Sleepless Nights Support Thread

[x-amy-x]

What Amy said and depending on how far off she is with her bedtime bottle, i sometimes make up a new one and feed her more before bed. She is so conked out she doesn't even need a dummy to sleep neither does she whinge.

I always do bath bottle and bed at the same time unless she is ill. No matter how tired she is before hand, we find ways to entertain her. It worked for us. The thing to remember though is that all babies are different. Mine thrives on routine, another baby might not. It's also how you want to do the parenting. Not all people want to put babies into a routine, people have different approaches but either way, you have to find something that works for you. I think eventually babies learn their own routine and let you know when they want things etc.

 

[Vickie]

I like routine, and Hannah was in one but somehow got off a week ago or so, we're trying to get it back. Her problem with bottles is her feeds are so far apart now, 4-5 hours. Oh well we'll work something out. Last night we managed to get her to eat 3 ounces at 7:30-7:45 and put her to bed around 8:45. Dream fed her at 10, another three ounces, and she didn't get up until 5:15. After that was bad though she didn't want to settle and spit up a few times so had to be changed

 

[Donna79x]

I am celebrating.... Rihanna slept till 5.15am, last feed was at 11pm last night 3 n half oz and she took 2 at 5.15am this morning then slept till 10am !!! Bliss ... I had a right sleep ha ha

Sure it was a one off though..... xx

 

[x-amy-x]

well done rihanna! And naughty Hannah not going back to bed.

 

[Vickie]

well done rihanna! And naughty Hannah not going back to bed.

I agree but she's on a better feeding schedule today but has slept loads (not feeling well) fingers crossed will try to keep her up more this evening

 

[Linzi]

Just a question for breastfeeding mummys... Ive tried to keep a routine today but it seems really hard as Seth is so random with his feeding... do you think that this is down to bf? do you have problems with routines because of it?

It seems that bottlefeeding babies can go a bit longer and Im almost convinced thats why he is so unsettled at the moment...

xxx

 

[Vickie]

I don't breastfeed but Hannah's feedings do vary from day to day, especially now that she's a bit older and can go longer between her feeds. When she was little it was 3 hours on the dot that she wanted to eat, now it can go anywhere from 4-5 hours...and this morning she went 6 hours without a bottle but has made up for it by eating a little earlier the rest of the day. Our preferred routine is bedtime at 8:30 but tonight she had her bottle a bit before 7 and hasn't had a bath yet We're still going to try to keep her up until bedtime than we'll dream feed her as usual (she just can't make it through a night without a bottle or two)

 

[Sarah88]

I am celebrating.... Rihanna slept till 5.15am, last feed was at 11pm last night 3 n half oz and she took 2 at 5.15am this morning then slept till 10am !!! Bliss ... I had a right sleep ha ha

Sure it was a one off though..... xx

Savannah had a few nights of doing this when she was about 2wks old, they're so nice when u get them!

 

[nikky0907]

Lola-Rose went to sleep at 11.p.m. after the evening ritual.
Didn't wake up till 5.00 a.m. got her bottle and then went back to sleep.It's now 6.10 a.m. and she's still sleeping.

First time since she was born that she didn't have the 2.30 a.m. wake up!
She's definitely going on her path to sleeping through!

I think it's because she didn't have her evening nap! She usually naps after the bottle on my shoulder but apparently only if she has her full 4oz.Yesterday I split her bottle and have her 2oz,then she put her on her tummy and we played around instead of her napping.
I gave her 4oz before bedtime!
Seems to be working!

 

[Vickie]

lucky you! Hannah was up last night at 2:30 but she hadn't had a bowel movement in almost 3 days so lucky us it happened at 3 a.m.

 

[Ema]

Can i join. I know jacob is very young and i shouldnt expect much from him yet. But i want to get some good roots in for the weeks to come. He is suffering from a tummy bug last few days (been doc's 3 times) as he just wont keep most his feeds down, has bad poo's and very achy tummy (poor soul) but because of all this im functioning off 3 hours sleep and im exhausted but he is worth it. Just any advice would be appretiate in the weeks to come.

