SLEEP IS FOR THE WEEK part 7 -- prop your eyes open with matchsticks here

[MegBusset]

Zzzzzzzzzzzzz...

hi - can i join too? ds is 10 months old and seems to be an insomniac no advice needed, just a strong cup of coffee, and possibly some red bull...

hi and welcome to CSB sounds like you have all the requirements to be here how old is your lo? i will say i've had some good results with GR, but i wouldnt try it with littley, as i dont think it works..... and i have abandoned it in favour of the do nothing and see what happens method!!

amber and meg for your night's. meggy, hope those teeth come thru soon

hi to urban too and please accept your welcome mug of coffee

hi urban dyad, welcome. we have some strong coffee, it's the only thing that keeps me going. once LO gets up from his nap, it's down to the french cafe for a super strong brew...

how old would you reckon starting GR from then Tibsy?? i really didn't want to go down the route of GR and CC, but i neeeeeeeeed some sleep!

it's a good job ds is cute, that's all i can say...

tbh, i don't think the bubbas could really understand gradual retreat so young. probably better like tibs says when they are a tad older.
oh dear, reno work next door waking LO up. hopefully he goes back otherwise we'll be having a cranky morning on 5 mins sleep!

Amberjee - your lo naps? i reckon ds needs an ASBO (anti social baby order)

i think 10 monhts would def be ok for gradual retreat. i'm not sure it would be that easy though ...
it's just that i'm such a slacker i can't stick with any plan for more than a night (or a few hours...)

yeah LO has gotten so much better lately, particularly with naps. for 4 months of his life, he only slept in the sling. then he was a 30 minute wonder and still waking up tired all the time. now he actually mostly does 1 hour 15 twice a day!

Urban, will LO nap in the pushchair? or just flatly refuses? I've got a friend with a 10 month old like that. She struggles every day to get him to sleep. He just stays awake regardless!

see, that's the thing. i'm hugely lazy too, which is why we started off co-sleeping. but it's doing my back in, being curled round ds, and trying to squish dh in as well, so we've started to put him in his cot again.

just looked at your pics Amber, what a cutie!!!

right, we're off for a brisk walk round the park too look at some ducks. what a treat.

he will nap in his buggy sometimes, it depends how much medised he's had the night before...

right, really am off now. catch you later!

urban - i would 2nd what amber says about 10 mths being ok for GR, think dd was about that .... ASBO lol, i like that!!

Welcome to Urban and CSB, sorry I missed you all this morning [looks over shoulder to see if boss is watching]...

Meg, Amber and Tibs, sorry about your horrid nights. Extra strong coffee for you and (((hugs))). LOL about DS sleeping on DH's belly! Meg, re: DH pressure to use dummy. Is that just the thing, they'll leave it to us to sort out all sleep issues, then when something goes pear shaped they come up with these "suggestions" that are really cloaked criticisms about our efforts! Well, , at least that's how it is for me...

Still trying to get down to two expressing sessions a day, and now I've gone and leaked on my damn blouse. Dammit. Why don't I just get a badge that says "Huge, Milk-Flowing Norks HERE! Just hand over your cuppa."

Thanks for the welcome :waves weakly:

LO is now 3.5 months and he's exhausted, wired, jittery, overstimulated and hyper. He only sleeps if rocked (in the sling with his eyes covered or not a hope in hell) or at night he'll feed back to sleep. He wakes up if he's moved while sleeping. Every evening we have hysterics, proper thrashing, flailing, screams, scratching and grabbing, choking tantrummy hysterics. Then after that ordeal, which can take a couple of hours all in, he might eventually accept a feed and might eventually fall asleep, again usually another couple of hours. Evenings suck!

I'm sure it's all down to chronic overtiredness and a total inability to switch off/accept that the fascinations of the world will still be there when he wakes up. Tonight we try the 4.30pm wind down for bed at 5 ...

I must be on a fast-track to a SIFTW Gold Card if he keeps up this 45 minutes malarkey. Amber tells me it's his age. Until now I've been wanting to stop the world while I get my breath back, now I'm looking for a fast forward button!

Hooray for your night RoRo! And some other good nights out there RoRo: I found DS slept loads just after he'd finished his growth spurt, probably catching up

All I can say re: our nights is TEETH TEETH MOLARS PAIN AAAARGH!!!!

(at least that's what I think DS is saying in the middle of the night).

Naps still good though. Urban: DS would only sleep in buggy/sling for months and months but in the last few weeks has taken to 1 long nap a day (at least an hour and often 2). The relief! He's 13 months btw.

Tibs: good luck with the MMR. I'm taking DS next week (gulp) as it's only been 3 weeks since his last jabs.

Oh and we had to get a new buggy yesterday cos the wheels fell off the old one (think DS is getting a bit heavy). It meant I was carrying DS in the sling most of the time and he loved it. Must do that more often, but he is heavy! Am considering getting an Ergo sling for back carries (though did a pretty good one yesterday with my Didymos).

[whispers] mornin' all I'm at work. OK night for DD. I however couldn't sleep. I was a complete live wire (wonder where DD gets it )

CSB: you get a gold star, 45 mins is hellish . Have you ruled out reflux/otehr allergies? Also, some people swear by a cranial osteopath (didn't work for us though). Slings def the way forward during the day if you can.

CSB, that sounds awful. I am sure you've tried everything already--I remember the evenings being difficult for a few weeks, at least, around that time. It really must be the little 'uns getting used to winding down, which obviously they cannot do on their own. That was the one time in DS's life when the sling was my savior.

Speaking of slings, LOL Effie to the wheels falling off of your pram! I have tried the better baby sling, the maya wrap, and the good old baby bjorn (that was the only one he would tolerate after 3 months). Now DS is almost 25 lbs and doesn't fit in bjorn anymore, so what are my options? Tibs? Beal? I would love to try to sling him around again...

Hi Ginger, I totally know what you mean. My sleep patterns are completely whacked now that I've gone through a year of sleep hell. Even though I was in bed at 9:30pm, I didn't actually fall asleep until probably close to 11pm, and even though DS slept soundly, I woke up probably 4 times throughout the night.

Thanks Effie - seen CO 3 times, questionable results. He's a bit refluxy, last night wasn't bad in those terms though, not much gulping etc. Gaviscon crap. Sling is great but he's around 17lbs now so despite being Kari-Me's greatest fan having to wear him (and move) all day is killing me.

Tried excluding everything bar air and water. He's just like this it seems. Oh joy.

Fast thread for a bunch of zombies, eh?!

RoRo: the Ergo is supposed to be really good when they are a bit bigger. Saw someone with a 10 mo trying one yesterday and it worked really well.

CSB: have you tried carrying him on your back? DS too big for front carry for any length of time as well. He loves the back carry and I can do stuff at the same time

i second the ergo, use it a great deal and LO is over 9kg now.

I know you can do that with the wrap but am home alone so nobody to help load/unload ... would a different sling help?