'Sleep is for the Weak' for anyone with August/Sep 06 DC's

[justJAM]

GM, Cruise and anyone else with LO's born around August/September 06' - this is a support thread for when you have no clue as to why your LO is doing the exact opposite to what they were doing last week and when you are thinking WTF????
Post on here and we shall all compare notes and comfort each other!!

Secretly thought that might be the case pavlov. Tempted to buy the book 'no cry sleep solutions' listed in the review section of mn but don't know if i even have the energy to try!

Oh Bampa - sorry you feel so tired. You are not alone here though, so take comfort in the fact that we all have invested in matches to prop our eyes open.

Talking of which, oh dear, I am on second coffee. I did not make after lunch, I made before lunch, but well, its good going I think as usually I might have had 3-4 by now (although saying that I usually only drink around half-two thirds).

I have put some blankets all over the floor, DD is having some bare bottom time to help nappy rash which has just appeared. She has had 30 mins nap. Not bad for her, she is soo talkative, energetic, how does she cope without the sleep she should be getting...14 hours per dayor something like that?....b**x

I like the sound of the baby whisperer, although to be honest dont know much about either yet. As my LO only started being a bad sleeper just before xmas, and been teething/had a cold I did not want to try any techniques, optimistically hoping she might go back to where she was. Like you Bampa, she had a good sleeping pattern..think I will have to do something now tho...

I have the baby whisperer...a gift when ds was born. Tried it for a few days but didn't persevere so only have myself to blame. She does the pick up put down technique but can't honestly say I tried it properly so not sure. Dh pushing me out the door (think i'm becoming addicted to mn) so better go!

tibsy - thanks for the babyrice tip, am going to try giving it at lunchtime instead, tomorrow. i usually give it at 5, and he likes to be asleep by 6.30, so maybe thats too late!
both my ds and my partner happily napping upstairs in eaach others arms right now. feel full of love for them both again! this mothering business is a roller coaster and a half, isn't it???

re:developmental leaps/growth spurts, ive read that these can disrupt sleep too, but my frustrated boy seems to constantly be on both of these things!!! glad to hear that learning to crawl etc can make things better. my baby seems to hate being a baby at times, and NEVER sits still, always wiggling about, and maybe when hes mobile he will burn off some energy....

been reading on this thread about the tensions between partners, and, stating the bleeding obvious i know, but having a baby and being sleep deprived is SOOOO stressful, its not surprising it really tests relationships. me and my partner never used to argue like this, and i get so grumpy and down and self pitying, and we compete for who the biggest martyr is!! but, what seems to save us is making sure we have us time. yesterday, when i was going nuts, a good friend took my baby out for a buggy sleep for 2 hrs, and me and my partner went to bed with a glass of wine, for afternoon sex, and then i got to nap for an hour! bliss! and me and my partner try to go out just the two of us, every couple of weeks, even if its just for an hour, and somehow it keeps us a bit sane.
hope thats not too patronisingly simple! i have to remind myself to make relationship time, but i am a bit slow these days.....

xxx

Kiera,glad you had a better night,we did too.
cruisemum.how was yours?

ginger,Don't get me wrong,I think it has benefits to being the oldest in the class,but my dd1 is oct born,and a tall girl,and quite advanced compared with others in her class,she gets on better with the year above,I know my lo will be the same.Yet unfortunately there is no flexibility with dates.Maybe it should go on ability rather than dates,as my lo will be a year older than her classmates,give or take the odd day,that's another issue though.Did you ever feel like you were bored in class and others were behind you in ability terms,I am january born ,so nicely in the middle.

hi bampa,I think people lie when they say their babies sleep all night,they must be surely????

pavlov,I am never going to drink coke again! didn't last night,and lo slept much better.It's pure evil.My southern comfort goes really well with pure orange juice,well done on the coffee front,has it helped?.I've had two at work today,coz I get free lattes,and I just can't resist!

hi maebee,I agree,you definately need partner time.As lo in bedroom with creaky bed,we make full use of sofa bed downstairs.Only thing is,next day ,I'm even more kn*ered ,if that's possible!!

soz for the million posts,just keep thinkin of more stuff.Lo having bottle soon,so a few hours peace .yeehaa.

Bampa, welcome although slightly fightened to think this could still be going on 7 months from now!! 13 months, how are you still able to string two words together? The NCSS is one of those softly softly approaches that I did try with no success although some people on MN have had success. It won't give you quick results so you need to expect to put the effort in. I also tried Baby whisperer which was worse. The PU/PD cranked her up so much and we both got completely distressed so I gave up.

Maebea I love your 'us' time idea. Unfortunately we don't have any family close by and very few friends that aren't up to their eyeballs in babies too so it's difficult for us to get any time together. Sex in the afternoon was always our favorite too and like redbeki we have to use the sofa (mainly because we're too lazy to go upstairs, plus I don't need to miss Eastenders , only kidding!!)

