Tricks and remedies for overtired baby

[Jennifer13]

Ah no, poor DD. Do you have a steam vaporiser? I find it works well in conjunction with lots of bfing to help recovery. How are you feeling?

[Snacks]

Blimey, you must be tired.
Do you get a chance when your DH is home for a nap? (for yourself that is!)
When Natty was about 4mo we switched from rocking to patting to sleep. Quite firm pats too. Even at 3yo sometimes she'd wake at night and call me in, saying, "pat my botton, Mummy" LOL. I found that she settled for longer if she went to sleep not in my arms. She was like that though - Phoebe happily transferred (and still does transfer from the car) and slept/sleeps... for as long as she slept. Natty would definitely sleep for longer if she fell asleep in the cot though. Patting was her 'thing'.
Maybe you are still yet to discover your DD's 'thing'... Hope you find it soon.

[onthefly]

Yep, I don't know what her "thing" is.
I'm done though, have given up. I'll sleep in a few years. I'm sick of spending aaaaalll day trying to get her to sleep or stay asleep. Today she didn't last longer than 20 minutes.

[Winter]

My DD only ever cat-napped for 20 mins too. I remember going to Mothers Group and all the other babies were sleeping 2 hours or more and I felt like killing all the smug bi-atches! But DD grew out of it eventually. Still doesn't do enormous sleeps, 1.5 hours during the day is generally her limit.

Have you tried white noise? I'm just throwing out anything that you could try as you seem to be doing everything you can. DD loves having her radio on even now (on a fuzzy non-station) and it seems to block out other household noises too so she's not disturbed, but still soothing hum to it.

Other than that, perhaps try the gin for you?

Want to come over for a play during the school holidays and maybe I could have a cuddle just to give your arms a rest?

[HotI]

Yep, I don't know what her "thing" is.
I'm done though, have given up. I'll sleep in a few years. I'm sick of spending aaaaalll day trying to get her to sleep or stay asleep. Today she didn't last longer than 20 minutes.

You gave me this advice when i was struggling last year, and it helped me to let go and just accept it. Try it for a couple of days and see how you go. YOu can always try something else next week.

[luna moth]

Madsies.... and that is not a "I have nothing else to offer you" hug, it is a "thank HEAVENS someone else is going through this right now" hug.

I at least get 35 minutes every time. If I go in at 30, and then pick her up when she stirs, and rock her for 20-30 minutes, then sometimes I get another 20. In fact, I persist until I DO get another 20, because otherwise she will. not. feed. And then life is hell for both of us.

Night sleeps were almost identical, until we stopped co-sleeping. Once she was in a cot, we were having a single waking a night, and then Wonder Week 18/19 hit, and we're back to three wake-ups, which still isn't too bad.

We're still wrapping. I gave the sleeping bag a go, and it was an epic fail.

Stuff that has kinda helped (at least in getting us from 25 minutes up to 40 or 45) was:
- ipod and speakers in her room, playing sleep cue music. It's a cue (I'm a big fan of NCSS) and it also helps to block out household and street noises that were waking her up.
- having a sleep routine - nappy change, cuddle, get wrapped, turn on the sleep music, bounce on the fitball singing the same frigging lullaby over and over and over, into hammock when asleep (or when she's drowsy if I'm feeling ambitious)
- staying home for a week and sticking to ^^that, and also having a little bit of a daily "routine" I know your DD used to do Feed-Play-Sleep, if she still does, it has kinda helped us out a little bit. First sleep is always an hour and fifteen after she wakes in the morning, and then we take it from there. Until it gets to 3pm, and then we just play it by ear and I pretty much let her do what she wants.

Just accepting it is not an option for me, because I did that, and then she would. not. feed. in the day. She didn't day feed for 3 weeks, and caught up by night, so neither of us were getting any decent sleep, and she was crank-o-rama. And, being sleep-deprived, I didn't have the resources to help her through that.

For now, I'm persevering with the "How to get your baby to take longer naps" suggestion from the NCSS. Hasn't worked like the book says so far, but I have nothing else, and I am so determined to get this working, because when it does, the sun shines from every angle.

Aaaaaaand... some babies grow out of the catnapping thing.

Someone's awake (got 45 minutes after a re-settle! Yeeeeeeee-frickety-HA!)

[onthefly]

What goes around comes around, hey?
Thanks all

She won't resettle. Tried her tummy but that was a fail. But... I think she's still a bit off so proably can't expect much from her at the moment anyway.
Giving up was the best thing to do with my DS - but he really didnt' want to sleep. DD is different. She whinges about being tired all day... oh well.