Tell me this will get easier and soon!

[TheArmadillo]

I have gone back to work early to get a break from dd 5 months old. that sounds terrible but it saves my sanity.

She woke up 5-6 times last night. I'm not sleeping very well either so had about 3 hours broken sleep.

She's decided not to nap for more than 1/2 hour in the day so is exhausted and screams. If she does sleep the only place is in her cot so if we're out and about then she gets maybe 10 minutes in the pushchair

SHe needs to be held and entertained all the time. The onyl time I can put her down is if ds (6yo) is home as he plays with her adn she enjoys that.

My house is a mess but I am too tired to do much atm.

DH is at home wiht me full time but is just as exhausted and there always has to be one of us holding/playing with her.

SHe's never going to learn to crawl etc as this rate as putting her down on her tummy to play just leads to screaming.

DS has been up since before daylight this morning and I am so tired i could cry. And I've got as the basics today to have a bath, sort out the washing, wash ds uniform for tomorrow, go out for a meal with ILS, go to asda and I can't even face getting dressed.

Tell me she will get easier and soon please. I don't remember ds being this bad.

You poor thing! She sounds hard work and a high needs baby. DS was a bit like this - he just didn't like being a baby and I didn't like him being a baby either as a result!! Does she normally wake up a lot at night or was last night a bad night? Sleep dep can drive even the sanest person mad. A few things you could try with her to entertain her (you might be doing this already, so apologies if this is old hat) - does she like those door bouncer things? Or those play station thingys (not PS3's obv!) that they sit it and have toys around them to play with. Apologies, i'm not very articulate this morn, am a bit hungover!! COuld she be teething? Might explain the waking up and making her more clingy during the day also? DS was an absolute nightmare teether and he was having neurofen nightly for months ! Was assured by a doctor friend that this is ok to do.

It will get easier but it's not overnight. You'll probably find that when she's a bit more mobile, she'll be happier in herself.

Meant to add, I also had an 'easy' first baby, which was my dd, then ds came along and he was an awful baby - it's a real shock when that happens!

thanks for replying. Just had a lie down whilst dd had a nap so feeling a bit better.

She normalyy wakes up at least twice a night for feeds and several more times for her dummy.

I think she is teething as she dribbles and chews all the time. But with one tooth through and no sign of any more I think there is going to be a long wait.

She slept for longer periods of time as a newborn, barely cried etc and was a dream. Ds was terrible as a newborn with really bad colic but then got better and better.

She has a seat with play table but won't sit in there very long. I'll investigate a door bouncer.

As long as you keep reassuring her, it will hopefully get easier as she does become more mobile. I was crap with tummy time, could never be bothered, as they both hated it, but could you maybe lie on the floor and lie her on your belly, and try encourage her to push up from your chest? and lie on the floor side by side with a book/toy etc you hold in the air for you both to look at?

DD was fairly demanding, which was hard going with a 2yo DS. Felt like I spent all day feeding her on sofa, then up all night feeding. In the end I just accepted she needed more time with me, and rather than run to kitchen and runback to her crying, just took her everywhere and explained what I was doing everytime - obviously she didn't understand, but I felt better, thinking I was hopefully avoiding another screaming shout. - (She always sounded so ANGRY! - none of that pitiful abby whimperr that makes you want to protect them and rush to them, I used to end up feeling angry at her, then feeling guilty!!!)

p.s. she is however very self sufficient at 21 months, and a real little chatterbox !

You poor thing. It will get better. But we don't know when, so it's hard to hear it sometimes.

My DS is 11 months and is Not Sleeping But Feeding. Most of the night at that. I am so tired I could fall asleep in a meeting at work (even if it was the most interesting meeting ever). Same as you, my older child - DD - was never this bad.

So, all I can say is - put one foot in front of the other and try to get through each day, attempting to enjoy the good stuff.

And gosh, cadifflure - you've articulated what I feel about DS. A very jolly baby by day, at night, he's so angry and then I feel furious with him (which is most unfair, as I have made him into the non-sleepy monster with the rod I did make for my own back by feeding him to sleep etc)