Sleep Sense Support Group!

[Poppy7]

Hi everyone :wave:

Sorry for not being around much lately. Elliott has been getting better and better lately and i am so so proud of him. I would update everyday but every night (TOUCH WOOD) seems to be the same lately - excellent.

He wakes up about twice every night and this is completely manageable and we are all happy. His naps have been fantastic. Shortest nap being 30 minutes and then they go anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours at a time (he took 2 very long 1.5 - 2 hour naps today as well as a little 30 minute one at lunch time).

He is settling fantastically in his cot and also dropping off to sleep so well when we are out and about. The dummy has now been gone for over a month and getting rid of it was the best thing we ever did.

I was brave and put him in his own room for the first time on Sunday night. He settled perfecty and slept so well. I actually think he is sleeping better at night (again TOUCH WOOD) since being in his own room as we don't disturb him. Every nap in his own room has been long and restful too.

So all in all I couldn't be happier with my little angel.xxxx

 

[hivechild]

jacs, glad to hear Evan's doing great on naps. There's meant to be another 'sleep regression' around 8 months which I would dare say is related to another developmental leap. There's one at 37 weeks, but they can start getting fussy from between 32-34 weeks onward as they're gearing up for it. Sleeping poorly is a common sign, finding it harder to get to sleep, fussing and crying when they go down, having trouble staying asleep and waking up earlier than normal, along with getting super clingy and whingy, crying a lot more than normal etc. Hopefully it's nothing serious and he's in good health and the phase passes quickly!

Poppy7, that's great news! Go Elliot! Here's hoping that he starts to phase out at least one of those night wakings in the near future. I love your avatar pic, too. He's such a cutie.

 

[polaris]

Hey everyone.
Well thomas's sleep has really gone downhill over the past couple of weeks so not looking forward to the 8 month sleep regression. I think it's been a combination of a few things: first he had his third set of jabs which really unsettled him for a couple of days, then we had the really hot weather which definitely made it harder for him to settle, and thirdly he has not been having his third nap most days but then ending up totally overtired and not able to settle properly at bedtime. He's been waking up loads during the night too, not for food, and it's been 50 50 whether or not he will go back to sleep after his 4/5 am feed. Which then leaves him tired for the next day.

So today I have started a new plan to try and get him to take 3 naps because he's obviously not ready to move to two naps yet. I'm going to try and start putting him down for his naps at the same times each day and wake him from his first two naps after an hour and a half instead of letting him sleep. So he will hopefully be napping 8.30 to 10, 12.30 to 2, and then should hopefully be willing to go for a short nap at about 4.15/4.30 till 5, just to tide him over till bedtime. I'll let you know how it goes. I never thought I would have a schedule like that but I just want my happy baby back so I figure anything is worth a try. Wish me luck!

 

[jacs]

jacs, glad to hear Evan's doing great on naps. There's meant to be another 'sleep regression' around 8 months which I would dare say is related to another developmental leap. There's one at 37 weeks, but they can start getting fussy from between 32-34 weeks onward as they're gearing up for it. Sleeping poorly is a common sign, finding it harder to get to sleep, fussing and crying when they go down, having trouble staying asleep and waking up earlier than normal, along with getting super clingy and whingy, crying a lot more than normal etc. Hopefully it's nothing serious and he's in good health and the phase passes quickly!

Nooooooooo! Your information is fabulous, but only if it's good news!
Nah, just kidding, it's really interesting. How far does that book go, age-wise? Is it worth getting do you think, now Evan's 8 months?

We're still doing well with sleep, but Evan is DEFINITELY getting clingy. He will cry the second I leave the room, even if he's playing quite happily, and he's never been like this before. I'd say it's been like this for about 3 weeks, and he's now 35 weeks.

Poppy - I also love your avatar, what a sweety-pie. So pleased for you, and your restful nights - what a long way you've come!

Polaris - sorry it's a bit crazy for you. The nap times you're going for are EXACTLY what Evan does now! 2 x 1hr 20mins in the morning, and 1x 40mins in the afternoon. I had to move things round a bit as well, so that the PM nap was right in the middle of the afternoon, otherwise he couldn't have lasted until bedtime. Good luck, hope it works out.


Sunflower update - we now have 46 of the darn things.

