I've put off writing this post for some time now because I really hoped things would improve without help, but I'm at a loss as to what I can do, and really in need of advice.
Please be gentle with me. I'm feeling rather fragile.
I have a 9 month old DS with a dreadful sleep pattern. He always settles brilliantly between 6.30pm and 7.00pm, but then wakes again between 11.00pm and midnight. When he wakes at this time he seems to think it's play time and will be awake for anything between one and three hours.
He then wakes again between 3.30 and 4.30, and often again will be wide awake for about an hour.
DH is very supportive and lovely, but a bit useless when it comes to settling DS, so I end up being up every single night (meaning he'll settle in one hour rather than three).
Things have become extra difficult recently as I have returned to work part time, meaning that I need to get up at 5am twice a week, often only having had an hour or two of sleep. My shifts are 12.5 hours long.
I've always been a very light sleeper, and i struggle to drop off meaning that I can't easily go back to sleep when DS does.
The lack of sleep is having a serious impact on my physical health (intermittent fever, extreme fatigue, dizziness, headaches), my mental health (I'm plagued by thoughts of self-harm) and my marriage (there's little time for intimacy, and we're both knackered!).
I feel like a failure because I can't get the sleeping thing right. I'm plagued with guilt because there are times I wish I hadn't had him and I miss the freedom of my old lifestyle.
I'm not a FTM so I really should be doing better than this. DD is now fifteen, so my memories of her babyhood are hazy , but I'm pretty sure she was sleeping through by three months.
I also have concerns about DS's development and worry that the disrupted sleeping pattern is having an impact on this. He isn't yet babbling, despite being very vocal, and also isn't crawling (although he's trying to).
I'm rambling now...
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I'm not sure how much more of this I can take...
23 replies
PolytheneHam · 06/10/2020 14:13
OP posts:
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