Sleepless Nights Support Thread

[tasha41]

I'm back in this club. Elyse slept through from 5 weeks until basically 5.5 months and quit on me. She's 6 months today and hasn't slept through in 2 weeks.. and they aren't pleasant uneventful feeding wake ups, they're just waking up bc she's teething and becoming really, really active.. and deciding he wants a cuddle/to play in the middle of the night

 

[kimfrye661]

Hey everyone I just had my son September 1st and he was sleeping so well the first few nights. For the past 3-4 nights though he will not sleep at night. He'll sleep all day, then when 9:00 comes around hes awake and crying his eyes out. I try feeding him, changing him, cuddling, burping, walking with him, NOTHING WORKS... Last night he was up all night crying, and tonight hes starting it all over again. AHHHH.......I feel your pain girls.

 

[golcarlilly]

After a great night the night before (5 hours in a row followed by another couple) I am back in this club Myles slept for 4 hours from 8 last night then was awake most of the night! he seems to keep waking himself up flailing his arms and legs around - he ends up pulliing his dummy out if we try putting it in or just hitting himself in the face! He pulls his covers off all the time too however tightly we tuck him in, I think I might try putting him in a sleeping bag and see if that helps. Poor DH has go to work now, I feel really bad!

 

[sublime_ivy]

Hey everyone I just had my son September 1st and he was sleeping so well the first few nights. For the past 3-4 nights though he will not sleep at night. He'll sleep all day, then when 9:00 comes around hes awake and crying his eyes out. I try feeding him, changing him, cuddling, burping, walking with him, NOTHING WORKS... Last night he was up all night crying, and tonight hes starting it all over again. AHHHH.......I feel your pain girls.

Have you tried swaddling?

 

[tasha41]

Hey everyone I just had my son September 1st and he was sleeping so well the first few nights. For the past 3-4 nights though he will not sleep at night. He'll sleep all day, then when 9:00 comes around hes awake and crying his eyes out. I try feeding him, changing him, cuddling, burping, walking with him, NOTHING WORKS... Last night he was up all night crying, and tonight hes starting it all over again. AHHHH.......I feel your pain girls.

Swaddling? (as above poster suggested?) Rocking? Patting his bum/back lighting (not burping just patting) while rocking?

For Elyse I find if I rock her in the dark, sometimes with calming music playing on very low volume (like her aquarium or a lullaby CD).. and pat her bum/back while holding her close to my chest, she'll fall asleep with her head on my shoulder.

 

[lolababe]

hey everybody

i just had my baby a week ago by c section and since i left the clinic on saturday i haven t had 5 hrs straight of sleep.
she s been having major gas and constipated for 4 days until today when the doc, releived her!! thank god.

thing is my husband doesn t do anything to help out. when he hears her crying at night he comes in the room to tell me off or to tell me to make her stop. last night he even put the earplugs listening to music in bed to not hear her cry while i was with the poor baby who was cryin of pain from gas.

so i was just wondering how ur partners react when baby s crying or is sick

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

hey everybody

i just had my baby a week ago by c section and since i left the clinic on saturday i haven t had 5 hrs straight of sleep.
she s been having major gas and constipated for 4 days until today when the doc, releived her!! thank god.

thing is my husband doesn t do anything to help out. when he hears her crying at night he comes in the room to tell me off or to tell me to make her stop. last night he even put the earplugs listening to music in bed to not hear her cry while i was with the poor baby who was cryin of pain from gas.

so i was just wondering how ur partners react when baby s crying or is sick

OMG I didn't think any men behaved like this anymore.
Does he really not understand that your baby's crying is not something you can control? That is a really ignorant attitude IMO, as if you wouldn't have stopped her crying if you could.
If your husband isn't being supportive you need to get support from elsewhere. Friends, family, anyone. Come on here lots, the support on here is fantastic.
My OH is actually better at comforting Ruby than me as I still feel like Ruby is a part of me and get very upset if she does. OH is just that bit more 'removed' than me I think...

