Stuck in a never ending sleep regression

[PDog]

I am beyond exhausted. DD is coming up to 8.5mo and this has been going on for 2 months.

It seems to alternate between horrendous nights or horrendous days with horrendous bedtimes. She just can't switch off - I can't take my eyes off her for a second because she is not happy unless she rolling/grabbing something/putting something in her mouth.

When she does sleep, I have to feed her to sleep but as soon as I try to get her in her cot she wakes up and starts rolling.

She has only had 30 mins sleep all day today and gets more and more hyper. It then takes between 1-3 hours to get her to bed and she will be up to 2-3 times and ready to go by 6am (despite still been shattered).

Anyone offer any advice?

Or anyone in the same boat who wants to moan share experiences.

Last night was much the same. Awake at 11 and still awake at 1.15 Am bracing myself for the same tonight...so am off to bed myself now. Not sure if it's teeth, developmental or what, but I hope it passes soon.

We are also back to using white noise to get her to settle at night. It's either that or stay with her and feed/rock/pat shush so I figured this is the best option as it will help her with her self settling and means we can have some time to eat together
I turn it off once she's asleep and past the 45 min mark!

Glad you had a fairly good nigt AD
Hope the insomnia has passed IC

Night all!

Hope things weren't too bad last night, Curly. On the white noise issue, I'd go with anything that helps!

We had a fab, fab night - I think DS only woke up once after I'd gone to bed! And we slept through the alarm and woke half an hour later. :)

Whoopee, AD!!

Aw...bummer, curly....I do hope you had a better night last night.

DD has taken to waking up 3 times per night now - 23.00ish, 0200ish and 05.30ish. At least one if not two of those (the latter two, usually) can be toughies for re-settling her. Last night she took a good hour and three attempts to go back to sleep after the 02.00 wake up, then woke again at 05.55. Thankfully, she went back to sleep in less than half an hour after that one until 07.15.

Funnily enough, I'm still sleeping better on that timetable than I was when she was waking twice. More used to the frequency, I guess!! Still a bit knackering, though. But preferable to the insomnia. (Although I'll gladly put up with a few days of that in the name of a pattern of less frequent awakenings from DD...)

Here's to the weekend, ladies of the Eye-bag Club....

Go little AngelPup . Hope this is the sign of things to come for you AngelDog.

IC and Curly hope you have quicker resettles over the weekend.

Eye-bag Club - love it .

Well we have been having better nights recently - another sleep through on Mon, then up 1 to 2 times the rest of the week. Sometimes she has resettled really quickly; other times she has taken ages.

Bad news on the nap front though. She had about 20mins sleep on Tues and then was back to nursery on Weds. She is only having one nap now of between 25-40 mins . DH collects her and because she is so tired has had her bathed and ready for bed by the time I have got home from work. I just feed and put her to bed so I am missing her like crazy . On the plus side, she has stopped crying when we leave her .

Wishing you all a sleep filled weekend.

Sleep-throughs, PDog...!! Seems like an impossible dream from where I'm standing, but jolly good for PPup!

Gah, back to 2-hourly wakings last night - although DD did resettle reasonably quickly after them, so that's something I suppose. Still, I hope we're not back into the bad old days and it's just a temporary blip.

Having said that, I believe we're heading into 9moSR territory........

Wow - great news on the sleeping thru PDog

IC sympathies on the 2-hourly wakings. I know how awful they are...

Great news for you too AD - was the fab night a one of or did he repeat it for you?

Things going from bad to worse here...last night she woke at 10.15 (2.5hrs after going to bed) DH tried to resettle without a feed as I din't beleive she could be hungry that soon. It didn't work and I ended up giving boob, but she still didn't go back to sleep and was still crying/screaming after 2 hours of one of us patting/shushing, a feed, a cuddle etc.
In the end, out of sheer desperation, DH made a bottle of FF (5oz) which I doubted she would take. She proceeded to guzzle it down in no time at all, and slept till nearly 6am .

He now thinks these wakings are real hunger and that my milk isn't satisfying her. Could he be right? I don't really want to make the switch to FF, as it will just make night feeding harder.

I was so upset that she took it in some ways, but releived to finally get some decent sleep! but now I really don't know what to do tonight. Do I BF, FF or both? and if I do offer FF, do I do it now (bedtime) or when she first wakes? so

Wishing good sleeps for all!

Hey, curly

Could be just a fluke and your DD simply needed something else to get her into sleep mode and the bottle of FF did the trick on this occasion.

Maybe play it by ear - if she wakes after only a couple of hours or so again, offer her a bottle and see what happens. If (without the BF and the other resettling attempts and all the time that elapsed as last night...) she does another long stretch, then maybe that's the way to go. For just the one feed I doubt it'll seriously damage your supply... especially if you wouldn't (ideally) be BF overnight anyway...