RIght now he is only going 2-3hours between feeds and takes about half an hour to an hour to settle after a feed. So by the time he is down he is only down for an hour-2 before it starts again THE JOYS!!! And it takes me a good 20 mins to settle to sleep and before i know it im up again..... you should see the state i look. New mummy's that have a full face of make-up etc.....are beyond me my hair hasnt been washed in 2 days because by the time i get in the shower wash meself he is crying and wont settle without mummy. XxX

 

[leeanne]

lucky you! Hannah was up last night at 2:30 but she hadn't had a bowel movement in almost 3 days so lucky us it happened at 3 a.m.

Murphy's Law!

 

[x-amy-x]

caitlyn was up every 2 hours from 9pm last night. I'm shattered, i'm not good at dropping back off to sleep. My poor poorly baby. Im going back to bed when daddy gets home.

 

[Vickie]

Hope your LO's feel better soon. With Hannah, Ema we just took her natural routine, of when she was eating and tweaked it a bit, even in the early days. She's always had a bath before bed and since she was about a month and a half old has had a bedtime around 8:30 (this got completely messed up when she had her shots and we are just now getting it back though). I don't think it's ever to early to start....keep lights low at night, near bedtime, bath, bottle, bed etc. Even when we get up for feeds at night we try to minimize the amount of lights we turn on and Hannah (most nights) goes back down pretty quickly.

 

[Tezzy]

im so glad this thread is here


ffion is STILL going through her 4 month growth spurt and is waking from 2 every hour onwards

luckily for me my mum took her lastnight so i had a rest... and she woke for my mum too so its not just me!

 

[Linzi]

Seth woke up every hour last night for a feed and then woke up properly at 7am. Hes had a few naps when Ive got a bit of housework done. No sleep for mummy

xxx

 

[creamcakes]

for all you mums who are sleep-deprived, I would tentatively recommend a method based on my experience over the last few nights. Maybe it won't suit everyone (especially if there is a 'reason' for the waking, such as teething or hunger) but I thought I would post in case anyone had reached the end of their tether like we did, and had a child that is waking for comfort feeding, or dummy replacement, etc.

We had got into the situation where my daughter (always a crap sleeper) had been waking every couple of hours through the night. It was exhausting. She'd have 5 minutes nursing and then be back to sleep. And I was the only one who could put her to sleep.

So, one night I thought, she is going to go to sleep in her cot if it kills me! I sat by her, leaned over and cuddled her in her cot. It took 2 hours and there was a fair bit of whimpering, fussing and outright enraged crying toward the end, but she did go to sleep. Next night took 40 minutes. Next night, about 10 minutes. On the fourth night I could leave her to go to sleep on her own pretty much. I used the same method throughout the day for naps - no more falling to sleep in our arms, or on the boob, allowed at all.

Because she now knows how to settle herself without me, or another prop, she is only waking once or twice a night, when she is properly hungry. I am so pleased, and it has made a big difference in all our lives. I know some people are against crying but being with them while they cry is, I think, different from just shutting the door and leaving them to it, or even going in at increasing intervals a la controlled crying.

Hope everyone's sleep improves soon. It's awful, awful, awful when you're up so regularly. The world becomes a blur.

Lucy

 

[Tezzy]

i like that ffion can settle herself to sleep it means i dont spend hrs rocking and tapping her bum!

although she still wakes loads in the night!

 

[Linzi]

Seth settled himself to sleep last night but he doesnt do it very often. So frustrating We usually let him cry for a bit if he's just tired but in the night its easier when you're half asleep just to put him on for a feed and know he's going to go straight back to sleep. I know its a bad habit though. One that I need to break

xxx

 

[nikky0907]

lucky you! Hannah was up last night at 2:30 but she hadn't had a bowel movement in almost 3 days so lucky us it happened at 3 a.m.

Murphy's Law!

Ema-sorry to hear about Jacob's tummy bug. Lola-Rose had some problems with gassyness at around that stage.Her tummy was quite upset too so I know how it feels


Creamcakes- thanks for sharing!
When I put Lola-Rose to sleep in the evening she falls asleep easily but only if I rock her and settle her.Thats not a problem.
BUT once she's awake in the night I have to put her in bed with me or she won't sleep.
I don't know should I let her cry it out or not..