Let's all meet here for a sleep deprivation support group

[ImNotAnsweringIt]

I though it might be helpful to have a general thread with survival tips for dealing with the exhaustion and misery of the long or short term effects of lack of sleep. I bet we can all find someone worse off than ourselves, and that's always a help, hmm?

My little tips for making things more bearable:

Make sure you are warm enough when you have to get up in the night. Have dressing gown and slippers by your bed if neccesary. This also helps you get back to sleep quickly, should you be fortunate enough to have the opportunity!

Have lovely breakfast things in. I always have expensive cereal in the cupboards Just For Me.

Anyone else? Hang in there everyone, I am having a very down day today which is what inspired me to start this.

And we're back to square one...

Last night was back to the old hellish days of up every blinking hour and then for the day at 4.45. Don't know what's gone wrong (maybe fates are punishing me for thinking I'd cracked it?) but it's as if the breakthrough never happened. It feels worse now because I don't think I can face CC again and at least before I had that as the last resort at the back of my mind....

Toddler bless him slept all night in his big bed again, what a good boy. Thank god because I couldn't face having to get up with him too. He's going to have another day of being short changed because mummy is too tired to function :(

When will it end?!

Ooo no Ams25....I can sympathise as my DS was very poorly last night so I think I only managed 3 hours all night. Functioning will be a problem today...making a buffett lunch for friends today....not sure I have the energy.

Wifey make life easy for yourself, stick to breads cold meats and cheese and perhaps a ready made salad? After a night like that you don't need to be cooking! X

Great mind think a like! I've got all the basics so just going to decorate the table nice & be done with it. My little one seems ok at the moment but we are both exhausted!
How long has your LO been waking every hour Ams?

Oh ams and wifey sorry to hear you are having a rubbish time. Fantastic news that the toddler slept in his bed though! Our big boy bed antics were a disaster as DS ran amok all night for 3 days but then demanded to have the cot side back on . wifey how was the buffet? Very impressed you are managing to have guests at all!

mrsD....buffett went well although my DS was upset on/off & has got worse tonight.
I managed to cook a lovely pasta dish & a chicken rice dish followed by muffins! My friends were very understanding that DS was tired & poorly with this horrible cough. Think we are in for another long night...I have work tomorrow & no DH to help with the very early start as he has to be gone by 5am tomorrow.

Wow, wifey you sounds like superwoman entertaining with all that on your plate (no pun intended). Posting and running. DS ill with horrible cough and DD seems to be teething, has hardly slept all day and just cries everytime she's put down or I leave the room. She also bit me for the first time during the bedtime feed! Hope she won't be doing that too often, it HURT!
Off to bed now in the hope of getting some sleep, but not hopeful. xx

Pipoca...hope your LOs are better soon. I like to keep my superwoman powers under wraps...comes out now & again though!

Hi all, wifey ur amazing, I can hardly put together chicken and chips wen so knackered!!! Well done u. Ur an inspiration.

Things here go from doing ok to shit to sometimes a real good night then back to shit again. Weds night was hard but Dh helped a lot but Thursday daytime I broke down crying big time, felt I couldn't cope, couldn't function even to do everyday things. I tried to say that I was terrified of going back to work but couldn't speak thru tears. Funny thing is Lo slept brilliant that night like she knew mummy was upset and needed a break lol. Yesterday was better, and she had went to bed at 7.30 woke two times up to 2.30 which is good I didnt feed wen she woke just stroked her head and off she went...doesnt always work but lovely wen it does. I'm feeding her now, I give myself targets. Anything under 4 hours then I don't feed I try to help her settle. But she is quite awake at mo so worried I may be in for it now.

Have my parents down in morn for Xmas shopping.....yep mad complete madness!

Hope all have a good sleep sending sleepy vibes.
X

Pipoca and Wifey how are you DCs this morning? Hope they're feeling better.

Birchy you poor thing. I was you two weeks ago, just had a massive breakdown and felt i couldn't cope any more. Amazing how a it of sleep helps you keep it together.

Could have killed DH this morning. BOTH kids still asleep at 5.50am (miracle) and he'd left his sodding alarm on in the spare room,mwhich work them both. ARRRGGHHH! Guess who got up with them both? Clue... Not me!

Last night pretty bad, baby just kept waking. Only fed him twice, other times he either needed a quick pat, or I left it five minutes and he got himself off to sleep. The problem really is that even if he goes off quite quickly I don't any more... I just lie there waiting for the next call!

Hope you all had better nights xx

birchy...we have all had a melt-down... lack of sleep will definitely win over sanity anytime! Hope you are feeling better now?
Ams25...had a better night...my DS is still in bed...although I have to be in work at 8am & my DH is in London so I'm just organising his bag etc for when my mum has him today. I'm only at work 2 hours today so I'm not leaving him long.

Hi please can I join
I have dd1 who is 2.4 yrs and sleeps v well and dd2 4 months old who slept through until this week where she is up every hour, crying with this cough, blocked nose etc.
Shock to the system is an understatement

Each night i try to be optimistic but I feel like screaming. I'm getting angry all thR time. I can't run as I'm too knackered and that's how I destress.

Dp and I have had such good news recently (sold out house v quick and he has just got the job of his dreams) and I just feel numb. Csnt get excited as all I want to do is sleep and not fucking breast feed. Dd 2 also won't take a bottle, I know I sound mard but I'm loosing the will.

Oh buggy that sounds rubbish. I think it's almost worse when you're getting some good sleep then it all suddenly disintegrates. At least you know where you stand with a relentless non sleeper! I hope your DD gets well soon and gives you some rest. Is DP around this weekend to give you a break? pips and wifey hope your DCs are better too.

ams and birchy maybe last week was the week for it as also spent the whole week alternatively in tears/silently screaming. God this sucks.

wifey pasta AND rice AND muffins? You rock!

