Strugling and looking for a little hope.

Anyone who has had wakeful babies/toddlers. DS is 22 months old and has always been a poor sleeper. We have between 4 and 8 wakes a night.
I'm just wanting know when your frequent wakers finally slept better? At the moment I feel like I'm never going to sleep again :( Some days and weeks are worse than others and the last couple of weeks I am really struggling. So would love to hear from others who are now sleeping again to make my attitude a little more positive.
I got really angry with DS last night and I feel terrible :( it's not his fault but I am so exhausted.

I feel your pain hun, my dd has just turned 2 and I am still looking for the magic answer!!

I have 3 horrible sleepers so I feel your pain. Master 4 has recently started sleeping through pretty consistently so it does get better eventually.

willow5 :hug: Dont beat yourself up hun, sheer exhaustion is hard to deal with but feeling like there isnt a light at the end of the tunnel is just awful :( I was certain my DD wasnt going to sleep through before she was 21! She was much like your DS at that age and pretty darn bad from about 4 months ( we had the prefect newborn!) Then at about 23 months she just did, I dont know why, it just happened :dunno:. So she went from being up several times a night to sleeping about 11 hours straight. I guess Im trying to say that it will happen and it might just come out of the blue! Hang in there because this too shall pass :hug:

DD was terrible until 2 yrs 3 months - now she sleeps all night...it will happen...a psychologist once told me waking up during the night until they are four is normal. It is very very hard though I know.

Thanks everyone :hug: I'm also glad to hear it can just happen. I was talking to a friend who has 6 kids and she said in her experience it doesn't just happen and if it hasn't by 18 months you need to do something about it. I can't do CC, although last night I thought about it, but I'm just not comfortable with it. I've tried a few other things but nothing has worked. So I guess that is exactly what I needed to hear, that it can just happen out of the blue. So thank you :)

Boo Boo I did know that it's normal, but less than 8 times would be good lol actually I think last night was more like 12. Oh well tonight is a new night.

Yes hun, I promise it gets better :hug:
I've been getting up at least 4 times (often up to 10-12) for the last 6 years....at least it's only for one now.

My first born DD was a horrible sleeping waking at least hourly most nights. She was about 3 by the time she actually slept through the night. I feel for you Hun, sleep deprivation is the worst form of torture especially when you have to look after kids the next day.xo


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DS is now 3 and 1/2 and sleeps through about 4 nights a week. The other nights he wakes as normal but we got a king single so I always join him from the first wakeup until morning. It was just what worked for us. I am hoping that the 4 nights will increase to 7 sooner rather then later :hug: I feel your pain I truly do...

kelebek I sleep with DS too. The getting up and down just makes it worse. Yay for 4 nights! Hope you get the increase sooner rather than later.

my DS was very similar to yours willow :hug: it really is tough. we had 2 occasions where he slept right through the night until after he turned 2. i co-slept with him as well. then he got croup, slept with both DP & i & started sleeping through - well, he'd still stir but would reach out to us both & obviously be reassured enough not to wake up fully. he's just decided (at 27.5 months) that he would like to go back to sleeping in his own bed. in 3 nights he's woken on 2 nights & slept through once :dunno: it has improved greatly though compared to 6 months ago. i think 18 months is still a bit young - my MCHN said it was perfectly normal until 2 & even beyond for some kids.

:hug: i hope it improves for you soon.

Yep, I have 3 terrible sleepers too. DS2 (9mths) is still waking every 1-2 hours each night. DS1 (3.2yrs) wakes 1-3 times a night but has very occaisionally slept through, maybe once a fortnight, and DD (4.6yrs) will sometimes wake 1-2 times a night, though will also sometimes sleep through, maybe 3/7 nights.
There is hope, but IME, it won't be for a while yet. Though my first two kids got better at sleeping after they were about two and the amounts of times they were waking dropped pretty dramatically, to maybe 2 times a night, rather than 6 or more each.
Good luck hunny. I know the torture of non sleeping children all too well! Get a nanna nap or rest in when ever you have the opportunity!

My DD was a terrible sleeper, but once the last one of her 2 year old molars came through all of a sudden she is sleeping through most nights. On the nights she does wake it is only once a night and usually because she is cold because she has kicked the blankets off.

I hope things improve for you soon.

Janie xxx

Saw this and couldn't read without offering some :hug: :hug: :hug:

You know the issues I've had with DD. She's not a frequent waker - just likes to play for 2 hours the one time she does wake. But she is starting to sleep through more often. I believe that if she can do it, any child can.

DD was a frequent waker until a couple of months ago (around 26 months?). Now she sleeps through a few nights a week and only wakes once on the others. It just happened, didn't do anything.

Thanks everyone :hug:

I actually had a better day today. DS went down last night at about 8.30 then only woke at 11, 3.30, 5.30, 6.30 then up at 8am. I had not long gone to bed when he woke at 11 so I wasn't asleep yet, so it was like he only woke 3 times really. The last few were in the morning so it felt like I'd actually had some decent sleep, the 11pm to 3.30am stretch probably :)
So almost felt human today.