 

[Poppy7]

Thanks HC and jacs. My avatar pic is Elliott just making sure the Philadelphia pot was completely clean He is a cutie!!

Another sleep regression at 8 months???? But we only just got things sorted I am going to be keeping my fingers crossed that this one by passes us and Elliott carrys on as well as he's currently doing.

Polaris, Elliott is still having 3 naps a day minimum. The last nap of the day is usually the hardest but it's getting better. Without it he can't manage until bed time either. I hope things improve for you soon.xx

Jacs, Elliott gets very clingy when he's tired. This happens in the last 2 hours before bedtime if he's overtired. They say babies go through separation anxiety at around Evans age. Do you think this is what it is?xx

HC, I'm hoping he will drop a nighttime feed of his own accord soon as I don't want to fo through any crying if I can help it. Maybe as his solid intake increases he may sleep better?? If not I'll go with the flow.xx

 

[hivechild]

Polaris, sorry to hear things have gotten worse with Thomas recently. Hopefully your plan of attack in getting him back on track with naps works out. Let us know how it goes!

Jacs, the book covers 8 developmental leaps up to 55 weeks so I think it'd still be worth getting. If nothing else, it's a fascinating read and if you're like me, you'll have moments of reflection on leaps that have passed by already and think 'Ah! That's why he was a miserable sod!'

Also, I love that you're swamped with sunflower seedlings. It makes me smile just thinking about it and having a garden full of them in bloom!

Poppy7, I wouldn't want to force Ronan to drop feeds either. I still keep hoping he'll do it on his own though!

On that note, he woke up at 1 and then again at 6 last night. I know, I know, it's to be expected and all the other sage advice and supportive comments I try to give to others, but really you can't help but think and hope that your baby will be different, or escape the worst of it!

His last nap of the day got cut short today so I put him to bed early (asleep by 7) and he was already overtired and screamy having been awake for 2 hours which is more than he can handle, so I am anticipating another early waking in a few hours...and off to bed I go.

 

[mrscupcake]

Hey ladies can i ask u a question? Can I do this programif my baby has bad colic and acid reflux? as he needs 'soothing' to sleep when he's in pain. xx

 

[polaris]

Hey ladies can i ask u a question? Can I do this programif my baby has bad colic and acid reflux? as he needs 'soothing' to sleep when he's in pain. xx

Hi Mrscupcake - welcome!
Thomas had very bad wind/colicky periods when he was younger and needed soothing to sleep. I wouldn't have felt comfortable doing the programme until it improved as I couldn't let him cry when he was in pain and I'm not sure that he would have been able to settle himself to sleep because of it. It started to improve at about 12 weeks and he was a different baby at about 4 months. We started sleepsense at almost 4 months when his wind was better. Hope this helps. I think for a baby with colic you should do whatever you need to do to allow them to get some sleep so they are not over-tired on top of the colic. I wouldn't worry about forming bad habits, just do what you need to get through as it is so so hard to see your baby suffer. Then when the colic gets better you can work on learning to self-settle. Just my opinion, I don't know what others think?

 

[polaris]

Well everyone - I am back - properly back online!!! I actually can't believe that I am on the internet on my laptop - it is fantastic!!

I've been trying to keep up to date with all of you on this thread but it is really not easy when you only have occasional access to an iphone!

So a big huge wave to everyone - it's great to be back with you all again!

My update on my new plan for Thomas's sleep:
Day 1 went absolutely perfectly. He went to sleep at exactly the times I had planned, I got him up after an hour and a half for his first two naps and after an hour for his third nap. He was in fantastic form all day, not overtired at bedtime, settled beautifully for all naps and at bedtime, and didn't wake until 4.30 a.m., had a feed, and back to sleep until 6.40!! Result!!!

Day 2: everything went pear-shaped on the first nap! I think I put him down too early because I was trying to stick to my timetable! I tried to put him down at 8.30 and he cried for 45 minutes before finally going to sleep at 9.15. It was an absolute nightmare. I felt like crying too. OH slept through it all (!!!! HOW??? !!!) so I was dealing with it on my own. I think he just wasn't tired yet at 8.30 and I should have kept him up till 9. Normally he is definitely ready for a nap by 8.30 but that is because recently he has usually been awake since 5.30 or 6. So I let him sleep until 10.30 then got him up. He was in great form and went down beautifully for his second nap at 12.45. I'm going to get him up at 2.15 and then hopefully he should be ready to go for a nap at 4.15, I will get him up at 5 and we should be back on track.

