New SLEEP IS FOR THE WEAK thread - are we still here?

[PavlovtheCatthatgottheCremeEgg]

Another thread. My didn't we get full quickly! night sleeping good. Naps...not even 5 mins so far today...

cruise - could it be teeth? I am so sorry you are having such a rough time [hugs] and here m I moaning about one stupid wake up. I wish I could say something that would help

pavlov - dont think its teeth. no sign of discomfort. my eve was like this:
ds fell asleep on boob, woke once in cot, culdmt resettle and couldnt leave dd d/s alone so i took hm down too. he thought it was playtime . took dd to bed at 8:30pm ( she's 9yo) and fed d to sleep again. he woke at 11:10, 12:30, 1:03. got dh to settle him but an hour later i had to go in and settle him myself . so at 2:10 he sleeps. dh keeps me awake snoring until around 3:34am. ds wakes at 6:20am. he then naps at 8;30 in car for 30 mins so no rest for me. i am getting really down and overwhelmed by this. my poor dd is only getting half a mummy.

what can i do? i need help!

aw Cruise - could it be weather? I have been wondering that with our DD. She had been so good over the last few weeks, and this last few days, although nothing like your evening, she has started to wake more. I cant think why either.
She is not hungry.
She is not thirsty
She has clean nappy
She has been exercised during day

The only think I thought of for my DD was that her room is quite small (not for her but to me it is!) and no ventilation when the door is shut, so I have opened her window a fraction today, see if that might make a difference to it, as it seems a little stuffy?

How is his temperament in the day?

Hello ladies, can I join you here on this thread? Have been lurking for a while and have met you, Cruise, on some of the nap threads. So, at 5 months, DD who has always been a dream sleeper at night, has gone mad. Last night up at 1, 2, 4, 6.. My eyeballs hurt. Tried Calpol at 4 as this has been going on for a few nights but made no difference so don't think its teeth. And she's feeding properly at 4 and 6. Tried waiting out a growth spurt but its been 5 nights now...

Sydney - Welcome and sorry you need to be here!

It might still be teeth! LO did this, calpol did not work at all. Once she is 6 months, you can use medised at night which is much better as it helps them sleep as well as ease the pain.

Also you need to get hold of some good teething gel. Bonjela did not cut it for me (or LO, excuse pun!). Anbesol liquid was ok, but if you can get hold of some Nighttime Baby Oragel from a US website, it works an absolute treat.

DD was like this for a long time, from about 5.5 months until quite recently, and it started with her teeth (and some other personal stuff going on). I kept thinking, cant be teeth, not grouchy in the day, Calpol not working, seems angry not in pain etc. I had lost my tube of Oragel. I found it after a particularly bad night, with nothing else working, she was in a right state, so was I. I put it on her gums and instantly, I mean within seconds, she was licking her gums and smiled at me! And she slept better. Not through the night, as she was also used to me feeding her by this stage as I did not know what else to do. But it was the start of the gradual climb to the top.

And we are not there completely yet. Like Cruise, thought we were, but waiting with bated breath as the last few nights she has woken for no apparant reason...

Thanks Pavlov! I kind of did have a feeling it might be teeth but was also confused that she was just fine during the day. I guess there's more to distract her from any pain during the day. Will look out for that Oragel. Have you tried those Ashton teething powders? Do you think they work? Like you, I've just started feeding her when she wakes as it works and now I think she's waking for a feed she never used to need. But then again, maybe she's a bit too warm at night? You can send yourself mad analysing all the reasons why can't you...

Sydney - yes, I used to go through all the possible reasons too.

Ashton Powder - I never used them myself, but I have a few friends who did, and they swear by them, so give them a try!

Also, if you did not feed her during the night, I really think it is not necessary to start now, and you may be making it harder to stop this later on, as she will come to expect food. It is getting warmer and she might be thirsty, so maybe offer her water at night if you think she needs something? If she is thirsty she will take it, if not then you know she is ok! She should be needing less milk at night now than she used to, not more. I made that mistake myself, and it meant that DD expected to be fed everytime she woke up, which was a lot! I just thought this cant be right?! So i weaned her off the night feeds and now I dont feed her at all at night, occasionally 11pm still if she wont settle but thats not often, but not at night now, not before 7am!

I have just started putting my DD is body suit and sleeping bag only, with a blanket in case she gets a little chilly. I think it depends where you are, what kind of room your DD is in, my DD is in a room that holds the heat of the rest of the place well so it stays warm at night.

pav how did you wean off night feeds? ds does not night feed, just night sucks iyswim

Cruise, wish I could offer some wisdom or support. I know how shit you feel, I've been there. Still am sometimes. Don't give up. It's worked before and it will again. You'll look back in a couple of years and it'll seem so insignificant. Don't suffer in silence. Come on here and shout. We're all listening.

Cruise - yes I know exactly what you mean!

Something like this:
7:30pm - BF, lots of.
11:00 - 11:30pm. BF, both sides.

No BF in between no matter how upset she got, did PU/PD instead. I knew she was not hungry as I fed her loads. Also gave her lots of solids. As much as she would eat.

