4-5 month olds sleep club, - come and join..........

[SnowlightMcKenzie]

Hiya,

There have been so many threads lately about babies who were beginning to sleep better, but suddenly hitting this regression to newborn hell.

So I thought I would start a support thread for us all to compete whinge about how little sleep we are all getting, and tips on how to cope.

Baby Starlight was up just twice last night, but the previous night it was 6 times, and because of that I kept putting off going to bed at all last night, so even though it wasn't too bad, I still had hardly any sleep

lollipop How kind of you to remember. We've actually come to pretty much the same conclusion ourselves and have started bringing her downstairs after bath with DS and letting her sleep when she wants! I'm baby led during day but like Starlight, I'd love structure in the evenings!

Well, DS slept 12 hours straight last night (one of the first times ever!!) so I'm feeling a lot better. I think DD had a bit of a better night as well but she was in bed with me so I've wiped out all memory!

sambo DH was a bit like this with DS. Now, he's given in with DD and we've both decided sleep is for losers. I remember crying and going out the first time he gave him formula but it may work. Just don't make my mistake and feel so guilty about it all that you give up BF entirely

leonie I don't know if you've said where you are but I'm happy to help a bit. I'm near Kingston. Hvae you spoken to your health visitor? I know some of them are rubbish but you may find a gem.

CC at 20 weeks. Okay, so not much use then! Mine was similarly useful. I think i read about a SureStart scheme on that thread about having no family help nearby. Could this be useful? My ILs are in Wolverhampton - MIL seems to have a lot of time to interfere with me ( not like that!!) so may I should send her to you!

It's shit isn't it, though. DS was worse than DD - he sounds a lot more like your DD2. He used to wake every 30 mins. I remember walking around town in the pushchair because it was the only way he'd sleep in the day crying my eyes out! He was also grumpy which is rubbish. I can't imagine doing a baby like him with another child. DD is just hungry I think rather than a sleep problem so we have 5 weeks till weaing and then it (may) get better.

My mother sked me today if I was starving her! I pointed out that we couldn't pull her trousers up over her fat thighs, that if you put food in her hand she is particularly uninterested and throws it away and that milk has more calories that pureed carrot anyway. She didn't seem convinced. She also told me that DS should be toilet trained as well. Mmmm, I think that would be a great thing to start when I'm this sleep deprived!

Well you could always try it? That's why I gave DD a breadstick which she stared at and threw away. After all, she should be ready some time around now? What is DD2's DOB btw?

I do feel lucky that DD is easier than DS was. My friend has a DS that was a dream baby 7-7 from 8 weeks, only cried to be put down etc. Her DD (6months) is a good baby but still doesn't sleep through reliably etc.and she's finidng it more difficult becaus her first was so eay IYSWIM.

Swimming might tire her out. I took DD for the first time today and she did fall asleep on the changing table. (Although she woke up half an hour later even though she was in the sling )

Skimty I had a very hard DS too and have been pleasantly surprised at how 'relatively' easier DD is. Not that she is easy, - but she isn't so demanding.

3 days younger than my DD then! Maybe solids and crawling will be the making of her? Apparently the sucking urge diminishes at 6 mo.

I hope the home start people give you some help. A couple of weeks ago, DS was waking a couple of times a night and getting up for the day at 5 while DD was waking every hour. All of my family thought i was being melodramatic too!

Sorry, for some reason my nails have started growing for the first time in my life but my typing has gone to shit!!

Anyway off to watch Lost (we ffw the adverts) and then to bed. I hope you all have better nights.

Leonie Keep talking as much as you like. It's what I started this thread for. I think I was actually through the worst of it when I started this but kept seeing desperate threads pop up in active and thought that people could probably do with somewhere to meet each other.

I have a 2yr DS who is 'busy', with speech delay and suspected mild ASD, but I have to say that both of these things mean he is very good at self-entertaining and doesn't demand a lot from me so I can focus on DD. MY issue is that I allow this and possibly make his speech delay worse through ignorning him.

I hope there is some change to the status quo for you soon. Can you go to bed with your DD to try to get the hours in?

Alright here, he went down at bedtime and didn't surface till 11.30pm - long enough for us to watch a film! Ended up in with us at some point as I was too lazy sleepy to resettle him in his cot.

