The great non-sleepers - the sequel

[Jellybean2017]

New thread!

Hi sleepless welcome, but sorry you have to be here! Similar story here - sleep went to pot at 15weeks, though wasn't great before that. At 20 weeks now and still struggling.... Hoping this is just a phase for you!

sakura good that your LO's tongue tie is getting sorted. Hope it goes well tomorrow

Already dreading the night, DS2 has had two mammoth sleeps today (for him) unfortunately I wasn't smart enough to get my head down too as it was so unexpected!

Here’s hoping xxreal although it’s of comfort to know I’m not alone and my child is ‘normal’
Does anyone here do ‘shifts’ with their partner at night? A friend with a LO similar age to mine gets her DH to take DD from 9pm- 2am ish (she’s ff) whilst she gets some sleep, and then she takes over when DD wakes for next feed then she’s on shift as such? At the moment, my DH and I go to bed at same time with DS and just get up together when he’s getting fed or needs settling. We find it easier with the two of us (moral support!) but don’t know if it helps us when it comes to getting any sleep! What do others do?

@SleeplessInSc0tlNd I know some mums on here do shifts with their partners but we don’t. I ebf and my dp gets up 5.30am to go to work but occasionally he’ll give ds a bottle of expressed milk if I need a nap. It works well for us.

hi @SleeplessInSc0tlNd
your lo sounds just like mine. he has never been a good sleeper but these last 2 weeks have been awful. currently 14 weeks.

we don't do shifts as I'm ebf so find it hard to express enough for this but dh does take him in the mornings at weekends usually so I can have a lay in. I also see it as my job a little bit at the moment to do the night shifts as I'm not working and dh is. but olan to start splitting time nights in a few months once ds is in his own room to try and get him get to sleep better without the boob and give me a break

When does your DH give the expressed bottle @Sakura, when he wakes for work in the morning? I was thinking about maybe expressing a bottle for DH to give in the evening to allow me to go to bed earlier and maybe get some sleep, but i find I can only express a really good amount in the early morning (5/6am) and I sometimes just cannot be bothered with all the faff of it!

Hi sleeycat it’s horrible isn’t it! It just seems that all the usual tactics don’t work anymore. Is you LO napping ok through the day still?
I’m the same, ebf and just find expressing a bit of a nightmare most times. My DH does similar on weekends, but I do feel a bit bad that he’s hardly getting any sleep and then has to go to work. As much as I’m exhausted, at least I’m in the house or just out walking.

Sorry sleepycat

Weaning made no difference to us with DD, but we did baby led and she's never been a big eater anyway. With DS I have a feeling his appetite is bigger, so will be doing spoon fed and finger food.

@sleepless welcome! Re sharing night duty, DS is ebf (apart from a ff bottle for first night feed) and DH is working so it's on me. But on non working days he does take DS from 5 so I get some extra shut eye. We'll have to share the load once I'm back at work...but that's a while off and am hoping sleep will be improved by then?!

Nice but busy day here. Coffee and cake with friends this morning, then doctors appointment for us both this afternoon. Very very tired now, trying to kip on sofa with DS on me but DD having none of it...

Hello @SleeplessInSc0tlNd, from a fellow Scot.

We do shifts. My OH goes to bed in the main bedroom with our LO (22 weeks) in his snuzpod. Then he gets me up for his first feed (he's EBF) so I get a couple of hours of peace in the spare room without listening to snorts and snores of having to give him the dummy to resettle him, then he's all mine for the rest of the night.

Weekend he shares the nights with me 50/50 - I go to bed in the main bedroom and do feed #1 then we swap and he does feed #2 with a bottle of EBM and I get 5-6 hours of sleep!

Hello @whoateallthepercypigs. Do you find the bottle of formula helps him go down to sleep better? Yes, fingers crossed sleep improves....it gets better right, that what loads of friends with older kids keep telling me!
@ninamariep hello there! How long usually do you get then until his first feed? My DS was having his last feed around 10pm and then that was him til 5/6am so never really an issue before, but this last week, even with a big feed at the same time as normal, he wants fed again at 12/1am.

SleeplessInSc0tlNd my dp gives a bottle sometimes around 7pm durjng the week, at weekends either afternoon or evenings but it's not a regular thing only when I've needed a nap so we've not done it for about a week now.

DS has been sleeping on me since 3... I'm guessing this will have a negative impact on tonight's sleep 😒

Evening everyone I've been awake 16rs now since my last nap if I'm lucky might get an hour if MIL arrives at ours to see DS soon or DH gets home from work which ever happens first then dinner then potentially 2hrs at 11pm/midnight.

DS is 7 weeks and only sleeps in our arms and recently diagnosed with reflux and protein intolerance anyone else dealt with this how to you get them in Moses basket or next to me and stay there longer than 10mins before crying? I've tried tilting and warming First with hot water bottle neither make a difference. Therefore the most sleep I get is 2hrs and then an occasional 1hr nap if someone is free to hold him whilst he sleeps.

Yesterday he had a couple sachets of gaviscon in his formula to help keep food down which it down still spit up and old curls led milk cane up but not as much regurgitation as has been then FIL was supposed to pick up his prescription formula this morning but then didn't bring it until gone midday so was forced to give DS the normal stuff with gaviscon again therefore filling his stomach with what he's struggling to digest he still brought some of this up and was upset and uncomfortable.

Was finally able to attempt feed with prescribed formula and he was very keen to drink after 1oz brought up over a tablespoon and was screaming winded him with huge belch and didn't want the bottle again so had him suckling in boob last hour for comfort.

I don't know what to Do hoping the other formula that's in his stomach leaves his system soon so that we can see how he gets on with this special stuff.

