Rant - Feeling so hopeless about sleep!

[libbylou]

Socity - I don't know much about sleep training reflux babies, but it sounds like her big problem is learning to self settle and put herself to sleep?
If her reflux is under control, maybe you can do some research into a method of sleep training that you feel comfortable with and give it a try?
Even though Everette is still a crap sleeper, at least the sleep training taught her to self settle so it doesn't take hours to put her to sleep anymore and she does sleep for longer stretches and can settle herself sometimes when she wakes.
I know you said you don't want to listen to any more crying since she cries all the time anyway, but I said the same thing before we attempted sleep training. Honestly, the amount of crying she did during the sleep training (camping out/CC) was significantly less than the amount of crying pre-sleep training and now the amount of crying (from both of us!!) surrounding sleep is also significantly less.
I don't know if you've looked into the No Cry Sleep Solution yet? It didn't work for us, but its worth a shot to see if it works for your LO

 

[Shadowy Lady]

Feel like I'm gonna lose it She was up 5 times last night, napped only 20 mins today and has been crying on and off since being put to bed an hour ago...this is soooo unlike her....I don't know what to do

 

[socitycourty]

Feel like I'm gonna lose it She was up 5 times last night, napped only 20 mins today and has been crying on and off since being put to bed an hour ago...this is soooo unlike her....I don't know what to do

teething??? that really fucks up their sleep. i feel for you!

 

[megangrohl]

I am getting pissed off. Lily is making me so frustrated!!!!!!!!! She sleeps in her playpen fine for all of her naps. She currently has 2 naps a day. Then she will sleep in it from 7 to 10 pm and then as soon as 10 pm hits all hell breaks loose. She refuses to go back into her playpen and will only sleep in my bed with DF and I. She tosses and turns the entire night, I get NO sleep and I am so fking cranky I can't do this anymore. It is causing fights with DF and I because he thinks we should just keep doing the easiest thing feeding her to sleep.

SHE ISNT EVEN HUNGRY! I gave her a huge supper at 5 and then 7 oz formula at 7pm there is no way in hell she is hungry 3 hours later when during the day she goes 5 hours between bottles! Why won't she sleep in her own bed past 10pm it's really making me so angry I can't do it anymore!!!!!!!!!

Oh and I have tried CIO and all she does is cry for hours (so far 3 hours is the track record) then ends up over working herself that she vomits all over the place. So CIO doesn't work. I really am at a loss with what to do here. I have also tried PU/PD and that also does not work. As soon as she sees either me or DF she goes ballistic, inconsolable!!! All I am asking for is 5 god damn hours of sleep!

 

[socitycourty]

^^^i really feel for you! my situation is the same right now

 

[Noelle610]

Hey girls, sorry that everyone is having a tough time.

Shadowy Lady, get Sofia checked for an ear infection. That's often the culprit when we're having a particularly bad night.

Megan, that sounds so awful. I'm sure it's separation anxiety. I wish I had some better tips on how to deal with it. We've been fortunate and the anxiety seems to present itself during the day for the most part. Does Lilly have a comfort object?

We're teething here again, so our night was okay - a couple wake ups, but I think she's doing very well considering. We had 5 nights of STTN 11-12 hours prior, so I can't complain! My poor pumpkin. Hope the tooth pops through quickly.

 

[megangrohl]

I figured it was either separation anxiety or her learning to walk. She has been standing up by herself the last 2 days so maybe it is a bit of both but I am so tired. She didn't wake up for a feed lastnight at 3am like she usually does so that's a good thing. I am trying to get her to stop eating in the middle of the night because she is eating more than enough during the day. She does not have a comfort object, other than our bed....lol

 

[bananaz]

Megan - That is really tough. Does she fall asleep right away when you bring her in bed with you or does she want to eat?

Noelle - Sorry about the wakeups but I'm sure you must be glad there's an obvious temporary reason for them! I hope the tooth erupts quickly as well.

Shadowy - I agree with Noelle, I would see about an ear infection, especially since she's been sick recently if I remember right?


