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End of my tether!

2 replies

hypnotisingchickens · 02/09/2011 08:56

Despite endless chants of 'this too shall pass', the time has come for me to beg fellow MNetters for some advice and wisdom.

19 w/o ff DS has never been a great sleeper. We have a good bedtime routine which works - 6.30 bath, 7.00 up to bed in a dark room, feed, sleep. So far, so successful. He sleeps until around 10.30, and then wakes again every 3 hours demanding food. Initially he would feed and then go straight back down, which was pretty managable, even if he ended up in our bed (he seems to settle much better in with us.)

However, in the past few weeks the heady combination of teething (and the associated dirty nappies) and learning to roll over have turned it all on its head. He very often needs changing in the night which leads to an hour or more of being wide awake and fancying a chat. He rolls himself over to his front and gets a bit stuck, or propels himself around his cot despite being in a sleeping bag. We also have the new trick of waking at 4 needing to poo, whinging, then producing a huge dirty nappy.

We have tried offering a dummy and water instead of feeding every three hours but that has had no success thus far. For now, the feeding isn't as much of a problem as the staying wide awake for hours afterwards!

So, my wise sleep deprived colleagues, any ideas? Should I just put it down to teething and ride it out, or is there some magic out there that I can try?

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
DialMforMummy · 02/09/2011 13:30

If I say, it pass you'll flame me won't you?
I would not replace a feed by water, if ffed he does not need water on top anyway (unless you are in the Sahara).
All I'd say is that if you must change him/feed him in the night, don't switch on the light and use a torch and keep interactions to a minimum.
I am sorry that is all I can advise!
Good luck.

smellsofsick · 02/09/2011 13:36

How much sleep is he getting in the day? My DD really doesn't seem to need so much at 8 months, never has but I know there is a fine line between crazy, overtired baby and sleepy baby!

I second M in keeping nighttime interactions to a minimum and getting out of there asap. Definitely keep the light off if you can too as this helped when DD was waking up for ages in the night and I needed to feed her.

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