The 'newborn - sleep nightmare' continuation thread, Cosmosis, count, emo etc. Still a sleep nightmare?

[Bumperlicious]

Just thought I'd catch up with all of you from the last thread to see if now we've moved on from the newborn stage things are any better?

Dd2 is nearly 5 months and sleep is still hit and miss. She is not good at sleeping when out and about so mornings are either spent at home or I choose to socialise and spend the rest of the day fighting to get her to sleep.

She still rarely goes down in the evening despite me trying for 1.5 hours. Eventually goes down 11.30ish and still often wakes twice a night

Am knackered, no end in sight. How's everyone else doing?

Thanks for the sympathy Judy! DH is back today and I feel a bit better after having a nice shower while DS is napping. Maybe we should ditch the bath as part of the routine for a while as he does get so upset afterwards. I feel the same as you though - that it's somehow compulsory!!
Enjoy your smear test cosmosis - bleurggghh

Glad DH is back, it's always easier when you're not coping alone isn't it :)

Another rubbish night here. Awake every hour from 2am. Sympathy to all. I also felt v tearful at 6 esp as I could hear dh snoring in the next room. Wanker.

Fun day for you cos - hope it goes ok. Ugh.

Agree that weekends do seem to throw things off. Dont have same routine of outing in morning and pm to knacker them. And dh even worse than me with the crying so feel cant implement things like shh/pat and even rocking to sleep instead of boob as he comes hurtling up stairs after couple mins and says well why not just feed him. grrrrr. Apols for rant. Love him really. Better to rant on here than yell at him.

Well it's sunny here which makes a change so going to be out all day in attempt to cheer self up.

Ours was similar to Saturday night - lots of wakings but only a couple of feeds thanks to DH (he is off this week). We've been trying to wean DS off swaddling as of yesterday - worked OK for naps but he woke every hour in the evening despite only having one arm out. My back is feeling a bit better so might be doing pu/pd tonight ... we'll see.

Commiserations to everyone who had crap nights :(

Hi, can I join please? I was on the NCSS thread with a different name, thought that everything was cracked, 6mo DD started sleeping through for a week, then BAM all goes to pot again. Last night she was up 6 times. Am a wreck! Have got appointment with sleep consultant tomorrow, if it works I will pass on the details!!

It is reassuring to see so many of you with the same problems (not that I'm pleased you are having a hard time). In RL I only meet people with good sleepers who find motherhood a breeze.

I need to join in. DS2 is killing me slowly with lack of sleep. Last night he didn't go to sleep until after 12. Woke up at 3 and was awake for a whole hour - then up at 6 this morning. I am starting to lose patience and need advice on how to deal with this. I am not sure I can take much more. I feel like I need to do something.

I agree with you countbapula - I don't think this is a feeding issue (although so many people suggest formula). Starting to get peeved with so many people suggesting formula.

I have had the same, but I know he is not waking hungry. It does annoy me that it's seen as the magic answer though!

Hi. can I join this thread too. I have a 6 month old ds who is very similar to what being blonde describes above. I always end up feeding him back to sleep as don't want to wake dd. Day starts at 5 30 everyday. It is really starting to get to me. I think lack of sleep is affecting my relationship with dd and dh, I never feel like going out in the evening with friends.

Welcome Enoon, AliGrylls and edwardrocks. Sorry to hear you're in the same boat!

Ok, I have woken up feeling a bit more positive today! I had a eureka moment yesterday... when DS was in our room he slept in a swinging crib which he quite liked. We moved him into his own room at 14 weeks cos I felt we were disturbing him when we came to bed, and I slept so badly cos every little noise made me snap awake. He seemed fine in his big cot for 3 weeks, but then these problems started (I think with onset of 4 month sleep regression.) So yesterday I thought, why not move his crib into his room and then we can rock him to sleep without touching him (which seem to get him more frustrated.)

So he went to bed last night at 6.10 and woke up at 6.50. I rocked him for 20 minutes and he finally went back off. When he woke up again an hour later, DH rocked him for 10 minutes and he went back to sleep. I then fed him at 11, 2 and 5.30. The best thing is that at 6, after his feed, he went back to sleep by himself til 7.20! Woo hoo! I am well, well aware from bitter experience that something that seems to work once will not necessarily work again, but I feel so much better that he went to sleep a couple of times without feeding. My boobs, however, felt mahoosive at each feeding!

I really hope the rest of you had a better night...

shit night here, ds and I ended up on the sofa :(

Bad night here too. Started quite positive as ds slept for whole hour and twenty mins before waking the first time - first time in ages got past first sleep cycle. Was rubbish after that. Dh sent me to the spare room at 5 as just had no patience and was getting angry . This must end soon.
Glad you had some success beingblonde

Angry at bouncer chair dh had left in hall and which i swore at a lot and threw out of way when went to loo. Came back into room and did tell ds a bit tersely to go to sleep but nothing major. At least we have got back to a point where dh can soothe ds sometimes and i can leave him - think couple of hours in spare room each night may save my sanity. Feel bad getting dh to do too much as he does have to work but am drowning. Sorry you're night was shit cos.