Elsie's sleep is continuing to get worse. Her night wakings are creeping earlier and earlier and she was up for an hour at 2am last night. You'd think she would want to sleep in a bit after that but nope - up for the day at 5:45! I'm so fucking sick of this rollercoaster ride. Every time I let myself feel hopeful that things are getting better there's a huge backslide for no discernible reason and it takes weeks if not months to get back to where she was before. I don't have any kind of gameplan anymore. I don't know how to respond to her or when, it's pointless when the effects seem totally random.

It doesn't help that she is now completely uninterested in all solids except for rice cereal, and as tempted as I am to just give her three meals of rice cereal a day I don't think that would be very healthy. I know I shouldn't complain when other people here have it much worse than I do but it's so hard to get my hopes up a little and have them smashed again and again. How many months of this BS are we going to go through?

 

[megangrohl]

She falls asleep straight away. She doesn't want to eat at all. Lastnight after letting her cry a bit in her bed, we brought her into ours and she slept 11:30-6:30 this morning. So it must be something to do with separation anxiety, or habit? Not sure what to do, or if it is separation anxiety if I should just keep doing it.

I know how you feel about the rollercoaster ride. She goes from not sleeping well, to sleeping 10 hours straight to not sleeping well to sleeping decent again then back to not sleeping well. Argh! Won't be getting any sleep until she is 2. All I am asking for is 5 or 6 hours of sleep even if it is broken up 3 hours and then 3 hours! And even if she has 1 good night of sleep the next 5 are HELL

 

[Shadowy Lady]

Thanks guy! She finally did go o sleep at 10:30 after the Advil took affect and slept till 5 am. She seems ok today though. I will start the night with Advil to eliminate teething issue. If sleep is bad again I will call the doc.

Megan - I'm not too familiar with separation anxiety but ur LO def sounds like she's going through it. Especially since she sleeps well in ur bed.

Bananaz - awwwww honey I totally feel for u. Have u talked to a nutritionist about Elsie's eating habits? I don't know how it is in ur state but here in Ontario we get access to free nutrition consulting. I haven't had to use it but my friend with 7 months old LO did and she said the change of daytime eating habits has helped a lot with her LO sleep at night.

 

[megangrohl]

Ahhhh ok. So since it sounds like separation anxiety, should I continue to let her sleep in our bed? I don't want to upset her & when she was crying lastnight she sounded so upset and scared

 

[lysh]

3:45 am is LOs new wake up time! ugh

Bananaz-How about oatmeal? That is our staple food- I give it to her 3 times a day with either a fruit or veggie. Some days she eats more than others, but I still offer 3x a day. I am sorry she is having a backslide....I go through the same thing and it is o frustrating.

Shadowylady- I agree- get her checked out. It could be an ear infection or maybe early teeth getting ready to pop out?

megangrohl- Good luck...we have not hit separation anxiety and I am dreading it.

Question- What did you ladies do to try to get on a nap schedule?? Since LO typically wakes up at all different times I am having a hard time with this, yet I am wondering if more of a schedule would help her?

 

[megangrohl]

When my little girl was a newborn I did sleep every 90 minutes of being awake. It depends on your baby but I'd say to just follow the cues and when they seem tired put down for a nap. at 6 months Lily was having 3 naps a day still. 30 minutes each nap

 

[socitycourty]

Megan - That is really tough. Does she fall asleep right away when you bring her in bed with you or does she want to eat?

Noelle - Sorry about the wakeups but I'm sure you must be glad there's an obvious temporary reason for them! I hope the tooth erupts quickly as well.

Shadowy - I agree with Noelle, I would see about an ear infection, especially since she's been sick recently if I remember right?


Elsie's sleep is continuing to get worse. Her night wakings are creeping earlier and earlier and she was up for an hour at 2am last night. You'd think she would want to sleep in a bit after that but nope - up for the day at 5:45! I'm so fucking sick of this rollercoaster ride. Every time I let myself feel hopeful that things are getting better there's a huge backslide for no discernible reason and it takes weeks if not months to get back to where she was before. I don't have any kind of gameplan anymore. I don't know how to respond to her or when, it's pointless when the effects seem totally random.

It doesn't help that she is now completely uninterested in all solids except for rice cereal, and as tempted as I am to just give her three meals of rice cereal a day I don't think that would be very healthy. I know I shouldn't complain when other people here have it much worse than I do but it's so hard to get my hopes up a little and have them smashed again and again. How many months of this BS are we going to go through?

you coud try barley, oatmeal or mixed grain cereals, earth's best makes some varieties that have fruit in thhem already. or you could add very mild purees to them like pear or apple?

