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View Full Version : Still struggling with sleep..... sorry another long one



Priscilla
11-07-2006, 20:40
Hi AP mums,

I'm really hoping you can help me or at least share with me your experiences.

Cameron, now 10months is STILL not sleeping well. His sleeping habits are not consistent even though I'm trying to keep some sort of flexible routine - guideline is a better way of putting it.

Anyway, for a few nights a few weeks ago, he would wake every three hours during the night and that was heaven to me. Now he's back to waking every 40 - 80 mins until I get too tired from resettling which is when I bring him into bed with me and then he'll wake every 80-120mins.

When I am resettling him he's constantly rubbing his face on my shoulder or with his hand which is keeping him from falling asleep. The friction hurts me when he misses my shirt and gets my neck which would surely hurt him too and sometimes he'll put his head back onto my shoulder a bit too hard which definitely hurts him and then he'll start crying again. Resettling can take anywhere from 15mins to 2hours so when you calculate it, the amount of time he's actually asleep and the amount of time I spend resettle is pretty much the 50/50.

I'm so tired. It's so frustrating during each resettling because it seems like fairly firm back/bum patting is mostly what just distract him enough from rubbing to sleep but then just when I think he's asleep, he'll start rubbing again. I feel guilty in case I pat him too hard (sometimes out of frustration). He's never started crying from the firmness of the patting which tells me I'm not hurting him, but I think awful things like how I hate him and then I feel so so so guilty when he's finally asleep and I see how peaceful he is..... I'm so close to breaking point.

From about 4:30am onwards, he wakes every 40mins. I'd be happy to have him hanging off my boob 24/7 if it just wasn't sooo exhausting and draining.

I DON'T want to resort to CC but am afraid it's my only choice.

How do your babies sleep? How do you cope???

Percy
11-07-2006, 20:43
I dont have any real advice for you. Just wanted to say i know exactly how you feel.

DS is 13 months and doing the same thing. I am too tired to cope with it so he ends up in bed with me. We are on a waiting list for a sleep school. I hate that it has come to that, but we have tried everything imaginable and i feel that i have no other choice.

He used to sleep right through when he was next to me, but now that it has stopped i am stumped for idea as well.

:hugs: for you

*Chels*
11-07-2006, 21:33
OH hun!!I feel ya pain!!
My 9 month old son is still a shocker at sleeping!!
Do you co-sleep?We do,and when he wakes,I flop out the boob and go back to sleep.He takes what he wants and goes back to sleep.This works so well for us!We both get alot more rest!
Its so frustrating huh?I wouldnt do CC unless you really want to.Im firmly against it,but thats just my opinion.You do what you need to do.
:hugs: :hugs: :hugs:

V8
11-07-2006, 21:53
Another one to sympathise here too! DS is 8 months old and still waking of a night, usually goes to bed between 9and10pm, wakes at 3/4 or 5am, then again at 6/7am, then again at 9am. After he wakes at 6or7am he generally comes into bed with us so i can get some more sleep. I can't do CC so i don't know what to do either. I think at the sleep schools that's what they teach you, so not sure if you wanted to go down that road. But it totally can drive you nuts and i have had feelings of hate and guilt towards DS too. I generally need sleep to be sane! lol

Rainbowbrite
12-07-2006, 07:31
I can totally symaphise with what you are going through. MJ is 14months & only just stated to sleep better. We have always co-slept & still do. She was feeding every hour or so all night long & i was exhausted. I bit the bullet & decided that she doesnt really need to be fed all night long. It was very hard for a few nights. I didnt think i would cope but i did & now I bf MJ at 6-7pm, & not again till after 3.30am.

What i did was just cuddle her when she woke. If she wanted to get up & move around I let her for a minute then layed her down again. She screamed for about an hour the first night, then 40 the next. It did upset me, but i was right there with her, & knew that she was fine. Even now she will wake a few times before i will feed her, but thats fine, she wakes, talks, has a bit of a whinge then cuddles up for more sleep.

This was a last resort for me. There was no way i would abandon her & do CC. I was so exhausted i was contemplating Tressilian :eek:

This is what worked for us, hope you can sort something out :hugs: