Sleep Sense Support Group!

[jacs]

Haha, made me laugh TG.
Yeah, sometimes we're so caught up in analysing them, when they're really just saying 'get in here, I'm in a hell of a mess!'

 

[TennisGal]

Morning ladies,

Wow, this has got to be heading for the longest growth spurt to date - up for four feeds last night, and she was wolfy hungry for each feed! Luckily, we did all get to sleep until 7:15.

Am not too perturbed, as when I think how nights were in previous growth spurts (up all night, trying to sleep on the floor with DD, DH and I doing shifts etc) SS has made the whole thing MUCH better.

Yesterday DD got her first fit of unprovoked giggles - DH walked into the room, and she just looked up and started laughing (she definitely associates him with all things fun!) Was v. cute. DH was proudly proclaiming 'and I haven't even done anything yet' (hehe)

The differences are hugely apparent with this spurt - we're seeing things on a daily basis.

One thing I didn't know - as I was reading why do our LOs tend to feeds more at night when spurting - is that BM has more of the stuff they need at night. Who devised that plan?!

Lovely day again yesterday...lots of walking to blow off the final winter cobwebs.

Hope you are all well x

 

[history_girls]

Well hello everyone!!

So many posts - had a quick read but will catch up properly later! Well 10 days without BnB is a long time but we had a FAB holiday and LO has loved it!

A quick update on the last 10 days for us:
- Eating milk again like a trooper and pooing! Yay! did massive poo 2 mins after leaving a service station the little rat...
- Can sit up unaided for about 2 mins!!!!
- Eats everything and anything (and can feed herself with a spoon). Just try taking tomato of her and there is screaming!
- Slept well on holiday (naps were here there and everywhere but did manage several on her own!)

but the bigggy

Last night she went to bed at 7pm not a peep until 5.50am!!!!! Now this is the girl who adores her nighttime bottle! I of course was awake from 3am thinking she was dead and had OH restraining me from going in to check. But the poo grunts at 5.50 confirmed all was well!

Over the moon - first time in almost 6 months that I haven't done a night feed. It is already in the baby book!!

Hope all are well x

 

[jacs]

Wow HG, congrats!!
Bet you can't quite believe it happened! Glad your holiday was good, sounds like LO coped really well.

TG - such an exciting time, all the new things your LO can do must make it all worth it when you're shattered at night! You can't beat the feeling of having LO laughing at you (even if you've done nothing!), bless her.

We had an early morning feed again. We had a few days of no feeds, and now a few days of one feed. We are also seeing lots of firsts, so I'm thinking growth spurt. He's down for his first nap, and has wriggled around in his cot so he's lying across it - the rate he's growing, he's gonna get wedged in there soon!

 

[polaris]

HistoryGirls - welcome back! Glad you had a good holiday and yay for LO sleeping all night without a feed!

TennisGal - there is nothing nicer than baby giggles! The six month growth spurt sounds like a biggie but definitely good to hear that sleepsense is making it easier to cope with than previous spurts.

Jacs - I think you are right about growth spurt. Your LO is coming along in leaps and bounds! We were back to two feeds last night - but I'm also thinking his sleep is maybe a bit unsettled due to all the development that is happening at the moment. He also seems to be back to 45 minute naps yesterday and today - boo! - I'm thinking maybe due to developmental spurt too? Must be hard to sleep with so much going on.

PieMistress - how is Kyle getting on in his own room?

 

[TennisGal]

HG - yipee!! That's great news!! Welcome back - and glad to hear you had a fab holiday!

Yes, the fit of giggles was amazing...she laughs lots, and does an unprovoked laugh - but never dissolving into proper giggles without us doing anything. Was hilarious! She sat there like a little round ball of laughter! You are all right, there is nothing that can beat it!

Sounds as though you are hitting the spurt, too, Jacs - good luck! I think we're more or less side by side with what's going on

Ditto, Thomas, Polaris - his rapid crawling probs means a bit less sleep and a bit more milk.

Exciting times - we may have a few extra bags under the eyes, but it's all so fascinating.

 

[redpoppy]

Hi girls.

I started reading this thread but with baby being grumpy and not getting enough sleep I can't read through it all like I wanted.

I was recommended this on another thread I posted recently about sleep as my LO has NO daytime routine although MOST of the time she has a pretty good night time routine. Having said that she can wake every two hours, cry relentlessly and then refuse to sleep after 5 too.

