Misery loves company: anyone want to join me on a support thread for those desperate and demoralised by their 8/9/10 mo sleep?

[Suchanamateur]

Bloody sleep regression. It's like 4 months all over again but worse because it felt (briefly) like we were getting somewhere. Feck. Anyone else want to share tales of woe or is it (a) just me or (b) way too depressing to post about..?

Three wake ups in under three hours so far.

DH and I have been out together once by ourselves since DS was born. It was on my birthday in January. We'd just had lunch and were a third of the way through The Hobbit when nursery called to come and get DS because he was running a temp. That's it. And we spent most of lunch formulating A Plan to get him to sleep. Which didn't eventuate because he was ill for the next week.

Oh, ho, the glamorous life!

Going out??!! What does that entail?

Haven't been out since DH's granny had her 80th birthday Jamaican dancehall knees up tea party when I was 8 months pregnant with dd1! Four bloody years ago

Dreaming you need this, with summer coming it would be invaluable. You could put a tarpaulin under it if the grass is damp and if you have a garden umbrella for some shade you'd be ready to go.

Day From Hell today. Plus 2 hours of screaming from DD between bedtime at 7pm and 9pm. Both me and DH at breaking point, doing things we really shouldn't (shouting, slamming the table etc) - but had really good heart-to-heart once DD had exhausted herself, on the subject of how we can cope better if we adopt the worst case scenario and assume she isn't going to improve.

Gah, turns out DD also has galloping grotty ears! (After last night's screamathon I thought I'd better get her checked over, just in case there was something specific.) How much of a bad mummy do I feel now...

Oh your poor dd Fish, at least you know what it is now. I wish babies came with a manual so that you could understand what is wrong before they start to talk.

A bit of a diversion of topic - WTF am I going to get DH for his birthday on Friday? Needs to be online since I won't have time to go to a real shop before then. I've bought him so many Amazon gift vouchers he could paper a (virtual) room with them.

Go!

Ummmm....box sets,we watch a lot when dd is sleeping badly as short episodes are easier then a whole film. Currently watching breaking bad, which is amazing. Or tickets to a sports or music event if he is into that sort of thing, he could go with a mate if you don't fancy it.

It's my dp's bday in a few weeks and I got him a vacuum coffee maker . Very exciting...coffee and fun in one shiny glass thingumy! :o

Depends on what kind of a guy he is and budget.

For the outdoorsy diy type a Leatherman multi tool.

For the techie type an Eton FXR2 Radio.

Gamer -Neo Geo X

Big Kid - remote controlled helicopter

Sports - rugby or football tickets

Cars - day at Silverstone or trip to Le Mans.

Foody - wine and cheese hamper, wine tasting day, bbq stuff.

Big mug, silly desk toys (drum kit, rugby game, Henry hoover).

Well, last night (and the night before) was utter balls, but now he's so asleep, it looks like I won't see him awake before I leave for work. Gah! BABIES!

I've heard Breaking Bad is good, akshully. Could be a goer. I'm the coffee fiend of us two (three guesses why, she says, looking at comatose baby) so that could be a present for meeeee! What is this desktop rugby game, Stitch? DH is such a fanatic, he's a season ticket holder, so that trumps me on tickets (and I've bought out the supporter's shop for him several times over) but maybe a bit of rugby jollity for his work desk would amuse him...

Oh it's a silly cheap toy, this one.

Tour of twickenham stadium?

Membership of England Rugby Supporters Club? See link for benefits.

Ah - we're in the north so it's The Other Rugby that we follow That conversion toy looks entertaining...

Well, we had our evening out in the big city last night and it was all absolutely fine !

I know! Who could have predicted that. She woke up 15mins after we left but was apparently very good and just played and watched bag pus for a few hours. We came home to find her happily passed out on our friends lap looking super cute :o

Jealous, Hear! Did you go see anything?

I have a lovely MIL so I hope I didn't offend her today. She'd cut an article by some 'sleep expert' out of a newspaper for me. Unfortunately, it started with the fateful words, 'By six months, babies should be sleeping through the night.' It got lobbed forcibly into the recycling with a comment along the lines of, 'hardly an expert if that's the bullshit he choses to spout'. She laughed nervously. I hope I was sufficiently apologetic

We went to see Steve Reich doing his radio head thingy at the royal festival hall. It was very good. We did do a lot of prep with dd and our friend which I think really paid off. She has even agreed to sit for a couple of hours at the end of the month so we can go out to dinner for dp's bday. Gosh. It's like a whole new world, I was sooooo stressed about it but glad dp was so firm about us going now :)

I think you sound very restrained. I think I must project a 'don't even fucking think about it' aura as for the most part people seem to stop themselves offering too much advice. Or maybe I've just got really good at ignoring them.

Dd has been a poo monster all day today. I seriously can't work out how it all fit inside her. Hoping it might have sorted her poorly belly out a bit though as the past few nights have been awful.

