Due May 2022 thread 5

[Kittycaz]

@midnight90 @MrsMay19 @JMill13 @YfenniChristie @EastMidsGem @morphe @Sarah239 @fejkalove @Mummyingetc @Orangesunshin @aNewYorkerInLondon @Bubbasmama2017 @GinnyBee @Lavendersblue42 @Honeymint @YummyMummyXoX @K834baby3

Hey all if I missed anyone please add. Noticed last board is almost full.

It worked slightly differently which each of my children and mostly they were younger - it was all quick 2-5 nights I would say but it is very hard not to give in so I'd recommend to inform yourself and make a plan.
Go on the respectful sleep training group on facebook, you'll finds lots of testimonies, and answer. Also you'll understand all the various methods. Good luck!

Still getting wake ups in the night but I do think it's getting better. We do end up with him in our bed by most mornings. I saw some research that said the vast majority of babies are still waking most night at 1-18 months.
It's hard but I think it's normal. I don't think CIO or sleep training is right for us but I do hope he starts sleeping longer stretches soon!

There's so much I'd like to tell that tired face...

One day, you'll wonder if he's ok because he's slept for longer than two hours in a row.

One day, you'll stop posting in sleep forums for advice. You'll stop scouring the internet for solutions. Because you've found the answer within yourself.

One day, he'll let his dad rock him to sleep without screaming. You'll feel redundant but in a good, freeing way. You'll dance around the kitchen in celebration at your newfound sense of freedom, not quite knowing what to do with yourself.

One day, 2.5 years in, he will sleep through the night for the first time, and you'll be really chuffed. But it won't be the all-singing, all-dancing fanfare you've imagined all this time. Because the acceptance came sooner.

One day, you'll catch sight of yourself in the mirror and see a well-rested person staring back at you. The colour having slowly returned to your face.

One day, you'll no longer run on empty but rather a full (ish) tank. You'll start the day with a spring in your step rather than a tired trudge.

One day, you'll think back to those damning conversations and wonder why you ever let them fill your head with doubt.

One day, you'll look back with nothing but pride at the way you responded to your child's needs, in a world that still seems so strangely intent on denying them.

Words: Karen McMillan (Mother Truths)
Taken from: 'Lessons: Reflections on Early Motherhood'

Need to vent. DS started nursery last week and it seems to be going well. He's settled, happy, eating well. But his sleep!

On the days he is in nursery, he naps and he sleeps ten hours straight. Up at 7am.

On the days he's not in nursery 🤬 He fights naps so we end up putting him to bed early, but then he wakes 1hr and a half later and it's a struggle to put him down. He's then waking at 5am (but at least he'll fed and sleep for another hour).

Last night he fell asleep at 7.30pm. Woke up at 9pm. Then had an hour of him waking up every time his bum touched the cot mattress. DH took over at 10pm because I'd been up since 5am and needed to go to bed. I then woke up at 1am to find DH and DS were still up so I then took over. Managed to get to bed about 2am, and then tossed and bloody turned until 5am which is when DS woke up to start the day. 🤬

And sods law it's a day where I have back to back meetings and need to be in the office.

@Bubbasmama2017 sorry to hear that you’re still struggling with sleep. An update from my end is that after a few (horrible) split nights with a couple hours awake around 3am, she has now started sleeping a good 8 hour stretch for the past few nights, followed by a quick wake (and feed) and then another hour of sleep or so. We didn’t change anything, just settled on her own, so there is hope! The bad news is that she now wakes up at 6am on the clock, every day, weekday or weekend, so no sleep in for us!

@YfenniChristie Starting nursery is always an adventure, glad to hear she’s settling well! Don’t know how your nursery does it, but we have an app that tells us all her meal and naps times, so we try to replicate it as closely as possible during weekends so she has a bit of a set schedule. Hope that help, good luck!

I'm also here to report improved sleep! I mentioned last week that he'd slept through twice, and now it seems like he's doing it pretty consistently! About half the time, or 2/3, he has a false start and wakes up after 30/45 mins of going to bed, but settles back down easily. We've had one really restless night but then after breakfast the next morning he spiked a really high fever, so must have been feeling unwell in the night. And then last night he rolled off his floor bed which woe him, but he went back to sleep almost as soon as I even touched him to pick him back up. Other than that, boy is finally sleeping! From bedtime until morning! His mornings are now earlier, but I'll take 6am start over 3+ wakes any day!

Yay @GinnyBee !! That’s great news!!

Glad to hear people's success stories I think I just need to be patient and continue what we're doing but try and do it less and less til she doesn't need us as much

That's fantastic @GinnyBee !

We had a better but still rough night here. Anyone else struggling with the weather? It's giving me flashbacks to how panicked I was last year dealing with a 27 degree bedroom for most of the summer.

Anyone else experiencing 5am wake ups?! We are definitely getting longer stretches of sleep (most nights anyway) but 5am is way too early to get up!

