Anyone else have / had a really, really awful sleeper?

[CrazyD8817]

My DD is just over 12 months..she’s my first and so far only so don’t have anything else to compare to. She slept badly as a newborn due to colic...slept well for about 2 weeks when she was 3 months old and then has been a really bad sleeper since 4 months!

All the little milestones or things to try I’ve read on here or talked about with other mums have done zero...e.g. starting solid foods, starting to crawl / walk, stopping breastfeeding at 10 months, night weaning the final bottle of formula, putting in own room and cot, cosleeping - nope!!

My DD still wakes every 2 hours at best..if we cosleep she’s easy to resettle so that’s what I do now. But she still wakes up crying even if I’m right next to her :( I don’t think it’s pain because as soon as she realises I’m still there she goes back to sleep..but then I’m awake! sleep training isn’t for me although we did try it out of desperation and it would only work for a very short term basis and I didn’t want to have to keep repeating it constantly.

I like cosleeping but she’s totally wise to me sneaking away so generally end up going to bed very early.

Just a general winge really and wondering if anyone else has a totally bulletproof baby! Success stories also appreciated...I just can’t ever imagine her sleeping well 😱

Me! She’s 3 and only just stopped the crying when waking. Turns out she had CMPA and reflux so I think that had a lot to do with it :(

Yeah my 2.5yo is much like this - every 2 hours until he was about 1. Then it went down to every 4ish. He still wakes twice in the night and often wants to breastfeed for the whole night. Any attempt to night wean or settle him another way just results in a wide awake toddler bouncing on our heads. I can't stick him in the cot to scream, I don't feel it's fair (plus we live in a flat!)

I'm sure he will get there 😴😴😴

Me. She still co sleeps at ten. Years. What do I wish I had done? I wish I had insisted on omeprazole for her instead of being fobbed off with colic.

First was every 2 hours for 18 months. Cosleeping saved me and gentle sleep training at 18mo. He’s the best sleeper now.

Second woke every 3 hours for about 4 years, then most nights until age 6. He struggles with anxiety but didn’t cosleep well after age 2.

Third dc is better, still up lots but getting 6 hour stretches at 6mo.

They’re all different. You can try, or not, but no point comparing.

She does sleep through now she is asleep. And second one was much better sleeper as no ‘colic’.

@Wingingthis Oh god..you deserve a medal for surviving 3 years! I have wondered about reflux but she seems to settle once she knows I’m there..until the next time. Hope you’re past the worst of it now!

Yes I have one terrible sleeper. I also have one super sleeper and one average sleeper. Super sleeper came first- slept 12 hrs a night from 12 weeks (except if Ill or teething) She is 7 now and still sleeps well and needs a lot of sleep. Terrible sleeper came second and she nearly finished me off! She never napped, even at nursery (she went from 6m) and her night sleep was terrible from day 1. Co-sleeping made it sort of bearable. She is 5 now, still doesn't need much sleep and is often up in the night. It got a lot better when she could entertain herself in bed with books, toys etc. Like you I held onto every possible milestone as being the one that would turn her into a good sleeper, but sadly that's just not who she is! I know plenty of people whose bad sleepers turned good though so hope is not lost! Number 3 is more of a text book sleeper. Just over 12 months, settles without a problem, sometimes sleeps through and sometimes wakes up and needs a cuddle back to sleep one or twice a night. I didn't do anything different with any of the kids so I am convinced its just luck what kind of sleeper you get!

Wow I’m slightly scared now! Ten years and six years! Although I was still cosleeping at around ten myself at least some nights per week and remember always having nightmares and being terrified of sleeping alone...my husband is more firm but I think it’s because I remember not liking sleeping alone myself!

I should add though that according to my mum I slept through from day one pretty much ...just never alone! Husband was terrible sleeper with reflux so blaming him for the faulty sleep gene 😁

3.5 to get to about half nights sleeping through here, and nearly 2 year old is at 2-4 wakes a night. It's a lot better usually than at 12m, but a long way to go.

Hugs of solidarity. Most of them get there eventually, but for many of us it's a long road.

Mine are 10, 6 & 3, none of them sleep great, but my 10year old is the worst sleeper ever! I have no advice as I have tried everything, even melatonin hasn't worked! 🤷‍♀️

Oh dear...obviously I would totally do it all over again but I do think there should be some kind of disclaimer before getting pregnant that not only may they not sleep as a young baby...they may NEVER sleep!

Saying that we are planning baby 2..must be mad

You see, I am a crap sleeper and always have been. My mum would say I went to bed at half seven and she didn’t hear from me till
Morning. That isn’t correct! I was awake until about eleven every night, awake on the landing. I still don’t like sleeping on my own.

I also think extended cosleeping is much more common than society would have us think. Anecdotally, at least 50% of my friends and colleagues dc have slept with them, in some form or other, until age 11 at least.

Yes. I found it exhausting. Didn't realise how much until she slept through. Then 2 months later dc3 arrived.

All 3 have been different. One we did low level controlled crying for 2 nights. Worked a treat. The third needed to be warm. Socks on meant a good night's sleep, socks off meant broken sleep. Weird.

Number 2 was hard work. In the end, a mix of age, sharing a bedroom and bribery. Old enough to know that she was ok and I will come if she needs me, but that screaming every hour was not on.