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Original poster

Solidarity thread for the non sleeping babies!

161 replies

furryelephant · 26/05/2017 22:32

Hello! A new thread for babies who don't bloody sleep and aren't sleep trained in any way to chat/cry to each other in desperation! Grin

Just read from a very respectable source the daily fail that over tiredness causes your brain to eat itself! We're all fucked Grin

My DD is 6 months and currently only believes in sleep if it's in my bed. And so close to me that when I breathe it rocks her back to sleep Hmm

OP posts:
Speedybloomer · 05/06/2017 21:09

So spent over an hour getting DD to sleep, finally get her down in her cot and go downstairs..... 10 minutes before I hear her on the monitor!!! 10 minutes!! Something really needs to change for us. I think we're heading in the direction of sleep training.

Hope other mamas and babies are having better nights.

Original poster
furryelephant · 05/06/2017 22:00

Another one here with an awful nights sleepSadDD just would not stay still and was flinging herself round the bed last night in between waking for a feed every 2 hours, ending in using me as a personal mattress (literally me lying on my back, her lying on her back on me Hmm) made a cute photo I guess Grin

OP posts:
Mulch · 06/06/2017 17:13

Battle lines are drawn, no plans this weekend so going to give sleep training another try. Managed 3-4days last time and I cracked, anyone got any success stories? Will be going back to work soon

Speedybloomer · 06/06/2017 20:54

@Mulch - similar position here, I'm planning to move DD (10m) into her own room and commence sleep training. Not done it before but everyone I speak to says it's the best thing they've done! What kind of sleep training are you planning to do? I'm thinking of doing gradual withdrawal. Best of luck

Mulch · 06/06/2017 21:52

Last time we had a routine bath bottle book bed. Worked great until 2am then he would be up 30mins-hours if we were lucky intervals. I'd go in a shush after a few minutes, he'd settle but wake again. I gave up and brought him back to our bed after a few nights but on the plus we've weaned him off night time feeds so wars no over. Going to do the same this weekend but when he naps during day I'm going to nap so I have more energy and patience to persevere.

Youvegotafriendinme · 06/06/2017 22:21

Can I get some advice please? DS goes to bed around 7:30. Some times he will sleep till 2ish when he wakes for a feed but the last few nights he has been waking around 3-4 hours after being put down. He has 8oz before bed which he usually finishes. I don't think he is hungry but can't ever settle him fully so end up giving him 6oz and then he will sleep till about 3. I would expect a 6.5mo to sleep through that bottle. He also has 3 small meals a day with 6oz bottles every 4 hours.

Youvegotafriendinme · 06/06/2017 22:24

Sorry, didn't mean to post so soon.

As he is now eating food how long till I expect him to drop a feed or start drinking less milk?
With the 10:30/11:30 wake up, am I making it worse by giving him a bottle to get him back to sleep? He is teething and has cut 2 molars and has 3 more on their way through but he still seems very hungry and restless at night

Joinourclub · 07/06/2017 08:22

This thread might not be the place to ask youve! My one year old is often up at 11:00 and then again at 4 for a feed.

StorminaBcup · 07/06/2017 10:52

Youve I've used this babysleepsite as a rough guide for naps / feeds at different stages. Waking for night feeds is common when they are still so young (1 or under), apparently (it made me feel better about it anyway!).

My friend also used the Cheshire baby whisperer to help with her ds2: I found an excerpt of her book online here for guidance on multisensory sleep techniques for 6-12 month olds. It's helped us getting ds2 off to sleep and I use it in the night when he wakes to get him back to sleep. It hasn't helped him stay asleep though! Yet.....

Finally the wonderweeks app is great for explaining developmental milestones and how these affect sleep patterns. Between leaps and teething and growth spurts it's no wonder we get no sleep!

There's so many out there though, and everyone's lives are so different so perhaps you'll need to try a few to see what will work for you.

They'll learn to sleep eventually right?!

TeaMuncher · 07/06/2017 19:50

My "The Gentle Sleep Book" by Sarah Ockwell-Smith (sp?) has just arrived. Fingers crossed is as good as everyone says as I don't want to resort to sleep training!

Original poster
furryelephant · 09/06/2017 08:36

Hi everyone! How are you all? We had a string of horrendous nights with DD crying and needing either a cuddle or a feed to settle every single hour, finally last night was a bit better!

Storm and youve I've got the cheshire sleeep baby whisperer or whatever she's called book if you need any tips pictures of pages from it just let me know! It's sitting in the back of my drawer Blush

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sofreakingtired · 09/06/2017 22:27

Hi everyone. We've had 2/3 really great nights (when she's finally gone to sleep - a good 90 minute battle each night). Tonight however she was asleep within half hour, then woke up after half hour and has been raring to go ever since Confused just brought her downstairs for 20 mins to try and "reset" her... hopefully...
good luck with tonight everybody!!

TheSleeperandTheSpindle · 10/06/2017 07:38

It's really disheartening isn't it sofreakingtired when you get lulled into a false sense of security, I swear they do it to keep us on our toes Grin

We've had a string of better nights here (touch wood) and DSs top teeth have now broken the skin so I'm hoping it was just that that was causing the bad sleep Hmm He has also stopped wanting milk every bloody minute too so maybe it was a growth spurt aswell.

