17 months on and still no sleep!

[twinnies26]

My ID girls are 17 MO now and are waking all the time - I think i've posted before about our disastrous nights! I have pretty much given up at this stage as i have done EVERYTHING that one can do to get them to sleep.We have not been clueless about the babies and I followed a really strict routine from the day they came home, our days ran like clockwork but nighttime has always been an issue.

I even got a sleep consultant in around Sept. as i was due to go back to work. We did everything they she said and they slept well for around 3 months. Then DT1 got severe eczema (screamed up to 7 times a night) and her sister then got winter vomiting bug and cut back teeth and ever since then they wake ALL the time. I suppose on average each baby wakes about twice, DT1 can still wake up to 4 times and cries on and off because of her eczema.

I've given up trying to resettle them and we just co-sleep.... i mean how do people actually manage to spend half their night resettling two babies and then go off to work for the whole day??!

i guess what i'm wondering is ..... will they just eventually sleep and stay in their beds or should i devote a week to CC and more sleep deprivation in the hope things might improve in the long term?! I feel like i would have a problem CC with DT1 because of her eczema. We have CC in the past (like i said we have tried so many methods at this stage)

The girls are only starting to walk and i'm clinging on to the hope that perhaps when they are more active they will just be exhausted?!

What would you do? they have no soothers so real fast magic way of getting them back to sleep....

I'm out of ideas and strategies.... any suggestions welcome! Myself and DH have not slept a night through since December!!

Have also posted in sleep!

Thanks :)

[minesapintofwine]

I have no tips at all but just wanted to let you know that I feel your pain op! Mys dts are 13 months so a bit younger but sleep at night is getting worse. Since I went back to work we've abandoned routines and though we still do bath bottle bed which works for us all we all bed hop after midnight, which in turn sets us up for more night wakings. I think we've just lost our way as previously had good sleepers but have come to the point where, combined with working, routines etc are such head work I've practically given up on them and just cope with very poor quailty/broken nights in the knowledge that (like you said) it can't be forever right!? (13 months ago I said this too).

I think for our house we need to do cc again as worked so well for us before this and stop the sleeping in mam and dad's bed. The thing is, I know this is what we need to do, but am just not in the mindset to do it. I'll come back in a few months if I've bothered again. In the meantime op....zzzzzz

[TwelveLeggedWalk]

I don't have the answer, just letting you know we're in the same boat!

[twinnies26]

Ah ladies you give me comfort knowing we are not the only ones like this at this stage! :)
mines you make me laugh about the bed hoping, we do the same! ,

Believe it or not...DT2 just slept through for the last few nights so only had to deal with DT1 and her itching! (we did see a consultant about her skin so am really hoping soon she won't be so iritated!) I don't think i can CC a child who is waking out of discomfort, so we'll just have to go with the flow for now!

I love my twins dearly but i think they have def aged me in the past year and a half - and i'm only 30!!That's what the sleep deprivation has done in the long term!

Let's just all cling on to the hope that some time, some time soon they all will let us SSSLllleeeeppp.........

[Nancy54]

haha my twins are only 5 months and they are defintely aging me!! a friend came to stay and ended up leaving me her anti wrinkle eye cream, thanks for that!!!

[Nancy54]

anyway, would love to chat but i'm off to bed.....

[rednellie]

Hey, just wondering what help you've had about the eczema. I know there are potentially hundreds of causes, but one of my twins had it so bad he looked like a chemical burns victim. Anyway my gp made us go on an exclusion diet before referring us and low and behold dt2 turned out to be allergic to dairy.

Long road later we've also found out he's dairy/soya/egg allergic and since I've cut those things from both our diets his eczema has cleared up and he actually sleeps.

Anyway, I also agree with mines, when you get totally sleep deprived it's virtually impossible to make a plan but this what you've got to do. Sit down with your partner and write down a few rules for then night and stick to them for 3 days. If nothing else it takes the stress out of going to bed.

[twinnies26]

Hi red!i used to be on the twin thread with you!hope babies ate good .yes like you we did all the diet restrictions.been with consultant,she actually has nummulir eczema it's not related to allergies and we have been told to put her back on everything,although she is still on soya milk .im afraid to go on cows mill at the moment in case it is a trigger. This eczema is one of most difficult to treat effectively and not only others but can cause burning sensations...that being said she had a new steroid cream that seems to be helping! We Di need to make a strategy again but will have to wait for a break in work,it's too hectic at the moment!! Sorry fit typos am on phone!

[rednellie]

Oh poor you and poor LO. I used to hate hearing DT1 scratching himself against the bed sheets, used to go right through me. I know every person with eczema finds creams/ointments that are better or worse for them, but we had a lot of success with Emollient BP. You can get it in the pharmacy, make sure they don't give you the aqueous cream, it really helped soothe poor little boy when he was really bad. And by all accounts, being on the steroid cream isn't a bad thing per se. I hope you get some joy at some point, it is hard seeing them in discomfort.

[twinnies26]

Hi red, yes it's been a real rocky road of trail and error with treatment, it's taken about 8 weeks to get under control. We even had do wrap her arms at one stage in a special concoqtion of creams/ointments to help her skin. It's so awful for babies isn't it? and you feel so helpless.For weeks nothing i did helped her we only had improvement once we saw a consultant.

We also use emollient too, it's helping and between that, another special cream and the steroids she does look more like a normal baby - - here's hoping sleep will eventually get back on track!

hope all your gang are well!

[rednellie]

Yeah, they're all going great guns. But they're all moving now, which is...interesting.

Glad your LO's eczema is coming under control. Poor thing and poor you. Sending lots of sympathetic thoughts your way.