Sleep is for the weak - the reprise.

[BrokenliSpears]

There used to be a support thread for the sleep deprived among us. I thought I'd open it up again (hope that's okay with the original Sleep Is For The Weak-ers).

Grab some matchsticks to prop open your eyelids and share your tales of endless night feeds and unsleeping babies. It would feel good to know I'm not alone as I watch each hour in turn tick round on the alarm clock every night.

Last night my 6 month old ds fed at...
6.30 (when I put him to bed)
8.30
10.30
12.30
1.30
2.30
3.30 and stayed awake until 4.30
Then dd jumped on us and woke us up at 5.45 and the day began...

Going to go and Do Things now, but will check back later.

[Sariska]

Hee hee BrokenliSpears - I hope you had a vicarious drink for the thread. (Wish I had been having a drink between 1.15 and 2.45 when I was trying to resettle a crying, sleepless DS - the same baby who was so tired that he fell asleep in his highchair last night . Actually, wish I had been doing anything else - say, crawling on my hands and knees over broken glass. While trying to resit every exam I've ever taken. In the nude.)
Ragd0ll - We taught DS to go to sleep in his cot by using singing (always the same song so it served as a sleep cue), patting and shushing. It was a looooong process but it did work. Eventually. The time it took gradually reduced from 2 hours plus to (on good nights) only a minute or two. We then reduced the amount of time we spent with him. TBH he then displayed strong reluctance to go to sleep without me or DH next to him, which was a bit of a PITA especially when we needed to repeat the process in the middle of the night. However we weren't too bothered at first because we were over-the-moon that we no longer needed to carry him around until he fell asleep (this could take hours and had to be repeated every time he woke). Eventually, though, when he was 6 months, we did CC (not for everyone I know), which worked very well very quickly. Haven't used it in the middle of the night tho'..... Sorry, bit of an essay there!

[RinkyDinkyPinky]

a better night here, maybe the jinx had lifted! DD only woke 3 times, after 2 weeks of up all night. feel sooo light now.

Brocolli- glad you are making the most of time out.

Ragdoll: low supply story is a long one, but to cut it short I git v stressed when DD2 was 3 months and DD got hungry overnight- no let-down reflex and DD fussing and not being satisfied at the breast. Her daytime naps went and she was up all night trying to feed. GP prescribed metoclorpramide to boost my supply- which worked but precipitated quite bad depression so I stopped that but my breasts went really flat and DD stopped sleeping again and trying to feed all hours. GP has now Px'd an alternative- domperidone- and I think it's starting to work. But we have some catching up to do...
DD previously fed 2 or 3 times a night and had daytime naps and she's refused all attempts to give her a bottle, although I'm happy to keep BF.
HV also suggested weaning (5 months now) so I'm hoping that will help to satisfy DD.

[RinkyDinkyPinky]

got not git (or is that a Freudian slip??)

[dippedinchocolate]

Hello all,
Disappeared for two days as night before last such a shocker I think I blanked out all of yesterday. Can I just shout BY 5AM I HAD HAD ONE HOUR'S SLEEP! Where are these teeth, then eh? Or crawling? Or something else I can blame for DDs up-all-night-feeding-and screaming. Last night a bit better. Phew! Hoping for Brocolli's miracle sleep cure by posting again...

On Sariska's point, have been randomly using Twinkle Twinkle Little Star as a go-to-sleep song - fab, until in swimming this week when the instructor/lifeguard person got us all to sing it. At least I know the association might be working as DD started yawning mid-splash.

[Dietcokefiend]

Brocolli - your post made me laugh, hope the head doesn't hurt too much today!

Our night was quite bad again....started off quite well but wouldn't settle after his first wake up and had to give him Calpol as he was yelping with obvious pain. Managed to spill most of it in his hair and over the bed so we were both a bit sticky (and he had to have an impromptu hairwash and bath this morning) but he seemed to sleep well after that to 4am. Oh I wish it was 5am even, I could cope better with that. I can't function so well on only about 4 hours sleep!!!

Had another look in the mouth and large lumps under the gums but no breakthrough yet.

My mum is coming down to visit this weekend and I am so looking forward to getting a lie in on Saturday.

[kerala]

Can I join? Feel abit tearful and glad am not alone. My 3 week old (to be fair she was 5 weeks early so suppose she is minus 2 weeks old really) feeds every 2 hours all through the night so:

6ish
8ish
wants to be held
10ish
12ish
2ish
4ish
6ish

Then toddler wakes up. I thought I could cope with sleep deprivation well as my old job often involved all nighters but this is tougher as could potentially go on for months. Even the harshest city law firm wouldnt work you that hard!

[Sariska]

Are you a lawyer, Kerala? I am - and I thought my job would have prepared me well for all-nighters with a baby. Ha! Thing is, even the harshest city law firm occasionally allows its drones employees a rest day.

Our go-to-sleep song is Row Row Row Your Boat. ....but I recently discovered it's very popular at the Mums and Tots group we've just started going to. No yawning but am wondering if i should change it!

[Sariska]

Kerala, I didn't mean to all but copy the end of your post. Think I was distracted by DS who had just bitten me rather hard on the shoulder. Anyway, I hope you feel better soon. It's early days so hopefully you will and perhaps your LO will turn into a dream sleeper very soon

[RaspberryBlower]

Hi Kerala, although my dd (6 months) is currently treating me to hourly wakenings she hasn't always done this and we have had periods where she's slept a bit better. So, you may not necessarily have months of the same. Hard with a toddler as well. It's amazing what your body gets used to after a while, though.

