Sleep Sense Support Group!

[TennisGal]

Positive day, HG!! Let us know how she likes her solids, it's soooooo entertaining for all!

P - you have summed it up perfectly on the weaning thing. Seems everyone has an opinion, but it really is what 'feels right' and works right for the family. Both methods, imo, offer enough positives to ensure one is not better than the other.

Also, great on the napping!

Well, DD has gone to sleep - but she did protest for a little while tonight...hope she settles after her night feeds. We shall see! She's been getting v. annoyed when she can't see me, BUT managed a good nap earlier...as she knew I was on the bed, and could see me. Small step, but a positive one

 

[TennisGal]

DD just woke up crying Quick feed - she was smiling again...put her back in cot, very unsettled.

No idea what's going on...no temp, bit of ear pulling (not as much as when she had ear infection)

Growth spurt? Teething? Weaning?

She smiles as soon as she sees me or DH, argh, I hate hearing her unsettled

 

[Elski]

Morning girls, how is everyone? Well we've finally got round to getting SS (been putting it off as I had a cold, then LO had it, now OH has got it!). We had a terrible night last night. She went to bed at 11.30pm, slept til 1.30am then woke herself up every 20 mins thrashing around so I'm shattered. I'm excited about starting SS but still nervous about all the crying!

How's everyone elses SS journeys going?

 

[polaris]

Hi everyone.

Well I managed to get a 'lie-in' until ten to eight this morning! Feels so much nicer than getting up at 6.30! But I think the only reason was because he had an extra night feed. He went to bed at 7 and woke at 1 for a feed, I then heard him waking up at about 5 - he wasn't really properly crying and I 'should' have just left him to try and resettle himself - but instead I got up and fed him and he went back to sleep no problem and slept until 10 to 8!!!

I know it's not sleepsense but I honestly think I would prefer two night feeds and a reasonable wake up time to being up at 6 or 6.30 for the day. I think if I had left him to resettle at 5 then he would have woken up again at 6 or 6.30 and would have been up for the day.


Hi Elski - good luck getting started! How old is your LO?

 

[TennisGal]

Hi Elski - we were going REALLY well until two nights ago, trying to work out what's going on! Good luck with starting...the crying is more angry protesting, really, and as your LO knows your there...they know you are not leaving them

Not a great night for us DD finally settled at about 11:30pm, with me singing lullabies non stop. She woke up for a feed, settled fine...and then woke up around 6:30/6:45. We noticed she'd done a HUGE poo, so wondering if she's finding her solids a bit hard on the tummy? Hmmmm, she has them at midday, so not sure? Either way, we're giving the doc a call...want to double check it's not her ears.

She was fine when lying next to us - smiling, laughing etc. However, the big poo and quite a few farts has got me thinking...

Am tired today, but the weather is nice...so going for a walk and a good few cuddles.

 

[Elski]

A lie-in sounds good Polaris what do you think you'll do then? It's a dilemma isn't it. I think I'd be inclined to feed as well and have a wake up time of 8.

TG - sorry you had a crap night too, I hope LO's ears are not troubling her - good luck at the docs!

LO's 16wks tomorrow and weighs 13lb 5oz so is hopefully ready to start?

 

[polaris]

A lie-in sounds good Polaris what do you think you'll do then? It's a dilemma isn't it. I think I'd be inclined to feed as well and have a wake up time of 8.

TG - sorry you had a crap night too, I hope LO's ears are not troubling her - good luck at the docs!

LO's 16wks tomorrow and weighs 13lb 5oz so is hopefully ready to start?

Sorry I couldn't see your ticker earlier for some reason - I can see it now! Yeah I would say that you can definitely get started now. How does she get to sleep at the moment - does she need to be fed/rocked to sleep or does she need a dummy? How is she sleeping during the day? The first few days can be hard work as LO learns to self-settle but then things do move very quickly - it takes longer to fine tune things like naps - still working on that one although it is definitely improving. Just gone down for first nap with no crying again!! Yay!

Yeah I am very tempted to feed him if he wakes at 5 if it will help him to sleep for longer in the mornings. He doesn't always wake at that time though so I will just see how it goes over the next few nights.

 

[Elski]

I'm going to concentrate on the nights first, then the naps once nights are sussed. I don't mind her waking for a feed, it's the aftermath I can't cope with. Nights (usually/70% of the time) go like this:

8pm - 11pm: Dozes on and off downstairs with us (won't be put to bed before 11pm or a mighty fuss ensues which she wins).

