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Original poster

Anyone on for another 4 month sleep regression hand-holding thread?!

447 replies

uppereastsidemom · 29/08/2015 01:24

DD2 is 16 weeks and had been doing 7pm - woken up at 11.30ish for a feed - 5 or 6am. Happy days.

She is now waking up anytime between 7 and 10pm, going back down but reliably waking up for 2-3 hours between 3 and 6am. It is torture. I know this is a predictable phase that will pass, but christ it is miserable.

Waiting to see what tonight brings Smile. I know there had been an active thread that seems to have died - hopefully meaning that all those babies are now sleeping beautifully Grin

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trebleclef101 · 12/12/2015 16:44

Glad to hear that Saranga, I'm happy things have got better for you!

My DD is a bit hit and miss at the moment, some nights are ok with wakings every 2.5 - 3 hours, others are a nightmare with wakings every hour. It's a sleep lottery!

saranga · 12/12/2015 19:45

Well, he slept for 35 minutes in the cot this morning, previously he's only managed 5! He woke up at his normal time, happy and murmuring away.

Then we fucked up his nap pattern by going out and he's slept terribly today so lord knows what tonight will be like.
Haven't put him in the cot yet - he's just fed to sleep on me and I expect will wake in half an hour for another short feed. Will try putting him down at 9/10ish. Wish me luck.

saranga · 13/12/2015 04:17

He just had 2 hours mosty asleep in the cot!
I kept trying to put him down (cuddlrs, rocking, feeds, ssh patting till the tears stopped/he was asleep) but it took until me leaving the room for 5 minutes to get his dummy from the steamer for him to be quiet, stop crying,and look OK with things. I came back and he was lookinh around normally. Not looking upset. At 1 I decided to feed him again. He fell asleep. Put him down just before 2, got the odd noise from him, but no actual cries until he just woke me at 4. He didn't cry then either, until I got up and went to him to feed him.
Now he's feeding to sleep again and I've had 2 hours of just me in my bed!!

I'm fair thrilled. This was unthinkable 4 nights ago. Hope he lets me put him down again.

trebleclef101 · 14/12/2015 17:07

Sounds good Saranga, are you still making progress with putting him down to sleep today?

We had a crappy day yesterday, bathed DD and got her to bed at 7.30, then fed her at 9pm and apart from a couple of 10 - 20 minute dozes she didn't go properly back to sleep until 3am Sad

Then was up at 4.30. 5.30, 7.00 and 9.00. Thankfully DH had a day off today so he took her this morning while I had a lie in to recover so not all bad Smile

saranga · 15/12/2015 23:42

Sorry, had a crappy (nkt baby related) day yesterday.
Co slept last night. Got a good 4 hpur stretch at the start of the night. This morning after an hour and a half got him to nap in the cot for 40 minutes.
Been coaxing him to sleep since 7pm this evening. He sleeps, wakes, feeds, sleeps, wakes, feeds, about every hour. He has done this pretty much every day if his life. We did get 20 mins in the cot just now though, through me holding his hand for ten minutes.

trebleclef101 · 18/12/2015 19:49

Having a bad day today Sad

Woke early from her first nap and couldn't get her back down which has messed up the entire day. Feel like I've spent my entire day trying to get a cranky baby to sleep.

Not only that, right now it feels like my entire LIFE is trying to get a cranky baby to sleep.

So fed up with it at the moment. Who knows what tonight will be like after a day with hardly any napping.

Was awake last night from midnight until 2am and that was after a good day.

Why won't tired babies just GO TO SLEEP?!

User24689 · 19/12/2015 12:24

Hi all, can I join? DD is 18 weeks and up until 2 weeks ago was having 3 good naps a day, going down drowsy and settling herself to sleep. She was then going down to sleep at 7pm and only waking twice between then and 7.30. Occasionally she slept right through.

Now - oh dear god. Every nap is a battle of wills. Yesterday I drove for an hour so she would go to and stay asleep! She still goes down no problem at 7pm but then she wakes again at 9, at 11, at 1, at 3 and then at 5 and stays up. It is like clockwork. I breastfeed each time, its the only thing that will get her back to sleep so I'm assuming she's hungry? Most annoyingly I'm now having to do nappy changes in the night too otherwise she leaks - probably because she's taking on so much more fluid in the night!

Like you trebleclef, the day feeds haven't changed. If anything she is feeding less frequently during the day.

I had the 'rod for your own back' comment from someone today - apparently I'm teaching her to feed through the night again? But what if she is having a growth spurt and just needs more food? I have no idea what I'm doing!

trebleclef101 · 19/12/2015 14:05

Hi upthewolves, sounds like we have the same baby!!

I breastfeed each time, its the only thing that will get her back to sleep so I'm assuming she's hungry? Most annoyingly I'm now having to do nappy changes in the night too otherwise she leaks - probably because she's taking on so much more fluid in the night!

Yes! Exactly this!

I am currently trying to get her down for a nap, have been for about 2 hours now. The worst is how frustrated I find myself getting, the longer it takes.

Just GO THE FUCK TO SLEEP already.

trebleclef101 · 19/12/2015 14:54

Finally got her to sleep in her rocking chair, only for her to be woken up by my phone ringing 20 minutes later. Dammit!

User24689 · 20/12/2015 00:33

It's exhausting isn't it. My DD won't even feed to sleep in the day time anymore. Once she's had enough milk she is on and off the breast in frustration, shoving her fingers in, arching her back... I've taken to switching the nipple for a dummy and holding her against my chest and then she can fall asleep. I don't understand why she needs me to do this because I thought a dummy was supposed to imitate comfort sucking at the breast!

