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Original poster

Regression? Phase? Or something we are doing?

26 replies

minicc · 06/04/2012 01:44

20 week old dd generally good sleeper only really waking at night (usually once) for milk (ebf). Naps are pretty consistent in the day- 45mins in morning and 2-2.5 hours over lunch and sometimes a nap in the buggy if we are out about 4pm. She is able to self settle. I am aware of the 4 month sleep regression, however is there anything we could be doing that is contributing to her nighttime sleep being up the spout? I don't rush in at the slightest whimper and we haven't left her to cio. Nothing else has changed and she isn't teething. Co sleeping isn't really an option for us. ANY words of wisdom or shall I just sit tight? :-(

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loveisagirlnameddaisy · 06/04/2012 16:25

Is her milk intake during the day good? She could be having a growth spurt? Her nap schedule during day sounds really good so I wouldn't tinker with that. There is of course the 4 month thing so I would say ride it out and she'll come through it.

Original poster
minicc · 06/04/2012 18:04

Thanks for reply- she generally feeds every 4hrs although I generally follow her lead. I offer both sides but she won't always take them both. Having said her daytime sleep is pretty reliable she took ages to settle for her am nap and woke up after 1hr15 this afternoon Confused

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minicc · 08/04/2012 01:00

Ok, another plea for help! Last few days she's cutting her pm nap in half and been a bit grizzly because of it. Tonight we've been up for nearly 2 hrs- I have fed her and burped her and put her back in her cot. Normally she will chat for a few mins and settle. However she's been howling since then. Nappy change, burp, shush pat are not working. They ONLY thing that is different is her dad is home as he's on Easter holidays. Am going out of my mind as I have no energy and me and am getting so snappy and nasty to dh. Has ANYONE got any more pearls of wisdom you're keeping a secret from me? Sad

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Original poster
minicc · 08/04/2012 13:36

Managed 4 hrs sleep last night and she's woken up after an hour again this afternoon. Am totally on my knees with exhaustion and really really don't know how I'm going to manage when dh goes back to work next week. ANY helpers? Or am I really just doing it all wrong?!Blush

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loveisagirlnameddaisy · 08/04/2012 15:16

If she's cutting her naps short that's a sign of being OT. Have you tried feeding her back to sleep when she wakes after an hour? Also, are you adapting her nap schedule to allow for the OT?

lookout · 08/04/2012 16:30

minicc we are having the same trouble. Ds2 is 6 mo and although never a particualry good sleeper we had a good nap routine. Well after trying to deswaddle last week it's all gone up the spout. Naps are all over the place, he's waking 3-5 times a night. Ugh it's all a nightmare.

Anyway, I wish I had some advice, but I wanted you to know you're not alone, and I'll be watching with interest to see if anyone has any useful advice!

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minicc · 08/04/2012 16:58

Thanks for responding love. Have tried to watch her for signs of tiredness rather than sticking to what she 'normally' does. Maybe i'm not getting there quick enough? I'm trying to get out of the habit of feeding to sleep but will have to if she keeps up with this!

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Original poster
minicc · 08/04/2012 17:03

Lookout, it's shit isn't it? So exhausting and feels like they have a secret plan to make mummy as tired and grouchy as possible (although I know full well they don't!). Repeat after me: this too shall pass...[hug]

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lookout · 08/04/2012 17:42

minicc yes, it is shit indeed. I'm feeding to sleep I'm afraid. He used to self-settle during the day without any trouble but that's all gone to pot since last week. Bloody swaddle.

I do have to remind myself multiple times a day that this isn't forever! Good luck Smile

Original poster
minicc · 08/04/2012 19:36

Hope tonight isn't too eventful- I'm retiring now to maximise potential sleep hours! Popped her in her cot and she squeaked for about 10mins (after spending 10 mins grinning and cooing like a pigeon at me during her feed). Here we go.....

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loveisagirlnameddaisy · 08/04/2012 19:46

minicc are you giving her more naps than usual? I used to do split naps if my DD cut down on her length of nap in an attempt to maintain the overall number of hours she would usually have had if naps had been normal. This stopped her getting OT. Hope that makes sense!

lookout · 08/04/2012 20:15

Haha, me too, I'm off to bed now. Hope you get some better sleep!

lookout · 09/04/2012 10:12

minicc Morning! How did you get on last night?