11pm - 4am: Feeds then sleeps soundly.

4am - 8am: Feeds then dozes but thrashes around, continually waking herself up every 15mins or so. I usually have to lie there pinning her arms by her sides to stop her from hitting herself in the face and waking up, meaning I am awake from 4am for the day, basically, except for a few moments where I might doze off when she does.

I wouldn't mind the 4am feed if she went back to sleep properly afterwards but she doesn't.

During the day she naps for 30-45 mins at a time, maybe 4x a day. But it's usually because she falls asleep during a feed, meaning I'm chained to the sofa til she wakes up.

Glad Thomas is starting to get his naps sussed

 

[history_girls]

Hello Elski!

Well we had a crap night. OH was ill and baby i don't think is quiet there yet. I think she and I got about two hours sleep in total what with her being a pickle and OH's visits to the bathroom.

She then screamed on her walk this morning (my great plan to go out to let OH sleep has left me shattered) as I wouldn't give her the dummy. Lets just say she now has her dummy and is asleep on the patio in the sunshine. I couldn't fight. But when I have some sleep I will stop the dummy again. I think giving it to her when she was poorly helped us then but is a hinderance now.

I think the poorlyness has knocked sleepsense back to day one. She can go to bed but is waking up and can not resettle herself at all. So tonight if I am still awake we will start again. and we've got to drive to scotland tomorrow night.

Woe is me! Sorry for the moan - but can't moan to oh as he is ill and doesn't do it well.

Did buy some chocolate at the shop which has helped - Ansiley Harriet caramel bar - quite nice!

 

[polaris]

I'm going to concentrate on the nights first, then the naps once nights are sussed. I don't mind her waking for a feed, it's the aftermath I can't cope with. Nights (usually/70% of the time) go like this:

8pm - 11pm: Dozes on and off downstairs with us (won't be put to bed before 11pm or a mighty fuss ensues which she wins).

11pm - 4am: Feeds then sleeps soundly.

4am - 8am: Feeds then dozes but thrashes around, continually waking herself up every 15mins or so. I usually have to lie there pinning her arms by her sides to stop her from hitting herself in the face and waking up, meaning I am awake from 4am for the day, basically, except for a few moments where I might doze off when she does.

I wouldn't mind the 4am feed if she went back to sleep properly afterwards but she doesn't.

During the day she naps for 30-45 mins at a time, maybe 4x a day. But it's usually because she falls asleep during a feed, meaning I'm chained to the sofa til she wakes up.

Glad Thomas is starting to get his naps sussed

Oh no you poor thing, that sounds like an exhausting schedule! I bet you will find that she will be a lot happier and more settled too once she starts sleeping better - I definitely noticed a big difference in Thomas once he started sleeping properly at night time instead of waking up all the time.

Do ask if you have any questions - we are no experts but we have been through it, LOL - it is very hard to make changes but it will be so worth it when her sleep is sorted out.

 

[Elski]

Oh no, poor you HG sounds like most have had a bit of a crappy night. What's wrong with your OH?

 

[polaris]

Hello Elski!

Well we had a crap night. OH was ill and baby i don't think is quiet there yet. I think she and I got about two hours sleep in total what with her being a pickle and OH's visits to the bathroom.

She then screamed on her walk this morning (my great plan to go out to let OH sleep has left me shattered) as I wouldn't give her the dummy. Lets just say she now has her dummy and is asleep on the patio in the sunshine. I couldn't fight. But when I have some sleep I will stop the dummy again. I think giving it to her when she was poorly helped us then but is a hinderance now.

I think the poorlyness has knocked sleepsense back to day one. She can go to bed but is waking up and can not resettle herself at all. So tonight if I am still awake we will start again. and we've got to drive to scotland tomorrow night.

Woe is me! Sorry for the moan - but can't moan to oh as he is ill and doesn't do it well.

Did buy some chocolate at the shop which has helped - Ansiley Harriet caramel bar - quite nice!

what a stressful night. I'm sure you won't be back to square one altogether though - probably a good idea to just start from scratch again but I'm sure she will pick it up much quicker this time since she has done it before. I do think that there are bound to be set-backs because when our LOs are not well they do just need you to comfort and reassure them - I know Dana says to try not to break the sleeping routine too much and I do agree that this is good advice but personally I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving LO to self-settle if he was struggling to settle because he was poorly. I think it must be so confusing and scary for our LOs when they are ill and they need us to make everything OK. I'm sure things will get back on track reasonably quickly.

