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Original poster

What improved your sleep the most whilst having young children?

52 replies

Changingtides1234 · 22/05/2022 20:08

So I’ve seen a few really interesting posts about things that have helped you.

I currently have a toddler and a 6mo

naturally sleep is tough.

what are your go to sleep improvement tricks? Perhaps not length but quality?
id love to hear what some of you do to help :)

OP posts:
flibbertigibbety · 22/05/2022 20:11

Co sleeping! I have 3 kids (6,3 and 1) and I've co slept through necessity with all of them. I can mostly breastfeed in my sleep now, and being in the bed together means I don't have to get up when baby wakes.

October2020 · 22/05/2022 20:12

Cosleeping.

Fridafever · 22/05/2022 20:12

Yeah same, sleeping in the same room, then I wasn’t on high alert. I got the best sleep in the same room and close but not in the same bed. That seems to make me least anxious and able to drop off quickly between feeds.

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Original poster
Changingtides1234 · 22/05/2022 20:13

omg!! I would love to bf in my sleep but my little girl is the most demanding lady. I have to be sat up straight!

I’ll try do sleepin

OP posts:
MiniatureHotdog · 22/05/2022 20:15

Co sleeping

OnlyFoolsnMothers · 22/05/2022 20:15

Accept that it’s crap and take rest in the day when you can. Honestly you can’t have decent sleep when breastfeeding, you never fully asleep in case you’re called on.

best things: mixed feeding, nursery for the eldest, partner taking over

JemimaTiggywinkle · 22/05/2022 20:16

Ferber method at 6 months. Went from waking every 35 mins in the night to waking twice for feeds and then after a month reduced to one feed, and then a few weeks later slept 7pm - 6.30am.

Highly recommend the e-book. No harm reading it even if you think sleep training isn’t for you.

Vsirbdo · 22/05/2022 20:17

Giving Dc to my DH at 5/6am and going back to bed for however long was possible and the same in the evening while I went to bed early worked the best for me as until my DC were 1 I was scares to co sleep; after a while we only did the morning part. Now DC is 2 we co sleep and that works the best now

underneaththeash · 22/05/2022 20:18

Not co-sleeping. You get them to have a good routine early on and then when you stop bfing, they go to sleep by themselves. You need to ignore them a bit though when they're whinging.

UnaOfStormhold · 22/05/2022 20:20

Them getting older...

Seriously, I would say splitting the night with my husband from about 7 months (who gave DS some expressed milk as needed) so we both got an uninterrupted stretch of sleep at a predictable time of night. Cosleeping helped too but he was too wriggly for that to be fully restful.

illustratedbookaboutbirds · 22/05/2022 20:20

When they went into their own rooms. I can't stand cosleeping.

AliceW89 · 22/05/2022 20:20

I’d love to say it was co sleeping for us, but things got exponentially better when we night weaned DS at about 10 months and put him in his own cot (he was in our room until 15 months). Neither DS nor I liked cosleeping - he isn’t a cuddly child at all and likes his own space, but he was used to overnight breastfeeds. I kept him in my bed because I couldn’t face getting up and properly waking up to feed him. It was close to tear free and he was sleeping through within a few weeks.

LapinR0se · 22/05/2022 20:21

Routine
sleep training
baby in own room from 4 months

ear plugs and eye mask (for me)

noway1000 · 22/05/2022 20:21

Buying a superking bed to co-sleep.

DarlingDarwin · 22/05/2022 20:21

Sleep training.

TopCatsTopHat · 22/05/2022 20:23

As much time spent outdoors in fresh air and natural daylight as possible.
It helped I had a dog as an excuse (a very obedient one, and he was their constant companion and now my children also come when I whistle - very useful in busy places, but I digress), but their natural circadian rhythm and deep sleep was massively helped by the fresh air and exercise factor, asleep as soon as your head hits the pillow and all that.

ElenaSt · 22/05/2022 20:24

I never had any sleep deprivation with my my babies and children because I had a nap every day and I slept when baby slept.

I can fall asleep at will though.

UnaOfStormhold · 22/05/2022 20:24

underneaththeash · 22/05/2022 20:18

Not co-sleeping. You get them to have a good routine early on and then when you stop bfing, they go to sleep by themselves. You need to ignore them a bit though when they're whinging.

Sadly this doesn't work for all babies - we had a consistent routine from early on but it was 2 years after we stopped breastfeeding before DS would regularly sleep through the night. And it wasn't whinging with him, but full on escalating crying - the longer it took us to get to him, the longer it took to get him to settle again. We had some success with very, very gradual retreat but rushing the process was very counterproductive as it made him harder to settle for weeks.

cadburyegg · 22/05/2022 20:25

Sleep training worked a treat for DS1
Didn't work for DS2 Hmm He slept through from 8 weeks then was absolutely horrendous between the ages of 1-2. Eventually I just accepted it and it got better over time. He's 4 now and still comes into my bed every night but the days of me going into work on 4 hours sleep are long gone, thankfully.

INeedtobealone · 22/05/2022 20:26

Go to bed really early, when the children do, two or three times a week.

paisley256 · 22/05/2022 20:27

Plenty fresh air, exercise and lovely cuddly cosleeping. Not for everyone but we loved it.

Ragwort · 22/05/2022 20:27

Strict routine, a baby who self settled and loved his sleep (not sure how you can guarantee that) and a husband who pulled his weight and was fully involved in all aspects of parenting and running a home. Never co slept.

ShadowPuppets · 22/05/2022 20:28

First six months: cosleeping, feeding lying down
Six months to 18 months: Ferber method sleep training, alternate weekend lie ins with DH
18 months+: gro clock, bribery, weekends away

Hugasauras · 22/05/2022 20:28

Super king bed and cosleeping! We have all had amazing sleep the last three years. She's transitioned to her own bed in her own time quite happily too.

Also DH taking her early every single morning so I could go back to sleep for a couple of hours.

grapehyacinthisactuallyblue · 22/05/2022 20:28

I've co slept. Even I wasn't coming to bed at the same time my dc, he asked me if I was coming later and I did, that made him fall asleep without problem.
I've co slept since I was breast feeding. I never had sleep problem.
While breast feeding, if he woke up, just fed him, them we both went back to sleep. After we stopped, it was like, mummy, are you coming soon? and I said yes, and by the time I went upstairs9didn't matter what time, could be 9, could be 1 in the morning) , he was already asleep, or not, but it didn't make any difference. As soon as I went to bed, he was happily asleep, until the morning.

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