DS has now been going to bed around 7.15pm and not waking for milk until around midnight. Then he's back down until around 6am. He does still want to start the day at 5am-ish but I think that's to do with the earlier bedtime and I go back to work in 4 weeks (Shock) anyway so a 6am start would suit us.

Hope everyone else is having some good nights amongst all the crap Grin

Introvertedbuthappy · 10/06/2017 07:48

I remember posting on one of these about 6 months ago. DS2 is now 14 months old and still a shit sleeper. He has no sleep crutches, just thinks he's had enough sleep by midnight and wants to be up. So bedtime is about 8, up at last twice from 12 then up at 4:30!!!
People say 'oh don't allow him to get up that early' but he only has 1 nap a day from 12-1:30! It is shit. I'm knackered as I work full time too.

TheSleeperandTheSpindle · 10/06/2017 07:51

Oh, and by 'going to bed' I mean being rocked to sleep by me. Then carefully placed in his pram while I run around doing jobs. I then carefully lift him out and take him upstairs where he lies in my bed next to me in the pitch black, clutching my hand and stroking my face. I'm not some kind of sleep magician! Grin

sofreakingtired · 10/06/2017 08:50

Ooh, hopefully your DS will settle a bit sleeper, ours did for a few nights at least after those top ones came through! Two wake ups last night but just for dummy so straight back to sleep. Yay! Managed to stay asleep til 7 apart from those though, hurray!! Today is a new day and all that, fingers crossed it's a better one for everyone! 🤞🏻

Sonnet18 · 10/06/2017 20:22

Just stumbled across this thread- my dd was an awful sleeper (bed at 7pm and up twice during the night then up and ready to play at 5am) It was utterly awful. We went for some fairly tough sleep training and it was horrid and I felt like a terrible mum but she now (16months) and since around 10 months sleeps 7pm-6.30am. She currently has one 2-2.5hour nap late morning. I'm just posting to let you know there is light at the end of the tunnel! It was a truly hard time for me but we got there in the end. Do whatever you need to do to get through and all will work out in the end!

sofreakingtired · 10/06/2017 20:35

Sonnet can I ask what you did and how long it took please?

Sonnet18 · 10/06/2017 20:59

Of course. we did some controlled crying at nap time to begin with- meant I didn't go mad listening to her cries in the middle of the night. I would put her down and hoover, go out to the garden and hang out a washing or have a shower (anything that took around 15 mins and meant I didn't hear her) and honestly 9 times out of ten she would be asleep when I returned. I did not go to her before that. She was fed, clean, warm, in a dark room etc so I knew she did not need me.

After a few days of naps like this I then steeled myself for repeating this at night. I didn't need to really as she would only really cry for a few mins before giving up. I also took away her dummy ( a massive sleep crutch for her- she would spit it out so I would need to go in and give it back to her- she'd do this up to 10 times an hour)

Anyway, it sounds harsh and it felt awful but it took roughly 3 nights- each one gradually better than the first. I just told myself that nothing could be worse than the way it was (and it wasn't!) and now she is the dream toddler. I've since had a new baby and have no idea what to expect with him...I'm not professing to know what I am on about- this is just what worked for us with our little girl.

Good luck! It does get better, nothing lasts forever remember!

sofreakingtired · 10/06/2017 21:20

Fantastic, thanks! I think a few more crap nights and I may be ready to try something like this!! I like your idea of doing noisy things so you couldn't hear - I'd need that!!

Sonnet18 · 11/06/2017 03:18

No probs. Another thing to maybe try is white noise- for both you and the baby! Again, it drowned out all her whimpering and moaning and I only tuned in to her really loud cries (eek, that sounds mean!!) it made night time that bit more bearable and I got just that little extra sleep!

Please don't be put off by the time in which I'm posting- I have a 3 week old! Not heard a peep out my dd since 7pm!

Original poster
furryelephant · 11/06/2017 03:38

I think we're heading to having to sleep train too Sadanother night of hourly wake ups, and she seems to think that 3am is time to wake up for the day. I've actually lost all patience which just isn't like me at all and I could just cry Sad

OP posts:
sofreakingtired · 11/06/2017 06:43

Sorry for you furry, it's miserable isn't it. At least 6 this morning is kind of respectable. Sort of. Think we're heading that way too. Taking well over an hour to get her to sleep at bed time every night at the moment. And that's with one of us in her room with her to stop her screaming.

Original poster
furryelephant · 11/06/2017 08:07

It is tiredSadshe ended up going back to sleep after 2 hours but that wake up was one of 6! It's only times like these when I wish her father wasn't such a twat so I'd have some help AngryI don't think 6 is respectable either Grin

OP posts:
JiddlyPuff · 11/06/2017 20:21

What's good;

• LO is in his own room and has been since 3 months
• He's very cute and happy apart from his sleeping....

What's a bit shit;

• LO is now 5.5 months and still wakes every 2 hours to feed
• Does not settle on 1st, 2nd or 3rd try at bedtime
• Will not settle for anyone else but me (thanks babe love you too)
• Wakes at 6.15am every morning bright as a feckin' button.
• Only has short 10-15 minute naps throughout the day and yes I've tried him in his own bed, in a buggy, anywhere that might be at all sleep inducing.

So hello to all the other knackered but not giving up yet mummy's!

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