Original poster
minicc · 09/04/2012 11:08

Morning lookout! Woke up at 2 as per, 4o mins of singing and chatting, 20 mins of pupd and then another 30mins of singing. But we got there and started the day a bit confused at 7. She's had an hour and a half nap (unheard of) and I will try and catch her before she gets too sleepy for her lunchtime nap. How was yours?

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minicc · 09/04/2012 14:29

Love, I have been putting her back after a while if she's woken up early from a nap. Today she napped from 8:30-10 and from 11:30-1. Have just put her down for a snooze to make up for the half hour she cut from her lunchtime nap. Is that what you mean?

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loveisagirlnameddaisy · 09/04/2012 17:40

Yes. Since you've previously had a fairly regular routine I was just checking that you weren't waiting until the next normal nap time. This is what I did thinking it would get her back on track but it did the opposite cos her lack of sleep was building up.

lookout · 09/04/2012 20:21

We had an ok night - three wakings and straight back to bed with a feed. Then today naps were crazy. He slept for 2 hours at 8am then 45 mins at 12.30 and 15.00 Confused. I guess that's the right amount of daytime sleep just unusually spaced out.

Then tonight, he screamed for an hour when i tried to put him down at 7 and I ended up feeding him again just to get him to calm down. I don't really know how to get through this!

love that is good advice - I have tried to follow that today, ie looking for sleepy signs rather than trying to stick to old routine, and for the naps it worked. I can't work out what happened this evening though.

Paying a sleep trainer is looking more and more appealing.

Original poster
minicc · 10/04/2012 10:38

Isn't baby land baffling?! Suppose we just keep going and hope for the best? We had 1 wake up but I didn't go in- she dropped off again after half an hour or so. But then was shattered after an hour of waking up. Soooooo confused!

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loveisagirlnameddaisy · 10/04/2012 12:31

lookout think what happened to you is that the morning nap was too long and the lunchtime nap was too short with the result that you have an overtired baby on your hands by bedtime. That's why he screamed for an hour.

If you're going to leave him to his own devices regarding naps, this may happen. What I did, was set myself a daytime routine, so if she woke at 7, she would have her morning nap at 9 for about an hour (at this age). She'd then have her long nap at 12ish for 2-2.5 hours and then a catnap of 30 mins later in the day. I would wake from naps to try and keep to this plan of action. Took me a few weeks to implement it but I just kept being consistent otherwise its all gets very confusing.

loveisagirlnameddaisy · 10/04/2012 12:33

Meant to say that overall amount of sleep is important but it's also important how that sleep is structured. If it's loaded towards the beg of the day, it's basically just an extension of nighttime sleep.

lookout · 10/04/2012 15:58

minicc yes it is baffling! I think you're right, we just have to be consistent, as loveis says, and hope that they'll get there in the end! He was only up twice last night, first time in weeks he's slept that well, and I feel (almost) fresh as a daisy today haha!

loveis that makes perfect sense. So you wake from naps? I'm never sure whether I should or not. As it turns out, today he has slept 45 mins this morning, nearly 2 hours at lunch so I'm expecting a short nap any time soon. That seems more normal, and hopefully we'll have a better bedtime. Thanks so much for your advice. You are very wise Smile

loveisagirlnameddaisy · 10/04/2012 16:14

Hindsight is a wonderful thing... :)

I never used to wake from naps but I got into a right old mess so ended up doing it. My partner hated it and told me I was cruel and I know my MIL silently disapproved, but it was the only thing that sorted out our nights. My DD is 2.5 now and doesn't seem to emotionally scarred by the ordeal. Wink

Original poster
minicc · 11/04/2012 12:53

Lookout, did you get a decent bedtime yesterday? We had a full nights sleep but minimal sleep so far today...can't have it all I suppose!

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lookout · 11/04/2012 14:43

We had two wakings 10 and 1 then up at 6. Not brilliant but definittely better than last week! But brill naps today 1 hr and 2 1/4 hrs so far.

So glad you had a full night! Woo hoo!! A good sleep makes all the difference, doesn't it? Smile What did you do differently yesterday, if anything, that resulted in a full night? I'd love to know the secret, haven't had one yet...

Original poster
minicc · 11/04/2012 15:02

Woo hoo! Progress made by all! Hate to break it to you but we did absolutely nothing different, which is why I'm struggling with the naps going so wrong. I slept really badly last night so kind of no better of than i was Sad. Do you think the fact she wants to go back to sleep an hour after waking up in the morning has something to do with it? Better go and wake her for her feed.....

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