Awake with newborn, anyone else? :)

[Jellybean2017]

My little boy is nine days old. He sleeps pretty well during the day but at night just wants to be held and breastfed. He doesn't settle in his moses basket at night (but he will quite often do so during the day)

Anyone else up doing the same?! I'm not keen on the idea of co-sleeping but would be grateful for any advice. Baby sleeps in a gro-snug and we have a dream sheep but I'm guessing this frequent feeding and love of cuddles in the night is probably just par for the course at this early stage? 😊 I am napping during the day so I'm probably averaging about 6 hrs sleep in a 24 hr period.

Nina, you poor thing! Everyone tells you it will get better, and it absolutely will, but it's not much comfort to you right now.

My baby is 10 weeks now but weeks 1 to 3 were agony. It really did magically become better, almost overnight.

Hang in there. You're doing a great job!

Can I join. Only just found this thread, I have a 13week old but think she's having an early "4month sleep regression"!
Had the worse week since she's been born.
She's just gone back off to sleep after being wide awake crying then cooing for the past 2.5hours. But I've been up every hour.
Now I'm wide awake

SemperTemper I think Nina is doing pretty well with sleep. Did you mean someone else?

Rhodes we’ve had a tricky few days at 12 weeks but last night was much better. Hopefully things will turn around for you.

Lally I meant with the sore boobs but now that you've picked me up on it, I can see that this thread is way older and longer than I noticed.

As you were, everyone

Well, last night wasn't amazing. DD woke up a few times with wind (her wind and acutal wind as the hurricane was passing through our area at night). She did do her 4,5hrs, though.

My LO is also ten weeks @SemperTemper so thankfully we are past the stage of agonising pain when latching. So you were right, it did get better . And I cut his nails today so he can’t claw my boobs to bits either, good times!

Broke records last nights! She slept 11pm until 530am! Amazing :)

Gin, that's amazing! Yay!

DD appears to be 'unputdownable' tonight...We're in leap 3 still...
I expect an eventful night

Discharged from hospital today so could finally take Dexter home at the grand age of 6 days! We both slept really badly last night as his antibiotics gave him terrible wind and diarrhoea but he’s off them now and has sleep like a trooper all day and has been feeding so much better and longer. Really hope I get some good quality sleep tonight.

Can’t believe this time last week my waters broke (after bake off- ta Dex) and now, the following week, I’m back at home with my gorgeous boy (who fed all through bake off this time!).

Going to stay up overnight. Angelcare alarm has gone off twice in half an hour for the first time. I'm panicking now - I'm overwhelmed by PND and anxiety and obsessed with SIDS. Shaking and crying while typing. Please tell me something:(

Dear Iwanttosleepnow, I am so sorry you are feeling so overwhelmed with anxiety and PND. Are you getting support from health visitors and doctor?

How old is your baby? During the first few nights with my baby at home I constantly checked he was breathing. It sounds like you are feeling extreme concern for the safety of your baby. Have you managed to get any sleep at all? Do you have family at home with you?

You are not alone.

IWTSN I had to google Angelcare alarm: I can see why you are feeling worried. The internet seems to suggest that for some highly anxious mums, these alarms cause a lot of stress. It seems that false alarms are common too?

Gimble, congrats on going hooooome, despite bad night last night. Love that you were watching the Bake Off with your little baby this week after your waters breaking post last week’s episode. Special memories associated with that show now hey?

Hope everyone got a better night tonight. I’m coming to end of Leap 2. It’s been pretty hellish haha. My baby slept from 1030 til 315 which has only ever happened once before in his nearly 8 weeks of life.

We are having another good night - feeds at 8pm and going on 3am. And I’ve swapped with my OH who’s giving a bottle at the next feed so here’s to more sleep!

Please try to get some sleep Iwant. Everything always seems worse when you are exhausted. How old is your baby? It’s quite normal for newborns to have pauses in their breathing without anything being wrong. Or if s/he is older have they moved a little so the sensor isn’t picking up right? I agree with the PP who said these things just create more anxiety and I wouldn’t be surprised if they have a high rate of false positives.