2:00am. BF.

If she woke between 11:30pm and 2am, no BF. Offer water, do PU/PD. if she woke at 3am, I would BF, or whenever after 3am she woke.

6:00am. BF. NO feeding before 6am.
7:30am. BF.

Then, I changed 2:00am to 3am, after about a week, and 6am to 7am.

She started to miss 11pm feed herself But would wake at 2am, so I fed her then, but then not until 7am. Eventually she would go to about 4am, then through the night.

I also changed her day solids to 4 meals a day, including one at 6:30pm-7pm.

I used PU/PD instead of offering BF, and gradually she changed this to wanting to be left to cry for 10 mins, and now she puts herself to sleep after about 5 mins most.

Hope that helps?

Cruise, as you know I'm weaning off night feeds too and I'm just either patting, cuddling, offering water. Whatever it takes. If she got really distressed I'd feed but she doesn't. Last night she routed a bit but I offered her water first, she took it and settled down.

Does your DS take a bottle? If so you could start offering formula and gradually watering it down or just offer water straight off.

I agree with Gunger - now, if she does not settle quickly with PU/PD, I will offer BF, but rarely she wants it.

have tried to skim read all posts.
Cruise was really hoping last night might have been bit better for you. Have run out of ideas. Starting to think all any of us can hope for is that they grow out of it!
have you spoken to any of cc people to see what to do next? amijee might have some advice for you
ds has always calmed easily if in bed with us so that was always my fall back for a good night and is what we're back to at mo. would rather we all got some sleep than worry about where it happens.
Tibs you've not been well. was wondering where you'd gone to.
sydney welcome but you find yourself here. fingers crossed for you it's teeth and dd goes back to normal soon.
Ginger booby and ratfly for your relatively good nights.
Pavlov think it's definitely just a phase with your dd as she was fine for a long time before this blip.

Hope i haven't missed anyone out. at least it's sunny

Hi all - well we managed to go 7 - 10:30 (with DH settling at 8:30). Then woke 1:45 and a few times after that (lost count!). Into bed with us at 5. Woke at 6:30, when I had to get up for work anyway. Found that being poked in eyeball by baby far more effective than an alarm!

Right, now have A Plan. This week: no feeding between bedtime (6:30 ish) and when we go to bed (10-11pm). Next week, try cutting out midnight/1am feed. If that works, try with any feeds between 3 and 6am. Will try giving water instead - well, DH can try . I find that some feeds will be longer and he's obv hungry, but some are just confort feed so should be able to cut a few out. Wish me luck!

Tamdin: hope your MIL is OK. Did you get any more news?

Cruise: really hoping things settle down for you again. Not sure if it's better or worse knowing your LO can sleep through.

Swiz - we pretty much did that and it worked, along with patting etc...hope it works for you too.

How old are your LOs? I kind of have thought that if she's been going through the night since about 3 months without a night feed, she can't suddenly need one at 5 months can she? But then, you doubt yourself don't you?? DD is the kind of baby who will always latch on no matter what and feed but then again if I woke up in the night and someone offered me warm milk I'd probably take it! Might try ignoring her for a bit tonight and see if she settles herself. Out of interest (and I'm scared to ask this) how long have you all been on this thread???

syd - since about januay

.. The company's great but I don't want to be here for 4 months.. sob.

syd - lets hope you can escape long before then . i am digging a tunnel out tonight via hv recommended cc

I have been here sine about Jan, although I needed to be here since Dec! My lo is 10 months and mostly sleeping through, but I cant quite bring myself to leave properly...yet .

DD latches on if its offered whether she wants it or not too, she will suckle and suckle even if she is not feeding! She doesnt have a dummy so I guess she see my boob as one!

Righto ladies, will be my last post for a while because I'm off to Scotland for a week to see the in laws. In the week that I'm away I would like to see Cruise's DS to start sleeping again and I would like to see all you other cheeky siftw children to start making some real improvments. I will obviously be returning with a sleepy baby who goes to sleep on her own, in her cot at 7 not to be heard from until 7 the following morning. Wish me luck!!!

See you all soon

well, ds slept through..... his afternoon nap! we have gone all Gina Ford on his a*s, and he has been struggling weith the naps (surprise), but today he slept throug with no intervention from me! yay!

ginger - have a good time in scotland!

hello katie, sad you are here.
we should have a new thread "routine is for the weak". i have found that routine comes when your LO feels like it, but doesn't stay around for long, and it's certainly not something I can even try to create - doesn't work.
i've got no answers, but i know what its like. we've had 3 good nights since moving LO into his own room on MOnday, but he really has been (and probably still will be) a horrible sleeper. last week he was waking up pretty much every hour and we were so shattered.
hope everyone is well. i didn't disappear into well rested heaven, my laptop broke. now we have a brand spankin new one though

Hi Amber: and we were imagining a magic sleeping baby . Well done on the last few nights.

DS went down quickly tonight as was v tired - fingers crossed he doesn't wake till later...