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...

Hey zombie I use a cellular blanket folded in 2. Our house is quite draughty

Opposite problems re weight! I can only dream of being size 12 it ll never happen for me!

Weight loss here too but that's from no sodding chocolate or cheese

Eurgh DS2 just woke. Have sent DH to deal with him but can tell from the monitor he just wants boob (oops I have had 3 glasses of wine tonight!!!)

Think I must add I'm 5'1.5 (2 in my eyes)! So I don't look too tiny at all, I just look ill

Starfish I have had wine too hope dh is up to the job!

He gave up after 3 mins... don't think we'll ever do CC .

He's settled now probably pissed

And just as I'm drifting off to sleep.... Dd wakes up

I'm sure there's a particular brand of madness/frustration reserved for this

And she's just spat out a load of formula and is wet through round her chest. Do I change and wake her or leave her....

Changed her. Of course she's wide awake and messing around now

Hope she settled Think.

Another bad night. Well, it's just normal now I guess. Don't know why I expect a good night!

Tried her without the Sleepyhead. Disaster! She kept rolling into the side of the cot and crying hysterically. So Sleepyhead got put back in. She's bsck asleep on me again.

I just don't think anything will work. Limited naps today to no avail. May as well keep up the naps as it's the only way I get rest too.

I cannot see a way forward.

Zombie I'm the same with the weight loss. Stone and a half gone. Normally I'd be thrilled! But I just look gaunt and old. I think it's the stress and adrenaline that's getting me through this. My diet is so crap, I just gorge on sweet things. Skin is dry, hair falling out. I used to take a lot of pride in my appearance but I'm too tired to care now!

Think ds seems to have a built in sensor that tells him when I'm just drifting off, I find them wake ups the hardest to deal with. Hope your night improved.

Purple ds had a real bad first few nights in the cot, he kept bumping the sides, think he got used to it as it doesn't bother him much now. He has a big line bruise on his head at the moment where he head butted the bars I don't have meals I just snack on crap throughout the day too much effort to make meals I think.

We had another good night, in fact I think it's our best night to date ds went to bed at 7.30, he woke up twice but went back to sleep before I got to him. He woke up in the night for about 10 mins screaming and squirming then did a huge fart and went back to sleep. He woke up 5-6 where I let him play in our bed then fell asleep statfishing in the bed until 7.20 would be ace if I went to bed at a reasonable time but couldn't stop watching a movie so went up at 12.30

But it worries me because he goes like this, he'll have a couple of good nights then goes awful for days on end. It's like the calm before the storm

Purple I've posted on your other thread but I really wouldn't limit naps at this age especially with a baby who is already overtired. Sleep breeds sleep.

Also I wanted to say my ds is much the same as your dd and he sleeps much happier on his front. He banged around a bit at first but they get used to it. It's a bit like when they go on a big bed they would fall out of bed but they soon get used to it all.

That was supposed to say the same age as your dd.

Thanks all. Much appreciated. Wow Zombie amazing! It does sound like things are moving towards better, even if there's bound to be a few bumps in the road?

Thanks pyjama for all your advice. You're right about naps. I'm beginning to realise that I could read or listen to advice from thousands of sources, but the the one thing I should trust is my instinct. I think she needs those naps, she's so much happier with them. I'll follow her cue for when they should be dropped.

Yeah I know I need to perverse with the cot! Just so annoying when she wakes herself up by rolling like a mad thing! And a bit funny too...I'll give it a go again tonight! Ever onwards we march...

I know it's so confusing isn't it, if you're anything like me you've probably googled baby sleep thousands of times. Everyone's got an opinion, everyone's got advice, it's all conflicting!

Do trust your instincts.

Feeling awful... went for pizza tonight and ordered the only non dairy one which happened to have a spicy tomato sauce on it.... I even said to DH, 'wow that's got a bit of a kick'. Then I gave a piece to DS2 without thinking...

Poor little thing went purple!!!!!!

Bad mummy.... hope it doesn't hurt his tummy.

(It was quite funny once he was ok. Oops! !)

Oh no that must have been alarming! Glad he's Ok Starfish.

Not hopeful of a good night here. Tried again without the fucking sleepyhead. Again with the hysterical crying. Back it goes! Surely it's not normal to be like this??
Any tips for transition from Sleepyhead hugely appreciated. I'm wishing we never bought the damn thing, it's not like it's given her a lot of sleep anyway! The sleep market is coining it in from exhausted parents making 3am purchases in the futile hope it will help...another example of where I've gone wrong!

I think I just need to learn how not to sleep. Surely you can train your body to accept less sleep? If I keep hoping it will get better I'll just be disappointed. Better to accept the reality.

Hope you're all in line for better nights!

Cot bumper?

Can you try sitting her in the cot minus the sleepyhead during the day with some toys while you potter about in the room? When she's awake and happy.

Do you sleep in the day.

Ok I hated it when people told me to sleep when the baby sleeps, I needed to shower, tidy do washing.

But as I've all but given up on brushing my hair and ds is a bit happier to play in his jumperoo while I potter about, I head to bed occasionally during the day.

When they eventually do sleep, and it will happen, you'll be like superwoman on just 7-8 hours.

Hi purple what bedding are you using? Dds sleeping bags are getting rather small/tight so I wonder whether that helped when we ditched the sleepyhead this week as she's not hugely mobile in them and probably still geeks quite secure

Dd woke up just now with a huge scream and in a real state like she d had a bad dream. Surely 6m is too young for that?

I've found the proper grobags brilliant

I'm on about 5th wake up here tonight beach time wakes up screaming. Wonder if it's another cold coming before this ones even finished....

5 wake ups last, a 5 min nap yesterday and a 20 min nap this am... just looked up wonder weeks and there is a stormy period week 29/30 (we are 29 weeks). Anyone else experiencing similar.... purple? Think? - pretty sure our babies are the same age...

Haven't been on for ages but sleep no better. Up every hour some nights and we've had 'party time' with scratching and pitching my face at 3 or 4am most mornings for at least an hour. I think some of this is weaning as once she's up for a while she'll do a big poo which I then change and then she goes back to sleep. She's going into her own room next weekend. I'm worried how she'll go down with me feeding and doing the story in a different room - bet she just looks around and refuses to go sleepy

I'm in a sunny bit starfish

Wouldn't be surprised if it is the wonder week. Although she permanently seems in a stormy stage! But she's been feeding more and harder to settle these past few days, so that might make sense.

She's been inconsolable tonight, started crying an hour ago. Hasn't cried this much since she was a few weeks old! DH has taken her and put her in the sling. Will probably mess up bedtime tonight but there's not a lot that can be messed up I guess!

Meanwhile, I've just stress binged on chocolate and sweeties....

Dd was a month premature so I never know if the same wonder weeks apply. She was dreadful last night but then napped in her pram downstairs from 9-12 this morning. I put on cartoons s d slept on the sofa. Feel guilty for poor ds. He deserves more attention