[BrokenliSpears]

Raspberry is right, it is amazing what you get used to. It's also amazing how little it takes to get you back on track - I know that permanent teerful, crabby feeling so well, but only one night of better sleep gives you a new lease of life.

They won't keep it up for ever - eventually they'll have to leave to go to university.

[Piccalilli2]

Crikey, are all children of lawyers destined to be non-sleepers? I am an ex-city lawyer and both dds have been lousy sleepers.

Another fairly dreadful night last night, up every 2 hours and wouldn't re-settle at 4 a.m. so was up for a couple of hours. On the positive side, she has started settling better at bedtime, she still cries but only for about 10 minutes.

[BrokenliSpears]

How's everyone doing?

Dipped I hope you're doing better. Tuesday night sounds hellish. Sympathies.

I've had a couple of nights with the odd 3-hour stretch so am coping far better this week. Am not daring to hope we've turned a corner...

[CantSleepWontSleep]

Well ds only had one feed between midnight and 4am, so that was good, despite him sleeping on top of us during this time. The bad bit is that he didn't go to sleep all evening until midnight, and after waking at 4am we didn't manage to get him back to sleep until around 6, so 20 mins before dd got up.

[kerala]

Funny so many of us are (ex?) city lawyers!

Felt guilty for feelign pleased that my poor 2 year old has a dreadful cold so she slept for 3 hours this afternoon! Usually she doesnt nap at all in the day. This meant the 3 week old and I also not a couple of hours. Amazing how your body grabs all it can from even short naps as feel great now and in a slightly better position than usual to face the night ahead..

[IHeartIona]

good to hear you had a good nap today kerala!
hope you enjoyed your night off Broccoli!

over here, isn't it just the way that dd chose this evening, when dh goes out to football training, to decide she will wake up five mins after I put her down at 7.30 and only go off properly again just now (fingers crossed, in fact legs and arms and anything else I can find that will cross.....).... typical. eating cold dinner now. yuk.

[RaspberryBlower]

Oh god, IHeartIona, it's awful when you've got your dinner waiting downstairs and they won't go off. My dd seems to sense this, probably picks up on my stress. I try to eat my dinner before we go up now, but then it's usually rushed. I've had a hellish couple of nights, but I've managed to get her off without boobing her to sleep (which is what all the sleep manuals say you need to do, isn't it?) So I'm hopeful this'll help in the long run.

[Sariska]

I try really hard not to boob ds to sleep (must have read the same sleep books as you, RaspberryBlower) but it often happens at bedtime because he's just so tired after yet another day of no napping. Am currently trying not to feed him to sleep during the night. At the moment he seems genuinely hungry at 10.30ish and 5.30ish. Anything inbetween seems to be comfort. However after an awful couple of nights with 6+ wakings, I resorted to the feed to sleep thing at 3am last night. Rather annoyed with myself now but was just soooo tired. Cannot even begin to think how I am going to cope with work come the end of Jan when I've said I'll go back. Atm I am sorely tempted to join the ranks of ex-City lawyers. (Not because I don't like my job - because I do - but just because I'm afraid I won't last 5 mins when I go back if nothing changes on the sleep front.) Hope everyone else is feeling more positive than I am this morning!

[ragd0ll]

Morning
How was everyones night?
I am also working on getting DD to sleep without boob, it only took 30 mins of singing last night compared to 40 mins the night before so hopefully getting somewhere with that, shes still waking 2 hourly though..

Rinkydinky- that sounds so hard, well done for carrying on bf, you sound very determined

[ragd0ll]

Broccoli I saw on frannyandzooeys thread your going to do a 'wnaky' basket for DS, Of topic I know, but Im nicking the idea to do one for DD but no really sure what to put in it. Any ideas?

[kerala]

Well I got to sleep between 11-1am and 4-6am. Took the toddler and baby to sainsburys this morning and a total stranger said "I think you should all be tucked up in bed" and an old lady tutted and shook her head in a sympathetic way as we walked past. So my pretend to be organised uptogether mum act is definitely not working!

[CantSleepWontSleep]

Have you seen this thread ragd0ll? It may help.

[ragd0ll]

I hadn't CantSleepWontSleep Thanks will have a nose

[Piccalilli2]

Terrible night again last night, just when I thought we were getting somewhere. She went down OK, only a couple of minutes crying, but then woke at 9:30 and every hour and a half after that. Arrgh. And I'm supposed to be going out next weekend which is going to be a bit pointless if she's back to wanting a feed at 9:30.

[iamaLeafontheWind]

Well with the help of Calpol, DD slept 11.30 until 4am for only the third time since she was born 13 wks ago. I would be so pleased, except i woke up anyway at 2am and lay there for an hour and half cos I was irritated about being awake. Why?! WHY?!

[ragd0ll]

We had a good night last night, DD fed 6.30 then went to sleep on her own within 10 mins.
10.30 fed
2.30 fed
3.30 awake screaming, dosed her up with calpol and calgel bake to sleep till 6am.
Im hoping this is the light the end of the tunnel, she finally seems to be getting the sleep thing so fingers crossed for tonight.

iamaleaf How frustrating for you, hope tonight's better