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Original poster

Sleepless of Mumsnet - join us if your LO consistently laughs in the face of sleep!

999 replies

Purpleboa · 05/12/2015 13:53

Hi everyone. I thought I'd create this thread when I saw that there were quite a few of us lingering on the 4 month regression thread, with babies that clearly didn't get the memo about things getting better!

I've seen another thread for parents whose children are long term poor sleepers but I think it's been relegated to zombie status. So I hope nobody minds if I start another one! If your LO consistently struggles to sleep, whether it's down to diet, night terrors or just sheer bloody mindedness, please pull up an armchair and join in! I'll supply the espressos, hugs and chocolate, wine and tears served after 4pm.

I'll start: my DD is 25 weeks. She's gorgeous, adorable and the absolute light of my life. Unless it's between the hours of 7pm and 7am! She's struggled with sleep always. I thought things would improve following the 'fourth trimester' but she got a cold, reacted badly to her jabs...and before I knew it we'd cruised into the 4 month regression. Which she's either still in, or she's teething, or developing, or wonder weeking, or fck knows really!

The past two weeks have been particularly painful and I feel I'm reaching the limits of my endurance. I love being her mum, I love spending time with her...but not sleeping makes it oh so very hard.

I have found Mumsnet to be a wonderful source of support during those dark and lonely hours when you feel like you're the only person in the world going through this. So I wanted to give back and support others too.

I'll put the kettle on...

OP posts:
zombiemeow · 15/12/2015 18:59

I have a sling but he absolutely hates it. No one else about to hold him Sad am going to try and put him down again and will scoff some cereal Grin

Bugaboom · 15/12/2015 19:00

Well I've fed and cuddled dd to sleep. Figured I may as well make the most of it if we are going cold turkey at some point. Ds is fast asleep on sofa. Need to just carry him up and then do all the chores I couldn't face today!

Pyjamaramadrama · 15/12/2015 19:00

Sorry about your dinner Thanks

Bugaboom · 15/12/2015 19:01

Yes I'll stop too zombie. You'd have to be living in a cave for no one to have suggested a sling by now! And one year olds are heavy!

zombiemeow · 15/12/2015 19:10

Just got him down, so just under an hour he was up.

Bugaboom are you setting a day you will go cold turkey? I know you have said before but will dd take a dummy?

The sling used to work wonders but as soon as he was able to move around himself he couldn't stand to be near it.

zombiemeow · 15/12/2015 19:11

And he's up again Sad

Bugaboom · 15/12/2015 19:27

Dd up too. She's been sick after crying for a minute or 2 that i took to get to her. Just she gets in such a frenzy and starts to cough. Not sure cc a great idea for her.
Won't take a dummy

zombiemeow · 15/12/2015 20:05

Hope she's back to sleep soon bugaboom. Ds is like that too with the coughing and sick. The one night I tried cc it was absolutely awful Sad

Bugaboom · 15/12/2015 21:24

Stomach/vomiting bug it would seem. What an end to an awful day! Back to the disinfecting

Lilipot15 · 15/12/2015 21:40

Oh no Bug, poor you. Frequent sips of fluids for those who are vomiting. Plenty of old towels around / basins for vomit. Get a large bin bag for all soiled stuff ready to chuck in washer.
Can you tell we've been there recently too?!

Hope it passes quickly. You'll look back on days like today at some point in the future, laugh and pat yourself on the back for soldiering on.

zombiemeow · 15/12/2015 21:42

Oh no bugaboom, hope it passes quickly.

Hope everyone else's night is going ok

Lilipot15 · 15/12/2015 21:45

We gave up and brought a very agitated baby downstairs and I fed her to sleep after she cried just 10 min after first settling. She's now firmly asleep in the bed next to me. I am hoping for at least a two hour block of sleep before next wake.

puttheteaon · 15/12/2015 22:51

Can i join too? Just been crying to my husband about how much i didn't like my gorgeous boy today, was so grumpy with him after a hellish night where he was up for 2 1/2 hours on and off.

He never slept well in the first place and looking back at my other posts seems i've been on here complaining every other month, he's 10 months now and i'm soooo tired.

Nice to find threads like this, everyone i meet at groups or know with babies seems to have it so much easier and makes me doubt and question myself and/or HATE them.

Lilipot15 · 15/12/2015 23:11

Welcome tea.

