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

[Purpleboa]

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...

How is everyone today? Hope you're all managing some festive enjoyment and I hope Santa brings a good night's sleep to all x

Great news here. After a second tricky bedtime in a row. She settled just before 9. Woke up at 3 for a bottle and went back down at 3.30 until 7.45. Feels like a Xmas miracle and I'm sure it's down to her having 2 solid meals a day plus is making an effort to tire her out during the day - lots of activities like kicking and bouncing. Hoping this is a start of a good pattern to come.

Of course, my own sleep is so messed up I couldn't get back to sleep until around 6. But feeling a happy kind of sleepy today rather than a tearing my hair out kind.

Off to mil's in a bit for presents and nibbles. Looking forward to the big day tomorrow

We had a really good night too. Up at 11:30 and 1am then not a peep till 7am! Unheard of. Then a 2 hr cot nap this am. Just put in his room with white noise and left him to it.
I also feel like him having 3 meals are making a difference think. Might ramp it up to include snacks as well
Wishing everyone a peaceful night and a wonderful Christmas. I remember 2 years ago walking DS1 in the pouring rain for 2 hours for his nap feeling like a total nutter! Thanks everyone for all your support... you keep me going with your humour and tales!! Xxx

Pyjamar, they are really good, he can find his dummy so easily with it.

Dreading tonight. Ds has just got back from seeing a really shit Santa Claus and is crazy over tired. He's just constantly rubbing his eyes, and also teething [santa]

I've ordered one Zombie, unfortunately I've git to wait until the new year for it, I like the idea that when we eventually ditch the dummy he can still use it as a comfort blanket.

Wishing you all some sleep tonight

Jumping in if that's ok - 5 months of no more than three hours sleep at a time and I am about to go cray-cray!

DS is 23 weeks tomorrow and consistently wakes every two hours over night. On a lucky night he might push to three hours but usually his ability to tell the time in his sleep and wake up two hours later is impressive.

Daytime naps were messy too but I feel like I'm making progress there and can get him to sleep in the cot for 30-60 mins at a time.

My hopes for sleep are pinned on moving him to his own room (27th Dec) or weaning. If they don't help I think I will just put him in the bin. He's obviously faulty!

Hi dulcet your post made me smile. I hope the move and solids help.
Great news think and starfish- I hope it's the start of a better sleep phase for you.
zombie hope ds settles ok and those teeth aren't too much of a problem tonight.
My in laws are here and dd is very unsure about them especially fil. I hope it doesn't unsettle her too much.
The stockings are up, Santa's mince pie, drink and reindeer's carrot are ready and we have one very excited three year old.

Duclet ** i keep saying ds sleep function is faulty! I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but when ds went in his own room/started weaning, things got worse I ended up buying a bed just to put in his room, then gave in and moved him back in with me.

Bugaboom am hoping you manage some sleep tonight, have all the colds gone?

Hope everyone has a nice day tomorrow. Am having () tonight.

Colds much better. But I'm not having much luck getting dd down in travel cot in our room (in laws in her room and couldn't move cot). Fingers crossed. I want minimal bedtime fuss so I don't have to face the whole "is she always this difficult?"conversation from Mil.
Enjoy your

Well that whole last post was a bold fail

Hope she goes down quickly for you, and there are no comments from mil

Hello, I'd like to pull up a chair and a cup of gun please. DS is 2 in Jan and has never slept for longer than a 4 hour stretch. We co-sleep and bf and a typical night is somewhere between 3 and 6 feeds. Yawn. I've aged so much in the last 2 years, my wrinkles are insane! Mentally I'm kind of used to it now though.

zombie, noooo! It's my only hope! He's too big for the Moses basket and the cot won't fit in here so he will have to move rooms pretty soon. I will cross everything in hope!

I bet Christmas with a three year old is fun buga, although maybe not with a cold! Hope she's gone off to sleep now.

Hi dr. That's a scary long time for no real sleep - hope you get a break over Christmas. It is weird how you just get used to no sleep though, you're right.

Welcome new tired friends.
Well so far I have been in to DD2's room about 4 times since trying to get her to sleep an hour ago. I still have presents to wrap and dinner to eat. I fear that dinner will be had with a baby on my boob. I feel like we are back to how it was as a newborn. But she has a ruttly chest and I have a cold coming on (which presumably she also has) so I suspect that is adding to our usual problems.
I was so tired and hungry I had tears on my cheeks as I trekked round the neighbourhood in the dark earlier on trying to get her a nap. Today is one of those days I am not feeling so chipper about it all.

