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Original poster

Getting baby to sleep through if MOM is a very bad sleeper

7 replies

mmack · 31/07/2007 23:18

Hi, I wonder if anyone else has had this problem? I am a terrible sleeper. I take ages to wind down and fall off to sleep and then wake at every little noise and have to repeat the whole wind down process again.

My 3 year old has only recently started sleeping through. My 6 month old ds was quite a good sleeper until recently but has now started waking a few times and needs to be fed back to sleep. As a result I am up most of the night. Sleep problems with my dd also started at around six months.

I am wondering if I am the cause of the problem. Maybe if I was a deeper sleeper I wouldn't be up at the first rustle and they would learn to settle themselves. I wouldn't be a fan of controlled crying and don't think I could try it with dd being such a light sleeper too. If anyone has any ideas I would be very grateful.

OP posts:
jorange5 · 01/08/2007 09:23

no suggestions mmack but I just wanted to sympathise and say that I too am a bad sleeper and even if dd sleeps well i wake whenever she murmers on the baby monitor. DP is such a deep sleeper and he can just close his eyes and drift off - doesn't that just really p*ss you off!

I take comfort in the idea that I must be a very good mum to be so sensitive and attentive to DDs needs during the night and you must be too!

dazedandconfunded · 01/08/2007 19:35

Maybe turn down the monitor or move dc to a different room? Then you would only be disturbed when he really wakes rather than when he rustles and wriggles. I think you're right - he might settle himself given the chance

Original poster
mmack · 01/08/2007 21:15

Thanks for the comments. My ds is in a different room already and I don't have a baby monitor but I still wake at every sound he makes-I know it is ridiculous. If I had a monitor I doubt I'd ever sleep. I'm thinking about giving up tea and coffee completely myself for a while to see if I might sleep better. My dh never wakes all either jorange. Sometimes I think I should just go and stay in a hotel for a few nights and let it all sort itself out.

OP posts:
gingerninja · 02/08/2007 15:00

mmack, I too am from the terrible sleep society so can hardly blame my DD for hers. I just hope I survive to the point where she'll lay quietly until drifting off again. If I wake to her or a noise my heart is absolutely racing and it takes me ages to get back to sleep again. No advice tho sorry

gegs73 · 02/08/2007 18:51

Hi - I'm abit like this and I have recently discovered the wonder of EAR PLUGS!!!!

DH sleeps really soundly and only wakes if babies are crying loudly not just grunting. I on the other hand wake at every little murmer and even the hiss of the monitor if ds1 who is 3 turns over(really must take monitor out of room but we are on a different floor ) My latest plan is if DS2 needs feeding in the night, DH prods me when he is crying and I feed him. DH falls back to sleep almost instantly and once I've fed DS2 and made sure he has not been sick for 5 mins or so, I plug them back in then am straight off to sleep (previously I'd been awake for up to two hours!). This has been working really well for the last week and I feel like a different woman!!!

I spoke to another friend about this and she uses ear plugs too and told me she has done this for years She said she often sleeps with 1 plug in so noise is muffled but she can hear if baby is crying. Hope this helps as it really has for me.

Original poster
mmack · 02/08/2007 23:16

Hi, thanks for the comments. Gegs I do use earplugs if I get the chance to have a nap during the day. They really help. But dh is such a sound sleeper that I'm reluctant to use them at night in case the baby is really in distress and neither of us wakes. The one earplug idea is a good one though-I think I'll give it a go tonight. I've also sworn of coffee altogether and I'm going to limit myself to two cups of tea a day. At the moment I'm awake from around 4.30 every morning and it's just not enough sleep.

OP posts:
miffin · 14/08/2007 17:59

I too am a terrible sleeper - sometimes I have husband sleeping one side and dear son in cot the other both as restful as can be, and I'm the one that's wide awake!

However, I have recently discovered blackout curtains. Actually - they are just very very dark curtains. They block out all the light and it makes an enormous difference in helping me to drop back off after a feed. I discovered that light was causing insomnia in pregnancy when sleep went absolutely haywire, and have just gone a step further with these even darker curtains.

Makes night feedings a bit tricky as it's so damn dark - but well worth it.

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