I of course didn't get two hours Sad
I worry that she used to do blocks of 4-5 hours and somewhere along the way I've mucked things up that she wakes every 30-90 mins. She has such a loud cry, I think I respond on first hearing a cry so that she doesn't wake up my eldest. Which she did during eldest's afternoon nap and I then had two very tired little ones on my hands.

thinkfast · 15/12/2015 23:53

Sorry too dazed to catch up with the posts tonight. Wishing you all well for some sleep tonight and will try to catch up and reply tomorrow - after helping out at DS' nursery in the morning

Original poster
Purpleboa · 16/12/2015 02:38

Welcome tea. I could have written your post! Except my DD is 6 months but I'm fairly sure she'll still not be sleeping West 10 months.

How's everyone's nights? Not good here. On third feed. I know I'm creating a rod fir my back. But I'm so very very tired and will do anything to settle her. Ugh. Feel I'm stuck in an endless hell with no way to break out.

OP posts:
Original poster
Purpleboa · 16/12/2015 03:18

What am I meant to do when she just won't settle? I really can't keep bringing her into my bed! It's a single one and having her on top of me is killing my back. Any suggestions moat gratefully received! Think I'm going to have to sleep train aren't I. ..

OP posts:
zombiemeow · 16/12/2015 06:34

Hi tea Smile

Sounds like everyone had pretty rubbish nights Sad

Ours was awful. Ds was waking up on and off, I went to bed at 10, we had about 4 wake ups from then until 3am when he was up until 4.30. Then he was snoozing on and off until 5 when he decided it was time to get up. I feel like utter shit.

Lilipot15 · 16/12/2015 06:46

One of those nights when I don't really know how often I fed. A lot I think.

Is anyone else feeling that they are hungry and losing weight with all the night feeds? I don't eat in the night as I hate getting up. But I think feeding lying down is what got me into this seemingly relentless cycle of feeding every time she wakes between
a sleep cycle.

Purple, I'm sorry I have no answers!
Zombie, we have also been awake since 5ish. I've been trying to pretend to be asleep but get loud shouts and then raspberries blown on my boob....would be funny if it weren't for the time!

Lilipot15 · 16/12/2015 06:50

Purple, the only thing I would say is that 6 months is a Wonder Week (Google search will tell you about them) so I wouldn't attempt to sleep train until past that.

Original poster
Purpleboa · 16/12/2015 07:08

Oh no sorry everyone, sounds like bad nights all round.

Lilipot yes, I am losing weight! I'm a stone and a bit lighter than my pre pregnancy weight. It's bizarre! Especially as I'm eating so much rubbish during the day! I thought it would be a good thing but I just look gaunt and old. No pleasing some people, eh??

OP posts:
zombiemeow · 16/12/2015 07:34

I have lost weight too, and I'm not even bf!

All my trousers are actually hanging off me Hmm but I look like a hag... With big eye bags.

I see some of these moms looking so glamorous and I honestly think 'how the fuck do you do it'

starfish12 · 16/12/2015 07:43

Hello tea!

Yes weight loss for me too... think being awake for most of the 24 hrs in a day means our metabolism is working all the time! That plus no sodding cheese or chocolate.... Confused. I have just ordered myself some very expensive dairy free champagne truffles... 15 quid for a box of 8. Sod it! I deserve it.

Better night here... 3 wake ups then up for the day at 530am.

purple - I'm giving DS till he's 7 or 8 months old... fully established on solids then will consider sleep training. Thing is now on a night waking even tho I feed him back to sleep he often wakes up so I leave him in his cot crying and he goes to sleep so he can do it. Just goes mental for boob whenever he stirs.

Will everyone get a bit of a break over Christmas and chance to catch up on sleep?

zombiemeow · 16/12/2015 08:44

Star it's crazy how much more df stuff is Angry are you missing dairy?

No break for me over Christmas, although I will try with all my might to get dm to have ds for a night Grin

puttheteaon · 16/12/2015 10:31

Our night wasn't actually too bad, a few wake ups but nothing compared to th night before!!

I stopped bf a few weeks back and have started to massively put weight on again, i look like i'm 20 weeks pregnant! I gave up coz we night weaned and my little man has 6 unpredictable teeth now, ouch! Nice to have a little more freedom but feel like i gave up my no. 1 get him back to sleep tool!! Hence we now have lovely nights of 2/3 hours awake in the middle of the night Angry

....not to put you off but we actually DID sleep train, think maybe some babies are uber resistant, or as you put it OP some babies laugh in the face of all attempts to get them to sleep!