Catching up on sleep - what do others do?

(Just copied this from a thread I accidently interrupted - so sorry!!)

Cooper has been such a great sleeper from 8 weeks through to 4 months, and then he started to wake up, and sometimes I'll be getting up 4 times a night, either to put the dummy back in, or for a feed, or he might be just grizzly.

I do know that generally we don't have it too hard - but I am a single Mum and even though I am staying with my parents for a year or two, I am the only one getting up in the night to comfort him. They are helpful during the day, but I try to not put too much on them.

If I have had a hard night, the next morning after the first feed, when I put Cooper down for a sleep, I try to at least get maybe half our sleep just to catch up. If I don't, I feel like an absolute MONSTER! I have been snappy with Mum and Dad, and just can't focus. I feel like I am the only one who can gets this cranky! I know I am not that bad, but sometimes I feel like just crying cause I feel so foggy headed.

Most of the time I can catch up on the sleep, but I am wondering what everyone else out there does when they are sleep deprived? Does many Mums do what I do and try to catch up?

Yes, I try to get some sleep during the day but in reality, that rarely happens. The situation does get better after six months ... it really does. I felt like I was going mental there for a while.

But if your parents are around and can help out, that is fantastic. Maybe they can take the baby out for a couple of hours while you nap.

Edited to add: I just read Shell's post and remembered that I used to go to bed early, leaving DH to do the late feed which helped for a while when the screaming was at its peak. It made all the difference between me just being tired and feeling psychotic.

Its hard, my DD also has been waking more recently at night and yes I do feel like I'm in a fog half the time. She only naps for 40mins during day so can't sleep then. In a way I'm lucky cause she doesn't get up in the morning til after 8 so i get some sort of sleep in. Hopefully as they say it will pass. Just try to rest when able and go to bed early if possible.

I used to sleep during the day as much as a could, but in those first couple of months I was just too anxious - too anxious at the prospect of just drifitng off and then being woken up again! This anxiety was actually very detrimental, as I wasnt falling asleep as easily as I could have.
After a few months though when Aidyns nap patterns became more regular I would nap with him... even now when he is nearly 3 I find myself napping at the same time he does if I have not had a good previous nights sleep. It makes a world of difference for me, because I function SO badly when lacking sleep.

Before I went back to work I tried to nap when Riley did even once a day but its harder now when i have to work 3 days and get DD#2 to school on the 2 days i don't work. If you aren't working I would say nap whenever you can! My DH does nothing to help with Riley so I know how you feel doing all the wake ups yourself!

Cooper generally only naps for 40 min to maybe an 1.5 hours and yes, I often find myself just drifting off, and then up Cooper wakes! And yes Mads, I feel even worse!

Mum helps in a lot of ways, but Cooper is very clingy at the moment. He is fine when I am there, but if I go out for an hour, most of the time he is whingy and looking around for me, and I think he can be a bit of a handful for Mum - she looks stressed out sometimes when I get home. So as you can see, I am trying to find that balance of sanity from getting a break, and not creating too much stress for my mother!!

Motherhood truly is wonderful, even being a single Mum, and yes, I am grateful to have supportive parents, but adjusting to being a Mum and living back with your own parents again after being an independent woman for nearly 10 years - well let's just say, it's a huge change for any person!!

I often will go down with Jovie so I laydown with her for a feed/nap when Matilda has gone to sleep. So that way I get some rest. Matilda only sleeps 1 1/2 hours and rarely do both sleep at the same time, so as soon as Matilda goes to sleep, I try to lay down with Jovie & feed her in bed and rest. I may get 20 minutes sleep somedays & that helps but after 5 hours at night & a tantruming toddler... I dunno if it helps that much.

i take my hat off to you, i find it so hard sometimes and i have a husband that helps out every bit he can!
I ususally try and get wind down time before bed, i have a bath with bubbles, candles, and music it just helps me unwind so when i hop into bed i am asleep pretty much straight away. I also try (doesnt usually happen) and get a rest during the day to.

I don't sleep at all during the day :(
Emily only has a 1.5hr sleep during the day and Toby has usually just woken up from his morning sleep when she goes down. In any case I need that time while she's in bed to get a start on dinner etc, otherwise when arsenic hour rolls around everything just falls apart.
I'm starting to get used to the lack of sleep, scary as that sounds. I think it's going to be quite a while before Toby sleeps through the night and since he's breastfed there's not much DH can do to help. I don't see any point in both of us being tired and cranky - the only person who'll pay for that is Emily. So I suffer LOL.