Glad you had a good night Hear. I think we're a long way off going out as a couple, but I'm coming round to thinking if I did go out and leave DS with dh it would probably be absolutely fine. It might take dh longer to settle him. DS might be upset but that wouldn't be the end if the world, would it. I'm going to have to take the plunge sometime.

DS no longer has his cold but does have a new tooth. Ironically when his cold/teething was worse he slept a little better. Probably because I kept him quite drugged up . Last night and tonight so far have been pretty bad. I feel like I've been up and down he stairs 20 times already. Ho hum. BUT, last week I really concentrated on his naps (basically stayed in his room with him for 2 hours over lunch and got him to go to sleep and stay asleep by any means necessary) and this week he seems to have 'got it' and has been sleeping for up to 2 hrs over lunch each day. It's life changing!

Well, the universe arranged a far better birthday present for DH than I could ever have thought up. We're in a semi. The other half recently went up for sale after the previous owner died. It sold very quickly. It turns out the new owner is the super-star player from my husband's rugby team. I have a feeling DH is going to be doing a lot of sweeping of our driveway and minutely tending to the hedge between the properties from now on...

DS sleep is miserable, however. Every. Two. Hours. At the very longest. And he's got another cold. Surely he's exceeded the quota for a child under one by now??

You're dh will be found with welcome cookies and asking to borrow sugar before then week is out elph :o

We have come to the conclusion that dd's fabulous nights were the results of illness rather than diet as they are back to previous awfulness. We're going to stop the gluten free as its a pain and we're still getting no sleep. Hopefully this won't result in it getting even worse!

Mother's Day present - tickets to The Book of Mormon in London in July It's a matinee, but we'll still be home well after DS's bed time. Preparation tips, Hear?

Hi people, my lo is only 6 months. I put him to bed at 8 and he sleeps (in my bed) until about 11 or 12 and then wakes up crying for a feed, after he goes back to sleep hel sleep on a good night till 4 then bottle then sleep till 7. Seems like all my friends babys were sleeping through the night by 6 months. My baby has porridge in the morn has his lunch and dinner and 7 oz bottles every 4 hours. Surely he should b getting enough in the day? Can any one give me any tips?

I'm afraid this is the group where the two wake-ups you've described sound like utter bliss, and you're more likely to get us asking you for tips! Since we had six wake-ups here last night, I can confidently say that I have no tried and tested solutions to disrupted infant sleep. I've tried and tested my arse off. No solutions. Whatsoever.

Joanna please ignore all the people who try and tell you that their DC always sleep through the night and never wake up. Some do at 6 months but many don't. It is perfectly normal and fine that your DC is waking up for a feed or two in the night, he is probably simply hungry. Try having a look at this site if you need some reassurance. It is based on proper research rather then random hearsay and explains that only about half of babies sleep 8 hours at 5 months and generally babies don't sleep through the night until closer to a year. Even then 27% still wake up regularly.

elph we made sure that dd spent time with our mate at ours. Me and dp pottered about the rest of the house and left them to get to know each other. Our friend then came round an hour early so dd could spend time with her with us about and feel comfortable with her.

We also made sure we left out all her most favourite toys and books, bagpuss in the DVD player and a selection of her favourite foods. All in easy reach so as soon as dd woke up our friend could quickly wave blueberries at her and district her with bagpuss before she had a chance to get herself in a flap.

It seemed to work out. I think it's one of those things where thinking about it is much worse then the actual event. I was so stressed about leaving her that if dp hadn't been firm about it I would have pulled out I think, but now I've done it I'm super glad we did. You'll have a great time and your ds will be fine :)

joanna, I too am very jealous. My DT1 wakes every 1-3 hours. All night. Every night. DT2 wakes once sometimes, but has had a bad week and 4,5,6,7 times a night he's been up screaming. Two wake-ups will end, naturally probably. I'd say ride it out. Or maybe, in this group, Ride The Mo Fo Out

So ladies, as you'll see, we are still in sleep hell. In good news, DT1 has finally started on ranitidine for silent reflux (though he does vomit incredibly easily, but not constantly iykwim, though puking his whole tea up 5 nights a week wasn't uncommon). Instantly happier baby. Still waking, but not screaming, writhing, arching, so I'm very pleased. We really struggle to get it down him though...

Oh. Mine are 11 months now...

We are over the illness quota here too, much sympathy for all the poorly babies, and even more for the parents.

Thanks hmr. Last night he woke at 12 then 4 and wouldnt go back down. Hes just all up the eft, maybe its his teeth. mum keeps saying i shouldnt be feeding him during the night at this stage and he should be getting enough, i feel like punching her im nit ginna let him scream all night! ive tried him with water and he was having none of it. Best about it is when he has stayed in my mums he sleeps all night! Dunno what im doing different.