Does it ever get easier??

[CarlyRose80]

As simple as the question is really. We've had all sorts of hurdles from milk allergies to constant sickness to teething to colds etc, just as you get over one and nights become almost normal (one wake up) something else happens and it's back to sleepless nights. LO is now 10 months and I feel like a complete zombie. I've just had a good cry because I'm so tired. All I want is some sleep at night but now he's full of cough and cold just as we had got over teething. I know this is how it is but when will it just ever be easy or just a little more settled. Can't really cope with this and being back at work full time. Not sure if I want advice or sympathy lol (maybe a bit of both;-) xx

CarlyRose80, I couldn't just let this sit here without a response. You sound like you had it worse than us, but I can definitely sympathise as our son (now 17m) was an absolutely dreadful sleeper for a while. From 4 - 9 months the sleep deprivation was awful. He had diarrhoea for weeks, then constipation, then colds, then teeth, then - well, it didn't seem to be anything really, just waking up all the time. By the time he was 8 months old, he was waking up every hour and a half for a dropped dummy and I was going spare. But shortly afterwards, something just seemed to click; we were (FINALLY) able to get him out of his one-armed swaddle (which we'd been trying to do for MONTHS), we took the dummy away as it clearly wasn't helping and (with many false starts) he slowly got there. We did have a bit of crying but not nearly as much as I'd feared expected. I think he started to sleep through-ish at about 11 months, although we were still giving him a dream feed until he was almost 1. Now we have different problems (early morning waking - AAARGH!) but to be honest, given that he generally sleeps through from 7:30 until somewhere between 5:30 and 6, I really can't moan. I know how lucky we are.

So my answer is for us it did get better, and it has got better for pretty much everyone I know. Hang in there and keep posting because you need people to tell you that this is normal, and it will pass.

Yes it does. Both of mine had silent reflux and dary intolerances etc so sleep was but a distant memory for a long time.

Once we got to 1 it got a bit better, had a few blips but got better more quickly.

Have you had the allergy all sorted now? I found that mine weren't great with solids which I linked to their reflux.

oh I feel your pain, dd is 11 months and we thought we'd finally got sleep fairly cracked in July/August after a tough ride up till then. Then since September it's been cold, cold, teething, tummy bug, cold again, teething again and now she seems to be having nightmares or something?? god knows. it feels neverending.

It does. Could you have a couple of nights away just you and let other half deal with it, just so you can have a break? I found myself fantasising about going to bed in the knowledge that I wouldn't get woken and it was great to go away for a couple of nights when ds was 10 months old. I started work when ds was 11 months andit coincided with an awful sleep phase that did last a good 4 months but slowly it got better. Although i was exhausted i found it easier to be tired at work than at home as i was distracted from it, although i did go to the park and nap a few times at lunchtime! Dramatic improvement by 18 months old. Fewer illnesses, no more teething and general maturing I think meant sleep started to get easier for him. So I'm nor promising you anything sudden but gradually it does get better.

We had the same. DS is dairy/soy allergic. I realise now that the allergy exposure is always follows a period of illness as his immune system is shot to pieces. It was relentless for 6-8 months...there was no light.

By a 13-14 months and once I really got on top of the allergies, things improved loads and he sleeps through more often than not now. Hang in there, it does get better.

Wow. Not sure if I should feel better or not lol.
Yeah he's on prescription milk still, was told to wean him off it this week by mixing in normal formular but he was sick right away so I stopped. Taken this long to get him to eat and now they want me to mess about with him straight away. He's also on double dose gaviscon which has an is helping to keep normal food down. So we had all the feeding sorted then the next tooth came, then the cold which I think is now at the end so hopefully some light at the end of the tunnel. I know it won't be perfect but I even feel sorry for him sometimes as he's clearly tired but something's keeping him awake. He seems a bit more settled now his food is staying down and not as keen to feed so often in the night so that's good as 2 weeks ago he was wanting 2 night feeds then up at 6 for the next. Any tips are sulk welcome tho please. Such a lot to learn xx

I offer hand holding and sympathy carlyrose

One of my 18 month old twins does not sleep. Very recently he has started to sleep for 4 hours in a row. And he's an early waker, 5:30 ish. His twin sleeps through more often than not now. His just turned 3 y.o sister mostly sleeps through. He's up 3,4,5 times a night. Just bit the bullet and night weaned and stopped bf. No. Fucking. Difference except now I sometimes can't get him back to sleep at all. but it is getting a bit better. Sometimes he's only up twice. (He's on maximum doses of ranitidine and domperidone for reflux and he is dairy, soy and egg intolerant). We sometimes have evenings! (Though DH trying to settle him now!) .

It will get better, but probably 2 steps forward 1 step back for a while. For us diet and meds is the key plus NO sleep after 1pm, stat but once they're happier and more settled I do think they'll sleep slightly better

Still not sleeping. I really don't know why. I've started another post in hope to get some response on same age babies but as of yet nothing. It's sooo frustrating. He's eating so well I was hoping that would make the difference but it still isn't :-((