SLEEP IS FOR THE WEAK PART 6 - now with added caffeine*

[ImBarryScott]

• I wish.

Morning all,

Hope you find this!

for your rough night Amber.

After a few good ones, we had a crap one too. Up at 1.30, 3, 4.30, 5.30, 6.15........
I think she was a bit overtired last night. Hope we can get her napping better today .

So how were all your nights?

well done chibi. sad when we think 4 wakings is a good night isn't it, but it is!
i'm trialling the no feeding at night thing. it resulted in a 2 1/2 hour waking last night - not ideal. will see what tonight brings. if it's too hard i prob won't follow through though, leave it for 2008!

evening all!!

we had 2 wakings last night so not too bad am hoping its back down to 1 again tonight although food intake been a bit low so doubtful

ginger - will have to remember that re. cornstarch and go go go ninja jnr!!!!! sleeptastic

tam for your night love. your little man is doing so well, youre doing a grand job

shoob - many, many sypathies hope you get a break tonight

meg - those blardy nappies hope tonight's better for you. duct tape the legs

chibi - really pleased for your improvement. more of the same i say

amber - good luck with the no milk thing at night. i try it periodically, with a get out clause if it doesnt look like its working too

well, good night my lovelies, sending sleepy vibes to you and yours xx

uh, shoob, that was obviously sympathies....duh!!

Chibi at poo-filled Grobag, bet that was fun!

Amber good luck with dropping the feeds, will be watching with interest as I may try it at some point.

Tibs glad your night was good

I think we're teething again here -- LO has been off his food for a few days, which I did think was due to his cold, but that's cleared up now and he's still refusing food and crying in his high chair. Has been generally grizzly the last couple of days and drooling a lot, so I suspect a tooth is on the way soon, though I can't see or feel any (mouth clamped shut when I try to investigate!).

Gave up at 5, she was up every hour last night, dear god why is my baby nocturnal???

Seriously, it's hard not to feel discouraged. We've had the same bedtime routine + way of dealing with night awakenings since she was 6 weeks old, and have had fairly consistent naptimes from about 11 weeks. She has yet to have any consistency herself! I think a lot of our tiredness stems from having a good day/run of days, just enough to get used to it, then a backslide. If it were the same-ish regularly, even if it were frequent awakenings, my body could get used to it.

Lucky for her she's got a cute grin.

morning chibi and for your sleepless night. youre right, it is lucky that theyre cute hope you manage to get some rest today

meg poor lo and teething. think dd us trying to push some thru at the moment too. felt her gums yesterday and they were rock solid, look a little misshapen to as if something's forcing its way thru. looks very painful glad lo's cold has cleared up for him tho

amber - how did you fare last night? hope it was easier.

well our night was the same as the last couple, wakings at 12.30 and then 4.15/30 ish....the only difference being, the 2nd waking was for about 1 1/2hrs she seemed to be slowing off the bfing, so i popped her off.....and she decided to wake up and jibber jabber even when i put her back to the boob she took aaaaaaaaggggges to go back off.
and there she is snoring her little head off now ....as chibi says, good job shes got a cute

hope there were some good nights out there [hopeful emoticon]

chibi, i think inconsistency can really do you in. i actually hate going to bed not knowing what hte night will bring. i like to know ahead of time so i an be prepared!
our night was better, ds woke at 1 and dh settledhim, then he woke at 4, quite cranky, so i fed him then. figured he had done quite wel going to 4 and didn't want to fight [weak mummy emoticon]
he got up at 6.45 but is refusing any milk now my ds sure is strange. will try him on some proper breakfast now, but he normally refuses that as well.

Amber: DS also not keen on breakfast, partly cos he's feeding all night atm!

Chibi: for your night. Can you get any rest during the day?

Shoobie: I know we keep finding excuses but 6 months is a classic growth spurt time and DS ceftainly got more restless then. I've given up on trying to do the 'right' thing re sleep if it gets me or DS too wound up. I give it a go and if it isn't working try something else. I've spent far too much time getting stressed over what DS should be doing that I feel I've missed out on enjoying him sometimes IYSWIM. So I'd be tempted to try feeding/cuddling/co-sleeping,whatever works for you and worry about the routine when things have settled down again (which they will, promise!). It is hard though. We've all been there and usually come and had a quiet swear on here!