Buggyrunner have you heard of the 4 month sleep regression? That may go some way to answering why your dd2 has changed sleep patterns?

Last night was utter rubbish. DD is teething in a big way, I was fighting giving ibuprofen (calpol does nothing for her) as I knew it would wake her up too much but after putting her back in bed 4 times between 2 and 3am I gave in and did it, then foisted her on DH to get her back to bed so I could sleep. I have a horrible cold (DD doesn't - is it because I'm breastfeeding that she's got a resistance to what I have?) Thought with all the craziness she would sleep a bit later this morning, but no, up at 6:30 and she's just gone down for a nap.

Hi MrsD...I found some 'magic' medicine today which seems to if really helped my DS. Just hoping that equals a good night. Had family for lunch today...only managed a bolognese pasta bake & cups of tea!!

Welcome buggy. No changes or progress to report. DD still full of a cold, cough getting worse, going to the doctors on Tuesday. Still just trying to get through each day at the moment.

Wifey what's the magic medicine? Nothing seems to be helping DD.

It's called medifen...bought it in boots today. It's taken the edge of the cough & his voice sounds better. He hasn't hardly let me put him down for nearly 3 days but this afternoon/evening he has been playing..chatting etc. just hoping for a good night tonight. I hope your LO gets better soon.

Hi all, those with dc's with colds have you elevated the mattress?
Just put dd2 down and now im dreading going to bed as I know I'm going to inevitably end up getting woke up, trying to resettle her and end up with her in my bed.

I have however been for a run and feel better- dp is off today and I asked him to not go to the football as I need him- felt bad asking but glad i did.

God think I'll be in bed v soon!!!

Ps how do u fix 4 mth sleep regression????

Hi buggy, hope uve had a better night tonight. I can't tell u how to fix it, u just have to get thru it the best u can but it will get better keep that in mind. If ur LO is poorly too that doesn't help things. Do u have a routine?
Well so far so good, my LO slept well Fri night, went down last night by 7.30 and woke afew times between then and 8.30 but then slept till now 2.30. Having a feed as I type. So I've had four hours sleep!!! Hoping for a few more soon.
Lack of sleep ruins everything, my Dh was at work early yest morn came home and was distant, grumpy, and overall stressed. Give the man sleep and he is great.....me? No sleep=can't cope with anything, world coming to an end. Im considering going to docs as I think I've got pnd, having said that on a good day I cope with it all. So is it just lack of sleep taking over my sanity??

Sending lots of sleepy vibes
Xx

I would go on the lack of sleep affects your sanity. Definatley!

Well dd2 only woke at 12.30 for a feed then went back down till now! Hope this continues as I feel functional again, dp I think is pissed off big time as he missed football to help me and I buggered off to bed at 745! I can't help it thou I needed sleep!

Can I join? DD is 7 months and is currently going through an awful patch of sleep - it's deteriorating rather than getting better.

She's only ever slept through a couple of times but used to be a reasonable sleeper - down at 7, dreamfeed and then up once more in the night. Things went to pot during the 4 month sleep regression and then improved a bit, except the dreamfeed stopped working (she began waking again at 1am rather than 4ish after it and then again once more in the night). We decided to drop the dreamfeed with DH resettling her if she woke before 1am.

For a while it worked well. She slept from 7-3ish with quick shush and pat resettle around midnight. I'd BF her at 3ish and she'd go back down til 7. Perfect I thought...

However the last three weeks have been hell. She usually sleeps until about 11 and then wakes every two hours after. She won't resettle, even after a feed (I'm convinced she doesn't actually need food- she never takes much) and usually has one wake up that lasts an hour or so. For the last week, we've been awake between 12-2am.

DH and I are exhausted. DD is perfect by day but I have such dark feelings during the night. I'm surrounded by babies that are becoming better sleepers while she gets worse. I feel like she'll never improve .

It got to the point where I think we need to do some CC but we live in a flat with very poor soundproofing and I think the neighbours will go mad.

Sorry for the epic first post but we've had a shocker last night and I'm utterly fed up. I need to vent!

Ps how do u fix 4 mth sleep regression???? Isn't that the million dollar question? Although I still have a bad sleeper I can say it is much better than it was at the 4 and 5 month mark. Part of it is my body adapting to less/broken sleep and me altering my expectations, part of it is DD having more "nighttime" hours iyswim. At 4 months she would sometimes only have 8 hours of nighttime which didn't allow me to get enough sleep. And I did read all the books and try all the age appropriate tricks, and they didn't make a difference (for her). I have become a firm believer in you can't change them unless they're ready to.

Welcome starshaped, vent away. Strong for you

If you're going to do cc- I suggest you get your Dh 100% on board and pre warn the neighbours. My dd1 only took 5 mins crying to settle when we did it with her (2 yrs ago)- dd2 not old enough yet IMO.

It saved my sanity with dd1 and would reccommend it

ems I totally agree re the 4 months being the worse. That was the utter pits. Even though DD still wakes as much, co-sleeping has helped massively notch the minutes of sleep up and it just doesn't feel as bad - probably cos like you my expectations are much lower, and my body has accepted its lot!

Hello star sorry to hear things are rubbish with you. We took wine round to all the neighbours before doing CC with DS and we had no complaints!

No sleep training here , DD is sick again with some gross snot exploding cough and cold. Hope everyone else's DCs are feeling better. wifey did the magic medicine give you a good nights sleep?