Just a thought FWIW

Hellooo...

A pretty awful night here, sleep-wise. DD was very wakeful - I ignored her the first time (after 2.5 hours) and she got herself back to sleep, but was awake again an hour later. And a couple of hours after that. Tried ignoring her again, then DH tried settling her, resulting in very determined wailing from DD, so I gave in and fed her (again), but she wouldn't settle back in her cot.

Eventually, in an effort to get at least a little sleep for her - if not for me - I took her onto the mattress in her room alongside me. I broke my rule about letting her latch on as it was the only thing that I could think of that might settle her. It did and I managed to unlatch her a little later (even managed to creep out to go to the loo and get back into bed without waking her, which was a minor triumph) and she slept for a few more hours. I didn't much. She woke at 06.45 and allowed me to put her in her cot after another resettle feed and slept until 07.30.

Could be teething, could be the fact that she's hurt her arm (wrenched it, I think - she's not voluntarily moving it much and yelps a bit if it's held in certain positions. It seems a little better today, but she's still not really using it. I can't feel any swelling or dislocation or anything, but if it doesn't seem much better tomorrow, we'll be off to the doctor.) - could be anything, who knows?

Anyway, those wonderful nights of two awakenings seem suddenly very far away....

Here's hoping the rest of you did better...

Awww, IC I feel for you, that sounds like an awful night.

Things were not too bad for us, DD slept until midnight before first waking, but ironically I went to bed at 10 but couldn't sleep so was just dosing off when she woke! Also had yet another blocked duct or nipple blister (or a bit of both) and was in agony!

She then woke up again at 3 and then again just before 6. I don't really beleive she needs all these night feeds, but she just wont settle without We didn't give the FF as she did go straight back off after each feed.

Tonight however is a different story and DH is now giving her a FF top-up as she seemed to be wanting more after her last feed, but was fussing and faffing like she was getting frustrated that there wasn't enough milk, or probably flow wasn't fast enough... Maybe she's having a bit of a growth spurt. At least this might just keep her asleep a bit longer.

Hope everyone has a good night.

Aw, curly, poor you with the blocked duct AND the interruption just as you finally managed to drift off.. I SO know how that feels...
Hope last night was ok

As for things at Casa IC, just when I thought things couldn't get much worse...

...thankfully, they got better. Back to two awakenings before 06.00 again last night, and she did another half hour or so before waking for the day at 06.45. I made absolutely sure I put her down awake at bedtime - she cried for about a minute, then went to sleep. Whether this made any difference, who knows? Likewise, tooth number two is properly through now - maybe that was it? And her arm was better, another possible reason?

Anyway, I'm grateful for a better night, whatever the cause.

Hope everyone else is doing okay...

Well, as with you IC just when I thought I couldn't take another bad night...we had a fab one!

Dd went to sleep at 8.15 after the FF and didn't wake until 4.30 and she went back easily after a quick feed until 7.45 Needless to say we are trying the same thing tonight (which means it probably wont work!!)

Glad you had a better night IC

Where's everyone else?

Great stuff, curly!

Last night wasn't brilliant, but wasn't terrible either. 3 wake-ups before 06.30, including one that took a couple of attempts to resettle DD.

For the last two days I've been putting DD in her cot for her first nap - managed it eventually both times, but it takes a while and a lot of attempts before she finally gives in. Still only get 30mins at a time out of her, too. Anyway. I figure I have GOT to persevere with it - she's going to grow out of her pram soon and the weather isn't going to be ideal for pram-walking so much, anyway.

I figure if I can get her going down for one nap in the cot initially, then build it up to two and maybe three eventually. Can't put her down awake, though. She just howls and unlike the night, she will keep going for ages and have no sleep at all.

At the moment, I'm changing her back into a sleepy suit and putting her into her sleeping bag after a nappy change, then dimming the lights and feeding her while singing her a lullaby. She gets nice and sleepy (after protesting about being put into her sleepsuit etc.), I put her in the cot and WHAM....

Yesterday it took three attempts and half an hour before she finally slept, today five attempts and an hour.

Trouble is, if it gets longer and harder each time, she's going to start missing out on the sleep....

But I will keep going with it for now, can't see any alternative.

Time-wise, I start the nap routine 15 mins before the 2 hour mark to try and ensure she's not overtired and from experience I know if I leave it longer, it's even harder to get her down, so I don't think the timings are out. It's just that her preference is to sleep latched onto me. And that's not my preference.

Ho hum.

Sorry to hear naps are still not great for you IC

Sadly our fab night on Sunday was one of DD's curve balls that she likes to throw me occasionally, and was nowhere close to being repeated last night (even though we did everything the same [hhmm]
She went down at 7.30ish and woke at 11, 2 and 4.30 (at wich point she did her 'thing' where she wouldn't go back to sleep) finally back to sleep at 6.00 until up for the day at 7.45.