 

[lolababe]

unfortunatly it comes from his education. all his mom says is well with the baby she (me) s gonna be so busy she ll leave u alone. even suggesting i d put a bed in the baby s room so I CAN wake up at night while her son sleeps. never ever do they tell him that he should help out.
the only thing he does is put feeding bottles in the sterilizer machine. not once has he fed her or changed the diaper or even tried to make her stop crying. he just says i don t know how to do it!! As if I do!!!!! he s the one who has tons of nieces and nephews and is used to babies. I ve never held a baby before having my own!

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

Oh dear. Maybe you would be better off putting a bed in your baby's room so you can see to her at night. I've always had my baby sleeping right next to me in her moses basket so I can see to her without even getting out of bed. I think that's why she sleeps so well, because she's kind of got used to the idea that if she did need me, I'm right there.
I take it you've told your husband how you feel? How did he respond?
There is no excuse for him not helping with the baby, fathers are hands on these days and rightly so.

 

[lolababe]

well when i try to tell him to help out he says am her mother and he doesn t know how to do things. and that he ll be the one buying her a mini 4 wheel bike and teaching her how to do jet ski when she gets a bit older..!!!!!!!!!! i kinda don t know how to respond when he tells me things like that.
i guess he s just afraid to do something wrong since she s so small... i don t know

 

[mygirl]

hi peeps, finally decided to post in here and wondered if anyone else had a 1yr old who still wakes for feeds once or twice a night. i still bf, but she hasnt slept through since 6mths save a coupleof nights here and there, she doesnt wake at exactly the same time either and mostly will only go back to sleep after a short feed, she chucks bottles of water at me and fights cuddles. any ideas?.

 

[littletobyj]

Try anbesol, works wonders on teething, they won't like the taste but the pain relief is almost instant. You can only buy it over the counter though and the great think is you can give it with nurofen (better than calpol as it will take down any swelling!)

 

[tillymum]

Hi there, only just noticed this sticky ....and I definitely belong here!!! I'm soooo tired and am starting to dread night time!

Chloe is 5wks old and just wont settle at night. She'll sleep from around midnight to 3or 4am then once she wakes that's it. I'll feed her for 40 - 60 mins at a time, then as soon as I try to settle her to sleep in her crib, eyes are open again and she's awake! If we get 45 mins to an hour sleep between 3am and 7am it's a good night, otherwise she's awake and wanting to feed all the time!

She always does dirty nappies during early hours feeding and needs changing which upsets her and also with winding her it just wakes her up!

Last night was really hard, after a 2-3day growth spurt and constant feeding I got really upset in the early hours, DH didn't know what to do other than change her nappy and suggest he give her a formula feed - she is BF and if we gave her formula I'd have to get up and express, so I may as well BF her! We are trying to get her into a routine, but her routine seems to be awake from 3am to 7am!!! I find the lack of sleep is affecting our relationship too as we are constantly tired and grumpy with each other.

She sleeps at night in a crib, which I think might be part of the problem as she moves and I find her with her head against the rails and her hands and feet hit against the sides. We do swaddle her, but I don't think she likes it!
We are thinking of bringing the travel cot into the room tonight to see if she sleeps better in that and if so we'll get her a cot.

I'm sooooo tired

 

[Lucy_lu_84]

Argh I can't take it anymore, my LO is waking for feeds every 2 hours at night and won't sleep longer than 20 mins at a time in the day! he has been doing this for 2 weeks now and it has seriously caught up with me. I am soooo tired!

I was trying t oget him to sleep this evening, he waas so tired, but just kept screaming at me. I had to leave him in his cot and sit outside his room for 5 minutes to take time to breath. I hate leaving him to cry and have never done it - but he actually went to sleep!

But won't be long before he wakes....*props eyes open*

 

[rubyrose]

I feel your pain girls.

Archie has not been sleeping at all in the day. If he drifts off he wakes himself up! I try winding him and get a nice few burps out of him, walking round with him, cuddling him, singing to him, changing him, feeding him. In the night its worse he sits grunting and crying his done this since he was born dont think i can take anymore Tried infacol for the first two weeks which did naff all then dentanox for 2 weeks and thats done nothing either! I am exhausted and dont know what to do anymore.

 

[sublime_ivy]

ARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, I NEEEEEEDDDDDD SLEEEEEEEEEEEEEP. that is all.

