Hey ladies! Looks like I've a lot to catch up with. Angel, good to see you here... although I'd rather you were sleeping ;-) Your boys are so sweet.
Boo, you remind me so much of myself! I am so anxious about sleep. My LO is finally STTN and you'd think I'd be enjoying it more, but instead I spend my time googling the 8/9 month sleep regression and worrying that will happen to us soon and it will all totally fall apart. I admit, I won't be sad when Charlotte is more consistent and I don't have to obsess about these things day and night.
Bananaz, I hate those crappy 10 minute car naps. I've found recently I can transfer Charlotte from the car seat to the crib. She typically wakes up between the transfer, but will usually go back to sleep. This is a new development, though... Until recently she would just count that 10 minutes as a nap and be UP and overtired.
Lysh/BabyBump, those early morning wakings are KILLER. I'm pretty tough - I don't go and get Charlotte before 6am. I treat anything earlier as a night waking. It took awhile, but after being brutally consistent for what seemed like months she usually sleeps until 6:30am/7am, which is perfect for me.
Libby, on insomnia/anxiety, definitely look into getting medication. I finally bit the bullet and did so and I honestly sleep so, so much better even on a "bad" night. I also don't obsess about the nights as much and my life has improved drastically. It took about 2 weeks to kick in and I feel like a new person.
Irish, I certainly do not want any more kids right now and the sleep deprivation is a huge part of it. I started selling my baby stuff online recently and my coworkers keep telling me I'll regret it, but I do not think so
I'm glad you aren't suffering any more 20 minutes wake-ups, but hopefully you'll get more than a 2 hour stretch soon! Have you tried some Advil for the ears? Also, I found elevating the mattress helps because there's less pressure on their ears.
Last night was kind of weird, but still good. I was out with some work friends, but DH said Charlotte had a tough time going down, which is unusual for her. She was asleep around 7:15pm. She's constipated (again) and I think her tummy was bothering her. She then slept until around 3am when I heard her moaning. I went to check on her and her room was SUPER hot - DH had accidentally turned up her space heater all the way. I cooled down the room and she drifted off again. THEN I heard her again a few minutes later. I went in and she was sitting up and couldn't get back down! Bananaz, didn't Elsie do that? So I laid her back down. This whole process only disrupted our sleep for about 30 minutes, so I can't complain. Up for the day around 6:45am.
Once a week I get a bit of energy and decided to try something new to help my baby sleep. My main problem is that my baby wakes up at 4am everyday no matter what time he went to bed, how many times he has been up in the night (2-8 times), or how much sleep he has gotten (usually 9 hours combined). Also he will not stay up any later than 6pm (another problem)! So tomorrow morning when my little man wakes up for his 4am play time, I am going to feed him in the dark, treat it like a night feeding even though he is wide awake and ready to play. I am going to put him back in his crib where he can play or sleep. Whatever he decides to do, it will be in his crib. I will be sleeping on my floor bed that has been in his room since he moved to his crib 3 weeks ago ha-ha! 
Anyway fingers crossed. 
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