Ginger: YAY for sleeping through! Tibs and Tam: sounds like pretty good nights for you as well.

Meg: I'm with you on the crappy nights atm. No idea what's up, but DS is v unsettled and taking ages to get back to sleep again. Was wide awake at midnight and crawling round the bed chattering to himself. BTW, we have a bed rail Shoobie, so I don;t worry as much about him falling off. He's also taught himself to climb up on the bed and slide off again. Oh, and he has now mastered stairs after a visit to a friend's house - he shot out the side door and I found his three steps up and climbing

Apart from the 1 1/2 hr waking that is, Tibs

What is it atm? Phases of the moon? And the clocks go back soon - should be interesting...

Hi all

Chibi sounds grim, hope you can get some rest today.

Amber, not feeding til 4 is really good. I can't make it to 11pm most nights!

Tibs for long waking, let's blame the teeth!

EP, sounds like your LO is just too busy to sleep!

Our night was nothing to write home about, settled all evening, 4 wakings in the night, in with us at 5 and up for the day at 7. Am also dreading the clocks going back as he already likes to throw in a 6am waking every few days. I am not getting up at 5am and that's final!

Oh, and Shoobie, the unofficial credo of SIFTW:

• Lose the books (unless they are handy at propping things up)
• There is always a splendid excuse for non-sleeping (growth spurt, teething etc.)
• It's only a phase and It Will Pass
• Do what you need to in order to get through an keep your sanity (kind of)

I'm sure there's more but the others can put me tight

right

Oh and DS is 1 today . Where has the time gone? Feeling like a Bad Mummy as am at work and he is off to the cm with a cake and some candles. Will do something this eve though.

Happy birthday EP's DS!

Happy Bday to Loudboy!!

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE LOUD ONE!!!!!!!!!!

EP, youre not there today, doesnt make you a bad mummy at all, am sure you'll have a fab time later

amber for getting to 4am without milk. we did that a couple of times and i felt it was a real achievement

meg for the 4 wakings but for the settled evening. makes a diff if you can just watch tv in peace i find and 5am is a totally ungodly hour to get up, i quite agree

Indeed, Happy birthday Loudboy. EP I was working on DD's birthday. Makes you feel bad but they haven't got a clue, just another reason to make us feel the maternal guilt.

We couldn't have had a more different night than our spectacular sleep through night. Chibi, I'll take your 5 oclock and raise you 30 mins. Ours was 4 flippin' 30 for the day with a waking at 1.30 for good measure. I was sleeping with her and at about 5 got a bit cross and used a bit of choice language. Que DH arriving like a knight on horseback to rescue his poor abused DD from her witch of a mother. At least that's what it felt like so que very loud disagreement about parenting techniques, everyone upset, no one going back to sleep and us all feeling a bit fragile this morning. DH has in fairness got the patience of a saint and I am completely the opposite so after 45 mins of being slapped in the face, kicked in the boobs (and that hurts), fingers up my nose I got fed up. He thinks I should just ignore it however I think she needs to learn that it's not acceptable in the middle of the night so I'm quite firm with her when I speak and DH doesn't like it. OK I agree that snapping 'why won't you effing sleep' isn't the most charming of ways to speak to her but the frustration ahhhhhh. Maybe I'm expecting too much.

Hi everyone, sorry for absence but fatigue and work/chores taking up all my time. Am currently not working as awaiting paperwork (another story). Had a moment of madness last night when thought would give CC a try as DS(1 on Thu) still waking 3-4 times on average. Had the predictable effect that after 5mins crying alone, went to settle him and was unsuccessful - he almost puked thru crying. Gave in and fed him but took much longer than usual to settle and woke 4 more times after this.
Now full of angst as DH keen to try something drastic but I can't face it. Don't want this to come between us. Wish I could co-sleep but I just don't sleep properly when we do. Like the idea of gentle night weaning but not sure how to do it. An ideas?

