Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Sleep

Join our Sleep forum for tips on creating a sleep routine for your baby or toddler. Need more advice on your childs development? Sign up to our Ages and Stages newsletter here.

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:
yorkshirejo · 12/01/2016 21:01

Hi everyone, I've been lurking on this thread for a while now. My 18mo has multiple food intolerances and has been a terrible sleeper from birth.

He wakes on average 6-8 times a night, occasionally just 3 times and sometimes up to 10+. Hes been doing this for 9 months now (we had a blissful couple months prior to this during early weaning and following 3 weeks of cc, where he slept through). As weaning progressed, it became apparent he was reacting to more foods, and i must admit this is often something i question now. He's been a quick teether and has 16 of his 20 teeth through, we medicate with ibuprofen/calpol most nights; sometimes it seems to work, other times not.

Our lovely GP suggested piriton as a sedative, at standard, and then when it didn't work, double the normal dose. He still woke. We had been referred to a general paediatrician for his sleep issues, but have found out today the paediatrician has refused to see us, citing his reasons as this is a matter for health visitors to deal with. Our HV is pleasant, but has nothing to offer other than CC and gradual retreat, neither of which I'm prepared to do. We cosleep whilst he goes to sleep, then transfer to cot when in a deep sleep. Then when wakeups start, we cosleep as this makes resettling easier.

I suppose my question is has anyone else managed to get a paediatrician/sleep clinic referral? And what criteria/symptoms did your lo have?

We live near Leeds, but general paeds refusing to see us, although there is a sleep clinic there. Sheffield also have a sleep clinic and accept referrals from across the UK so I will be asking GP about it on Friday when we see her. She wants to check tonsils/adenoids in case this is causing the sleep issues. My other thoughts are ADHD, though AFAIK it's too early to diagnose... Thanks for reading! X

zombiemeow · 13/01/2016 00:47

comes creeping quietly back in and re takes seat

Hi guys. Sad I'm back.

I had buggerd off as although ds wasn't sleeping in the day, for the past week his night sleep bad been really good. He was sleeping to 5am with only 1/2 wake ups.

Last night he has a few wake ups and up at 4.45 I was hoping it was a one off. We're now on our 4th wake up and he's been up for ages with absolutely no sign at all of him settling.

I thought I was in the clear Sad

Anyhoo, I'm back to catch up on the thread. I had been lurking since I last posted but there has been a lot of posts.

zombiemeow · 13/01/2016 01:01

Yorkshire sorry you find yourself here. I have been referred to a sleep clinic. Like you at first I was referred to the general pead clinic, the gps/hv completely denied that a sleep clinic/consultant existed. Then I found out my friend had been referred to one so I went back to the gp and actually refused to budge until they referred me Grin afaik the only criteria is that they have to be over 12 months. I was referred a couple of months back and my appointment is t until February Sad apparently it's 'a very popular clinic'. I'm not expecting it to work wonders though, from what I have read they will just tell me the standard stuff. I have also been referred for skin prick tests via ds dietitian, may be worth asking about if you haven't already had it done to rule out other allergies? Ds has cmpi but I have also been told to avoid eggs and black currant Hmm

Fluffkins I like your onsie idea, might have to steal that! It's so cold here!

Purple Thanks weaning was an utter disaster for us. I did a post when ds was 9 months as he just wasn't eating anything and was still on a butt load of bottles. You are definitely, 100% not a shit mom. What type purees are you using at the mo,?

So sorry but I'm so tired I can't read anymore, going to pop me phone down for a bit Sad

Pyjamaramadrama · 13/01/2016 09:13

I ended up doing cc last night.

Ds will go to bed fine but I don't think he's slept through more than 3 times ever. Sometimes he wakes for his dummy and a drink and goes back to sleep which is fine. Sometimes he won't go back to sleep and I end up bringing him into bed.

He's done that for the past 3 nights, as dh is away I decided last night I was going to be determined not to bring him into bed, he cried on and off for an hour, I kept resettling him, he got so angry but I think he tired himself out in the end.

I don't actually mind him coming into bed but I'm worried it won't work as he gets older also I can never relax wondering what the night will bring.

Ilovecrumpets · 13/01/2016 10:30

Hi Pyjama

I also cracked and did cc last night with my DC2 - who sounds similar to yours re going down fine but never sleeping through. I know exactly what you mean about never being able to relax/sleep well as not knowing how bad the night will be. Had similar results. Good luck for tonight

Pyjamaramadrama · 13/01/2016 11:57

Thanks crumpets. Yes good luck for tonight.

He doesn't seem to have held it against me he's very happy today!

Ilovecrumpets · 13/01/2016 16:24

Mine tooSmile probably because he got more sleep!

thinkfast · 13/01/2016 19:34

Dd was dreadful last night and napped for a grand total of 40 mins today. Gave spinach yesterday which she lived but appears to have disagreed with her. Her bum is red raw and her cheeks are v red too

Already on first wKe up of the night so hope it won't be more of the same....

starfish12 · 13/01/2016 20:15

We were up last night with dreadful wind pain... reminded me of how he was before we went off dairy. Could be chicken or banana so.ive given him chicken again tonigjt to see if he has it again. Poor thing re the spinach think. Is making weaning really annoying as he loves his food but feel like I'm restricting him

fluffikins · 13/01/2016 21:48

Think could it be teeth? With red cheeks and bum rash?

Starfish im pretty sure people on the cmpa Fb group say banana causes similar reactions to milk sometimes

thinkfast · 13/01/2016 23:32

Could be teething as well or instead of a reaction or red cheeks could be chapped from cold. Who knows?