We're having 4am sometimes, but he usually goes back to sleep after that with some help. But then he's up up at 6am now. Used to be 7 if it had been an ok night, and 7.30-8 after a split night. He has blackout film on the windows of his room so it's dark, but they're not perfect so some light slips through still. Maybe it's that? Today he woke at 4am first and I just assumed it was morning as it was so light and birds were singing! Then looked at my watch and wanted to cry 😅

We had a 3am wake, but back to sleep, then wide awake at 5! We have blackout blinds and blackout curtains, but as you say @GinnyBee light still gets through. I may try one big nap tomorrow and see how it goes, nursery are doing that but she only slept 1.5 hours there today so was super tired tonight. Will keep trying, until it gets better. Then wait for the next regression and start over again 😂😂

@Yellowbelly12 how did you get them back to sleep at that time? Or do they settle themselves?
We had an awake period 4-5 then back to sleep til 7, tried rocking then feeding then rocking again, leaving her to settle but that didn't work so back to rocking! but I think she wouldn't have gone back to sleep til 5 whatever we did

@Bubbasmama2017 at 3am it was give dummy and a rock, at 5am I took her in the spare bed, she didn’t really go back to sleep though, then my 3 year old was awake at 6 so that was us for the day.

This morning started at 4.20, she did eventually go back to sleep around 5.30, but again her brother was up at 6 and so we all were. Today I’ve kept her awake until 11, she went straight to sleep and is still asleep now, hoping for a good couple of hours. Suits us today as we have a play date this afternoon, no idea if it will make any difference tonight though!

I'm so glad some of you are getting better sleep! We have too tbh.. definitely not through the night but much less wake ups.

How many naps do your LOs have now? We've started to try and only have one cause bedtime was getting so late with two naps cause he was awake so long in between!

@TunaJacket , at nursery, they give him 20-30 minutes in the morning if he’s really needing it, but they typically only do one nap from 1-3PM. I’ve been trying to follow the same model and it’s going ok.

Mine dropped to one nap at 10 months, and was for a looooong time sleeping 1.20-1.40 for it but now that’s stretched to 2 hours, sometimes even 2.5! So weird that when he stopped waking so much at night he also started taking a longer nap?

Although this week has been a challenge again. I’m not sure what’s going on but we’re having horrible screaming in the night 😢 it started on Tuesday with a cold and he was waking up with congestion, but that’s now over and he’s still waking up and is inconsolable! Screams like the world is ending and we can’t calm him down for a long time. And some nights he wakes like this after every sleep cycle, some nights “only” twice with a couple more easier wake ups. So our sleeping through miracle didn’t last very long! 😭

Same as New Yorker, one quick morning nap at nursery if DD had been awake since very early, but generally just one longer nap early afternoon, soon after lunch.

We had family staying over for Father’s Day and had to move her to the travel cot in our bedroom to accommodate everyone. Was dreading it, thinking it would undo the good night’s sleep routine, but she just carried on sleeping early and all the way through! Now let’s see what happens late July when we go abroad for a whole month.

We've been doing a half hour nap at 9/9.30 then try for a longer one after lunch but it's usually only an hour so I'm not sure how I would get rid of the morning one yet.
We had 2 nights of sleeping through after getting tougher with letting her settle herself but she's still waking in the night most nights so I feel like it's a myth that once they can self soothe they sleep all night!😂

Hello mamas! I’m looking for a table and chairs set similar to this one from Sprout, but here in the UK. I like that it’s high quality wood, no plastic, and adjustable, with a solid top. I found a company in the UK called LittleBugCo, but I’m not sure they’re still in business??

https://sprout-kids.com/products/adjustable-montessori-weaning-chair-table-set?variant=8314934689887

anyone have one they recommend?

Hope everyone is doing ok. DS bit another child in nursery today. I am absolutely mortified.

Apparently it happened during meal time and the other kid stuck their fingers in his mouth, but still! 😩

@YfenniChristie , if one of my colleagues stuck their fingers in my mouth, I’d probably bite them too! I think I’d chalk that one down to a reflexive defensive manœuvre more than “biting,” at least this time. ❤️ Don’t be embarrassed! ❤️

Don't worry! It's all learning at the moment and the fact you care shows you will do your best to teach him not too.

Came on for a bit of a moan (sorry in advance). DS is off nursery unwell this week and I have had to stay off work. I am finding part time so rubbish. I don't feel like a useful member of my team at all. I feel like my 10 years of experience count for nothing and I am 'just' a mum.

I was planning to talk to my manager about needing more challenging work and responsibilities when he got sick and I have had to have two days off with no notice. I know I wouldn't involve me in urgent high profile work so can't blame them.

How is everyone else finding work? I thought part time would be perfect but it's making me feel less like me then being on maternity leave did.

@Luckygreenduck , I’m the one off sick this week. The whole family had a bad cold about a month ago, but I’m the only one who can’t shake it. I’m now on antibiotics because they think it opened me up to a bacterial infection, rather than just a virus. It is starting to help, but I’m only back to work a couple of weeks now and I’m out for three days. It stinks.

i loved maternity leave and have zero desire to be back at work, but now that I am back, I certainly do not want to perform poorly, regardless of whether I want to be there or not. It’s all so frustrating.

Thanks both. The nursery isn't too concerned but have to let the parents know as he left a mark and I feel awful about it.

I've been enjoying being back in work but I am so tired. I'm cramming five days work into four, my days are starting at around 5-5.30am most days (cheers DS!) and I'm acutely aware of not wanting to drop the ball.

Which I have as of today. Manager is fine about it as they know I'm my own worse critic so no need to pile it on, but argh.

With hindsight, I didn't enjoy maternity leave. I think if/when we have no.2, we've discussed me going back after 6mths, DH taking 3 months and I'll take the last 3 months again as I enjoy 9 to 12 months whereas DH struggled.