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Original poster

i have decided to do something radical regarding dd4 and her not sleeping.

51 replies

misdee · 11/01/2010 22:44

and thats do nothing

well more preciesely, am not forcing her to sleep.

am not doing cc. not sleep training.

she is currently having a feed and drifting off to sleep.
then will put her in her cot.

if she wakes later and wants cuddles, then will take her into our bed and cuddle back to sleep.

after 14months of trying to get her to sleep at set times, or when i think she should b asleep, i have come to realise that its not going to work.

she is happier when with me, awake or asleep.

so, heres to just going with the flow

ps, i might be back in a week absolutly shattered by this.

OP posts:
Original poster
misdee · 11/01/2010 23:15

well she is asleep.

usually bby now she has screamed, i have cried, and got stressed at her not sleeping.

but she is asleep.

OP posts:
differentID · 11/01/2010 23:17

and I'm guessing you're feeling more relaxed as well

Original poster
misdee · 11/01/2010 23:19

yup.

a lot more relaxed.

even though at 10.30 i thought 'what if she decides to stay up all night' , but saw her rubbing her eyes, so picked her up for a feed.

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Original poster
misdee · 12/01/2010 07:17

well that was interesting.

instead of struggling to get dd4 to sleep and constant resettling, she fell asleep shortly before 11 (about what time she normally settles fully anyway), and this time she didnt wake up at 12. she woke at 4.30am. so i got a few hours kip uninteruppted.

OP posts:
differentID · 12/01/2010 17:26

I hope tonight goes as well for you. A good night's sleep or a better night's sleep helps with other stuff too.

Original poster
misdee · 12/01/2010 20:24

am doing the same 2night.

only difference is d4 has only had 1 nap 2day

OP posts:
IsItMeOr · 12/01/2010 21:58

Very impressed misdee - hope this is working well for you again tonight.

Original poster
misdee · 12/01/2010 22:16

she is still awake but quiet.

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DollyMessiter · 12/01/2010 22:18

Everyone sounds chilled out.
Great stuff

Original poster
misdee · 12/01/2010 22:32

she is asleep

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NinjaChipmunk · 12/01/2010 22:56

yay, lets hope she stays that way.

Original poster
misdee · 12/01/2010 23:06

right, i'm off to make pack lunches and go to bed myself.

this feels totally weird, as older dd's always went to bed at set times. i think realising that dd4 just doesnt need as much sleep atm has just allowed me to chill out about this.

she will sleep eventually all night. but for now, am fine with her being up late with me.

OP posts:
IsItMeOr · 13/01/2010 07:54

Hope she slept through for a few more hours for you again.

morningpaper · 13/01/2010 08:00

hehe

it is MUCH easier IME when you just give up go with the flow sometimes

IsItMeOr · 13/01/2010 08:19

I wish I could master that one morningpaper!

TrinityIsFuckingTrying · 13/01/2010 08:23

this was the veiw I took with gecko
she is 2.11 now and last night she actually went 4 hours straight

Original poster
misdee · 13/01/2010 09:28

she slept till around 1am, when she came into my bed again for a cuddle.

she seems happy enough. i had to wake her up for the school run, and she is back asleep now.

i think this way is just way less stressful. i think some people will think 'oh noooo, thats making a rod for your own back' but nights of screaming for hours, or up and down up and down was killing me, and making me a 'not very nice person'.

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JackBauer · 13/01/2010 09:38

Good for you, I am very much of the 'I can't be doing with the hassle' school of thought.
DD's both sleep through now they share a bedroom, I do occasionally find them in the same bed, or under it, but asleep, so that's fine with me.

belgo · 13/01/2010 09:42

Misdee I've just 'gone with the flow' with ds and at 15 months we are still co-sleeping, and he usually awakes at about 11pm and then again at 4 or 5am. Could be better, but could be a lot worse!

It's very difficult to leave him crying because of his eczema and rashes - his skin really bothers him at night and he cries because of it, and it would be cruel to ignore him.

Original poster
misdee · 13/01/2010 16:34

glad i'm not the only one doing this.

we had an unusual development today.soph had a 3 hour long nap

not had that for a v v v long time

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babyphat · 13/01/2010 21:03

misdee, i am joining you, have given up on 'bedtime' too for my 16 month dd, frankly i can't be arsed, dd gets enough sleep, it's just on my lap, in bed with me (or in the buggy in the daytime).

if i could choose, i wouldn't mind some free time in the evenings, but not prepared to waste my evening going back and forth and resettling and being trapped in a darkened room for hours. i'd rather have a cup of tea in front of the tv while she feeds to sleep on my lap.

babyphat · 13/01/2010 21:04

oh, and bonus is that we get a lie-in at the weekends! we didn't get up till 9:30 on Christmas Day

Original poster
misdee · 14/01/2010 16:45

this is odd.

soph is sleeping better at night.

and is actually napping in the day!

why didnt i do this sooner?

OP posts:
JackBauer · 14/01/2010 18:03

Isn't hindsight a wonderful thing?!

It's only because you have relaxed and are not tense when she wakes, easy when you know how!
Trytelling someone to relax and go with the flow and it doesn't work as they are all tense in expectation!

Original poster
misdee · 14/01/2010 21:29

even earlier in bed tonight!

maybe i shoulkd write a book

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