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Original poster

7mth dd-Not settling

86 replies

mummynumnum · 27/01/2007 19:14

My dd (7mths) has always been a good sleeeper, but I think I have made a mistake since going back to work 4 weeks ago. Was so tired the first week, that when dd woke in night for feed I kept falling asleep on the bed in her room, with her next to me. Did this when she was v tiny but had got her out of the habit. Now when she wakes in the night, she is finding it hard to settle herself without me co-sleeping with her. Can this situation be solved without resorting to cc-I really dont think I can do that. Could she be like this as she is teething and got a cold and will go back to how she was once this has passed?? Any ideas or advice/

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shish · 11/02/2007 22:01

dcb - maybe that's the trick. If you get in quickly enough to feed her, then maybe she'll go back to sleep for a couple of hours and you can get back into bed yourself?

Mummynumnum - Good luck. Go for it. You may well have it cracked by the end of half term. I never believed it, but we've made progress. Hoping tonight will be a nother reasonable one. Mind you, we think ds may be feeding. Not been eating very well and hardly drinking any milk for last 4-5 days. I'm getting so stressed..

Mitchell81 - How's things going??

shish · 11/02/2007 22:02

... I meant teething, not feedig!!!!

Mitchell81 · 12/02/2007 07:42

In scotland our half term only starts on Thursday, so we will start on thursday night. I will keep you informed of how we get on. I know it will be hard, but hopefully its a means to an end. Thanks for asking about me. Do you all have other DC, or is this your first?

dcb · 12/02/2007 10:11

it's my first and at the moment my last........

no it's not that bad really (rose tinted specs appearing already re: the early days)

dd woke at 3 last night - grizzled/cried til 4 when i fed her. not sure if it's anything to do with this blocked duct i've got - not sure if she can take a full feed as i've always got a v hard lump there even when she's finished - it's killing me. anyway she went to sleep after her feed - beginning to wonder if it would be better to feed her once over night and then sleep til 7.30 rather than have to get up at 5-5.30. just worried it might be aa slippery slope though back to where we were - i.e not being settled by anything.

how's everyone else getting on?

shish · 12/02/2007 12:17

Hi dcb - Not getting on too bad where the nights are concerned. Last night ds cried a couple of times but not for more than 5 mins and then back to sleep. He slept form about 9.15pm to 8.40am - Not too bad.. Just getting stressed and worried about his appetite having dropped so much. He used to drink 6-7 oz at bedtime, now only taking about 3oz. I thought he would wake in the middle of the night for a feed, but it doesn't seem to have affected him so far. You solve one issue and the next day (literelly) another one starts!!! Have you seen the doctor about your blocked duct? Can you do anything to help or do you just have to wait for it to get better??

Mitchell81 - This is my first too. Is it your first? Go for it over half term. I got a lot of support from dcb and it has made such a difference. The nights are so much better. No more waking every hour for a cuddle!!

Mitchell81 · 12/02/2007 20:01

I also have a DD who's 6 and even now,sometimes falls asleep in our bed and then gets carried through to her bed. But she does have SN and can't walk. Will definetley be giving it a good few nights, to see if it will work.
Are your lo's born in June or July? My DS was born 16th June.

shish · 13/02/2007 10:01

Give it a go Mitchell81. You have nothing to loose. I would give it at least a week. My ds is born 17 June!!!

shish · 13/02/2007 21:02

How's it going dcb??

How's it going mummynumnum??

Original poster
mummynumnum · 14/02/2007 07:19

It is going ok, but dd had developed cough, so she is waking more frequently in the night. Somethimes she can be settled through sshing and patting, but sometimes is very distressed and needs a cuddle.

How is it going with you?

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dcb · 14/02/2007 08:41

had a few rough nights - well rough compared to how they were anyway. i think it's prob because i've had mastitis and she's not been interested in feeding as well from that side - i suppose it must feel funny to her. so i've been worried that she's been hungry overnight and fed her and i've not been able to sleep because of the pain. it's better now but i think she now thinks that if she cries in the night i will feed her so i feel as if we're back to square 3 (it's still not as bad as it was before we started cc). last night she was awake several times the worst between 1.30-3. i went back to going in every 5, 10 min etc (she sounded really pissed off). then i fed her at 5.30 as i have been doing but was so knackered put her back to bed and thankfully she is still there now. she must be shattered, poor little monkey.

i guess sometimes you just have to "break" the cc rules and then go back to it when you can - what do you think?

dd was born 3/7 3 weeks early during that heatwave (thankfully)

hope your lo's cough settles mnnum. how are you shish? good luck for half term mitch

shish · 14/02/2007 17:45

We're dong ok thanks. Ds does sometimes cry in the night, but not as long as he used to. Usually only ofr a couple of minutes. I had to give him teething gel last night..

I agree that you would have to break the rules sometimes - after all these babies are human!!

shish · 15/02/2007 11:43

We unknowingly broke the rules of cc this morning. Ds was up 1 and a half hours earlier than usual wanting to play with us. We were so tired we brought him into the bed with us to play. He was laughing and playing, and within 10 mins fell asleep with us in our bed!! Cheeky monkey!!