I just wanted to clarify something about daytime napping: I don't try and make him go to sleep when he's not tired, but I do try and help him go to sleep when he is tired. My issue with him not napping for long enough is that he ends up visibly overtired and crabby, not that I think he 'should' be napping to a particular schedule or anything.

Anyway, at the moment he seems fine just taking short naps so that's no problem. Just wanted to express something that had been on my mind

Hmmm, well our ten-hour extravaganza was a one-off, ho-hum. Ten became eight became six became four and now all is bonkers again!

I have lost all ability to judge whether he is genuinely hungry or not and don't know whether to try and settle him (which can take anything from 2 mins to 1.5 hours) or just feed him whenever and hope it sorts itself out before he goes to university.

So weary the other night I missed the last stair and fell clonk on my knee. Thank God I didn't drop DS though, he was blissfully unaware. Terrifying.

Well, he'll be 6 months next week so should probably wander off and find another thread so as not to scare newcomers with their 16 week olds!

Cyteen - I do that too sometimes, if DD is having trouble falling asleep on her own during the day I'll give her a cuddle and she'll be asleep in a matter of minutes. I know that some people don't think cuddling to sleep is a bad thing but I have no problem with it as I know she's more than capable of going to sleep on her own too and she is my PFB so I enjoy cuddling her whenever I can.

(That was meant to read) I know some people DO think cuddling to sleep is a bad thing ......

Hello ladies
i am going to get booted off - dd slept for 9 hours on sat night (7.30 -4.30) then went back down ,without fuss, until 7am.
we have been giving her formula at night for a couple of weeks now - but it hasn't made much difference tbh. Then on thurs night she was up every hour with wind ... whilst settling her it occurd to me that I was farting like a trouper also. I decided to try a day of formula to see if it helped (she's only ever had it in a car/on a bus when i can't safely get to her otherwise) I didn't think she'd be that interested, however - she yummed it up. All day.
Friday sleep was better - but on sat she didn't seam to want to nurse from me - so i gave formula to her all day again (9 hours! - she hasn't done that since week 8) Last night she was up once at 1(feed from me) and once at 3 (cold) ... I am gutted that she likes it so much, but I have to wean her off me anyway as i return to work full time soon and can't possibly express enough. I am not saying that this is why she is sleeping better (we may have turned this corner n e way) also it could be first tooth finally breaking through, extra blanket, longer walks - who knows? I just think she prefers it?

I know most of you can't do this (or won't) but I am proud of the fact that I have solely b/f dd for the first 5 months.
I am not engorged at all either

Leoni my heart truly goes out to you. dd wouldn't take bottle/dummy either. (bottle started just after xmas - she still gags on every dummy) I also have history of depression (brought on through insomnia, ironically) so i know how important it is that you get some rest. I am glad people here have at least given you some ideas and a place where you can come to chat, if nothing else, you know that you are not alone

lollipop DS is my PFB also, so I have no problem with cuddling at every possible opportunity Anyway, I love being cuddled to sleep so why shouldn't he?

daisyblue for you but yes, be very proud.

hi all,

ds2 seems to be more settled although still waking a bit a night (i won't bore you with the details) He is settling better for daytimes sleeps and i think there is a connection there. Its almost as if they forget how to sleep day or night and get out of the habit iyswim. leonie your dd2 sounds just like my ds2 was a few weeks ago. i couldn't distinguish tired from hungry and neither could he and he couldn't settle to sleep at all. I have no answers for you but just to say its sounds very familiar and eventually ds2 slept better during the day by me taking out in the pram and then rocking him in pram when he stirred (which he still does every 30 mins or so). he has also settled more into a 3 hour feeding routine (of his own doing, not mine) which makes it easier for me to distinguish what he needs.

Starlight does your dd just fall asleep anywhere?? it sounds like she is able to just drop-off without any 'encouragement' - i definitely don't have a ds that does that - he needs a lot of cuddles and gentle patting at night and walking in the day. i will have to work on self-soothing soon as dh will be left at hme with the two of them once i go back to work and he will not be able to manage all this on his own for daytime sleeps - i know i shouldn't worry about it now as i dont' go back to work for another 2 months but can't help wondering how it will progress...