waking 6/7 times a night

[DALLASMUM]

ok i have never posted in this section before and i dont know where i stand on all this pro/no controlled crying stuff ...... all i know is that i need to help my bub sleep- he wakes so many times a night and i am going crazy

i dont like to co sleep coz then i dont sleep well. i dont expect him to sleep from 7-7 i am more than happy to get up once or twice, but 6-7 times is pushing me to my limits... i have two older kids and im being so short with them coz i am just sooooooooooooo tired. at the moment i cant afford another parenting book so im asking for your help- how would the"no cry solution" belivers deal with my bub if he were yours?

ps he is 7 months old

tia
Trish

[julietv8]

I hear you...DS is 5 months and wakes every 3 hours or so most nights. I ordered the no cry sleep solution, still waiting for it to arrive :laughing:

Is this normal for him or has he just started?

[punkbaby]

Does he feed or is he just upset? I sort of fell into the trap of feeding dd, now i cant get her out of it so shes in bed with me. Its tiring but its easier as shes in my bed i guess but i know how you feel its hard when your tired and you have older kids to look after.

At the moment i am limiting feeds, i know shes only doing it for comfort so i will let her have a feed at 11pm ish and maybe at 3 but any other time i wont let her, unless shes sick, which she has been this week. Generally i get up and rock her to sleep or just lay her with me and pat her bum and then put her back to bed, her cot is side carted next to my bed though so i just push her back, is this an option for you? its good as bubs has their own space so you actually sleep better it hink

[DALLASMUM]

Thanks for your replies, the side carted cot is an option, i usually end up brining him in to our bed in the early hours of the morning coz it just gets to much.

I think he is waking out of habit( he has always been like this)- last night was better than usual..... he woke at 10, 1(yay3hours)2,4,5 and into bed with me til 6.30- sometimes i can just rock him to sleep.... but most of the time as soon as i put him back down he wakes up, i try this two or three times then i give up and feed him to slleep in bed with me- he self settles during day sleeps and to bed at night with not a wimper

im just o tired to do anything, i dont get any help from family and DH is really useless with babies ...but he has tried but failed before so now has no confidence, i have only had an hour away from the baby since he was born.....it was supposed to be a couple but dh couldn't settle him so i had to come home- he really is just a mommy's boy. and it makes it hard coz he wont take a bottle so i cant even leave him with someone so i can have a break

Punkbaby how do you do it with four???? you must be super woman!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[julietv8]

DS was up every hour last night...He wont take a bottle either and is glued to me, I completely understand where you are coming from. Let me know when you find the answers. We are going to the health clinic for a day stay next week, I dont really want to, cause they push CC, but I cant keep going like this :dizzy:.

On a side note, have you tried a sippy cup? DS looks at me like I'm an idiot if I offer him a bottle, but is quite happy to drink out of a sippy cup.

[DALLASMUM]

yeah i have tried a sippy cup... he uses one with a soft teat thingy for water ... but if i put EBM in it he just spits it out


Let me know how you go with the day stay- i mite try and book in tooo coz its not getting any better

[Electric Rodeo]

I'd be interested to know what people offer as advice, my 14 month old is doing the same and I am sick of waking up exhausted! I feel like I have had a newborn for 14months.

[DALLASMUM]

thats exactly how i feel.................. i thought it was supposed to get easier

[julietv8]

:yes: everyone says, oh they will start sleeping through soon...so you wait, and wait, and wait...:hair:

[DALLASMUM]

i know DH said last night ......... hell sleep through....by the time he goes to school( like that makes me feel better!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) MEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Electric Rodeo]

I know i have probably got him into this habit as whenever he wakes I would just b\f him back to sleep, it was easier that way when your tired. I did CC with my DS1 and it worked (tough to do) but I can't seem to work up the guts to do it again this time.

[julietv8]

I asked DH to take him at 7:30 this morning, cause I was at the end of my tether and its his day off...he brought him in to me at 9am complaining how tired he is and how DS is cranky, they are both having a sleep now.. IVE BEEN UP ALL NIGHT DAMMIT!!!!

GAH husbands...

