Sleep Nightmares Part III: At 3am No-One Can Hear You Scream

[CountBapula]

I've been moaning about documenting my 8 mo DS's 'challenging' sleep patterns on MN since he was three weeks old. He's still waking every 2-3 hours at least and the other thread's full, so here's a shiny new one for all you parents of hardcore sleep refusenik babies.

Who's with me?

comrade, I wish I knew the answer to your question, becasue we have the same issue!

Actually Cos I think I've already fixed it :)
DD now wants to sleep on her front and sleeps much better doing so. Now I pop her into bed on her front and pat her bum whilst sitting on the floor next to the cot and using a white noise app on my ipad and no longer saying shhh. It's not only extended naps a bit (though still hit and miss) but also... wait for it ladies... so far tonight she hasn't needed me at ALL (however it's only 10pm). I'm not saying anything when she tries to sit up but just pulling her back flat.

So yes, I need to touch her but her sleep is better so I'm ok with the compromise.

Judy in all honesty DD's sleep issues got better once I stopped BFing completely. I think it's because she no longer got confused about feeding to sleep and knew that bfing to sleep wasn't an option.

Glad you've worked it out :)

Ds is the same and wants to sleep on his front, but if you actually put him down on his front he just does pushups!! You have to put him on his side quite rolled forwards and then he just gradually goes on to his front from there.

We had a scare last night though ? about half an hour after going to bed, there was this massive thump and loads of screaming from his room. We ran upstairs thinking he had somehow launched himself out of his cot, but he was still lying down ? so no idea what he?d done, but it took a while to calm him down poor love.

Cosmosis my DS does the push-ups thing too! We put him down on his back and he usually rolls onto his side when he's settled, then onto his front in his sleep.

Things are hit and miss here. All went tits up end August when we went to Wales, and averaging one or two wakings per night. He randomly slept through 8-6 on Monday night - first time in ages - but has woken twice for the last couple of nights (three times so far tonight ). Been doing a bit of night weaning and had got down to 3-min feeds, but tonight he's woken screaming each time, so I think he is teething or something, because he's wanted to feed all the way to sleep.

It's his first birthday on Friday. Can't believe he still isn't sleeping through - at least some of the time would be nice! I start a new job a week Monday, so really hoping things start to improve soon.

We are the same kind of mixed count. I was thinking last night (terrible night but he has a cold) that when he was born I thought he?d be sleeping through by Christmas last year (oh how naïve!!!) Now I think I?ll be lucky if he is regularly sleeping through by the time he?s 2, ha ha. We had 2 weeks of almost every night and I?d really thought he?d cracked it, but then last week it all went to pot again. It?s almost torture because now I know he CAN do it, I am desperately trying to find the trigger, every night I think will he do it ? at least I never used to expect it

I find putting dd sleeps much better on her side or front too, Comrade. It's great you can pat her back down to sleep. We're still having to pick her up to get her back to sleep. This is ELEVEN MONTHS in.

We've had a few good stretches lately of 7.30-midnight/1ish but it all goes to pot after that. Last night she slept for two hours sitting up, resting her head on my arm. I'm beginning to wonder if starting to co-sleep was a mistake. I think I'm going to be the first person in history who is still rocking their child to sleep at the age of 10.

I'm worried that I'm actually failing her because I haven't taught her how to get to sleep, and stay asleep, properly. I just assumed this sort of stuff came naturally and had no idea you had to 'teach' it. Feeling very low about it all tonight.

Missrose :(

I'm still sitting next to DD on the floor and patting her bum or holding her sleeping bag so it is hard for her to sit up and just pulling her back to lying down each time she sits up. She still wakes up every 30 minutes or so until about 9pm but usually goes back to sleep quite quickly. Now she's sleeping through from about 9pm until 8am which is about as amazing as things get. Still the odd crap night where she is awake for 2 hours at midnight but we're getting there.

If I'm honest the things that have fixed her sleep have been:
-Stopping breastfeeding
-Making her fall asleep in her cot
-Being a complete hard arse and accepting that she will cry when she wants to be in my arms but I'm making her sleep in her cot
-Being absolutely strict about what we're doing so not rocking her to sleep at all ever

I'm not too far away from graduating from the thread but won't do it until she is able to go to sleep without me doing anything.

Wow Comrade it sounds as if you've almost cracked it. Looking through your list of things that have helped I've realised that I am still doing all of them - no wonder it's all such a nightmare!

We did have a plan to night wean her and have DH settle her but he recently told me he's been really depressed for months. I knew something wasn't right. The upshot is that he's not really coping with settling the baby so I'm going to have to try and do it on my own.

I think I may print out out your list and pin it to the side of the cot to remind me what I'm doing I the middle of the night!

Just wondering how everyone is getting on? We have been having a disaster - feeding up to four times a night for the last week or so.

Having decided that tonight's the night I start nightweaning DD has just been put down in the cot, awake, and fell asleep in 10 minutes. No crying, fussing, not a peep in fact. For the last 11 months she has been rocked and held until she falls asleep so this is literally the most amazing thing that has ever happened!

I'm celebrating by having a nice sit down in front of the telly!

How is the night weaning going MissRose? Hope the easy settling continued as well.

We're still doing relatively well - DS stays asleep until between 4am and 5am but won't settle when he does wake. Still not sure how to deal with it but don't feel I can complain too much as it is so much better than before.

Hello Judy, sounds pretty good round your way at the moment. Hope it continues and maybe the darker mornings may help?

The settling is going pretty well still, amazingly. She even fell asleep in the car seat today for the first time ever . She's obviously (finally) ready to fall asleep on her own.

The night weaning was going really well, we were down to one feed around midnight and just settling whenever she woke after that but last night she was teething pretty badly so I'm back to three times a night. Once this bout is over we'll pick it up again and hopefully she will ready for it. She's not eating very much so I really don't want to be denying night feeds until her apetite is back to normal.