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...

He's still awake from last post. Am so tired I can barely see straight

I'm so tired I couldn't really contribute much in the way of cooking or conversation today with DH's family. If I wasn't so tired I'd keep worrying that MIL thinks I'm lazy.

I hope you're asleep now think. My dd wide awake like last night and dh has fucked off to the sofa as he "can't stay when she's like this". One reference to being tired tomorrow and I will be filing for divorce

Sorry I missed your posts lili and zombie. Hope you get sleep soon too. I swear dd is playing games- she keeps lying really still like she's asleep and then all of a sudden jumps up next to me. Like peekaboo.

I actually got 3 hours sleep! 3 more please[santa]good luck the rest of you

Think, that is good.
I have been awake for best part of 2 hours now. She shouts every time my nipple leaves her mouth. She is not feeding. I managed to swap for a dummy for 10 mins then if fell out.
It's not even crying, just really loud shouting of protest. But I have a toddler in the next room otherwise I would be tempted to leave her to shout for a while.

Ha! She slept from 2.15ish to just now when she did a poo. I think putting the heating and extra blankets on helped a lot. I think she's waking up cold

Crap night here too he was up for a few hours. Me and h had an argument, then he had a couple of wake ups and was up at 5. He's now exhausted and wants a nap but won't sleep.

Think, that is quite a good night

I really think my DD2 is waking every sleep cycle and shouts until she has the boob. I can sometimes swap it for the dummy but definitely not use a dummy instead of - oh no!

I feel a bit aghast having googled this and found an attachment parenting website where they seemed to say "they wean themselves off this around 18 months". Oh man! It seemed to work as a newborn but now I can't really sleep and feed and lie there trying to work out when I can move. Then she yells again. Sigh.

She's out of her wonder week now but I think any sort of action plan will involve lots of crying and noise and I'm loathe to disrupt toddler's sleep - she gets cranky if not enough sleep. So on we go I think. When DH has got over his excitement at drinking his Christmas alcohol I shall tell him he can try cosleeping and settling her. I wore one of his tshirts last night to see if it fooled her that the boob wasn't close. It didn't.

lili are you sure it would wake your toddler? I say this as we were in the car yesterday with toddler asleep and baby screaming whilst in a traffic jam and toddler stayed asleep. I couldn't believe it. Worth a try?

That's a good night think!!
zombie hope you can get a rest today somehow. Can DH not help with the napping situation?

Our night was ok... just up every 2-3hrs. Getting bored of the whole thing and bored of saying how tired I am.

At the inlaws for a few days and not sure they believe he has allergies - like I make the whole thing up!

I know what you mean about inlaws starfish on Xmas eve mil was saying "what a shame I haven't got anything dd can have. Shall I give her a yogurt?" Err no mil she can't have dairy. A few minutes later "what about a teaspoon of cream cheese?" Err no she can't have dairy. "Ok. How about a few cubes of feta?"

Apparently babies sleep can go crazy around a full moon. If it's true hopefully we'll all start to have easier nights from tonight??

Starfish you may be right - my toddler can sleep through quite a lot of noise. She is quite vigilant though to the sound of the baby crying!
Bug wouldn't that be great if the full moon theory were correct

Starfish that's what the argument was about, he's never offered to help ever. I asked him for help recently and he ended up getting frustrated and shouting. Last night I asked him to help but after about an hour of ds screaming with him I find it's easier for me to do it. Straight after I took him off h he settled on me. H said he wanted to do it but he gets too frustrated and I get so desperate for sleep it's just easier for me to do it.

My in laws are much like that with ds allergies

Bugaboom I hope you are right!

Oh yes, and food allergies! My in laws took ages to get it (and even now I sense tutting and eye rolling when I ask to check labels, which they invariably throw straight in the bin!).
My own parents got it when they witnessed a reaction which took us to hospital (not their doing, a complete accident).

First wake up already as my pasta slowly over cooks downstairs

I was just coming on to see how bedtimes are going. Think I hope you can save your pasta. Dd not going down too easily. Will let DH take over in a few minutes. I'm just so glad that my in laws have left so if when she goes down at least I can relax and watch something decent on TV

Think hope you managed to save your pasta.

Bugaboom well done for surviving with your IL there!

Ds went to bed after a lot of wriggling, moaning and inspecting his hands. He's woke up twice so far. I hope all these teeth come through very quickly, they all seem to be coming through at once

I'm used to putting the oven on low every time I cook even when it's just a microwave meal on the hob as no doubt I'll need it to be kept warm as I deal with multiple wakings.

Bugaboom what are you going to watch?

Dd up again already. It's like she never outgrew the newborn stage of sleeping/waking/eating all evening

Might this bottle mean she's asleep for good tonight???

We're watching Then There Were None. Recorded from the other night. Creepy.

The best comment I've had so far as follows...

Do you want some chocolate orange?
No thanks, I can't eat chocolate
Do you want an orange juice instead then...

Hope you have all eaten /watching TV by now.

DS2 went down ok... totally shattered but expecting first wake up v soon. He's been a gem today actually - managed 2 x naps in his travel cot today
Sat in DS1 room till just now stroking his back as that's his new thing apparently. So bedtime for both has taken me 2 hrs 30 mins.
So.hard for the menfolk to settle the babies... when they are older it's much more feasible which isn't much use now but payback time in a year or so!

5th wake up

6th

Think how was the rest of the night?

Hope everyone else had a good night.

Ds had a good night, only 4/5 wake ups in all. But he is beyond tired now and will not nap anywhere apart from on me he was doing well in his cot but the past few days he will only go 15 mins or so