2under 2s and less than 4 hours sleep everyday...

[JenFrance]

I have a 20 month old son and a 4 month old daughter And for the last 3 weeks I have been getting less than 4 hours sleep out of 24 every day. I am so tired that I cAn hardly function. As soon as 1 wakes up they wake the other and then play tag team all night. Neither settle themselves and neither naps for more than an hour in the day (never at the same time). I have no idea what to do - help!

oh you poor thing what a nightmare. These are probably going to be silly suggestions but do you have a DP who could help out? My DH deals with DD (2.9) if she wakes in the night and I sort out DS. Are they in the same room? Can you move either?

Do you have a double pushchair or could you pick one up cheaply from ebay? I got a double and if I walk for ages I can usually get them both off to sleep at the same time for an hour or two.

Any of these any use?

Have you got a few basics in place?

Does your DH / DP do his fair share?

Do you get a break, even just 30 mins to get to the supermarket / walk in the fresh air in peace?

Are they in the same room and waking each other up?

Thanks for these suggestions. They're in seperate rooms but still hear each other :-( I've tried the pushchair walking and my daughter drops off to sleep but my son just wants to get out and walk. I tryall the basics like bedtime routine etc but it doesn't seem to make much difference.

I'm getting some breaks but not everyday so it's just enough to keep me going.

I guess one day they'll be teenagers and I'll have to drag thm out of bed to go to school ;-)

This is going to sound counter-intuitive but can you keep your son up a bit longer? DD is a bit older, but will either go to bed at 7 and get up for a couple of hours at 3 or go to bed at 8.30 and sleep through. Is that worth a go?

Are you bf the little one? If so, can you co-sleep so you can doze during the feeds?

Can you play soothing music such as classic fm in ds bedroom. It right drown out some of the crying so he is less likely to wake? It worked for us.

I tried keeping my son up a bit later and it really helped with bed time - I also played his music box which seemed to go down well.

My daughter has to sleep on a big incline due to a reflux problem so co-sleeping isn't possible. I've managed to get her down to 2 breastfeeds during the night this weekend and I've also introduced some purée carots which seem to have helped her sleep a little.

I managed to get 5 and a half hours sleep last night which I count as a success! Thanks for all the advice it really helps not to feel alone.

I have a friend who was on her own and had two children of the same age. For naps she would put both of them in the car, drive till they fell asleep then pull into a layby, recline her seat and sleep too.