i don't have a magical answer, i wish i did! But perhaps a few things to make you feel a bit better.
Around 5-8 months is a notoriously bad time for many babies sleep wise. We, at 8 months have just come out the other side of 3 months of terrible nights. My little girl was waking every 45min to 90mins all night. I was so tired.
Some things that helped us were to take her dummy away. Not sure if your little one has one, but ditching it was good for us. I found if i carried her in a sling and spent more time cuddling and holding her during the day she was happier to be on her own at night. I think the most common reason for the poor sleep is that the little babies are suddenly realising that mum is a separate entity and that she can leave, causing separation anxiety. Over time they become more confident and happy with being alone and as a result begin to sleep better again.
It can be such a trying time, but you will get get through it. I know how terrible it can be. I felt so desperate and tired only a few weeks ago and now my daughter is sleeping 10-12 hours a night without waking. So you never know, relief might not be too far away. Do you have any grandparents that might be able to offer some help? Jusr taking your son for a few hours or overnight will help.
I hope she starts sleeping a little better again soon.
oh you poor chook, that just sucks. And I don't think you're being petty at all - it's not like you've had 1 or 2 bad nights, it's an ongoing challenge, which just wears you down, especially when you add the complication of your DH getting sick again - a bit of a spiral effect really.
I'm no expert (as you know), but, although it took over 2 years, I did finally make a call to get some external help for DS's ongoing sleeping issues. It's been a week, and whilst it's not fixed, just having an independent person come in & develop a plan for us to use has been helpful, and we are seeing definite improvements, which is lovely. Not yet sleeping through, but it's been much much easier. And we managed to find a "gentle" practitioner as well, so as well as helping DS get to sleep, it also hasn't been hard on my emotions. So...the point of that is - is it worthwhile maybe looking at a specialist sleep type scenario to help you through? Your GP might be a good place to start for references, or the MCHN if she's any good. I suspect that you're a bit of a hopeful person like me - as in "it will get better, it has to get better...", but this might be a case where being hopeful is just not quite enough, and getting some outside help is the way to go, cos it will relieve you of some of the pressure as well.
Oh Nicky you poor thing! I don't know what advice to give I'm sorry, maybe you could have her checked over by a gp or mchn or baby chiro or whatever health professional you trust and see if there is anything then can find? When did she start solids? Is it around the same time? Maybe she has some form of allergy or intolerance that is making it hard for her to sleep?
We are starting to have issues wtih Bailey waking often, and I am thinking it is seperation anxiety, so I have no advice other then its ok to have a vent and yell - I have done it (not proud) but we all have our limits. We are currenlty co-sleeping ALOT, but I totally understand about wanting your own bed back
Hope Allira learns to stay asleep soon so you guys get some much needed sleep
If you are after some reading or books, then i can highly recommend a few off BB's recommended list.
'What every parent needs to know'
Any of Pinky's books, there is one on sleeping. Can't remember the title right now...
'No cry sleep solutions' helped me to feel confident in my approach to sleeping.
Oh darl it sounds like you and DH are doing it incredibly hard at the moment so big hugs first and most importantly. I'm having the same battles with my little man at the moment so I'm not much help but can share what I'm trying. THrough the help from ladies on here I worked out that he was overtired and so each sleep was getting worse. My DS is 5 months old so a bit younger but he is only up for 1 to 1 1/2 hours max. He was screaming whenever he was in bed so I was having to hold him until he stopped screaming and settled down and went to sleep which was taking hours. Now that I've got him into more of a routine of feed/play for up to 1 1/2 hours depending on his tired signs he is settling much better and now that is flowing through all of his sleeps and he seems to be correcting them himself.
Can I ask how your day/routines are at the moment?
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