I think we should all get honorary degrees in baby sleep patterns at this stage!! LOL!

 

[polaris]

Hivechild - I have just ordered the wonder weeks from amazon - to add to my growing collection of baby books - can't wait to have a good read of it now! Sometimes I do feel a bit obsessed with all things baby-related!

Jacs - so pleased that you have so many sunflowers, LOL!! Hope you can offload a few of them on the neighbours!

Poppy - that's brilliant that Elliott is sleeping so much better now. You never know, the 8 month sleep regression might just pass you by. I found that we never had a 4 month sleep regression - Thomas's sleep only started to improve at 4 months so I would have been pissed off if it then just regressed straight away!!

Cattia - how is everything with you? Hope you are getting some restful nights and the night-time snacks are reducing in quantity?

TennisGal - hope you get your internet sorted soon!

 

[cutie4evr01]

Hi all, sorry I haven't been around the past few days - Christina and I have both been sick, so I've been just trying to make sure we both get enough rest. The past few nights have been hit or miss, but generally she's still waking for 2 night feeds. She spacing out her day feeds a little more to 3.5-4 hrs in between, so she's really only having 6 feeds in 24 hours most of the time. She's taking 3 naps a day and managing to stay awake a little longer in between, but almost every nap is still only 30 minutes! I'm really not sure what to do to make the naps longer. She self-settles, so I don't think it's a problem of her waking up after a cycle and not knowing how to get herself back to sleep. I've tried leaving her to see if she'll go back to sleep and she just screams the place down. Also I've tried going in right when she wakes up and trying to quickly rock her back to sleep before she gets worked up, but she is always just wide awake smiling up at me and wanting to play. I'm really getting worried she's not getting enough sleep, as she usually has ~9-10 hours at night and only 2 hours or so of naps, whereas everything I've read says at her age she should be having 14-15 hrs of sleep in 24 hours. This sleep is so hard to figure out!

Polaris, so glad to see you back online! Sounds like Thomas is doing good on his new schedule, for the most part. Maybe you could keep the same schedule but keep the starting time flexible depending on when he wakes up, so you don't have to go through the crying again. My husband can sleep through Christina's crying also, and I don't understand it at all. I really hope I never need to leave them alone overnight because really he might not wake up if she needed him!

Poppy I love your picture too - he is adorable! Congratulations on making the move to his own room - I'm sure that was a little difficult. I'm hoping once C starts solids that she will be able to start dropping night feeds too, but I'm not going to count on it (don't want to feel let down if it doesn't happen haha). Our pediatrician said at 6 months we should start eliminating night feeds, but I'm not going to feel comfortable doing that until I'm confident she's getting enough to eat in the day, so I'm just going to follow her lead.

HC, hope you were able to get some sleep last night! That book sounds terrific.

I hope everyone sleeping well tonight.

 

[hivechild]

mrscupcake, Ronan has reflux too but no colic. I was hesitant to start with Ronan so young (at 7 weeks) but decided I'd give it a try and play it by ear and if it didn't work out, I'd put it aside until he was a bit older. As it turns out, we did just fine. It was a little tough in having to keep him upright after a feed and keep him awake long enough but we got past that and his reflux seems to have gotten a bit better as well (knock on wood). I've always played it by ear though, and if he's having a bad time of things, or is overtired and needs comfort and cuddles to get to sleep, I give them to him. To date, it's never been a consistent enough thing and is only very occasional and doesn't seem to have affected his ability to self soothe himself to sleep at night. So, that being said, I guess it's up to you whether you want to try now and don't beat yourself up too badly if it doesn't work out and then wait a little longer, or just wait a little longer. Either way, welcome and stick around and let us know how your LO gets along!

Polaris, it sounds like Thomas is settling quite well into the nap routine (barring the morning set back). I can't believe how long it's been since you started down this road with him. I remember reading your thread in Baby Club back in the day and seeing your ticker and thinking 'wow, I can't imagine Ronan being that old. It seems like such a long time,' yet here he is, almost the same age!

on ordering the book. Let me know how you like it. I wish that they went beyond the first year. There's another book along the same line (Touchpoints) that goes further into childhood, but from the reviews I've read, it's written quite differently and comes off patronizing, so who knows? I suppose it depends on whether you could look past that to the information contained within, or whether there's actually another/better book on the same topic. I think I need to start doing some research.

Oh, and welcome back!

cutie, sorry to hear that you and Christina are sick. I hope it passes quickly. I imagine that having your LO sick at the same time makes it 10 times worse because you just can't look after them as well as you'd want to.

As for us and our sleeping, well he woke at 1 and then just before 6 again last night. Let's see what's in store for us tonight! He had a latish nap and went to sleep around 8 so fingers crossed that he sleeps a little longer than to 1am.

 

[mrscupcake]

Ok thanks girls I think I will wait a bit and see how he gets on, after all, he's not too bad at night as mostly sleeps at least 4 hrs, and he slept through once although I have to bf him first and then keep him in my arms upright for 20 mins before putting him down. Day time naps are a struggle as he only sleeps in my arms, in a sling, the car, or his swing, and normally for only 30 mins at a tine, about twice a day! Exhausting! Hope it gets better by itself!! Xx

 

[polaris]

Good morning everyone.
Well the rest of the day yesterday went fantastic (after the terrible first nap). All the times were pushed back a bit but he was still happy to go down for that all-important third nap at 4.30 - I got him up at 5.15 as I think he would have slept on for longer - and he settled perfectly at bedtime, had his one night feed at about 4ish and then back to sleep until 6.30. I feel like we might be starting to crack it - until the next thing happens, LOL!

Cutie4ever - I really struggled with short naps when Thomas was your LO's age. I thought that I would never get him to sleep longer than 45 minutes, even though he was clearly still tired when he woke up from his naps. Like you I tried everything and nothing really seemed to work. It didn't really change until we started weaning, he then started to go longer between milk feeds during the day and sleeping longer for his naps. Now I have to wake him from his naps - I honestly never thought I would see the day, LOL!!! It still seems wrong to me to wake him up from his naps when I spent SO long trying to get him to sleep longer! I'm sure it will improve for your LO too with a bit of time. Hope you are both feeling better soon - Thomas had a rotten cough during the week but seems to have pretty much shaken it off now thank god.

Mrscupcake - good advice from hivechild there. I think there would be no harm in reading through the programme and seeing what bits you feel would be appropriate to start with now. I do think that a big problem for colicky babies is that they are over-tired too - so anything that helps them to sleep better is definitely a plus in my book.

 

[lanaross]

girls omg so frustrated.. had a hellish week but again she slept through at grandma without me... I mean seriously what the what! Last week she slept through once at home until about 5 from 9:45 (I know it's late but took a while to settle). That was the night after she spent two nights at grandma, but all other nights she woke up twice per night. I thought it had something to do with air - we have AC and grandma has central air with certain temperatures, but guess what her central air broke and Isabella still slept through all night until 6. Her house is very loud with two dogs and her being Italian I try to keep things quiet around bedtime maybe that's why she settles easier and sleeps through? Or maybe you're right it's about me and my milk My mom is coming over on 27th, we'll try to get her used to a bottle at night, so she doesn't expect me. I don't think my DH can hand

 

[polaris]

girls omg so frustrated.. had a hellish week but again she slept through at grandma without me... I mean seriously what the what! Last week she slept through once at home until about 5 from 9:45 (I know it's late but took a while to settle). That was the night after she spent two nights at grandma, but all other nights she woke up twice per night. I thought it had something to do with air - we have AC and grandma has central air with certain temperatures, but guess what her central air broke and Isabella still slept through all night until 6. Her house is very loud with two dogs and her being Italian I try to keep things quiet around bedtime maybe that's why she settles easier and sleeps through? Or maybe you're right it's about me and my milk My mom is coming over on 27th, we'll try to get her used to a bottle at night, so she doesn't expect me. I don't think my DH can hand

Wow that must be pretty frustrating! don't really know what to suggest. On the positive side though, at least you know that she CAN do it - so hopefully she'll start doing it at home too before too long. Aren't babies funny - they do like to keep us guessing I think.