I hope this deosn't ruin all the hard work we've done over the last couple of weeks..

dcb · 15/02/2007 12:55

i'm sure it will be ok. be interesting to see what he does tonight. was there any reason for the earlier wakening? (is there ever?....) - last night she woke at 2.30 and i fed her as she didn't feed properly before she went to sleep. she went straight back to sleep without any noise and then woke at 6.30. to be honest i find this easier than her sleeping through until 5.30 and then getting up. i know it's only an hour earlier but i can't cope with anything before 6 and would rathjer get up once overnight. hopefully she won't slip back into not settling again though.

shish · 15/02/2007 16:47

I'm sure it will be fine I think an extra hour in the morning can make the world of difference!! I guess the main thing is that you have to go with whatever works best for you.

I have no idea why he did this, but I think maybe it's just a one off - I hope!! I'll let you know how tonight goes..

Original poster
mummynumnum · 16/02/2007 06:31

Due to cough, (DD been given Salbutamol) just have not managed to do much sleep training this weak. DD obviously needed tlc and not sleep training, but feel bit glum (and still v tired) that will have to do sleep training at some point whilst back at work.

OP posts:
shish · 16/02/2007 11:49

It will be fine - really, don't worry.

Last night not great. I really do think ds may be teething. He woke up hysterical at about 2am and cried for about 40 mins. He the settled for about half an hour and went again for about 10 mins. Then again fir a short time at about 5am.. It was so difficult knowing what to do. I somehow found it a lot harder not to confort him last night, but dh kept on erminding me that it will ruin everything that we've done so far..

dcb · 16/02/2007 12:19

hi mummynumnum - looks like you were up early today - hope lo gets better soon - you're doing the right thing by waiting. perhaps you could start over a weekend when lo is better (or whenever you are not at work for a few days). i'm sure it won't be as bad as you think.

hi shish - have you tried some calpol before bed if you think it's teething? might help. i know what you mean though - it's hard to know if tere is anything wrong or if they are just "testing" you. apparently it can last a few weeks after starting cc.

i've been feeding dd once overnight. last night at 4 - the difference now is that she's been going straight back to sleep - and even slept 'til 7.30. i don't think she can go for 12 hrs without milk and feeding her at 10-11 was just disrupting her sleep as she's stopped waking up then. not strictly in accordance with the cc method but overall cc has made a huge improvement to all our sleep.

shish · 16/02/2007 14:10

it sounds like you've found something that really works for and I think that's what really matters.. Hey, she's sleeping an hour later - that's fantastic.

I'd given him baby nurofen before bed. As you said, maybe he was testing me or maybe we'll still have some up and downs. After all, we only started this just over a couple of weeks ago.

Original poster
mummynumnum · 16/02/2007 19:08

Saw HV and my sister, who is also a HV today and they said that when child is not 100%, it is not the time to do sleep training and that they think I was right to trust my instincts and administer tlc instead, so I feel better and will do sleep training when the cough and cold has gone (if ever!!!)

Shish-I hope the teething gets better.

DCB-You seem to be doing really well.

Thanks for all your support.

OP posts:
shish · 18/02/2007 20:06

Mummynumnum, you're definatley doing the right thing. You have to follow your maternal instincts. You have to give comfort when they're not well..

The last couple of days have been a bit better.. No tooth yet though!!

Mitchell81 · 18/02/2007 20:09

Just to let you know we haven't started, I have started watering down his milk at night though, so hopefully he stops waking for bottles.
Will let you know when we do start trying the CC

Original poster
mummynumnum · 18/02/2007 20:29

Had an awful night last night. DD is on Salbutamol and DCD said in another thread that a side effect was insomnia and dd had that last night. Feel shattered and a bit low but know that dd has had a tough week with teeth/cough etc and that cant be helped. Hoping now cough is getting better dd will settle down a bit at night. if not, I am not looking fwd to sleep training during work time, but know it will have to be done.

OP posts:
shish · 22/02/2007 09:35

Mummynumnum, how's dd now??

Original poster
mummynumnum · 22/02/2007 21:15

Thanks for asking. Dd is doing better. Cough is still there, but not as bad and have not been giving salbutamol too close to bedtime. She is def settling better and just by chance I tried her with a dummy (I was desperate) and put her down awake in her cot and she seemed to be able to settle herself this way. So..I have continued using it. I know it is just a different type of comforter to the breast, but it allows me a decent nights sleep in my own bed. Once she falls asleep it falls right out.

I feel embarrassed , as said would never use a dummy, but the sleep deprivation has got to me.

How are you all doing?

OP posts:
dcb · 24/02/2007 12:59

hi - haven't posted for a while - v bad mastitis. nights have gone a bit haywire - although still not as bad as they were pre-cc. just posted on the new cc thread - having briefly read the "support" thread - some interesting ideas, but have never been interested in co-sleeping. anyway - not sure if we just need to start all over again - might wait and see if anyone else has had the same experience.

Mummynumnum - is dd better now? don't worry about the dummy - there are plenty of "dummy snobs" around but don't know why they are supposed to be so terrible. apparently there is some research that shows sids is less likely to occur in babies with dummies!

Shish - how are you getting on - any sign of any teeth?

Mitch - how are you - are you still cutting down on the feeds?

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