Can’t cope

[TheChineseChicken]

Having a shit time at the moment. DS is 9 months and going through a very tricky sleeping phase, waking up more then normal and being unsettled. All this week he has fought naps so I’ve not had a break.

Even when he does nap our schedule is completely screwed by DD’s school finish time, which means I have to leave the house at 2.30pm. So I either have to get DS down for a nap so he has plenty of time before I need to leave or I have to leave him sleeping while DH works at home and hope he doesn’t wake up and disturb him. Often I leave him and he wakes up 5 minutes later. I know this doesn’t sound like much but it consumes every bloody day.

I then have two hours each afternoon after school before DH finishes work, with nothing much to do and DD often in a grump post school and misbehaving.

I feel so down and miserable. Just because I am on mat leave all this shit has fallen on me and I’m sick of it.

There’s no after school club running and all the childminders are full. I feel ill

Keep getting blocked ducts and painful breasts as well

Have you let your husband know how you're feeling? And given him ideas on how he can make things a bit easier for you?
No fun when you're sleep deprived, and also hard to juggle the two kids!

I should also say, it gets easier. In no time at all you'll barely remember this phase. Doesn't make it any easier to cope with now, but please know it won't be long!

He’s really good and helps out loads either side of the day, basically taking one when he finishes work. But I think he just doesn’t get how hard it is doing it full time day in, day out and how much a non napping baby can get you down

@catmg

I should also say, it gets easier. In no time at all you'll barely remember this phase. Doesn't make it any easier to cope with now, but please know it won't be long!

Yes, deep down I know this and next week could be much better. There’s just no escape! I’m so envious of him tucked away at his desk

I feel your pain. My DS went through a really awkward phase before he dropped down to one nap a day. Fitting two naps in was almost impossible, but with one nap the baby was so strung out, and he would then cry and refuse dinner and want to go to bed at 6.15pm. I felt awful dragging him out to sprint to school when I'd just woken him 20 mins after he fell asleep! (He always refused to sleep in the pram or the buggy, annoyingly.)

Thankfully he now naps from 11.30am to 1pm pretty reliably, and this means we can spend the whole morning doing stuff and have plenty of time in the afternoon.

If your DS doesn't really want a nap at all during the day, I recommend taking him for a long stomp round in the leaves during the morning, and delaying his bedtime.

I wouldn’t say he is ready to drop a nap yet. The second nap would be fine if we didn’t have the time restraint. And he doesn’t sleep in the pushchair so I can’t rely on that. I think he’s in a sleep regression for various reasons. He used to be champion sleeper!!