Does anyone on this thread have a non-sleeping toddler DC of a similar age? Or should I slope off and cry into my wine alone - I don't want to freak anyone on here out if it's all babies!

Hi Dr I seem to remember someone early in the thread with a non sleeping toddler and baby. You're still very welcome. Mine is nearly one so nearly a toddler! We have pretty much the same set up as you- cot for first part of the night, then cosleep and bf. Supposed to night wean next week...
Still trying to get her in travel cot. I've broke out the really fucking annoying nursery rhymes which seem to calm her. Think I'll be going straight to bed to avoid conversations about my dd's crap sleep.
lili

Drranj pull up a chair but less of the guns! Although I can understand bring a bit unhinged with a 2yo non sleeper. My ds is 13.5 months now but there are some older ones on here. Don't leave, it's a great place to have a moan.

Dulce not duclet I will keep everything crossed for you! It does help some being in their own room

Lil hope you have managed dinner now

Don't go DrRanjs! I'm a lurker on this thread, occasionally post but my DS is 20mo so feel a bit left out as all the other babies are still little compared to mine. We don't co-sleep and stopped breast feeding about a month ago but still wakes 3 - 5 times. Saying that, he did sleep 7.15pm until 2am last night but woke up with a cold this morning so not holding out much hope for a repeat performance!

Well I might linger a bit but it's a bit depressing for me there's not more older kids... Waaaah. I'm on the second wake up already and I've got presents to wrap still! I just want to watch eastenders and drink

Mine didn't go to sleep until 8.30 as a bit wound up about Christmas due to older brother! Normally asleep by 7.30 so I expect he will be an overtired mess tomorrow as be will be up around 6am regardless of when he went to sleep. As to when the first wake up will be, who knows - could be in a couple of hours or could be in 6hrs time! It's the erratic-ness that I still can't get a grasp of.

There are plenty of non-sleeping toddlers about, I am thanking my lucky stars (but know it may not last) that mine presently sleeps. It was certainly not always the case.

Well, I enjoyed my takeaway dinner. Had a chirpy little baby sat in the highchair. Now she is so tired but laughing and babbling away next to me on the bed. Rather manic really. Poor old DH is just getting the lounge ready on his own. Santa's beer is laid out

Ds has been up since my last post went to bed exhausted but he won't settle.

Mine has already woken up only 75mins after dropping off - he never wakes that soon after going to sleep. Def overtired from messing around for over an hour after being put go bed. That and he has a cold and half a molar cutting through. I'm going to be hanging tomorrow. Just one day of the year where I'm not a friggin zombie would be great. He will be 2yo in April..... That's nearly 2 years of broken up little bits of crappy sleep. Surely I've got past the worst now?!

Evening everyone, and to those who are having shit nights so far.

Anyone else feeling the opposite of festive? Sorry to kill anyone's buzz but I'm just counting the days till it's all over! Bad night so far. DH thought it would be a good idea to transition DD out of her Sleepyhead. So far she's slept for about 45 minutes, and been up ever since. So I went and got the sodding Sleepyhead out of the car.

Last night I had a meltdown and I fear tonight will be the same. I hate that we're not in our own house, and having to cope with a different bedroom on top of all the usual sleep issues. I feel I can't be truly honest with anyone in RL about how I'm feeling (meltdowns aside) because I'll be accused of spoiling Christmas. I feel desperate.

I'm sorry to upset anyone on here but this is the only place I have to vent.

Purple I am total opposite of festive too. I have no one in Rl to talk to either, if I say anything I get the standard response of 'but your so lucky to have him' as I had a still birth previously. I am so so grateful for him but jeez it's fucking hard when you have barely any sleep at all. He shows no sign at all of going to sleep at the mo, I feel like my head is about to fall off.

I remember last year at Christmas, DS was 8mo and had been waking every hour due to teething. The whole day was a blur - trying to be happy and upbeat like everyone else almost killed me but I had a 5yo DS too so needed to make an effort for his sake. It will get better Purple my DS does still wake but I am literally out of bed for 5 mins tops, it doesn't take much to settle him back down. What's getting to me now isn't the quantity of sleep, more the fact that it's in lots of little broken up chunks!