They are such strange little beings!

saranga · 20/12/2015 07:53

We are now def out of the sleep regression. The boy is only waking twice a night now. So you guys - it will improve!
Wolves - I have always fedmy boy to sleep at night. Waking hourly for feeds and feeding to sleep hasn't stopped him now only waking twice.

saranga · 20/12/2015 10:12

Also, after 4 nights if the boy sleeping 9.30pm-2.30am I feel like a new woman and like i can take on the world. It's amazing.
Hang on in there guys.

User24689 · 20/12/2015 14:20

Thanks Saranga - so pleased for you, that must be such a relief!
How long did it last for you?

I reached a new low this afternoon... I got IN the cot with the baby so she would go to sleep there. LOL I am only sharing this on MN because I know if I tell anyone in RL I will be told the proverbial 'rod' has been made.

saranga · 21/12/2015 01:56

We're on night five,so perhaps I am celebrating to early. Esp as hid first stretch has only been 3 hours tonight.

angelicjen · 21/12/2015 03:06

How long does this hell last? It's been 2 weeks so far and the lack of sleep is really taking its toll. I'm having to feed every 2 hours and in starting to get really pissy about it, then feeling really guilty about that. Not that he knows, but still. Does anyone else find themselves getting a bit resentful in the small hours?

User24689 · 21/12/2015 12:12

Oh, I've been two weeks as well :( Angelicjen, I know exactly what you mean. I also lose all sense of how long I've been asleep so I find myself chuntering about how she won't even give me ten minutes then realise it's been 2 hours... I think it's because you never get into deep sleep so you never actually feel rested from 2 hour blocks??

I jinxed it yesterday saying that DD is still going down at 7pm. I've just wrestled with her for an hour! She wouldn't feed to sleep on the breast so I've just rocked her with a dummy in FOR AN HOUR while her eyes rolled into the back of her head with tiredness then snapped open again. My back hurts. I've just poured myself a large glass of wine and I'm hoping the monkey stays down long enough that I can at least eat dinner.

User24689 · 21/12/2015 12:13

Also, tonight I'm going to try a dreamfeed - does anyone do that? Someone told me to give it a go today so I'm going to go in at 10 if she hasn't woken up. It's 8 now. I will report back on the success of this!

trebleclef101 · 21/12/2015 21:49

I've never tried dream feeding as my DD is always fighting sleep in the evening anyway so waking her isn't really possible!

Today is the perfect example - she went down at about 7pm but only for about half an hour. Then spent about an hour getting her back to sleep, managed about 45 minutes of sleep that time.

Fed her when she woke up and thought I'd got her back down only to have her start screaming 5 minutes later, and she's still up now, crying every time I try to put her down.

From previous experience she will finally settle for the night some time between 12 and 1am.

As least before she then went for 4-5 hours, with the current regression it's likely to be more like 2-2.5 hours.

I know if I tell anyone in RL I will be told the proverbial 'rod' has been made

Wolves I'm pretty sure I would be told the same thing about feeding to sleep!

midnightsunshine · 22/12/2015 15:26

Is 14weeks too early for sleep regression?

My DS was sleeping from 11pm-6am until a few days ago. Now he is waking at 3am and 5am for feeds! And his daytime naps have gone from 2-3hours in cot to 20mins, and he only wants to sleep on my lap.

I'm so tired I can barely stay awake despite 4 coffees :-(

PebbleTTC · 26/12/2015 20:57

Thank god I found this thread. My 5 month old has suddenly stopped wanting to go down to sleep at night. He is fine during the day (sleeps in buggy) and fine when he wakes to feed during the night. Last 2 nights is a fight from 7.30 pm until 10, he just doesn't want to go to sleep! Tonight is the same he is happy up playing and doesn't want to go to bed.

User24689 · 30/12/2015 13:10

I have some light at the end of the tunnel!

I have been doing the dream feed - it has been working for us. I have been putting DD down at 7 (sometimes it's a bit of a battle but we usually get there) and then going in at 9pm and feeding her. I find that I can take her out of the cot and put her on the breast without her really waking up, takes her a bit of time to start feeding but she seems to do it instinctively and remains asleep. I then put her back in the cot and go to bed myself. It means I don't get woken up when I've just started sleeping, and that last feed has been taking us through to after midnight. After which I have still had two-hourly wake-ups BUT the last 2 nights I have fed at midnight and she has slept through until 6am. I feel SOO much better!

She has been quite unsettled from 7pm till 9 the past few nights and I've had to go in and re-settle but I think that is partly because it is really really hot here and she settles better as the night goes on because the temperature drops (Got aircon going full blast in there at the moment and its still 24 degrees according to the monitor).

Anyway, don't give up hope! We've had about a month of waking up every 2 hours and we are just now seeing a difference.

trebleclef101 · 02/01/2016 21:43

Glad to hear you've had some improvement Wolves, helps me keep hoping an end will come to this phase!

We have had a mixed Christmas sleep wise but are seeing some improvement overnight, she was up every 3 hours last night instead of every 2 which was good.

Today though she is battling bed time - she went down no problems at 8pm, woke up hungry at 9pm and had a feed, and she's still up now, 1 hour and 40 minutes later.

Keep settling her down and think we've cracked it, then 5 minutes later she's crying again, no apparent cause apart from stubbornness not to sleep!

Sad The fun continues . . .

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