^Although some parents choose to use breathing monitors there's no evidence that they reduce the risk of SIDS. And the number of false alarms these monitors give may actually cause you more anxiety than peace of mind.
What is normal breathing for a baby at night?
Your newborn breathes in cycles, with breaths getting progressively faster and deeper, then slower and shallower. This is called periodic breathing. He may pause his breathing for up to five seconds or even longer, then start up again with deepening breaths.

From ^ www.babycentre.co.uk/a558559/your-babys-breathing-whats-normal^
^

Tomorrow, check the sensitivity of your angelcare mat. It probably just needs tweaking or repositioning.

My little chap is back to 2.5 hourly feeds. He was hourly this afternoon and I was dreading nighttime. (Don’t want to jinx it, but) he also seems more settled and less fidgety which means I get done rest in between too! Yay! Off to sleep now as I’ve just put him back in his pod. Night!

Csd17 - DH is away during weekdays so I have some relatives to help. I mentioned my issues to HV last time I saw her in September, they were on a down path so we agree to hope for a spontaneous solving. Then she went on holiday and they have degenerated - now I cry every day and can't sleep anymore.

Baby is 3 months, no particular health issues besides a foramen ovale (which I haven't found any link with SIDS or anything for). for me it's always been like that with some lows and highs, but I feel I'm reaching the lowest point. HV comes on Monday, don't know whether to wait or look for a GP appointment, I'm at my wits end. I'm considering ringing PANDAS or so.

Nina - he's 3 months so not much moving yet. He kinda tends to shift towards the right side of the cot and sometimes I find him with his face on the border but this time he has only slightly moved.

He was probably in a deep sleep phase as I was reading a book and before the alarm Couldn't hear anything. But I need to understand if it is physiological in his case - twice in half an hour when it had never happened before?

Hash - do you really think is worth adjusting the settings when he's not co-sleeping so no chance to pick up anything else? (Real question, not questioning your advice )

Scrub that. He’s awake! Good job they’re cute 😋

Iwanttosleep - Yes. But make sure it’s tested so not too sensitive. That’s why you can adjust it. It needs to work with the thickness of the mattress and where lo sleeps. We found as my dd was able to roll and move a bit more we had to increase the sensitivity as she wouldn’t necessarily be sleeping on top of the sensor but at one end.
Changing it has to be done with caution and carefully.

IWant I’m glad you have relatives to help but if you are reaching a newlow point now I would book a gp appointment. No one (prior to giving birth) really talks about the emotional toll of having a newborn and the media presents this time as shiny and blissful when in reality it’s so difficult. I know it’s normal to have highs and lows as a new Mum but you sound particularly low.

My mother was on tranquillisers when she had me because her anxiety was through the roof. They helped. If you feel anything like the way I felt during the depths of my baby blues then I would without hesitation get help. My blues lifted but I felt absolutely desperate during those first weeks. I wanted to die. And PND is enduring, and probably far more intense than what I experienced. Monday is quite a way away.. perhaps you will call your surgery in the morning. You deserve support through this.

IWantToSleepNow please, please, talk to someone. If not your GP, then your HV, partner a friend?
I reallu struggled in the first couple of weeks. I found it hard to bond with DD as I was traumatised by the birth, then sleep deprivation added to it.
It's really important to talk, if you don't want to go down the medication route yet.
Anxiety is a debilitating state (don't like to call it a condition- sounds too medicalised) and being alone with your own thoughts only makea it worse.

I shall not comment on last night apart from 2 words...growth spurt...

Iwanttosleep sending you a hug. This thread is lovely for feeling like you aren't alone x

AMag you have my sympathies. Have been going through the 8 week mental growth spurt for 2 weeks. Hoping yours only lasts a few days.

Thanks. Trying to get 1 hour sleep now while he's downstairs with DGPs but clearly they aren't human monitors so no way - in the meantime, DH on Skype suddenly dropped the call and doesn't answer (Skype, phone, FaceTime, fb etc). Want to hit myself in the head with a hammer and wake up next year!