The night feeds I can handle, but the not-going-back-to-sleep lark is just awful and I wish I could crack that. I just knew she was going to do it as she was fidgetty when I was feeding her.

DH is out this eve, and so I have just managed to get her off without too much hassle. I prefer it when he is here - she seems to play up less for him!!

will just have to wait and see what tonight brings...

Sleepydust to all.....

I'm still here - we had visitors over the weekend and then I have been ill (again).

Had a horrible sickness bug and felt rotten yesterday so poor DD had to go to bed without mummy's milk - she was not happy . DH came down with it last night so we had to ask my dad to drive 2 hours to come look after DD today so we could sleep. Times like this I really wish I had a baby who slept during the day.

On the plus side, DH managed to resettle her at 3am this morning with just water - it took him awhile but has made me think it might be time to try night weaning.

Glad to hear you have had some better nights Curly and IC, would be nice if they were a bit more consistent wouldn't it? Whoever coined the phrase "babies are creatures of habit" obviously never met LO's like ours .

Oh, you poor thing, PDog. Hope you feel better soon.

We've had the old one night good, one bad pattern here too. I have a nasty cold today, but last night was not a good one so I'm hoping tonight might be better!

DS generally goes to sleep after feeding at night but is really difficult to settle once I put him back in his cot. DH has rearranged the bedroom so it's once again safe for co-sleeping (DS being more mobile had meant it wasn't great before). I think I'll stick with him on the mattress next to me until he gets a bit easier to settle again.

There's lots going on, though - DS is suddenly pulling himself to sitting, thinking about pulling to standing, and working on starting to wave / clap, so no wonder he's all over the place.

Curly, I'll think of you next time DS is up for a long spell in the middle of the night (probably tonight!) We actually had a night without it on Sunday, which was a pleasant change. :)

Ugh, PDog, poor you - I hope you're feeling better now! It's bad enough being ill, but when you have a LO (or two) to look after.....

Likewise, I hope your cold gets better quickly, AD. Are you in the middle of the 9moSR now?

Snap, curly, I had an almost identical situation to you last night. Like you, I realised with a sinking heart that DD's fidgeting during the resettle feed meant we were in for a long haul... She howled at bedtime too, which is unusual nowadays. I'm thinking it might be separation anxiety and feel mean at putting her in her own room (although I often end up in there with her).

On a brighter note, she did resettle herself a few times (by the sounds of it), so that's something.

Nap 1 in the cot went well - DD went straight down (only 30 mins, but I don't expect any more at the moment). Nap 2 wasn't so great. She wouldn't unlatch, so I ended up bent over the cot for most of it.

Now tooth number two is through I can clearly see number three just below the gum, with four not far behind. Not surprising she's unsettled, I s'pose, but she doesn't seem to be in pain from them.

Me and DH want to have another DC and will have to get on with it because of my age, but I think - god, what if I get another bad sleeper or - even worse - a terrible sleeper? Having read some of the threads from Mums of 2 LOs not sleeping, the prospect fills me with dread....

Thanks, feeling much better today. Still shattered though and was back at work today so am going to get an early night in a mo - just waiting for DH to come in.

Hope you recover quickly AngelDog, it is horrible being ill when you really need your sleep most and you have a LO with sleep issues.

I know what you mean IC, having 2 LO's with sleep issues scares me to death and is the one thing that puts me off thinking about having another just yet. I am hoping that DD grows out of it soon .

Having said that, she does seem to be getting better at self settling during the night. She usually just has one feed over night now and I'm thinking about night weaning when I feel more up to it (she is over 10 months). She has taken to early mornings again, even though she is still very obviously tired . Not great as need all the sleep I can get on work days.

With regard to teeth IC, I find they always trouble DD more at night. I think because she has less to be distracted by (and chew on), she thinks about it more iyswim. I've just woken her up, given her a dose of Calprofen and fed her back to sleep as she was crying in her sleep with her finger in her mouth, bless her.

Hope you are OK Curly and not having too much of a horrendous bedtime.

Hi all

I'm Ok - thanks for asking PDog - I think we are slowly making some progress. DD seems to be going for longer stretches and settling a bit better...

Last night wasn't too bad - asleep somewhere between 8/8.30 and slept until 1.40. Then she couldn't get back to sleep and did her 'I will scream if you try and lay me in the cot' routine. Eventually she went back off shortly after 3 and slept until 8. So, although it was a long time up, it was only 1 waking

She seems to be going for slightly longer stretches all of a sudden - 4 sometimes 5 hours, which is a welcome improvement.

Glad to hear of some progress, chaps.

