Sleepless Nights Support Thread

[pinkandfluffy]

he's been fast asleep since 10.10, this may sound really stupid but i think it's because we've switched off the night light x

well. A rubbish night again culminating in me getting up with him at 5.30 after he'd been awake for an hour. Am i doing something wrong? People keep telling me to formula feed or give him baby rice before bed - he's only 18wks old and ebf! I'm so so so tired...

So sorry for another bad night FWIW formula doesn't seem to be a miracle cure (even as a top up before bed) though maybe works for some I feel your pain though, we are at 23 weeks now and the girls at my BF group are complaining about a couple of nights of get ups after sleeping through......I've never had the sleeping through to give me a break is there anyone who can help in the day to give you chance for a nap?

The nightlight thing doesn't sound stupid - read a sleep article and it says no light after 10 or 11 I think - we switched ours off

AFM - i mentioned we went to the cranial osteopath on Monday, well he had a mega afternoon nap on Monday, and what seemed to be a better nights sleep. Then a mega afternoon nap yesterday and..........2 get ups we have NEVER had so few.............at 4am when he woke and had a feed I felt refreshed enough to get up for the day????? has anyone been before???

morning coffee to sleepy mummies

 

[sjminimac]

a cranial whatopath? Who did what now? 2 get ups? Well done dylan!

 

[pinkandfluffy]

a cranial whatopath? Who did what now? 2 get ups? Well done dylan!

osteopath - they reckon traumatic birth and stuff can cause pressure in their head they do a free check here til they're 1

Dylan can have a functioning mummy today yay!

 

[stevie123]

hmmm i dont know about the dummy then hun. my lo loves his dummy, but hes had it since birth. i use it to get him to sleep, and it usualy drops out soon after, and he doesnt wake for it once hes asleep, but i know some people who have real trouble with dummys in that their lo wake all the time for the dummy if it falls out.
does he feed a lot when he wakes, or is it just a case of a short feed and then back to sleep? if its just a short feed, he probably isnt hungry and hes just comfort sucking to get back to sleep. thats why i thought maybe try settling him without a feed. it may be difficult at first but he may realise after a few days that he isnt going to get fed all the time when he wakes.
dont get me wrong, im not saying dont feed him at all overnight, i still feed my lo once in the night and hes 6 months old! but i have a general rule that if he wakes before say 2/3am i wont feed him, and ill just settle him without a feed, even if it takes half an hour to get him back to sleep. i usulay feed him at about 4am, and by then he is genuinely hungry and will drain the bottle and go back to sleep! x

 

[aliss]

sjminimac, I know this doesn't help a lot but Alex did the exact same, fortunately started outgrowing it at around 5.5 months & now sleeps pretty okay (7-10pm,quick feed,10pm-5am) at 7 months. You aren't doing anything wrong except some babies have more difficulty falling and staying asleep. I contemplated CC, CIO, pick up put down, but in the end I was always so tired I let him sleep with the bottle/feed.

You can wait this out if you want. Solids don't help, that's a myth. Perhaps you want to attempt pick up put down???

 

[Nut_Shake]

AFM - i mentioned we went to the cranial osteopath on Monday, well he had a mega afternoon nap on Monday, and what seemed to be a better nights sleep. Then a mega afternoon nap yesterday and..........2 get ups we have NEVER had so few.............at 4am when he woke and had a feed I felt refreshed enough to get up for the day????? has anyone been before???

morning coffee to sleepy mummies

I was booked to go the silly osteopath woman got stuck in the snow, lol.

Not sure if it will help them though as they didnt have traumatic birth, it was an elective ceserean, i went into labour before my scheduled date. I was looking at cranial osteopathy mainly for my boy as he was more squished in the womb and came out needing a little oxygen as his head was over to one side. Hes fine now but wondering if the osteopath would settle him.

I bought a book 'The sensational baby sleep plan'. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sensational-Baby-Sleep-Plan/dp/0593062817/ref=tag_tdp_sv_edpp_i

Lets hope the reviews are something to go by... My head may soon explode from tiredness otherwise...

 

[sjminimac]

sjminimac, I know this doesn't help a lot but Alex did the exact same, fortunately started outgrowing it at around 5.5 months & now sleeps pretty okay (7-10pm,quick feed,10pm-5am) at 7 months. You aren't doing anything wrong except some babies have more difficulty falling and staying asleep. I contemplated CC, CIO, pick up put down, but in the end I was always so tired I let him sleep with the bottle/feed.

You can wait this out if you want. Solids don't help, that's a myth. Perhaps you want to attempt pick up put down???

That does help a lot actually, just that bit of reassurance. There's no way i'm weaning him early, certainly not with baby rice and i know the formula thing doesn't work cos my friend combi feeds and says boob or bottle, if her lo is going to wake up he will do anyway. Thanks x

 

[Brysins Mommy]

My son Brysin always switches it up at night, some nights hell only awake once, but the majority its usually two to three times a night. ill move him into mine and his daddys bed, give him a bottle and he's usually out within 10 minutes, its the nights that he likes to stay up for almost and hour each time he wakes that kills me, he can be so tiring,

 

[Nut_Shake]

My son Brysin always switches it up at night, some nights hell only awake once, but the majority its usually two to three times a night. ill move him into mine and his daddys bed, give him a bottle and he's usually out within 10 minutes, its the nights that he likes to stay up for almost and hour each time he wakes that kills me, he can be so tiring,

Mine take about 1/1.5 hrs EACH to settle 3 times a night... It does help to know that others arent sleeping along with me!

