Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Parenting

For free parenting resources please check out the Early Years Alliance's Family Corner.

Flip

1 2

Original poster

Have just left DS in his cot to grizzle/cry because I can't take any more today

33 replies

Honeybee79 · 01/04/2011 15:51

He has been crying/grizzling/making monotonous grunting noises since he woke up early this morning. It was about 4.45am. I'm knackered and so close to shouting. I'm ashamed to say that. He's 5.5 months old. I have no idea what the problem is - he's not obviously ill and is eating fine.

I'll get him in 10 mins or so but I need to just compose myself to deal with him. I'm counting the seconds until DH gets home from work. I feel terrible.

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

WorrisomeHeart · 01/04/2011 15:57

honeybee I could have written your post today! One slight difference is that my DS managed to sleep in until 5am this morning.. Since then he's had about 2 hours in total in naps, but in 30-40 min slots and has just taken 45 mins to settle for a sleep. I have a horrible cold and am also just counting the hours until DH comes home. We need to give ourselves a break and just remember that sometimes there are days like this to be fought through. Good luck for the rest of your afternoon!

Original poster

Honeybee79 · 01/04/2011 15:59

You too WorrisomeHeart. Let's hope it improves!

OP posts:

iskra · 01/04/2011 16:00

Has he not napped all day? Poor you! No wonder you need some time out. He's safe in his cot & you need to recharge your batteries for a few minutes.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

Families General parenting

Original poster

Honeybee79 · 01/04/2011 16:04

He had about 30 mins this morning. Usually has a nap of 1.5 hrs at lunch time but refused today.

I just need to calm down as don't want to shout at him .

OP posts:

Oneof4 · 01/04/2011 16:20

He will be absolutely fine there and it's much more important that you get a break (however short). I shut myself in the kitchen with the radio on the other day for 20 minutes because I couldn't take the noise anymore. Felt much better afterwards and put DS in his buggy for a walk, which calmed him down too.

Moomoomie · 01/04/2011 16:32

He is safe where he is.
Go nad put the kettle on, make a cup of tea and try and relax.
Then go back in to him, give him a big hug and go out for a walk.
As soon as your partner comes home pass the baby over :)
We have all been through it.

Original poster

Honeybee79 · 01/04/2011 16:35

Just don't know what's wrong with him at the moment - his sleeping has totally gone to shit which means he's in a grumpy mood all day. He used to sleep until 7am and now he wakes up at dawn and refuses to nap. Grrrrr. I'm going back to work at the end of June and have no clue how I'll cope if he's still sleeping badly.

Have just taken him out of his cot and now we're having a play on his mat.

OP posts:

CinnabarRed · 01/04/2011 17:16

Teething? Both of mine were OK when playing/distracted, but found it impossible to get to sleep because of the discomfort.

Try rubbing a little teething gel on his gums - if you see an improvement then it's teething and I think you'd be justified in giving some Calpol this evening so he (and you) get some sleep.

DrSeuss · 01/04/2011 17:23

He'll be fine. You, on the other hand, need a large glass of wine and to stop being so hard on yourself. Cheers!

fanjoforthemammaries7850 · 01/04/2011 17:23

yes, I bet it's teeth too!

Earwiggo · 01/04/2011 17:24

He probably is feeling teething pain, they can ache weeks before they show up so its not always easy to link the two things.

Hope you felt better after your break, it was the right thing to do, you know when it is all getting a bit much and like you says it is better than shouting!

When you have had a break maybe you'll feel up to singing, a walk with the buggy, or whatever will calm him a bit...

Mishy1234 · 01/04/2011 17:26

I can SO identify with what you're going through and I'm pretty sure most other mothers do too. You are doing the right thing by putting him somewhere safe and giving yourself some breathing space. There's absolutely no point in pushing yourself over the edge and ending up losing your patience.

These kind of days can be completely draining. As soon as your DH comes home make yourself scarce for a while. As your DS hasn't slept as much as usual he may well crash a bit earlier than usual (fingers crossed!). If you're DH isn't working tomorrow, make sure he does the lion's share and you get some time to relax.

Hope you get some rest soon and don't feel guilty, we've ALL been through it.

Mishy1234 · 01/04/2011 17:27

your DH

I've had a horrendous day too, can you tell?

CinnabarRed · 01/04/2011 17:28

I must confess - when I got to the end of my tether with mine, and couldn't find anything else wrong, I attributed it to teething and tried a speculative dose of Calpol to see if it made a difference. About 80% of the time it did, so I guess the DSs were suffering from pain somewhere even if not teeth.

I know that's not ideal, but I take painkillers if I'm in pain and I don't see why it should be different for babies.

(Caveat - we're probably only talking a dozen times all in.)

blondepinhead · 01/04/2011 17:57

Sounds like you did just the right thing. Some days they just won't nap and there's nothing you can do but ride it out. Just remind yourself that it will get better. Eventually.

