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Original poster

Every night feels likes a lifetime

341 replies

ThursdayLastWeek · 25/09/2016 04:09

DS is nearly 7mo and his lack of sleep is getting me down.

I feel like I have troubleshot everything, but nothing works.

Dummy worked for a while - no longer.
In cot/co sleeps - still wakes frequently.
BF or FF - wakes frequently.
In the last week I started to put him down on his front which worked for two nights (well he still woke twice for feeds, but that's good for him) but now that's stopped working too.

I'm really at the end of my tether. He's currently rolling around my bed, chewing the dummy and squealing. And I keep thinking 'I hate him' - and then of course I hate myself Sad

I know people will say it will get better he won't be like this forever, but every single night feels like a lifetime right now. And I can't cope.

OP posts:
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user1471421772 · 08/10/2016 05:43

I don't know if I can take much more. Again long periods of fucking wakefulness. This current one since 4. He's still as I type chattering in his cot. He had 2 naps yesterday - 1x1 hour and 1x30 mins so was exhausted and went to bed at 6 last night. He was up from 12 til 1, 2:30 til 3 and now 4 until who the fuck knows - that's 8.5 hours sleep and 1.5 during the day yesterday - so 2nd day of only 10 hours sleep in 24 needed. Please tell me he needs more and this isn't a new pattern. I can't do this. I go back to work in 10 weeks. I am sat on the stairs in floods of tears. This is just getting worse Sad

user1471421772 · 08/10/2016 05:46

I don't know how to fix it any more. He's not tired or wants comfort. He just wants to play. He's ramping up the squealing again. This is really really shit.

TheHubblesWindscreenWipers · 08/10/2016 05:54

Oh you poor thing :(
If he's playing, what happens if you just leave him to it?

user1471421772 · 08/10/2016 06:01

Ramps it up and repeatedly rolls until he smacks his head on the cot bars Sad. He seems to be asleep but I might as well get up (and eat all the chocolate available in the house). If it was feed to sleep or a wee rock he needed this would be easier. Currently I just try everything for hours until he sleeps again...

user1471421772 · 08/10/2016 06:37

And now he's up for the day...

TheHubblesWindscreenWipers · 08/10/2016 08:08

We got cot bumpers. I know they're not considered safe but it made a big difference to him liking the cot. They fit very tightly between the mattress and bars and he rolls around and kneads them in his sleep. Before he would just roll over, hit himself on the bars and wake crying, or get a limb stuck and panic. I wouldn't have had them when he was younger but they have really helped

Urg, it's awful, you must be shattered. Flowers

user1471421772 · 08/10/2016 09:12

I'll give anything a go at this stage. Just taking him swimming as he's still had no nap - I'm on my knees!
Thanks Hubble. Things always seem better when it's light. My eldest didn't sleep through until 3 years old and I am just terrified that baby will be the same.

ImSoVeryTired · 08/10/2016 10:07

Oh user1471. You poor thing, that would have me pulling my hair out too! I should be grateful for small mercies that even when baby keeps me awake for hours at a time, he's generally feeding or wriggling but not awake. I don't know how you do it!
My night wasn't quite as bad as I thought it might be. He woke lots until about 11.30 as he was too bunged up to bf and screamed a lot. Then he did his normal hourly wake up but managed to feed so went back to sleep easier. He's only had a 15 min nap this morning and I'm struggling to get him to go back off. This does not bode well.

TheHubblesWindscreenWipers · 08/10/2016 18:51

Good luck for tonight.

For bunged up baby - do you have a snot sucker? fridababy.com/product/nosefrida/
They're a bit grim to use but I'm always 😮 At the volume I get out. I do that then lie him on his side a bit so the top nostril drains. He's been too bunged to feed a few days this week poor thing.

thenewaveragebear1983 · 08/10/2016 19:38

Snot sucker is a god send. We use the saline drops to liquefy it a bit first as well.
Good luck tonight everyone. Our dc are at granny's tonight so dh and I are looking forward to a whole nights sleep!

user1471421772 · 08/10/2016 20:20

Ooh fab thenew, enjoy! Good luck everyone. I've started dreading the nights.

TheHubblesWindscreenWipers · 08/10/2016 21:32

Oh fabulous- enjoy the blissful sleep!