 

[bananaz]

3:45 am is LOs new wake up time! ugh

Bananaz-How about oatmeal? That is our staple food- I give it to her 3 times a day with either a fruit or veggie. Some days she eats more than others, but I still offer 3x a day. I am sorry she is having a backslide....I go through the same thing and it is o frustrating.

Shadowylady- I agree- get her checked out. It could be an ear infection or maybe early teeth getting ready to pop out?

megangrohl- Good luck...we have not hit separation anxiety and I am dreading it.

Question- What did you ladies do to try to get on a nap schedule?? Since LO typically wakes up at all different times I am having a hard time with this, yet I am wondering if more of a schedule would help her?

I'm a little paranoid that LO might have an oat sensitivity, but maybe I will add oatmeal back to my diet first and she if she's okay. I loooove oatmeal so that would be an easy fix.

About nap schedules, Elsie kind of naturally developed one between 6 and 7 months but she still has random days (okay, sometimes weeks lol) where it's off for whatever reason because her "optimal wake time" is in flux. I don't think it could hurt to try a schedule though, you should let us know how it goes

 

[bananaz]

you coud try barley, oatmeal or mixed grain cereals, earth's best makes some varieties that have fruit in thhem already. or you could add very mild purees to them like pear or apple?

Oooh thanks for the tip, I will have to check out the Earth's Best ones, that does sound promising!

 

[socitycourty]

i've gotten them at babies r us or target, my lo and my niece loved them. gerber also makes rice w/bananas and rice w/mixed fruit

 

[Noelle610]

Ugh Bananaz, I'm sorry. I know how utterly frustrating and anxiety provoking it is when your baby not only sleeps like crap, but also has seemingly no pattern. If it was bad but you knew what to expect, it would be so much easier. Much sympathy. Charlotte still seems to be unpredictable, so while I enjoy that she's sleeping well now I am just wondering when it will all go to hell.

Charlotte loves oatmeal. I second Socity's recommendation for trying some purees mixed with grains and oats. I can't remember the brand right now (maybe Plum Organics?) but I recently gave Charlotte a store bought puree of blueberries and quinoa and she loved it! C goes through phases where she loves solids and phases where she's not so into eating and I do find it stressful.

Megan, re: separation anxiety.... It does sound like Lilly sleeps well in your bed. Are you able to get any rest that way? If it works for you, I think it's fine to continue for now. If you'd really prefer she sleep in her crib, I might try to introduce a lovey or comfort object. Like a blanket or stuffed animal. Charlotte didn't really "get it" at first, but now she has this little blankie that she LOVES. It's really helped us in unfamiliar situations, like when we're traveling as well.

 

[socitycourty]

Bananaz: do you make her cereals with breastmilk? does it make a difference if she eats the fruit/veg if the cereal is with breastmilk? my cousin started making up her LO's food with a tiny bit of formula (he was otherwise EBF) and he was much more interested in eating it, she said her dr. told her that formula is sweet to them. just a suggestion, don't know if you're adverse to it. since she's almost 9 months you could also use the toddler formulas which I think have vanilla flavoring or something.....

Just a suggestion, not trying to push the evil formula on you

it is frustrating when they won't eat, I always get stressed out if H seems to be off her solids. Luckily she's not too picky, and she's a chunker LOL

 

[megangrohl]

Megan, re: separation anxiety.... It does sound like Lilly sleeps well in your bed. Are you able to get any rest that way? If it works for you, I think it's fine to continue for now. If you'd really prefer she sleep in her crib, I might try to introduce a lovey or comfort object. Like a blanket or stuffed animal. Charlotte didn't really "get it" at first, but now she has this little blankie that she LOVES. It's really helped us in unfamiliar situations, like when we're traveling as well.

No I don't really get much sleep because she moves from her back to side to back to other side then she ends up sleeping with her head against me and feet against OH. She is restless alot of the time due to teething as well and as I am an extremely light sleeper every single movement wakes me up from any deep sleep I may enter. She has comfort objects but she doesn't take to them. She just wants me. I guess I could just keep trying with her little blankie we have.