SO I went to the sleep sense website but the questions they asked didn't seem relevant so I emailed them too.

Wanted to know:

What everyone's opinions were of the methods/ How is it working for you?
Does it involve any crying it out?
What age are the methods good for?
How long do you think it will take to see a marked improvement?

I think the idea of this thread is FAB by the way so thanks for starting it.

I realy want my baby to have a settled routine or at least be able to settle herself to sleep NOT on me or in the moby wrap as lovely as it is as she's getting heavier and I NEED to see some light at the end of the tunnel.

I just want to know how to do this and how long it will take as I'm ready and willing but don't know who to listen to!

Thanks for the replies!

 

[TennisGal]

Hi Poppy!

I know exactly how you feel - our DD only slept on me or DH, and whereas we loved it (and still do for one nap a day!) we were getting worried that, at five months, we were so tired that one of us would have an accident. DH also has full time and v. busy job!

So, in answer to your questions:

What everyone's opinions were of the methods/ How is it working for you?

At first I was cynical - nothing had worked previously, and I didn't want to go down the CIO route...nor did DH. However, sleep deprivation and worry made us give it a go. We'd read some good things on here...so thought it was worth a try. The first few nights were tricky, but it has WORKED! DD now goes to sleep v. happily in her cot and sleeps really well for around eleven hours! We're currently mid growth spurt, so she's up for four night feeds...but settles straight back to sleep afterwards. All of us feel so much better, and DD is much more content. She even starts to indicate that she's ready for her night routine to start (bath, BF and bed)

Naps have been harder, and we're just turning a corner with them (the material does indicate this), but tbh, it was the night sleep that was the main thing for us.

DD now sleeps from about 7:45 - 7 (ish - not inc growth spurt!) with one feed. It's amazing - and she is much happier for it.

Does it involve any crying it out?

It does involve some crying, BUT the big difference is that you are right there with your LO, so they can see, hear and feel you stroking their head. There is no sense of abandonment...and tbh, the crying we had from DD was more frustration that she was tired and couldn't work out how to get herself to sleep when she wasn't on Mummy or Daddy. VERY different crying to when she's unhappy about something. It is hard - but the comfort comes from knowing you are helping your LO acquire a skill that is so important to their development...and also from being right by their side, comforting them.

What age are the methods good for?

The programme starts at any age - we started at around five months, which is when we felt comfortable 'sleep training'

How long do you think it will take to see a marked improvement?

Within a week, you'll see a difference...within ten days, moreso...and pretty soon, sleeping will be transformed! The key is consistency and routine

DO let us know if you have any questions at all...this is a great, supportive thread

 

[polaris]

Hi Redpoppy and welcome!
You would need a bit of time on your hands to read through the whole thread as we can be quite chatty!

I am a big fan of the sleepsense programme - we didn't really have to make huge changes to what we were already doing but the changes that we did make have transformed Thomas's sleeping. He has gone from waking up for a feed every two hours through the night, to just one or maximum two night feeds which he settles to sleep fantastic after his feed. Naps are harder but they have really improved too and he now self-settles for naps in the cot normally with very little or no crying at this stage.

Does it involve any crying it out? As TennisGal says, it does involve some crying and it can be very difficult not to pick your baby up and nurse them or whatever you normally do - but it is not crying it out because you can stay with your baby while they learn to self-settle to sleep. It is hard listening to them cry but there was actually much less crying than I would have expected when I read through the programme first.

What age are the methods good for? We started sleepsense proper when Thomas was just under four months but he had already started self-settling at bedtime from 12 weeks. I think 3 or 4 months is probably a great age to start - although the programme can also be used with younger babies. When I started I was a bit doubtful about whether I should wait until Thomas was 6 months to start 'sleep training' but I am so glad that I didn't wait as he is a much happier baby because he is getting decent sleep day and night.

How long does it take to see a marked improvement? I think it varies - you might see a big improvement within three or four days (we did) but I would say definitely within a week. Naps do take longer than night-time sleep though - I would say it takes a few weeks to start to see a big improvement on naps but if you stick with it they do get better with time.

Let us know if you have any more questions - I think it's a great programme and would definitely recommend it!

 

[redpoppy]

Thanks so much for your reply tennisgal! I wanted to PM you because I read one of your posts where you mentioned how upset you get with your LO crying and I'm the same. I get SOOOO distraught and if she cries a lot I have a TERRIBLE day but if there is a solution and if its within a time period I know what I have to do. I don't even mind how long (well, I mean there's probably a limit) but so long as I know.