ImSoVeryTired · 08/10/2016 23:10

Ooh lucky you AverageBear.
Yes I might invest in a snot sucker, when I have some spare cash. He doesn't seem quite as bad tonight, so fingers crossed he does a couple of hours in a row at some point.
Good luck everyone.
I know what you mean about dreading nights. I have a love hate attitude towards them. I love the idea of bed and the opportunity to lay down but dread the waking cycle.
I found myself singing 'don't wake up, don't wake up, please please please don't wake' to the end theme tune of 'the furchester hotel' program on cbbeeies, in my head, after the 3rd wake up in half an hour. Now to attempt a lap to cot transfer again. Wink

Original poster
ThursdayLastWeek · 08/10/2016 23:19

I really really really really really dislike my baby

OP posts:
ImSoVeryTired · 08/10/2016 23:22

God he's driving me mad. The moment I lay down the wriggling and moaning starts. Yet he's fine on me. Sleeping soundly as you like. Grrr.

princesspineapple · 08/10/2016 23:50

I think I've found my people... Can I join?
DD is 6 months old and has never slept for more than 5 hours in her life. It's usually somewhere between 45mins - 3 hours so I've been exhausted her whole life and have just run out of patience now. Like a lot of you, it's the unpredictability I can't stand, I'd gladly sit and hold her while she cries or whatever for an hour even night if the same thing would cure it every time, but every night it's a new challenge and it's just shit!
DP is doing his first ever nightshift tonight because I've just sobbed uncontrollably for the last hour and scared him a bit.
How do people cope?! And why is it so bloody unfair?!

ImSoVeryTired · 09/10/2016 00:48

Thursday CakeBrew. I'm in agreement tonight, although I know he's worse cos he's snotty.
Welcome Princess. I'm sure we have all done the sobbing thing at some point. My OH has offered to do the same but I know it would take him longer to settle the baby so I've turned him down so far. He does take over in the mornings, when not working though, so I catch up then. Somehow it's not the same as sleeping at night but it helps.
Baby just managed 1-2 hr of sleep. Woop de do. So far I've had an hours sleep since 9 in snatches. I may go mad by morning if he keeps this up.

princesspineapple · 09/10/2016 04:32

I've always felt the same, and DD does take longer to settle for him, but I've got to a point tonight like how much worse can she get?! She's woken 4 times and the settling has got easier for them each time (even though I'm "off duty", I'm obviously still waking and listening intently to how he copes Grin) so she definitely doesn't need feeding as much as I think she does! Not sure if that's a useful thing to know or not.
Hope everyone is managing a little bit of sleep Cake

user1471421772 · 09/10/2016 06:33

Oh dear princess, welcome to this tired club. Well last night was shit again - up for playing, hours to settle, didn't want anything.
Bed 7:40
Up 12-1:30
Up 3-4
Up for day at 5.
3rd day of 10 hours of 24 sleep - surely this isn't sustainable?! SadAngry

user1471421772 · 09/10/2016 06:36

I just don't know what to do, if he had a massive nap I could cut it down - I can't cut down 2/3 30-45 min naps!!! If he naps longer the periods of wakefulness are longer Sad

Original poster
ThursdayLastWeek · 09/10/2016 06:59

Oh man I had a bit of a meltdown last night - poor drunk DH had just come home from a fun night and there i was about to throw the baby out.

So after that i had success just feeding him next to me in the bed and we 'slept' until now. If you count waking at 3.30 & 5.30 to feed sleeping. Which i dont.

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah. Again, now its daylight I feel a bit more normal but honestly, last night, all I felt was dispair Sad

OP posts:
user1471421772 · 09/10/2016 08:59

Oh Thursday I am at breaking point too. He has now since midnight been awake 6 hours and asleep 3 hours (and sadly not even in one block). In the last 24 hours he's actually only had 9 hours sleep. He's been up since 5am this morning and is still shrieking on the carpet trying desperately to crawl...

Original poster
ThursdayLastWeek · 09/10/2016 09:50

It's rotten isn't it?

I like Hubbles idea upthread where we tag team the little buggers and all get at least a whole nights sleep a week Smile

OP posts:
ImSoVeryTired · 09/10/2016 10:48

I took mine into bed with me shortly after my last post. So I slept but uncomfortably, with several wake ups so he could use me as a dummy. He was awake a bit after 5.
I had a lay in this morning but ITS NOT THE SAME AS A PROPER NIGHTS SLEEP! Not even a short proper nights sleep. I miss sleep. OH took him out in the push chair and got him to sleep just now so he's not napping on me. Feels most peculiar. I'm sure I should be doing something constructive while I can. Maybe I ought to go clean the bathroom.....

TangerineTrees · 09/10/2016 14:11

Imso.. the most constructive thing you could do right now is absolutely nothing!
Crap night here too - Brew&Cake all round

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