 

[history_girls]

Oh has the squits big time and vomitting (never is sick but oh boy he was last night!)

I couldn't leave her to self settle when she was poorly - she didn't know what the cough was or the really bad wind and I think she would have just got herself more and more worked up. Also with wind the screaming would have put more in her anyway.

Last night the house was just upside down with noise etc... but she still wouldn't sleep on her own - she ended up in the spare bed with me at 3am! not ideal but i was knackered!

I think tonight I might move bedtime forward to half past six to ensure she is wide awake at bedtime. I have been leaving her 5 mins when she wakes to self settle - does anyone do longer? does it work?

 

[polaris]

HistoryGirls - I tend to judge how long to leave Thomas depending on how he is, if he is really crying then I won't leave him long but if it is just whinging or on/off crying then I will try to leave him for a good 10 minutes to try and settle and that usually works. Also if it hasn't been long since I fed him then I will leave him for longer than if I think he is probably hungry.

 

[TennisGal]

HG poor you - hope your OH gets well soon, must have been a horrid night for you, him and LO

Am just waiting for docs to call back. Really hope it's not DDs ears, and just getting used to solids. I tell you, after having got used to proper sleep, I feel worn out today! I wonder how long it takes to get used to new food?

P - forgot to say, good news on the sleeping in!

 

[history_girls]

Well to combat my woes I have sent OH to bed, hoovered the car (dd sat in her car seat talking to the hoover lol) and washed the pram wheels (dd in car seat and entertained by dog). Even though completely shattered the activity was good for us.

Polaris - i leave 5 mins but longer if she is on and off so thought it was ok.

TG - It's hard when you have some better nights then a crap one! Hope the drs give you an answer. I guess food is such a new thing it might take a while or have a few upset days.

on the positive note the toilet hasn't been flushed in an hour so I'm guessing he is getting there! Look at me obssessed with baby poo and now husband poo!!!

 

[TennisGal]

HG are you wonder mum?! When I am tired, I can barely walk to the car...never mind clean it! Good news on the toilet flushing Hope it clears up soon...

We saw the doc, and DD hasn't got an ear infection, thank goodness. Doc did say her ear was a bit closed looking, and think it's a bit sore...potentially due to teething. However, no infection! Relief!

SO, we can deal with adjustment to weaning or teething...we were just worried about ear bugs.

DD was v. well behaved throughout...until the end, when she decided it was all far too boring, and tried to reach for, and throw, the ear-scope...lol.

She's had some more fruit today, which went down very well...she's started digging her hands in and feeding herself, which is fun.

DH has got me a Lindt choccie bunny, and am considering attacking its ears...

 

[CatStorey]

Hi Girls!! Sorry not been around much. All this talk of naps and weaning, not so hot on eaither I'm affraid

So sorry your lo's arn't well TG and HG

HG - Sounds like you have had a rubbishy night. I do hope your lo and dh get better soon. A couple of weeks ago both me and oh got a virus and were both up all night chucking up Really horrid when you have lo to look after!!

TG - Hope things are all going well with the weaning. You have got me very excited! Had the weaning talk from the HV today so I'm all ready. Even purchased a cute bowl from Disney Store the other day

Polaris - Good news on the lie in

Hi Elski Good luck tonight!! I only started about 11 or 12 days ago and I can't tell you how much difference SS has made. Its worth it!

Well, we are doing pretty well! Chloe last night didn't cry at bedtime....yay! But the night before she did but only for 7 mins so big improvement She is sleeping through until around 3.30am/4am then waking but I'm leaving to self settle. She is only moaning and crying out for a minute or 2, then back to moaning again, usually lasts 10-15 mins then is back to sleep until 5.30/6am when we get up. I honestly can't believe how different Chloe is now she is getting decent sleep. Everyone is commenting on how happy and smiley she is now compared to 2 weeks ago. Its just fantastic and I feel like a new women too Having survived on 3-4 hours sleep a night for months this is just bliss

 

[history_girls]

Cat - does chloe stay asleep once there? are main prob is she keeps waking up and not being able to go back (5 times a night at mo). We are quiet as mice so know it isn't that (and she slept through a mega thunder storm the other night).

Great news though! Gives us hope!

 

[history_girls]

TG - good news on ear infection front! Teeth can be a bugger!