It's so sad and frustrating that 5mins a day lucky enough to see a glimpse of a smokey happy baby that's in him

@SleeplessInSc0tlNd his bedtime feed is between 7 and 8 pm then I'm in bed by 10. He then wakes between 12.30&1.30 at the moment (sometimes he makes it to 2.30 but not often). So I can get 2-3 hours normally, or maybe 4 if I'm in bed sharp and he lasts a bit longer.

I just find it helps me get through the rest of the night if I've had 2-3 solid hours to start with. 2 solid hours is better than 3 broken ones imho!

Hmmmm... I thought 15 week old LO was finally sleeping as she did a couple of nights from 1130 to 5am (utter bliss!) but this last week she’s gone back to waking up every 2-3 hours....Meh
Does anyone know? 4 month sleep regression come early? Growth spurt?
Fingers crossed for a better night sleep. I have just settled her and she usually sleeps till around 10pm. Just sorting out DD1 now and putting her down... and then hopefully one lovely hour off from babies doing grown up things (tv, glass of wine)... and back into the fray...
It’s my birthday today!!!

@user1489931797 I'm sorry to hear you and your LO are going through this. 7 weeks is such a hard time, I was told by someone that reflux peaks at 6-8 weeks so it might be you're going through the worst of it right now. I'd also ask the GP for something other than Gaviscon if the baby is still in pain and unsettled after the change in formula. I understand they always try with Gaviscon first but it's often not effective. Omeprazole really helped my DS with his reflux. And probiotic drops.

At 7 weeks they really just want to be held, and he's way too small to understand you want him to sleep in his own bed. For us the solution was to co-sleep, ever since I got DS into bed with me nights have improved massively.

As for the day naps, the wrap sling is amazing, I really recommend you to try if you're not already using it. It's especially helpful for refluxy babies as it keeps them upright. It saved my sanity for sure.

I know it doesn't help much to hear it now but it will get better. Just do what you can to get some rest.

@ninamariep I know what you mean, even a few hours of continuous sleep rather than loads of broken sleep helps the next day.
@utterlyconfused111 I’m in the exact same position with my DS at the moment, he is 14 weeks and I think it’s the 4 month sleep regression just a bit early. Is you LO bf? I was reading that this is another period for upping supply so they want to fed more, especially at night, hence waking up more often.

@user1489931797
I’m sorry to hear it’s so tough; DD1 had reflux and it was pretty bad too but it does get better. And the sling really helps too.

@SleeplessInSc0tlNd
I was getting lulled into thinking we had turned the corner and some semblance of normality could happen. It’s getting the evenings back, normally I go to bed early so I can get a few hours but I miss... dinner with DH, telly, etc....
Anyway! I started combination feeding just recently, and in fact I’m trying to stop breastfeeding as going back to work (I posted earlier asking for tips on how to stop bf). They really don’t tell you but it’s quite hard to stop bf especially when it’s the easiest way to settle them....
But getting back on topic, I noticed that she wa super hungry last night - had to feed her thrice..-and is drinking a lot more formula over today so maybe something to do with that....

Sooooo....we're co-sleeping tonight. What a surprise...not!
DD haa been super good today, though. 2 naps in the pram, went to visit my friend. No problem.
Time for some zzz's now.

@Jellybean I would totally wake DD from such a long nap so late on, but they never happen!

@user your LO is tiny. They just want to be held and feel your warmth. my DD still does at 5.5 months, but never you mind

@utterlyconfused I know what you mean, I’m starting to think I need to start coming to bed earlier to get some sleep if DS is going to continue with this new ‘sleep’ pattern but it means missing out on time with DH and all that.
I’ve spoke to so many people who have introduced formula, especially in evenings. I really don’t know what to do, as bf is just such an easy way to instantly settle. I imagine it must be very hard to stop and lose that option (baby cries - boob - sorted) I plan on ebf for 6 months and then bf (if still able to) with weaning until I go back to work, but still just taking each day as it comes. I’m hoping it’s just another growth spurt/phase and we’ll be out of it soon

Happy Birthday @UtterlyConfused111!

Just read about leap 2 in The Wonder Weeks and it describes lo perfectly (although we're a little early for leap 2!). Makes me feel better and reassuring that her current mood may be temporary.

@UtterlyConfused111 hey, we're birthday buddies!

@SleeplessInSc0tlNd naps during the day are hard work too. he sleeps well in the sling and usually well in the car too but when at home he will only cat nap on me after feeds so I don't really have the option of resting when he naps and have to put effort into making sure he has a nap.

my dh tends to do a bottle of expressed milk most nights too as well as the occasional weekend morning. I found pumping really hard work at first but have got a bit of a routine with it now. tend to feed ds from just one side for any feeds after about 3 am and let the other side 'fill up' so to speak for the morning. I then pump the full boob whilst feeding ds from the other when we properly wake up about 8am ish (this took a while to get the hang of). I don't have other kids to run around after though. I sometimes manage another pumping session in the afternoon too in which case this goes in the freezer.

ooh happy birthday @UtterlyConfused111

Happy Birthday @utterlyconfused111 I hope it has been a good day and you are gifted with some sleep tonight.

We had the worst night ever last night, I have only just had chance to catch up on the thread after a stupidly busy day done on next to no sleep. DS2 woke pretty much every hour for a feed and needed extra settling in between then in the one two hour stint he did I spent half of it in with DS1 who couldn't get back to sleep. @hastagtired and @whoateallthepercypigs - why are the older ones doing this?! I literally had my hands full all night.

I wish DS2 would take a bottle and that DS1 would let DH put him to bed sometimes. Tonight DS2 fed whilst I was reading DS1's stories then DH put him down, I thought he hadn't had enough feed and lo and behold just as DH serves up the steak we were supposed to have on my birthday DS2 awakes wanting more. I am desperate to get back downstairs to eat!