Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Sleep

Join our Sleep forum for tips on creating a sleep routine for your baby or toddler. Need more advice on your childs development? Sign up to our Ages and Stages newsletter here.

How little sleep can you survive on for how long?!

7 replies

sleeplessmamama · 04/10/2021 14:51

For the past 4 maybe 5 nights (I've lost track of days now) I've had around 4ish hours sleep each night.

I have 2 LO's and the transition from 1-2 has been hard! DD (2 1/2 years old) sleeps well now, not at first. But since DS (9 months) has been around she has been waking in the night wanting a story or milk or to say hello when she hears the floorboards creek when we go to bed. White noise has been introduced and solved this.
DS will not go to sleep in his cot, he's a big baby and completely grown out of his Moses basket. I'm breastfeeding and co sleeping. As much as I love doing these, I want him to sleep in his room. I long for a solid routine. He will only fall asleep suckling. Even is he doesn't feed he just wants that comfort. Every time I try to settle him in his cot he just cries and then starts screaming. I've tried to leave him for a couple of minutes to see is he can 'settle himself' but he just stands up in the cot screaming and it's heartbreaking. I can feed him to sleep and sometimes he will sleep for 20/30 minutes. I've put white noise in his room too... little effect.
During the day I try to put him in his cot when he looks tired, just screams. His DS won't leave him alone when I'm trying to get him to sleep. I put toys in her room to distract her (watch her on her baby monitor) whilst I sort him but she still end up running in and trying to jump in his cot when I'm trying to put him in so it just fails anyway.

The routine has been thrown out the window in general over the last few months. Moved into a new house just before I had him and we keep having to move out due to all the issues that didn't show up on the survey. Now I'm struggling to do a routine.

If you've read it all then thank you! Sorry if any of it doesn't make sense. I'm tired and have a sleeping baby on me so I can't sleep either.

All advice is desperately welcomed!

OP posts:
PeonyTime · 04/10/2021 14:57

If you can get those 4 hours as a single chunk, you can survive at least 18 months (I'm the proof).
When it was without a longer chunk, I was a zombie, made mistakes, and survived! It took DS1 9 months to sleep a 4 hour chunk most nights.

Can you feed in a sling, then leave baby in the sling for a nap while you do something with DD?

sleeplessmamama · 04/10/2021 15:17

I wish it was a 4 hour chunk! Haha he's been waking at 2-4am most morning and then will only sleep on me after. I've been sitting on the sofa downstairs so we don't wake the house up.

He's too heavy for a sling, he's 2 stone... but I do love the sound of it. I might have to get DH to get it back out the attic to see is he can fit in it haha!
Thank you!

OP posts:
Timeturnerplease · 04/10/2021 19:33

If it helps, when I was pregnant with DD1 I had carpal tunnel syndrome so badly that both my hands swelled up like balloons. I couldn’t do simple tasks like brushing my hair, holding a steering wheel or wiping my bottom thoroughly, and could only be still to sleep for around 40-60 mins at a time before I needed to get up and walk around to relieve the pressure. This lasted 2.5 months until I finally got an appointment for steroid injections. How I managed to still teach full time on such little sleep I’ll never know, but I’m proof that you can survive.

What really helped is lots of lots of fresh air to keep me alert, protein rich food and keeping physical exertion to a minimum.

Best of luck.

tinatsarina · 04/10/2021 19:40

Is there any way you can put a baby gate on her room so she can't run in while your putting the baby down for a nap

SpamIAm · 04/10/2021 19:49

Oh you can survive for ages on that little sleep! You don't even realise how exhausted you actually are until you try and converse with other adults.

No advice to offer but I hope it gets better for you soon OP (and for me 🙈).

sleeplessmamama · 06/10/2021 08:52

Timeturnerplease - I hope the injections help! Sounds like you've had a tough time, can't imagine how hard it's been!

I've tried baby gates but she thinks they're a challenge to hurdle over... We fixed the baby age higher and then she tried to squeeze underneath. She's like a wannabe Houdini.

Thank you for your responses though 💕
He was up 5 times within an hour and a half last night so I gave up and put him next to me again.

OP posts:
Timeturnerplease · 06/10/2021 21:00

Ah it’s all done with now - no issue in second pregnancy as I had the release operations done between babies.

Re the stairgates, apparently my second sister used to sleepwalk really badly as a child so my dad fitted two wall mounted stairgates, one on top of the other. Obviously this was in the 80s and maybe not as acceptable now….but might be worth it as a last resort!

All the sympathy for the nap issue though - we now have a 2.10 year old and an eight week old. When I nip upstairs too hoover/put washing away/make beds, DD1 takes the cover off the buggy, turns the white noise off and yells MUMMY MY BABY IS AWAKE NOW, CAN I PLAY WITH HER 🤦🏻‍♀️

New posts on this thread. Refresh page