[Electric Rodeo]

My DH couldn't get out of the house quick enough this morning to go to work, he could sense my mood I guess :mad:

[DALLASMUM]

Mine is still sleeping- i have been saying for months he has to do one weekend morning ...... IM STILL WAITING!!!!!!!!!!!!!! this am he woke up when we DS and i were getting up at 6.30 and said were are you going, and then straight back to sleep- IF ONLY WE WERE MEN

[julietv8]

It seems so unfair doesnt it? DH does help out... he watched DS yesterday while I renovated :laughing: Once uni starts up (1st September) he's promised to take DS from 9-1 every Sunday all by himself, so we will see how that goes :rolleyes:.

[Electric Rodeo]

I shouldn't complain too much, he is able to take DS to work with him every now and then, but never it seems when you need it most. I think I might take the boys outside so they can run mad and then have a good nap this arvo (and me too hopefully :yes:). Have a good day!

[Blueberry Crumble]

So what are the 'no cry' options?????????????

[julietv8]

I dont think there are any...either the baby cries, or you do :laughing:

[DALLASMUM]

or the baby crie and so do we!!! while DH sleeps

[Electric Rodeo]

ditto for our place :laughing:

[rynosmum]

I dont think there are any...either the baby cries, or you do :laughing:

I think that's pretty right. My DD is almost 4 months old and after a bout of gastro 3 weeks ago, started waking anything up to 6 times per night.:hair: The last 3 weeks are honestly a blur where I've been focussing on what things I can do to get her to sleep longer at night (without crying wherever possible).

So, I did three main things:
1. Bought her a sleeping bag so she stays warmer.
2. Let her sleep during the day. I was of the mistaken understanding that if I kept her up for most of the day, she would sleep better at night. Some lovely ladies here on BH showed me the error of my ways there. As one said, sleep promotes sleep. DD can now sleep anywhere and anytime she likes and I don't wake her.
3. Giving her a chance to self settle when she wakes at night instead of rushing in. The first time was horrible. I kept her in her cot but stayed there with her, patted and talked to her and picked her up and cuddled her when she got really upset. She still cried though - more than I felt comfortable with and all in all, the exercise took about 45 minutes. From that point onward, she started self-settling and instead of crying, would yell to me. After a couple of minutes, she'd go to sleep.

Strangely enough, she has been waking now just twice per night and last night, she woke just once at 4:30 this morning but then went down for another 2 hours after that.

I think it's a combination of things but what I hated about the self-settling the most is that I knew that if I picked her up and took her to my bed or even gave her a dummy, she probably would have slept fine....but she still wouldn't understand how to go to sleep on her own. No one wants to see their baby upset so try the first two ideas first.

Oh, and I also kept a spreadsheet of when she woke, how long she slept for in each instance and how long it took her to resettle (and whether she did it herself or needed assistance). It really helped me understand her more and also to gain more motivation on when we had a 'good' night.

Good luck! Sleep deprivation is shocking.:crying:

[happytobehere]

or the baby crie and so do we!!! while DH sleeps

:laughing: grrr so true

[julietv8]

I finally recieved my book (the no cry sleep solution) will let you know how it goes :rolleyes:

[DALLASMUM]

can you give me some idea of what it reccomends- eg routine for 7month old and how to deal with night waking

thanks julietv8

and i booked in for a day stay its thursday 4th..... so i will let you know how i go

thanks for all your replies

[julietv8]

ok I'm about halfway through and so far I have identified some key issues with what I do...mostly breastfeeding to sleep. I tried today one of the suggestions which was to breastfeed until they are sleepy and go to those "fluttery" sucks then gently remove your breast and very gently hold their bottom jaw closed with your finger and count to ten. If they root around for a boob, give it back then try again after a minute or so. I took us 3 tries and he was asleep without a boob in his mouth!!! and he slept for 2 hours!!!! It seems a lot gentler than CC, but apparently it takes a couple of weeks to implement. As for a routine, it suggests doing whatever works for you as long as it is quiet and relaxing. I will post more later.