 

[Cattia]

Hello everyone, sorry I have not been around for a few days, we've been busy out and about in the baking hot weather! Polaris, glad to hear that you schedule is getting back on track!
Cutie, sorry to hear LO has been ill, hope she's all better now.
Lanaross, isn't it weird how babies behave, you just can't work them out! However, as Polaris says, it shows that she CAN do it so at last you know it's only a matter of time. I hope you find out what Grandma's secret is soon!
Jacs - how are the sunflowers coming along? I should think in all this lovely weather they should be growing up a treat.

Well, we are in some kind of sleep meltdown! I have no idea what the matter is, I can only think that it's the heat. For the past three nights, Abigail has gone into complete hysterics when I put her to bed. She's been self settling since she was 8 weeks old at night, with only the odd winge here and there. Last night was the worst, we had 45 minutes of full on screaming, even feeding her again didn't work, in the end I managed to get her to calm down by stroking her head for ages - not in the SS rules I don't think! She eventaullly went off but she had a very unsettled night, waking lots of times and feeding three times.

This afternoon she had a complete meltdown for her last nap(the first one was OK, the other two we were out so she napped in the pram.) She screamed and screamed, she was hysterical! In the end I gave her a dummy, which she has not had since she was about 4 weeks old, and she settled in seconds. I felt awful, I am determined not to do that again, but I didn't know what else to do, as even when I got her up she was still crying. Her temp is fine, she is perfectly OK when she is not trying to sleep!

Tonight she cried less, about 20 minutes, but still much worse than normal. We have noticed that she is moving right to the edge of the cot and sticking her arms and legs through the bars. When I felt behind the cot, it seems that thre is a bit of a breeze somehow circulating between the cot and the wall and I think she is trying to get her arms and legs into it It makes me think the poor little thing must be far too hot. We have a fan on the other side of the room, all the windows open and she only has a vest on and no sleeping bag, but the room is 23 and it is usually a cold room, in the winter it drops down to about 13 overnight so she's not used to the warmth. She is meant to be moving into her own room this weekend before I go back to work in a couple of weeks I thik her room is even warmer than ours though, so not sure if we'll hold off, but on the other hand it is meant ot be a hot summer so I am not too sure we can have her in with us until September, she'lll be nine months old by then!

 

[polaris]

Oh Cattia, what a nightmare! I wonder if it is the heat - maybe that is a factor for us too at the moment? So do you have Abigail sleeping with no covers at all at the moment? I still have Thomas in a vest and a one tog sleeping bag - I hate sleeping with no covers myself so I never thought of not putting him in a sleeping bag at all. What are other people doing at the moment?

We had a dreadful night last night too, settled fine at bedtime, but woke up at 10 p.m. (managed to resettle him without feeding in about 20 minutes), 2 a.m. (fed him), 4.30 a.m. (resettled himself), and he woke up again at 5.30 a.m. and was awake for the day. Even tried to feed him again at 5.45 in the hopes that he might go back to sleep but he wasn't interested - in either feeding or going back to sleep. Feeling totally exhausted as I only got about 4 or 5 hours sleep the night before too (even though Thomas slept fine that night). I don't really know what else to try. Must go back and have a read through sleepsense programme for over 6 months - see if there are any miracle solutions!

 

[Foogirl]

I think the heat is probably affecting them at the moment. Abby certainly has had her moments, although she isn't waking in the night, she is very restless.

We're putting her in short sleeve vests and her sleeping bag. I'm wary of not using a bag as I'm worried the temperature will drop during the night. You can get lower tog sleeping bags too, so maybe that would be a solution.

 

[polaris]

I think the heat is probably affecting them at the moment. Abby certainly has had her moments, although she isn't waking in the night, she is very restless.

We're putting her in short sleeve vests and her sleeping bag. I'm wary of not using a bag as I'm worried the temperature will drop during the night. You can get lower tog sleeping bags too, so maybe that would be a solution.

That's how I feel as well, I would be worried about not using a sleeping bag at all. The temperature has really dropped here today so we will see how tonight goes. Fingers crossed.

I do wonder if it is just a stage that he's going through developmentally though. Can't wait for the book that Hivechild recommended to arrive to read up on it some more!