Redbeki, I suppose I did find that a bit but I don't think it had much to do with age. My school was particularly bad for not pushing kids that didn't want to work and I was very easily influenced by all the cool kids. However, I was one of about 3 people in my year to do A levels and go to university but that was a case really of my enjoying school and pushing myself rather than anything else. I think we'll just have to keep an eye on them and make sure it doesn't happen.

bampa - welcome and pay no attention to the people who tell nasty lies like 'my lo sleeps 15 hours a time and has done since they were 3 weeks old!!!' its so bloody demoralising when you're having problems yourself, as we all are.

maebee - i hear what you're saying sister! dp and i have only been out together once since dd was born. he goes out at least once a week and i must admit that i'm getting a bit chuffed off with it, yes i have mentioned it but it seems to have fallen on deaf ears (grrr)

redbeki - sounds like your night was improved! go girl!!

hope everyone else ok and feeling a bit more chipper

speak soon my sleep seeking sisters!!

ginger,it's an interesting point,if we'd planned number three ,I think a spring baby would've been lovely.C'est la vie.

Tibsy-keep onto him until he listens.

wow cruise,that sounds like a great night,do you feel better?

Thanks all for the welcome. Have been away from mn putting ds to bed. Only took 20 mins tonight which is a minor miracle! Although my reward unfortunately is not sofa sex but a dh engrossed in top gear! A large glass of chardonnay should soften the blow

Hi ladies
Shocking night here lost count of the number of times DS woke although the two hour 'play break' at 3am will be etched in my mind for a while, feel like all hope is lost. He was calm when he woke up though so I guess it's not completely back the the drawing board - yet.

Maebee agree with the sick of being babies theory, my DH has been saying that for months and now that DS is more independent he is better. I think it may be the reason he was mobile so early.

Re 'us time' DH and I are still close and he is helpful but we have NEVER had anyone baby sit for us so haven't been out since the birth. The only time I have been away from DS was for my birthday nap and once when I desperately needed a haircut and didn't want to take him in with the chemicals. Total is about 4 hours! I do like to be with DS but it's so exhausting having him around me ALL THE TIME I asked for some time off at christmas didn't get any but DH is working hard. I start back at Uni this afternoon when DH gets home from work and I'm so excited to get away... think I might have a sleep in the lecture theatre

Morning all. Terrible night here. Ds (having shown no sign of a cold before going to bed) woke about 11 with a terrible head cold and spent the entire night rummaging around his cot (maybe looking for somewhere he could breathe!)and when brought in with us coughed spluttered, sneezed and at one point head butted me...that one not cold related obviously but fecking sore! Of course now he's exhausted and will probably want to go back to bed soon. Think i may just join him and sod the mountain of jobs that need done around here (why isn't there a smiley for tired. you'd think on mn that would be a given!)

bampa - no smiley for tired because it IS a given!!! except for all those mums whose babies sleep thru the night that is!!!
im shocked but not surprised that so many mums arent getting to go out. i get out a fair bit for a mum of a 5 mth old BUT i am sure me and my partner agreed 50 - 50 childcare beforehand, and we are nowhere near that. he works part time from home so its really flexible and i am always getting cross i get the huge bulk of childcare.
am relieved to see so much ref to vino...i would go spare if i couldnt look forward to a bit of wine every other night. but i do worry cos im bf.
the other day i was so grumpy i had a candlelit bath with a big glass of wine in it....at 10 in the morning! was the only time my partner cld take my ds so thought i wld indulge. how decadant is that?! felt better for it tho.
sorry so many bad nights out there. my boy slept ok...only woke 3 times...but i was cursed with toothache. think my little un may hav earache as hes always pulling on his ear during feeding and it looks sore. i gave him calpol, mybe why slept better.
oh, tibsy, gave him much less rice cereal and earlier, maybe that helped too. will give him it at lunch today instead.
love mae

and genlay, you and yours need a night out! any other parents you cld swap a babysitting night with???

morning ladies - bampa & genlay our night too was rather.....'wakeful' shall we say?

bed at 6.45, awake at 8.30, 9.30, got into bed with dd at 10 and she slept til 12.15am when woke for feed then again at 4.30, ditto feed ( not too bad i s'pose but its all the mini wakes in between....lost track after that

other nights have been better and i do the same routine so i dont know whats going on? any ideas?

atm, i'm going to continue in my mission to get her to fall asleep on her own and to try not to feed her so much at night, even if it means co sleeping more. shes settling bettre thst way

redbeki - will do, am going to sit him down tonight for a serious talk, enough's enough. wish me luck

candlit bath and vino at 10 in the morning sounds heavenly maebee. I didn't get out much in the early days, not for want of offers of babysitting though i have to admit. Both Dh and parents urged me to go but I couldn't leave him. Pathetic i know. Put it down to the hormones. I've lightened up more in last 6 months. Have manged few girlie nights out and even a night away in manchester to see friends. Glad you had a good(ish) night

Tibsy, I have no idea why those wakeful nights happen when nothing in the routine has changed. My ds does that too at least once a week. he's 13 months and we felt were really getting somewhere with him going to on his own but has all gone t**s up in last month and we're co sleeping more than ever. Not that i mind would just love a bigger bed so i don't have to cling to the edge for dear life!