I know it's my fault she can't self settle as I loved holding her all the time and have her sleep on me when she was really little and now she won't have it any other way.

Although she's surprisingly good at night time MOST of the time.

I slept less than her last night just because she coos and makes lots of noises and I think she's going to wake up but I left her a while and she self settled throughout the night. She had two feeds but we know she can go 8 to 9 hours without one and then with minimal breastfeeding so we give her smaller bottles than usual.

I'm really excited about trying this but know it's going to be tough.

But i'd rather do it now than later!

Currently she is asleep on me in the moby wrap. She looks lovely! I will miss her when she's ll the way upstairs in the cot...

 

[redpoppy]

Thanks polaris!


WoW! two speedy replies! the support here is great!

Quick question: I sometimes wonder if it's too light in the bedroom in the daytime and that's why her naps aren't as good? DO any of you have very dark or blacked out rooms or am i being silly?

And also, sometimes when she's half asleep on me I have to avoid eye contact as that will DEFINITELY wake her.

Is that normal? If ignore her she'll pop off to sleep easier.

Well sometimes. MOST times it will involve shushing and humming and rocking and patting.

At night time she feeds to sleep and that works so we're not too bothered by it at the moment.... but I woudl love for her to just SLEEP by herself on time!

 

[history_girls]

Hello RedPoppy!

With naps I tried darkend room and it didn't work for us. My LO naps on her own now but i put her in a travel cot (starts with childminder next week) and continue as normal around the house. She prefers to nap with noise the weird baby!

In her bedroom I have blackout curtains - great now it is light later - so bedtime is always dark and cosy. i wanted to make sure she knew the difference between night and day!

the crying - I have sobbed with her - but it doesn't last more than a few days. We haven't had tears at bedtime in ages.

Good luck!

 

[TennisGal]

Redpoppy - great support on here I hate, hate, hate hearing DD cry...we all do...but I agree with Polaris, a lot less crying on SS than we thought. Probably because we're all in the room together!

I love DD napping on me, too - so, on the suggestion of somebody here, we aim for two naps in the cot and one on me! Works quite well at the moment, although I find she is much more rested if she has a proper nap in her cot.

Like History Girls, we're getting a blackout blind, so the day/night differentiation is there...and it's a bit easier for her to nap.

 

[redpoppy]

I have blackout behind my curtains but it's still pretty light in there in the day time.

Light leaks in through the edges.

Another question:

Is it possible for baby to get too much sleep in the day?

My baby's been in my moby wrap for quite a while now and it HONESTLY seems she can sleep in this FOREVER!!!!

 

[TennisGal]

How long, on average, are her naps?

DD tends to have about 4-5 hrs a day, she's a bit older than your LO...also, I know they sleep more when growth spurting! I tend to take DDs lead when she's napping...and will just try and stir her if it's too close to bed time.

She tends to wake herself up after two hours in the morning, half an hour at lunch and then a longer nap in the afternoon....

 

[aimee-lou]

Afternoon everyone,

Reasonable night.....Earl's had a bit of an upset tummy (been blocked up from upping to 9oz bottles lol) and lets just say we've found some relief lol. Consequently he wanted to be on his side constantly last night. He was fine up til 4am then just wouldn't settle so I popped open the sofa bed but put him on the other side to me, put a pillow behind him and covered him with a blnaket and 'zonk' lol. Out like a light until 6.30 when he decided he would shuffle his way over (I kept my eyes shut so he would think I was asleep lol), and try to open my mouth (think he was hungry lol).

He's absolutely shattered today though, and has so far had 3 naps, and his third is now a good 2 hours and still going strong. I'm checking on him regularly as he should be having a bottle at 3pm but still not even a creak over the monitor. I've managed to get so much done lol.

Glad to hear we're all doing so well. I'm hoping that Earl will start moving soon (I'll regret that lol).....he's making some good efforts and enjoying sitting up like no-one's business lol. I think though that we're going for a bit of a language stage at the moment. He's laughing, squealing, jumping, yelling, blah-blahing, all sorts lol.

 

[jacs]

Hi redpoppy, I just posted on baby club for you to come over here, but I see you've already had lots of help!

It's exciting, but very, very hard to listen to the crying. I think we have all found that getting lots of support on here, and sticking with it, has paid off big time.