 

[Seity]

sj - I have to combo feed and I'm sorry to tell you that a formula bottle before bed doesn't make a lick of difference for Gabriel's sleep. I'm not sure that solids are really making a difference at all either.

 

[sjminimac]

sj - I have to combo feed and I'm sorry to tell you that a formula bottle before bed doesn't make a lick of difference for Gabriel's sleep. I'm not sure that solids are really making a difference at all either.

I know, i'm just going to persevere, think i'm a bit wobbly because i'm coming down with a bad head cold which not only sucks for me but inevitably means munks will get it too x

 

[samantha.xo]

The night is drawing near

LO likes to wake sometimes every hour, sometimes every two...by the time I've settled him, washed his bottle and put it in the steriliser...I have about half an hour to fall asleep I'm really going mad, I never thought it could be so overwhelmingly hard - I do not feel human at all & feel like a nervous, anxious wreck. OH has been putting the bottles on sterilise after he's feeding and occasionally making the bottle up which has been a great help & means sometimes I just plonked LO down and then try and sleep myself without worrying about getting up. I don't know what I'm gonna do when OH goes back to work I'm really dreading manning the nights alone

It's so comforting to know that other ladies are going through this as well. I often tell myself 'all those women I saw & met in my stay at hospital are going through the exact same thing'. Does anyone try and sleep during the day when LO's sleep for longer? I did that today and felt a bit better

 

[sjminimac]

hi samantha and congratulations on your little boy, great name by the way i do usually try to sleep when he does, and i do feel the benefit when i do. You'll be fine when your other half goes back to work you know, you'll surprise yourself xx

 

[stevie123]

aww samantha your lo is only a week old, as he gets bigger you should find that he will sleep a bit longer stretches at night, so that you do get some rest. my lo is 6 months old and still doesnt go very long between wakes at night, but he does do 4 hour stretched sometimes, and this at least allows you to get some sleep x

 

[aliss]

The night is drawing near

LO likes to wake sometimes every hour, sometimes every two...by the time I've settled him, washed his bottle and put it in the steriliser...I have about half an hour to fall asleep I'm really going mad, I never thought it could be so overwhelmingly hard - I do not feel human at all & feel like a nervous, anxious wreck. OH has been putting the bottles on sterilise after he's feeding and occasionally making the bottle up which has been a great help & means sometimes I just plonked LO down and then try and sleep myself without worrying about getting up. I don't know what I'm gonna do when OH goes back to work I'm really dreading manning the nights alone

It's so comforting to know that other ladies are going through this as well. I often tell myself 'all those women I saw & met in my stay at hospital are going through the exact same thing'. Does anyone try and sleep during the day when LO's sleep for longer? I did that today and felt a bit better

You are at one of the hardest moments of your life You WILL survive (somehow). Part of it is just getting through the day, telling yourself you will get through it, brewing a coffee, and using all the tricks to reverse day and night (boring night, bright happy day). Please do try and sleep in the day when he sleeps when you can - everything else (housework, visitors, anything!!) can wait.

 

[samantha.xo]

hi samantha and congratulations on your little boy, great name by the way i do usually try to sleep when he does, and i do feel the benefit when i do. You'll be fine when your other half goes back to work you know, you'll surprise yourself xx

Thank you Just feel quite overwhelmed with everything at the moment. Especially since he slept so well at the hospital - he had to be woken every 4-4.5 hours to feed...and now I don't even get an hour lol.

Stevie - sorry your LO is still having troubles sleeping but at least you get some rest when you can. I can't imagine doing this for 6months go you!

Fingers crossed tonight is a decent night for all of us!

 

[sjminimac]

bed at 11.30 rocked to sleep instead of fed to sleep for a change, woke at 12.40 for a feed straight back down fast asleep at 12.50. Ever the optimist could this be the night? Xx

 

[sjminimac]

bed at 11.30 rocked to sleep instead of fed to sleep for a change, woke at 12.40 for a feed straight back down fast asleep at 12.50. Ever the optimist could this be the night? Xx

Nope. Up again at 1.25!

 

[samantha.xo]

bed at 11.30 rocked to sleep instead of fed to sleep for a change, woke at 12.40 for a feed straight back down fast asleep at 12.50. Ever the optimist could this be the night? Xx

Nope. Up again at 1.25!

 

[Seity]

Ugh! sjminimac
I have to rock Gabriel to sleep now. He used to fall asleep eating and I'd put him in the crib. Now he'll fall asleep eating, but if I try and put him in the crib he wakes immediately and cries, so I have to rock him for 30+ min until he's deeply asleep to put him in the crib.
I have no idea why it's suddenly changed, but it means an hour of feeding/rocking to get him to sleep instead of just the 20-30 min of eating. The good news is he seems to be sleeping in 3 hour blocks to make up for it.