Were at 8mths of horrible sleep so I can relate somewhat. Have you thought about the possibility of sleep school then? Worth a thought if your at a loss of what to do
Hi ForShelby, huge hugs....I am so sorry you are going through this....it sounds like something is making him uncomfortable, causing him to wake up...I can't remember from your other posts if you said you had been to a baby osteo/chiro? Is he on reflux meds....have you heard of the Horsham Colic Drops? All natural, a pharmacist in Horsham make them, people swear by them. If I think of anything else I will come back.
It can be tough when you have little or no support. It's surprising how many of us are out there with no family to help.
Time was all that worked for me. DS1 started sleeping well at six and a half months. I was soooo tired and strung out - and then it just happened.
DS2 is 20 months old and he still sleeps like a baby - and by that i mean he grizzles and wakes up and wants company and sleeps a bit and grizzles some more etc etc! I didn't want to try sleep school just because the only ones i could find used CC, and that's not really my thing. I hope you can catch a few good days in a row and you can start to feel human again.
Oh gosh I wish I could do something for you, I haven't had a non sleeper myself but yeah, some babies just don't like sleep and it is nothing you have done, some kids are just like that.
With the government run sleep schools, they work on referral from health nurses so even if you got to talk to some one they would probably not be able to get you in. So you need to get your local health nurse (not sure what they are called in Queensland CYH/CHN whatever) on side and fighting in your corner. Do they have day services in Queensland......where you go in for a few hours with a nurse and they have a room and cot set up and they see how things are going? While the intention is for them to give you tips on what to do, if they see what is happening first hand they will see that it really is an exceptional circumstance that needs an exceptional plan. From what you are saying she will be writing out the referral quick as a flash. Also it shouldn't be up to you to find different services and what not, your nurse is the one in the networks who has the contacts and knows what is available, get her to point you in the right direction.
The only long term solution I have found is to cosleep. I tried some other settling techniques, but in the end, as soon as they got sick or teething, I found I had to start all over again.
For me I had to change my lifestyle to prioritize my own sleep. Dd was in our bed permanently, and I went to bed about as early as I could. If she woke in the evening, I would just go and breastfeed her back to sleep and sneak out again. Then in the day I made a nap time the main focus of the day and I would change both of us for bed and go to bed with her and breastfeed her to sleep and at each stirring, until she was sleeping in a long stretch (she was older than your ds at this stage). This way we we both napping for three hours each day and getting a full nights rest each night (not a full nights sleep but it's amazing how much better you'll feel if you're not getting up each time)
Yes this will impact on your relationship with dh, but we worked around it by having a date each Saturday and got someone to mind dd so we could have lunch together. We also had dinner together without dd Most nights.
I hope this helps. You need support to help you get through this whichever way you choose...I hope you can access some.
For day sleeps, have you thought about a carrier or will he sleep in the pram? From about 7months onwards, I found the only way I could get DD to sleep during the day was walking in the pram. To begin with, I would have to be moving the whole time, so we had 2x1hour walks a day (bonus was I lost all the baby weight ) but as she got older, I could just walk round the block and then leave her in the hallway and she would carry on sleeping.
DS was a shocker at night, and I was a walking zombie by 9months. I had to do something, and nothing was working for us. It got so bad that one night DH was out, and DS woke after an hour and no matter what I tried I could not get him back to sleep. I ended up putting him in his cot, closing the door, putting music and phoning DH, at which point I broke down into hysterical sobbing. DH thought something had happened to one of the kids. That was the point when DH said we had to do something, so after research, we decided to do the interval stuff- leave them for 2mins, go back, leave them for 4, go back in, 6, 8, 10. We never left him longer than 10minutes. It was hard, but it only took 4nights, and even the first night, he only woke up once (as opposed to 6+ times). Now, unless something is wrong, he will generally sleep 7pm-6.30am, and is happy about going to bed. And he is a happy, affectionate child during the day (which I am so glad for as I was so worried we would break him).
I know this is a gently parenting site, and many won't agree with me, and before I had DS, I would'nt have agreed with me either. But only you know how you are coping or not, and noone can judge you for doing what you have to do. The way I justified it to myself was because of my sleep depravation I wasn't being a good mummy during the day, so by doing the interval crying, we all got sleep and it has made me a much better mummy to both my children. My lack of sleep was affecting DD majorly, and as soon as I was better, things changed with her too.
take care of yourself. I hope whatever you choose, things improve.
Registered User
it is sooo hard if you have a non-sleeper.
) but as she got older, I could just walk round the block and then leave her in the hallway and she would carry on sleeping.
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks