Sleeping problems - do they ever end???

This is more of a vent than anything else!

Firstly, Jacob was such a beautiful sleeper, right up until 6.5m. We didn't ever have a problem with his sleep until this point. Before he was sleeping through the night, when we would feed him, he would pretty much go right back to sleep without a fuss (mind you, we made it pretty boring to try and help this along!). So all went well......so we thought.

Nobody told me that just because they used to sleep well, doesn't mean that it will stay that way!

Since 6.5m, as many of you know, we've had some problems with Jacob's sleep with largely coincided with teething and developmental milestones, but those factors are significant when it comes to sleep and are enough to really throw things seriously out of whack. Since this time, we have brief periods where his sleep returns to some sense of 'normality' and it is such a relief, let me assure you, but then we have periods where his sleep is positively feral and we all feel grumpy and exhausted. These past few days have been no exception!! It's no wonder that sleep deprivation is a form of torture!

Someone please tell me that one day this does get better? Surely one day there will be some predictability to his sleep and the good nights will outweigh the feral nights?! I don't expect him to sleep through every single night.....there are going to be times when for one reason or another, he doesn't sleep well (e.g. he is unwell, teething, has had a bad dream etc), but just to know that you can reasonably expect to get a few good sound sleeps a week would be really great........

*end of vent*

hugs to you melinda

it is so hard to see the bigger picture when you are so darn tired isn't it.

i don't really know what to suggest as all bubbies are different, for instance lani was doing the 7 till 7 then up until a few nights ago she had a few mornings of 5am wake ups for a bottle (thankfully she went back to sleep) now she is back to 6.30

when jacob wakes is he really upset or do you think you could let him go a bit - lani woke at 3am last night but i knew it would be for the dummy so i try and get in there quickly to pop it back in before she wakes up to much. maybe consider sleep school if not for jacob but for you to, i did it with my first 2 and it worked wonders and i just did a day stay program (my babies had problems with day sleeps for than anything).

and yes it will get better it won't be long before you are waking him up at 7.30 to get ready for kinder/school.

this post is useless as i haven't given you any suggestions i suppose just the same things is he cold, hungry, wet? maybe have a chat to your chn.

sorry can't be of much help.

Oh Mel.... I hate to break this to you lol, but I have a friend whose daughter is nearly 3 and still wakes though the night. They have been to sleep school quite a few times as well. She is slowly getting better though and is starting to sleep through on the odd nights.

Love

Awww Mel :hugs: I hope it does get better for you real soon.

Mel - my DD is 3 and she is considered normal in terms of sleeping. Generally she sleeps from 7:30 til 6:00 - but there are the odd nights that she wakes up. She may have a nightmare, wet her bed, fallen out of bed etc etc. I think by the time the sleeping gets settled you start worrying about whether or not they are sneaking out at night to meet the GF/BF... :D

Melinda - I don't have any suggestions either (goodness knows I will probably be going through the same thing soon - as soon as Gabby's teeth come through).
Just wanted to offer a huge :hugs:

Aw Mel, I sympathise with you, darlin', I feel like a walking zombie, seriously it's enough to drive you bloody insane isn't it?

Did or have you tries sleep school?

*hugs* I'm sorry I can't tell you it gets better.... you know Matilda's very similar in her sleeping patterns & its so frustrating. We were up from 2.30am -5.30am last night so I can't help 8-[

Yes, we went to sleep school when Jacob was 9.5m old. I wouldn't call it a raging success, but it certainly wasn't a failure either. They definitely showed us some different things to try to what we had been doing and I know that being consistent and persistent really are the keys - so we have made no changes at all to the 'routine' that we carry out with him before sleep as he has responded to it really well.

I think his latest round of sleeping problems is as a result of teething and learning to walk, plus he had a big day at his birthday party on Saturday. On top of that, I think he may have a little bit of a sore throat (he sounds a bit husky) and I think he may even be thinking about changing his sleeping patterns during the day, i.e. perhaps dropping to 1 sleep. I know that sometimes this can cause some sleep disturbances for a few weeks as they make that transition........

It's just been one of 'those' days YKWIM? It's not just for our sakes that I hope his sleep settles down again, but also for him as he's a much happier boy when he's had more rest! It's just funny because as soon as they start sleeping through the night, you think you've got it all under control and can handle anything else LOL, so it's a really rude surprise when all of a sudden they start waking again!!! And when he wakes, it's not for a feed....just awake!!

Mooshie - sometimes Jacob wakes and he's quite happy to chat to himself for a while, so we never go in there when he's doing that! It's funny as when he's had enough sleep, he will wake up chatting, but if he wakes up crying, he's still tired and wants to go back to snooze-ville. It's only when he cries that we will go in, and that's when it's an established cry, not a little wind-down whimper or grizzle IYKWIM?

Thanks everyone for your thoughts.......sometimes it really just helps to vent a bit!!!

We are going through exactly the same thing at the moment and I so agree with the sleep deprivation and torture comment!

I'll cross my fingers that you get a good nights sleep tonight (please do the same for us!!!)

Believe me Mimo, I really sympathise with anyone who has a little one that sleep doesn't come naturally for!!! It's such hard work.....for both the baby, and for the parents!!

Good luck.......I'll definitely keep my fingers crossed!

Its nice to know that we're not the only ones. I really feel for you Melinda and all the other mums who get woken up night after night. It can really get you down after a while. I think we all need a hug :grouphug: and some sleepy vibes :sleeping: :sleeping: :sleeping:

LOL Brooke, yes....it isn't good when you think they're a wonderful sleeper and then all of a sudden become atrocious at it! LOL I used to think how lucky we were with Jacob as we wouldn't hear a peep out of him all night.....he would sleep just sleep so soundly. So yeah, watch out for the developmental milestones like rolling over, crawling, walking and of course teething.....they are big things in a baby's life and can definitely throw out their sleeping patterns. Fingers crossed it doesn't happen to you guys! I'm sure it doesn't happen to everybody.

Dach - I agree with you, in that it can really get you down when you're not sleeping well. I find that it means that I have less tolerance/patience for the other trying things that may crop up during the day, and that's probably the worst thing for me. I really don't cope well with such broken sleep and I don't like feeling grumpy!!!

GROUP HUG FOR ALL THE SLEEP-DEPRIVED MUMS! LOL

:grouphug: I'll be in that one!

Night after night I am walking the boards here with little Alexander, up for nearly an hour every 2-3 hours! I forget what a long night's sleep was like, and now I have come to convince myself..I don't need it anyway...yeah right!
:)