I'm SOOOOO tired

[Welshmum]

I'm so fed up of being tired. DD is almost 17 months now and to be fair she's a pretty good girl. Goes to bed at 7pm with no trouble and 'tends' to sleep until 6am. But I just can't bear the unpredictablity of it. Last night she yelled for 30mins at 1am and I have no idea why - eventually settled herself. These sort of nights have had such a weird effect on me. It's as if I can't sleep in case she wakes up. I end up in this kind of alert half sleep, it feels like most of the night but it can't possibly be otherwise I'd be dead. I've got to the point were I'm keeping myself awake through a strange kind of anxiety more often that she keeps me awake. Does ayone else feel like this?

Welshmum, I'm another lunatic who lies awake "waiting" for that little noise. DD is nearly 4 and has always been a bad sleeper. But this bit takes the cake - I even imagine I hear her calling out. The number of times I've staggered as far as her door, and then realised I imagined it (luckily before barging in and waking her up) cannot be counted. And before anyone suggests that she might be yelling in her sleep, I've even managed to hear her calling while I am awake, turn off the shower and get myself dried off before realising she's not in the house. It must be mother's brain or something. I am permanently damaged!

Thought I'd update you. I've forced myself to go to bed ridiculously early the last few nights (8.30) I hate doing it as I feel like I've got no life. Last night I combined this with a long bath and 2 herbal Nytol as Enid advised and today I feel so much better. When I wake up in the night now - at least I'm going back to sleep and not lying there worrying about anything and everything.

Glad you're feeling better, Welshmum. I went through a sleepless phase earlier this year - ds is a really good sleeper but I got it into my head that he would start waking really early with the light mornings and I was waking at 3.30 am waiting for him to wake up. I ended up sellotaping cardboard boxes onto his bedroom window to block out the light - and even as I was doing it I was thinking that it was the action of a crazy woman. Eventually I got organised with black out blinds etc and luckily my sleeplessness passed. Ds never did wake that early. I think motherhood sends everyone do-lally.

i just wanted to say that it's, as you see, so common for mums, i would swear sometimes i wake ds up and not the other way around. and that the worst thing to do is to stay in bed awake fighting for sleep, i rather get up and read a book even if i stay awake the same time it's more relaxing and i don't drive myself mad. usualy i can fall asleep easier when i get up and return to bed after a while

Ghosty (or anyone else...) - have just read your message below and am in exactly the same position. Ds 3.25 has been a terrible sleeper since about last November and is waking most ie 6/7 nights once, twice or like last night three times. As I'm now 6 m pregnant and working full time, I am begining to really resent him as i just can't cope on this little sleep. Did it get better? I've tried stickers, star charts, earplugs (for me !) but he has the most revolting tantrums in the middle of the night, i'm not tired etc etc. Doesn't get out of bed though, just screams. Any suggestions anybody ???

Don't know if this will work for you, but it's worth a try. I told my dd2 (just 3) the other night that Mummy gets grumpy when she's woken up in the night and she could only come into my bed when it was the morning.
Now, before I put her to bed every night she says "don't wake me up Mummy - I need my sleep". I also leave a light on for her in her room so, if she does wake up she can get some toys and books out and play. But she does not wake me up.