My cold turned out to disappear really ]quickly which is good.

We've had some good nights - by which I mean 4 wakings (2 after my bedtime) but back to sleep again quickly. I'm basking in my reputation as a martyr from my mummy friends when I tell them that's a good night. They are all suitably horrified. :)

I think this is a slight lull between the 2 developmental spurts, but DS is not as settled as he was so I'm sticking with bringing him into bed after he first wakes, which really seems to help.

My main problem is an inability to get myself to bed early enough!

IC, I know what you mean about ttc for no. 2. I know 4 people with LOs around DS's age who are expecting their second and it freaks me out. I think we'll be waiting a while longer yet.

Glad you're both feeling better, AD and PD!

Hah, I know what you mean about being the resident martyr, AD (although I have a RL friend whose baby has his off nights too...but he does occasionally sleep through, which my DD NEVER does...

Last night DD woke 3 hours after bedtime (which was trouble-free) and wouldn't be put down again, so I gave her first some teething gel (bit tricky to apply...) then a squirt of paracetamol as I figured PD might be right and it was her teeth bothering her. Certainly, I can see loads of them getting ready to come through.

Funnily enough, she fell asleep in my arms - NOT on the boob, for once - almost immediately after taking the paracetamol. It can't have worked that quickly, so I think it was just that she had worn herself out. [hhmm]

Anyway, she woke again a couple of hours later, but went back down again OK. Then again at 05.15 and would only settle for 20 mins or so at a time before we got up at 07.00. Still teeth, probably, but she wasn't crying hugely and I didn't want to keep giving her more paracetamol when she wasn't in obvious discomfort, just a bit restless. I'm a bit reluctant to ply her with too much paracetamol. Not sure how effective the teething gel is either, especially as she's so resistant to having it applied!

Anyway, she seems cheery enough today, if a little tired.

Do you find it easier to put up with a bad night if you think you know the cause than if they just wake up for no apparent reason? Telling myself she was teething made me feel a lot less hard done by...

Definitely agree with that theory IC! I think DD might be teething again, no obvious symptoms but can see loads of tooth buds under her poor little gums!

Have you tried baby Ibuprofen as opposed to paracetomol? I find the paracetamol good for colds, but ibuprofen definitely better for teething as it helps with inflammation...

Last night not too bad for us. Bedtime took a bit longer than usual - I'm trying to push it back a bit each night in anticipation of the clocks going back next w/e [hwink]
She woke at 12.30, 2.30 () and 6am - this one took a lot of re-settling as it was too close to morning, but I did manage to get her back off eventually until 8ish.

AD I am the same, I know I should get myself to bed early, but never manage it and then regret it when DD wakes up too soon after I've got to sleep!

I agree, IC, that having a theory makes it so much better. That's why I like to read sleep books - I'm an information freak (DS's sleep is too random for me to be a control freak )

I'd not thought about the clocks - oops.

Tired today. Didn't get to bed early. Trying again tonight but somehow I'm not holding out for much success!

Hello, this all sounds very familiar, can I join you? I have a 14 month DS2 who's our 3rd child. The other 2 children are good sleepers. But DS has shocked us with the sleep problems we've gotten into. He sleeps only in our bed and has to be bf to sleep which takes about an hour of me lying with him, preceded by lots of crawling and rolling round our bed and yet more bf.

Then wakes and feeds again when we go to bed. In the night he wakes and feeds a few times and sometimes screams and won't settle even with a bf. I think he's getting the last of his 4 first molars so could be that.

Dh is completely fed up to the point that he is starting to dislike DS and I'm just wondering what to do!

We've got to rearrange the other children so that we can get him set up with a toddler bed in another room. The cot seems an impossibility because he just won't go off to sleep without me lying next to him/bf.....

Oh, and naps. Well predictably he will bf off to sleep, usually one nap a day of 30mins to 1.5 hours. And when he's with my mum (I work pt), he sometimes goes to sleep with her lying with him or more usually in the car or buggy...

Resident martyr mum. That's me too. And I can remember being astounded by other mum's sleep hell stories when DS1 (good sleeper, non-bf and went through night from 4 months) was a baby. I couldn't believe it when these mums said that their babies were bf in the night beyond 6 months or so and wondered why they allowed it. Well, now the shoe is firmly on the other foot!!

PS. And I can't decide why DS2 is such a bad sleeper. Is it something about him individually? Is it partly being exclusively bf? Is it because I fed him lying down from when he was tiny and ended up falling asleep without putting him back in the moses basket? Is it because he was always carried around in a sling and mostly spent his naptimes on the move ferrying the other 2 around? Sigh, I just don't know but it's difficult when you feel it's something that is and continues to be your fault. I feel pretty stupid when I talk to other mums with babies the same age who are good sleepers.