[DALLASMUM]

thanks juliev8

keep me up to date

[Electric Rodeo]

Hi Dallasmum, did u get anymore sleep last night??? Think my DS has yet another ear infection, which may explain his current unrest, back to GP tomorrow and we will have to go from there in getting a nice nights sleep. Wishing you lots of sleep:sleeping: as I have no nore suggestions:)

[julietv8]

ok with the routine side of things, it is suggesting a fairly firm bedtime routine and getting your baby to bed early, between 6:30 and 8:00. Make sure they get up the same time every day and go to bed the same time every night. For a 7 month old 2 day naps for 3-4 hours in the mid morning and mid afternoon (structured around when your baby is showing tired signs)

[DALLASMUM]

3-4 hours total not 3-4 hours each nap right????- sorry for having so many ????

[julietv8]

Whew..almost done. Try rocking, feeding whatever you usually do to get him to sleep until his eyes are dropping but hes not actually asleep, pick him up gently rocking and place him in his cot with your arms around him rocking gently until settled. Then slowly work your arms out from under him, if he stirs do it again, it can take up to 5 times...if either of you is really upset, put him to sleep like normal and try again next time.

[julietv8]

sorry, I just realised it wasnt very clear, yes 3-4 hours total, so naps of about 1.5-2 hours each and 10-11 hours at night with breaks to feed.

[DALLASMUM]

Hi Dallasmum, did u get anymore sleep last night??? Think my DS has yet another ear infection, which may explain his current unrest, back to GP tomorrow and we will have to go from there in getting a nice nights sleep. Wishing you lots of sleep:sleeping: as I have no nore suggestions:)

It was no better, but i was much stronger and didnt feed back to sleep all night- he was still up six times though

[kirikasmum]

I'm dealing with the same thing. We end up sleeping on the lounge together, i dont get much sleep but its better than none.:(

[madboysnmummy]

:wave: hi guys I am currently working through no cry sleep solutions for my 22 month old and my 10 month old. my 22 months wouldnt sleep in his cot and my 10mth old had no routine. My 22 month had been in the cot for 2 nights now :smiliedance: for the first time in 2 months!

my advice to everyone here


RING THE PARENT HELP LINE!!


They are absolutely brilliant. I rang them at the end of my tether and in tears 2 days ago after I thought my family was going to fall apart due to lack of sleep and everything the lad on the phone told worked. And the advice was wonderful. I was on the phone for 3/4 of an hour and felt I could chat for longer if I wasnted.

I have never used this service before and I think I will call them everytime I have an issue with the kids now.

Good luck girls and I hope we all get some sleep soon

[julietv8]

Just an update. Ollie slept for 7 hours straight!!!! :smiliedance::smiliedance:

and he's napping through the day. I'm not quite sure what to do with myself :D

[DALLASMUM]

ok whats the secret???? Tell me what i need to do other than rush out and buy the book
HELP ME TO SLEEP TOOO

[julietv8]

Have PM'd you

[DALLASMUM]

Guess what ................ last night only TWICE

YES THATS RIGHT TWICE!!!!!!!!!!

10.30 fed was hard to settle so i fed him some more and then he settled straight away so i guess he was just hungry

2.30 fed and then straight back to sleep

he woke at 6am

its amazing- now im trying to analyze what we did differently yesterday

[julietv8]

WOOOOOHOOO!!!! Thats awesome :smiliedance::smiliedance:
You must feel like a new woman today!

Hopefully he makes it a habit.

We had 3 wakeups last night but he's teething and has the flu, and DH woke him up a 2 times blowing his nose (like SNAAAAAAARKGGGGGGHHHHHOOOONK) and going to the loo :rolleyes:

[DALLASMUM]

just a quick update

Ok, it wasnt quite as good as friday night but it was good.

He got up three times-7pm bed- 10 feed, woke at 12(i thought it was later so tried to feed him but he was asleep in less than 2min) so i put him back to bed- 4am feed
then up at 6.

i have to find a way to keep him wrapped coz i think thats why he is waking up

i mite cancel my day stay if this continues- he is such a good boy- he was so different yesterday... happy, babbling so much even the older kids commented.

[julietv8]

Thats still a huge improvement!

[DALLASMUM]

i know... it is great A HUGE improvement

Thanks for all your help and support you have been great

[julietv8]

no worries..:fingerscrossed: they both keep it up!