 

[Doublemints]

Argh I can't take it anymore, my LO is waking for feeds every 2 hours at night and won't sleep longer than 20 mins at a time in the day! he has been doing this for 2 weeks now and it has seriously caught up with me. I am soooo tired!

I was trying t oget him to sleep this evening, he waas so tired, but just kept screaming at me. I had to leave him in his cot and sit outside his room for 5 minutes to take time to breath. I hate leaving him to cry and have never done it - but he actually went to sleep!

But won't be long before he wakes....*props eyes open*

Awwww...I feel you. Sometimes, as hard as it is, leaving them to cry while you take a breather is the best thing to do. When your overwelmed, just walk out the room and take a minute or two to collect your thoughts and energy.

Some nights I go through the same thing with my girls. When I get too overwelmed I just walk out the room to clear my head. Babies can sense when we're frustrated. It's wierd. I hope things get better.

 

[mummydove]

Hi Everyone

New to this so not sure if my advice is going to be any use to anyone! My little boy Finley is now 2. He sleeps in the day for about an hour, any when between one and two, he then goes off at 7.15pm and sleeps normally until 7am.

I know that i used to have him waking up a lot earlier than that, until i started giving him a bath last thing at night! he loves it and before he gets out he kisses all his little toys goodnight and that seems to make him aware that it means its his bedtime too.

 

[tinyme77]

Hi there, only just noticed this sticky ....and I definitely belong here!!! I'm soooo tired and am starting to dread night time!

Chloe is 5wks old and just wont settle at night. She'll sleep from around midnight to 3or 4am then once she wakes that's it. I'll feed her for 40 - 60 mins at a time, then as soon as I try to settle her to sleep in her crib, eyes are open again and she's awake! If we get 45 mins to an hour sleep between 3am and 7am it's a good night, otherwise she's awake and wanting to feed all the time!

She always does dirty nappies during early hours feeding and needs changing which upsets her and also with winding her it just wakes her up!

Last night was really hard, after a 2-3day growth spurt and constant feeding I got really upset in the early hours, DH didn't know what to do other than change her nappy and suggest he give her a formula feed - she is BF and if we gave her formula I'd have to get up and express, so I may as well BF her! We are trying to get her into a routine, but her routine seems to be awake from 3am to 7am!!! I find the lack of sleep is affecting our relationship too as we are constantly tired and grumpy with each other.

She sleeps at night in a crib, which I think might be part of the problem as she moves and I find her with her head against the rails and her hands and feet hit against the sides. We do swaddle her, but I don't think she likes it!
We are thinking of bringing the travel cot into the room tonight to see if she sleeps better in that and if so we'll get her a cot.

I'm sooooo tired

I've been having the same problem with my LO: that as soon as i put him down he wakes himself up. I think that it is because i've missed some wind (it seems so obvious now but it took me ages to work it out as i couldn't understand how he could fall asleep if he was in pain) though sometimes i think that it is because he is due a poo! It is so frustrating as it can take a while to come up. In the past i have been too scared to wind him once he has fallen asleep because i don't want to wake him but it seems to save time in the long run. I put him on my knee, on his tummy and over my shoulder. For a while i thought that it might be reflux but he has no other symptoms and the winding seems to be working now. Well at night time. This probably doesn't help but you never know. I hope that it gets better soon. I've been really lucky in that a couple of times my OH has given my baby a formula feed (otherwise it is all BF) when i've been stressed out and my baby has been more than happy to go back to breast. It may be worth a go if your BF is established just to give yourself a break but i wouldn't do this just because i've had a good experience. Good luck. Sorry this is long and rambling.

 

[Kate84]

Hi there
I have the same problem. My baby is 4 months old and he doesn't like sleeping at all since he was 2mnths. He sleeps about 2 times in a day time for 1hr each time, and he wakes up every 2-3 hours in a night time. I'm going crazy Sometimes I see that he'd like to play with me, he starts smiling etc. But it's 2-3am and I'd rather sleep than play I would love if he sleep better in a day time, because he doesn't like to stay alone and wait for me when I'm cleaning the house or washing up .