We were walking Evan to sleep and having quite a few night feeds. On the very first night he dropped all wakings apart from one, and the next day his naps had increased in length. Now he sleeps through, although he is having a growth spurt just now and has gone back to one night feed. We only began this about 5 weeks ago!

With naps, I only wake Evan if it is only an hour until bed time, otherwise, I just assume he needs the rest. We've found that the room has to be pretty much pitch black, which I thought would cause problems when we're out and about, but he's been fine.

Good luck, do make a plan before you start, and keep updating us!

 

[polaris]

Thanks polaris!


WoW! two speedy replies! the support here is great!

Quick question: I sometimes wonder if it's too light in the bedroom in the daytime and that's why her naps aren't as good? DO any of you have very dark or blacked out rooms or am i being silly?

And also, sometimes when she's half asleep on me I have to avoid eye contact as that will DEFINITELY wake her.

Is that normal? If ignore her she'll pop off to sleep easier.

Well sometimes. MOST times it will involve shushing and humming and rocking and patting.

At night time she feeds to sleep and that works so we're not too bothered by it at the moment.... but I woudl love for her to just SLEEP by herself on time!

Re the eye contact thing - I definitely found that with Thomas. If I was sitting beside the cot and caught his eye then it was much too stimulating for him, so I had to just sit there so he knew that I was there but definitely avoid eye contact. I don't generally have to stay in the room with him anymore when he is settling to sleep but when I was staying with him while he settled to sleep, I found I had to keep the interaction very very minimal or it would just annoy him and wake him up.

I have blackout blinds AND blackout curtains and light STILL gets in round the top and bottom! Thomas's room is south facing so we definitely need to try to block out most of the sunlight with these sunny days. I think it definitely helps that the room is reasonably dark for sleeping. But I don't know whether or not it has made a difference to the length of naps. They are gradually getting longer (except for the past couple of days) but I don't know if having the room dark has anything to do with it or not.

I tend to follow Thomas's lead with regard to length of naps, I generally figure if he takes a long nap then he must need the sleep. It has never seemed to affect his night time sleep. If he naps for longer then he is in a better mood during the day but still sleeps the same during the night. I think he normally has about 5 hours of napping time but he is a bit older than your LO so she might need a bit more.

 

[ms0206]

Afternoon ladies
I looks as though everyone has had a good weekend. Everyone seems to be weaning which sounds like fun can't wait to try but I guess we a couple of months before that happens.
We were at OH parents this weekend for a party so naps were all over the place however, DD was very well behaved smiles and chatting to everyone.
Todays naps have been a lot better we are on third nap she woke after 40mins then managed to go back to sleep. This is the first time this has happened in the afternoon don't know if it is a fluke or she went to bed slightly later than norm, she was up for 1hr 45mins instead to 1.5hrs.
Hi redpoppy we started SS when LO was about 12weeks. We didn't have the problem of waking in the night more getting her to sleep. She would fall asleep on me or OH but we had to wait until she was sound asleep before putting her down (usually 1-2hrs). We saw a difference in a few days but as others have said it can take other babies a little bit longer. Good luck

 

[jacs]

Afternoon ladies
I looks as though everyone has had a good weekend. Everyone seems to be weaning which sounds like fun can't wait to try but I guess we a couple of months before that happens.
We were at OH parents this weekend for a party so naps were all over the place however, DD was very well behaved smiles and chatting to everyone.
Todays naps have been a lot better we are on third nap she woke after 40mins then managed to go back to sleep. This is the first time this has happened in the afternoon don't know if it is a fluke or she went to bed slightly later than norm, she was up for 1hr 45mins instead to 1.5hrs.
Hi redpoppy we started SS when LO was about 12weeks. We didn't have the problem of waking in the night more getting her to sleep. She would fall asleep on me or OH but we had to wait until she was sound asleep before putting her down (usually 1-2hrs). We saw a difference in a few days but as others have said it can take other babies a little bit longer. Good luck

Evan often naps for just 40mins too. Before Sleep Sense he had never done anything but 40mins, but now he has one longer nap each day. I thought it was a fluke too, but it is usually more likely when I've kept him up a little longer. Sometimes he is just fine being up for 3 hours, compared to his usual 2, so I suppose that's why his naps can also vary in length.

Off topic, but have you noticed it says on your avatar box thing, that you've made 0 posts?!