Just looked back at a few earlier messages. Happy birthday to LB and EPs DD. Our turn later this week! DS will also be going to daycare with a cake and a kiss. Then again, if my paperwork's still not through, maybe I'll just go with him, stave off the tears of frustration which are threatening to fall as I type .

ginger - you have a bad case of the mother's guilt blues. i've felt just like that a couple of times and yes, i too have used the F word you're a fab mummy my love, chin up.....and dp appears to have infinite patience but has taken to falling asleep on the settee atm and not making it up til its all calmed down. i'd be patient if i got a decent nights sleep too, grrr!

welcome back wolfmama and for your attempt at cc. i think i've probably mentioned it before to you but gradual retreat is quite good, as are the suggestions of Elizabeth Pantleys No Cry Sleep Solutions. hth
oh and for frusration re. missing paperwork. chin up my lovely!!

oh yes, and meant to add, well done tam for no milk the other night, think ds took just water?.....you're well on the way x

Busy today!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOUD BOY
EP your ds and mine sound so similar. at the age of 1 ds also learnt how to slide off our bed (which is very high) by hanging on to to the duvet and lowering himself down.
Around this age he was also obsessed with stairs so my mum taught him how to climb them safely and come down backwards so much so that he's never experienced a stairgate!

tibs your night sounds ok bar the 1.5 hour wake up in the middle.are you tired today or ok?

amber ds did well to last until 4 with no milk know it's hard but don't worry about him not eating breakfast. If he doesn't eat breakfast he'll eat lunch, if he doesn't eat lunch he'll eat dinner and if he doesn't eat at all he'll eat tomorrow. The quality of the food he does have is so high that he'll be getting everything he needs plus bf. you're doing an amazing job all round!

ginger for your night and guilt. we've all done it. don't beat yourself up pet. you're doing a great job and men do seem to be more patient. I know my dh def is too. maybe dh could do a few more of your shifts this week until you feel a bit better rested?

meg glad your night was ok. don't know what ds will do when the clocks go back either.when do they go back by the way?
atm he doesn't wake until 7-8 but i guess that's now going to be 6-7 which isn't great for me but no where near as bad as some of you so not complaining!

chibi up every hour. bless you, you must be knackered. what age is your lo again?
we've all been there. ds fed every 2 hours for months. I know it's hard but it does pass and ds is now 20months and i've nearly forgotten it all already. never thought i'd say that. Try to take one day at a time

Wolfmama for your night. Nothing worse than when you and dh/dp don't agree on your tactics for the night.
I have never attempted cc but if you don't feel comfortable with it and it's you doing all the getting up then i'd tell dh to try and support your decision (also known as butt out!)

right.......

our night was another good one
bed at 7.30 (in our bed)
woke at 3 for a quick drink of water
woke at 7.50 for the day

Hate to say it guys but think this is going to be the norm now. He suddenly looks like a little boy and i have a feeling he's grown into sleep. I'm happy to co-sleep for now until i feel he's big/old enough for his own bed and while we continue to co-sleep i don't think we'll have any more problems. I'm not ready to leave yet though so you're stuck with me

Tam, SO glad things are settling down for you, you must be very proud of yourself . You've done a fab job getting through all those months and sticking to your plans to co-sleep and feed if necessary and it's paid off! You're an example to us all

(and don't think about leaving, we need your advice!)

tam - not too bad, may need a coffee later tho am really chuffed for you love and doubly glad that youre not going anywhere!!!!
i was just thinking about you this morning actually and how ds has changed with regard to his sleeping habits. i think you're absolutely right about him growing into it, and i'm trying to remain hopeful that dd will do the same when she's ready.
keep hinting that dp should get the cellar ready for ds to move into it, so that dd can have his room. think i'll put her straight into his spare bed then with a bed rail. much easier to settle her i reckon.....sounds like a plan
not long til your move hopefully, any news on the sale of the apartment?

oh yes, and was also thinking that you're my inspiration in sticking to your guns and getting him to sleep confidently and securely, however long it took!!! you're a bloody marvel x