About the early waking - could it be anything to do with the days getting longer? If you don't already have them, blackout linings for curtains are a godsend. The dawn chorus seems to wake our DD up so we use white noise to neutralise it, it's on low volume so she won't need it forever, we hope!

AngelDog · 01/04/2011 19:34

It could be because he's working on the 26 week (brain) developmental spurt. You can read about it and the other spurts in The Wonder Weeks The Wonder Weeks. The scientists who wrote it describe babies as 'clingy, cranky and crying' when they're working on a spurt. It often messes up sleep too, as well as feeding/eating habits (developmental spurts are behind the infamous sleep regressions).

My DS is working on one at the moment (he's 15 months) and it isn't much fun, although he's usually an easy-going baby (in the day at least). Developmental stuff does always get better once they get the spurt over and done with.

The early waking is probably because he's overtired from being awake too long in the day without a sleep. If he's on a bit of a napping strike, there's not much you can do, but putting him to bed earlier will help.

AngelDog · 01/04/2011 19:35

Oops, managed to double up on 'The Wonder Weeks' there.

Lovethesea · 03/04/2011 20:12

I'll second the black out idea too. DS (9 months) started to wake at 5.30-6am recently so I put up our black out curtain, it's from amazon and sticks onto the window with suckers so easy to use or take somewhere too. Gro Anywhere Blackout Blind.

Now he stirs around 5.30 but dozes off again because it's so dark so we're not getting up until 7.30ish usually. Bliss! I need my sleep even if he doesn't, and he shares with his 2 year old sister who really likes to sleep until 7.30/8 too.

LeninGrad · 03/04/2011 20:47

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster

Honeybee79 · 04/04/2011 08:55

Update: we've had a bloody shitty weekend with DS. I do think it's teeth but he's also had a bit of an upset tummy too.

He's been up since 3am and was ready to sleep at 7am (no way, he must hang on in there for his 9am nap!). He's currently grizzling in front of an episode of In The Night Garden.

I confess to sobbing at about 5am. This is not a great way to start the week!

Arrrrgggggghhhhh.

Thanks for your words of encouragement though everyone!

OP posts:

LeninGrad · 04/04/2011 16:15

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

CinnabarRed · 04/04/2011 16:40

Oh, poor you OP.

Another vote here for painkillers. In fact, why not give him a dose right now and see if it makes any difference? He'd then be able to have another dose at 10:30 (assuming it does help) to get him a bit further through the night.

The dodgy tummy might also be due to teething. I think it's because of the volume of extra saliva they swallow.

Give some thought to relaxing his nap routine while both of you are so tired. It wouldn't have been the end of the world if he'd napped at 7 am.

Finally, the night programming on the Baby TV channel is incredibly soothing - gentle music and swirling colours. It invariably sends DS2 to sleep when he's teething and is waiting for the painkillers to take effect. If you don't have satellite or cable then let me know and I'll record 3 hours onto a VHS cassette for you. And don't worry about it affecting his development because if he weren't teething then he'd be sleeping instead, so not being stimulated in more educational ways!

ShushBaby · 04/04/2011 16:54

Upset tummy may well be linked to teething.

You will get through this! I found 5-6 months ish really hard, having felt totally smug up til then about how easy I was finding things! This is the most full on part of having a baby- they are nothing like a 'normal' person at this age: they don't eat like a normal person, they don't sleep like a normal person, they don't behave like a normal person. So it's really hard to manage them. That sounds weird, I hope it came across right!

Soon your ds will be happy to play for longer on his own, will need less daytime sleep in order to stay pleasant, will be less dependent on constant milk feeds etc etc.

I can't promise, however, that he will start waking up at 7am! My little blighter (14mo) was up and down from 4.10am onwards this morning, and we caved at 6am and got up. But she is currently sitting looking at a book of baby's faces, chattering to and kissing them, whilst I fart around on the computer. So a hard night/morning is generally followed by an easier day when they're older (on the whole).

Um, also: bouncy chair and CBeebies. He'll be mesmerised. Sometimes you've just gotta.....

ShushBaby · 04/04/2011 16:57

Oh also, please do what the poster above me said and relax the naps while he is going through whatever he is going through. My mum gave me that advice when dd was teething- and it helped, it really did. I got back on it though as soon as she was better [control freak].

You know, in a few days the penny will drop and you will think 'of COURSE it was teething/a cold/frustration that he couldn't sit up on his own' or whatever. This is one thing I've discovered. Just sit back and all becomes clear (eventually) (usually).

CinnabarRed · 04/04/2011 17:21

Oh yes... So many times I've worried that one of the DSs has turned into Satan's child, only to find a new tooth/runny nose appear a couple of days later.

Flip

1 2

Swipe left for the next trending thread