every few hours. I can't imagine her sleeping through from here on out.

I feel kinda bad posting that she's sleeping through the night, because a lot of the ladies on here, including you, aren't having the best of nights lately..

It gives us hope though! Even on a good night for my LO he never sleeps in longer that 6.30am so that's amazing!! Hoping it stays like that for you!