She's up again. This is crazy! I need sleep.

Original poster
Purpleboa · 14/01/2016 09:00

How did the rest of the night go think? Hope it was better.

Horrible night here. Even sleeping on me she kept waking and crying! Could it be teething? Surely it's not that bad?? Had a huge meltdown at 530 when DH took her but I couldn't sleep. Broke my phone in a rage Shock I feel like I'm cracking up. It just gets worse and worse! Can anyone give me any hope at all??

I'm away staying with my parents next week. Once we're back, I think we are going to have to do some CC. So I've been interested to read people's experiences on here.

OP posts:
Original poster
Purpleboa · 14/01/2016 09:04

Zombie so sorry you're back. Hopefully it's just a temporary thing and he goes back to better sleeping.

I'm using a mix of purees and mush. It isn't the food she's objecting to but the spoon fed thing - she hates it but loves to play with the spoon?? So we're giving her finger foods and letting her play with those. Good to know I'm not the only one!

OP posts:
fluffikins · 14/01/2016 09:23

Had a rough night here. She was up with wind a lot. I worry she has an intolerance to wheat still as we're getting green slime nappies, but then they'll also clear up for a few days and she's otherwise well. She just wakes up, cries, can't be fed/cuddled but a tummy rub helps, followed by a loud fart and then she'll go back to sleep. I don't want to get all paranoid and cut out wheat unnecessarily though as she loves her toast!

Pyjamaramadrama · 14/01/2016 09:32

Ds ended up in the bed again at 4am.

He woke crying his nappy had leaked so had to change his vest babygro and Grobag, his little hands were cold too I just couldn't face an hour crying to get him to sleep in his cot, he was doing that thing where he seems to fall asleep then suddenly starts crying, so he came in bed and slept.

Pyjamaramadrama · 14/01/2016 09:35

Is anyone else's baby really loud?

When ds was born the first thing I thought was how loud he cried.

My ds1 had a little cry like a little lamb ds2 is more like a lion roaring, it's impossible to ignore. It's loud and piercing.

I've read that high needs babies do have a loud cry.

zombiemeow · 14/01/2016 09:48

Another crap night here Sad I don't know why he tricked me with a couple of good nights.

Hope you managed some sleep think

Purple I'm sure she will get there, is there anyway of cutting down milk feeds? That is what we had to do with ds in the end as he just wasn't interested at all.

Fluff can you try avoiding wheat for a while to see if it improves? I'm pretty sure there's a wf alternative.

Pyjamar ds didn't cry when he was born, he was quite poorly though, but now he is so so loud Blush

fluffikins · 14/01/2016 15:51

I've decided the wind was due to cucumber last night and the nappies are due to teething. If they persist or get worse then I'll cut out wheat (with a heavy heart)

Naps have been atrocious here today. Maybe it's teeth or just one of those days

starfish12 · 14/01/2016 19:19

So hard isn't it fluff. I think you were right about the banana for us. Well it wasn't the chicken as I tried it again last night and he was ok. Gonna try eggs, soya and peanut butter at the weekend. Not all together!!
Could you get a df/wfh bread but then try other types of wheat to see if the nappies are still bad like pasta/weetabix...?

zombie - at least you know he can do it. Don't be disheartened as things were looking up for a while and I'm sure they will again.

Hope you.can get some help/rest at your parents next week purple

My DH has to go away for a week with work in 2 weeks and I have no one to help me look after the kids... (unless intake them to the inlaws but i dont really want to be away from home for that long), so that's gonna be fun. Hmm

thinkfast · 14/01/2016 19:28

Another poor nap day today. 15 mins in the morning and half an hour in the afternoon. Hope this isn't the start of s new routine. Managed to drag out bedtime until now so praying we get some sleep tonight.

Fingers crossed for all of you!

fluffikins · 14/01/2016 21:31

She scoffed a tuna melt (fake cheese) panini yesterday and another today (well fingers off of my one) and her nappies look better, still a bit green but she's definitely teething so really hoping the wheat isn't an issue. I tried eggs and she's ok with that - had mayonnaise in the thing today and I tried peanut butter too. I was a bit nervous about the latter so put a smear on her head and left it 30 mins to see if it went red before feeding her any. Probably a little unorthodox but made me feel better! I really should try soya because it would open up a load of foods for me, but need to have a good baseline before doing so.

She's napped for about 1hr in total today so she's utterly knackered and has gone down well, only one wake up so far. That'll change when I go up. She ALWAYS wakes 10-20 mins after I go up, just as I'm drifting off.

thinkfast · 14/01/2016 23:36

Argh!!!! Go to sleep baby

Pyjamaramadrama · 15/01/2016 02:13

Well ds has clearly decided after a good run that he's not sleeping.

He's up again. He's been up 40 minutes so far. He goes quiet for a few seconds then it's waaaah, waaaah, he's shouting. He's been doing this for a week now.

Do I bring him into bed or do I just keep lying him down until he gives in?

I can barely stand the noise and I'm wide awake now.

thinkfast · 15/01/2016 02:45

No idea pyjama. We re up again too. This is craziness

zombiemeow · 15/01/2016 07:28

Starfish hope they are all on their best behaviour for you when he's away.

Fluff what cheese do you use? We use violife but ds doesn't seem to like it much.

Sorry to hear about the bad nights. Ours was bad too. It gets me down as ds wakes up miserable because he's so tired. He's so grumpy, but he just won't sleep Sad then he gets up and will play for an hour then be exhausted and want to go back to bed. His naps are all over the place still so that won't help.