I feel your pain. My DD1 was a very frequent night waker but (to my surprise) started sleeping through at 27 months - one week before her sister was born and the whole cycle starts again!

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I'd actually had some decent sleep, the 11pm to 3.30am stretch probably :)
So almost felt human today.

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:D :hug: I remember when a 4 hour stretch was a decent sleep too (and the times I actually wished for that much straight). It does get better, the developmental leaps suck but I figure by the time he is a teenager I will be struggling to get him out of bed... right?! ;)

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Thanks everyone :hug: I'm also glad to hear it can just happen. I was talking to a friend who has 6 kids and she said in her experience it doesn't just happen and if it hasn't by 18 months you need to do something about it. I can't do CC, although last night I thought about it, but I'm just not comfortable with it. .

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Well I have four so not six but still. None of mine have been great sleepers. And yes the tiredness gets you down at times. I find eating healthy and a bit a exercise helps. Also a sanity shower to clear the mind before bed. Dd1 slept wellish til 9 months then terrible til about 2.5 yrs. with up to 4 milk cups thru the night at 2 ahhhh. Then dd2 always slept badly over night and still comes to our bed 2 times a night 5 nights a week ds still wakes often and dd3 can be second hourly. But I promise it gets better. All three of my older ones slept all night in their own bed and Molly gave me a 5 hr stretch. Lord I feel like a new women.

Happened out of the blue for us at about 18 months. He is still terrible to get to sleep but now only wakes if teething. Admittedly he doesn't sleep the golden 12 hours that I keep hearing about :rolleyes:but he sleeps long enough for us to feel human again! (8-9 hour stretches). I know that is younger than your LO at the moment but I thought that the fact that it happened out of the blue might give you some hope.

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It does get better, the developmental leaps suck but I figure by the time he is a teenager I will be struggling to get him out of bed... right?! ;)

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LOL you're probably right. I've come full circle my teenagers are finally getting themselves out of bed now. Which is good, they wouldn't be getting very nice wake up calls after long nights of no sleep with DS3.
I must say my 2 teenagers must have lulled me into a false sense of security. DS1 didn't sleep through until he was just over 2, but he only woke about twice and if he was in bed with me he just snuggled in and went back to sleep no drama. DS2 slept through from about 8 weeks I think! Slept anywhere any time. Maybe I should've quit while I was ahead :p

Hi, My son was three when he started to sleep through the night. It corresponded with our removing his bottle and eliminating night time milk feeds which he used to get to sleep. He arched up about two weeks into removing the bottle, but we stood firm and he got over it again pretty quick.

When ever I wanted to change an element of his sleeping pattern, I found it useful to sleep on the floor beside his bed for a few nights. I did this when I wanted him to learn to fall asleep in his bed and when I wanted him to stay in bed at night instead of coming into us.

Hi farmgirl. DS is actually starting to sleep :hooray: We have removed all food additives from his diet and he will now sleep between 5-8 hours straight, which is just a huge improvement for us :D He has also started to actually sit still to listen to a story which he wouldn't do before. He'd look at pictures in a book for a minute or two then he was off. He'll even watch a short kids show now. I never thought I'd be happy one of my kids was watching TV, but it makes a big difference and I can actually get something done while he's amused. This never happened before it was constant amusing him and nothing would get done besides that. He'll also go outside and play independently. We weren't trying to change anything behaviourally with him, only the sleep. The other changes were a bonus on top of getting sleep!

Horrid sleepers here too. Dd1 sleeps really well since school started..... Are you getting much exercise and taking your multi vitamins? Really does help hugs

Tegam I've been very slack on the exercise front and the vits for that matter. I'm about to start up my Floradix and probiotics again and break out the xtrainer, get it cleaned up and back to using it!

Willow I know it sounds simple but it really dies make a difference. I get to breaking point and it's always after no exercise and forgetting the vits. Remember we can't look after anyone is we are sick ourselves.

I read that wakefulness is a sign of intelligence...My DD is very smart! :)

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Willow I know it sounds simple but it really dies make a difference. I get to breaking point and it's always after no exercise and forgetting the vits. Remember we can't look after anyone is we are sick ourselves.

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I know you're absolutely right. I find the probiotics make a huge difference for me. The exercise releases all the good hormones to pick you up.

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I read that wakefulness is a sign of intelligence...My DD is very smart! :)

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lol Catherine. There could be something in that. I had HG when I was pg with DS3 and I was often told then that the sickness was a sign of intelligence. So, if the HG and the wakefulness are both signs of intelligence, DS will be a bloody genius! :rofl:
Seriously though, I have thought with the wakefulness that his little brain never stops, quite often when he wakes he'll be talking, counting, reciting letters, singing or telling you about something that happened that day, or, 6 months ago. So really brain development could play a part.