:( :( for cosmosis and judy but glad your night was better, beingblonde.

Similar night again - lots of wakings but I only fed at 6pm, 10.20pm, 2.40 am and 6.30 am. The others DH and I shared, and DS went back off v easily. So a good night for me sleep-wise but obviously I'd rather DS could go back to sleep by himself instead of us having to get up, cuddle and shush him - it only takes five minutes but messes up all our sleep. Also, when DH goes back to work on Monday I'll be dealing with all the wakings again so it's not really sustainable. Trouble is I have no idea how to eliminate those other wakings. Probably PU/PD but I keep wimping out of that (though my back is still sore).

DS has settled much better at bedtime the last two nights after making a very simple change to his routine. Before, following his bath, I'd bring him into his room with the lights dimmed and put lullabies on, then feed him. Since about Christmas, though, he's been really excitable during that feed - popping on and off, grinning at me, staring round the room - so has fed badly, then screamed his head off when put in his sleeping bag and taken an hour to settle. The other day he went so mental I had to feed him again to settle him, and didn't bother with the lullabies - just fed him with the lights off - and he went all dopey and floppy and went off v easily. So the last two nights, the bedtime feed has been in silence with the light off, and both nights he's been in bed by 7/7.30 with minimal crying.

Feel v silly not to have thought of this before - we've endured weeks of awful screaming at bedtime, I guess because what I thought was a soothing routine was way too overstimulating for a nosy, alert, wakeful little chap like him. Sorry if this is a bit 'suck eggs' but I've read every bloody sleep book going and yet a little thing like that has made such a difference.

I don't know what the problem is, but he won't be put down and is just crying. He has a bunged up nose and I think is teething, so think it's a comination of those, we gave him some calpol and that seemed to help. Pissed off though as it's just as I felt like we were getting somewhere. And of course, according to DH it's all my fault

Count you may well find that he just learns to sleep through them if you are not feeding him for them - that's what DS was doing. I agree with you on the dark and silence for last feed though, that's what we do and it does help.

Even last night on the sofa, once we got to sleep, he slept well - just had to be held.

Oh bless him. Poor you. Have you tried squirting that saline stuff up his nose? They hate it but does seem to get the snot going. Hope things get better. :(

Yes we have that, and a snot sucker thing.

I am just at the end of my tether today. Had no real sleep since Sat night, and a row with DH about it. It pisses me off because he says it's all my fault he can't sleep, but the only suggestion he offers is to leave him to cry. Yet last night when he was winging a bit after I put him down, guess who went up to him? not me! I think he was about to settle, but DH went up and picked him up and started rocking him etc.

Sorry for winge, just feeling so sorry for myself today.

oh my flip he's fallen asleep!

we're going out at 11ish so I stuck him in his car seat now becuse I am fed up of him winging (sorry I know that's bad) and he's gone to sleep!

Bloody hell!

I slept for 7 hours last night. It is amazing. I actually feel refreshed. He woke up at 3 for an hour and then slept until 6. I know it actually doesn't sound ideal but I feel so refreshed. I actually managed to sleep 5 hours in a row without being woken.

I did something different though - I didn't wake him for his 10pm feed. Could this be the answer I will let you all know tonight.

Glad to hear you are feeling better being blonde. You sounded at your wits' end yesterday.

AliGrylls - I think you've forgotten what thread you're on! 5 hours in a row does sound ideal from where I'm sitting - pleased for you if a little bit as well .
Glad baby cos went to sleep - hope he stayed that way.
Good breakthrough count. I had a similiar routine revelation about a week ago. Not sure if I posted about it but I was sitting DS on my lap and reading and singing to him most nights. When I thought about it though I realised he hates sitting like that during the day - felt a bit stupid but he's been calmer since. Everything you read says do the same thing every night and they'll make a sleep association and when you're run down it's hard to think clearly about if it's the right thing. I just thought if I kept doing it it would eventually make him sleepy.

Judy, do I sound slightly boastful? I am sorry.

Knowing my luck though he will be back on screaming form tonight. As one person rightly said just because something works one night does not mean it will work the next.

Not boastful at all. Good to hear of someone having a good night - didn't mean to make you feel bad at all just made me smile (hard to know how things will come across on here so sorry too). Hope it's the start of a things getting better.

Hope that makes sense - just mean in real life I can say to my NCT group I only fed three times last night and they look at me like I'm crazy but I know I can come on this thread and people will say,"well done - you're making progress" cause everyone is in more or less the same boat and that's what I love.

I am lucky in that one of my nct friends has a none sleeper too! another has one of those mythical self settlers though, we just stare in awe