Will we ever sleep again?

[Droflove]

DS is 2 and dd is 6 mts. I'm pregnant again and was wondering how larger families sleep? Surely on any given night someone is waking up? My ds is an excellent sleeper and my dd was terrible till 2 weeks ago and has slept through every night since but I've been so lucky I expect db3 will surely be a bad sleeper. So do any of you get to go to bed and not be disturbed till wake up time as the norm or is that the exception?

It is not a given that db3 will be a terrible sleeper. Routine is the key! A good solid routine will have everyone sleeping right through.

I have to say that despite a good, solid routine, my dcs were all bad sleepers. Even now, I could expect to get up to one a couple of times a week.

In the early days it was all crap. Breast fed and co-slept, which probably never helped but how I did things. BUT, they do get better and it is not forever. The worst time was with dc3 and dc4. Dc3 probably struggled with the arrival of dc4 and needed one of us with her. We really were not prepared to get her to cry through it, just not our thing, but it caused awful nights.

All are good sleepers now at ages 8, 6, 5 and 3 however, nightmares happened. Kids wet bed occasionally. Winter saw some hacking cough that the kids seemed to suffer only at night. And dd4 is becoming dry at night, but I think this can wake them as they learn to get dry.

Just our experience, not what happens to everyone, but it doesn't last forever, fwiw, we would have managed much easier with three, it was the fourth that broke us!

I would love to say yes but I have 5 kids and apart from the oldest they've all been bad sleepers and routine has nothing to do with it. I Have a routine have done for 10yrs but that has never helped. Dd2 had milk allergies and screamed all night every night until 2 then would just get up throughout the night, still does at 7. Ds screamed all night till 1 1/2 then finally slept through at 3. 4&5 spent their first 9 months screaming all night now at 11 months we're only up 4 times a night. I'm knackered and broken, I know it will get better but I'm not sure I'll be put back together again. Safe to say 4&5 are my last

DCs are aged from 9 months to 7 years. I have come to the conclusion that we just need to make the most of the good runs when they are all happily worn out, not ill and don't wake for sick/loo/growing pains in the night. We can have a run of several weeks if we are lucky where they all sleep and we only get woken every now and again.

At worst there are days when I am not sure how we get up and do stuff, then we catch up on sleep at the weekend or I go to bed at 7 after the DCs. I have also seemed to have gained the ability to nap anytime and anywhere.

The worst night so far was when they all caught a sickness bug, the oldest 3 woke and were sick one after the other with about half an hour gap between...and then started again. Not sure what was worse the next morning, the huge pile of washing or the tiredness!

The only thing I did differently with DC4 was, when I was pg I rested and got early nights at every opportunity, it seemed to help in the early weeks after the birth.

Sleep??? What is this thing you speak of??
No.. I've given up! I made my life harder with shift work while the 3 youngest were young! Now youngest is 2.. I'm swapping to casual, long days, I hope maybe to learn to sleep again!

Touch wood... Mine sleep! It's rare one wakes us in the night. If they do I'm not impressed as I don't expect it!!

We have six and sleepless nights have always been a very rare thing here, there is sometimes an occasional bad night due to illness

They slept through from 6 weeks on with the latest sleeping through at 5 months

So having a big family doesn't always mean a lack of sleep! Having said that I do think most of it is the luck of the draw, so fingers crossed your new baby will be a great sleeper

Mine are 12, 10, 8 and 6 and I've been getting full nights sleep (in majority) for 2 and a half years now.

There was a point that I never thought this would be possible. To be honest I don't sleep very well now anyway.

I have 3 teens and a little one and all the teens do is sleep. You can recharge then God knows you will need to, to cope with the hours when they are conscious and all hell breaks out!!!!