Need to rant and get some advice- feeling pretty crap :-(

[mum2b410]

Ok, so its just taken me 70 minutes to get Ethan down for his lunchtime nap and I feel so frustrated coz it's like we've regressed back to when he was about 12 weeks old again! Over the last week he is cut his first 2 teeth and he has been generally more irritable and difficult to settle but not as bad as this! Even tho the 2 teeth are out now he just seems to be getting worse in terms of naps and night time sleep! The last 2 nights he has woken twice (normally only once) despite having calpol and he has been taking at 30-45 mins to settle to sleep before bed and during the day which usually ends up with me cuddling him to sleep coz he wont self settle anymore. I keep carrying on with the usual routine and giving him the chance to do it himself but he will just muck about in the cot and then start whinging and whining and eventually crying if he is left!!......I am not someone that wants to let my baby CIO and I went thru a very difficult time early on with getting him to sleep ( as I know a lot of mums do) and then to be able to self settle and he was doing soooo well for the last 4-6 weeks going down for naps pretty much independently and bedtime as well as dropping to once a night feeding but now its just like we've completely regressed!! I know I am lucky and that there are mummies with LO's who dont sleep anything like as well as Ethan has been doing and who have other issues above and beyond anything I am trying to cope with but I just feel like such a failure because I dont know y he is being like this or what I can do to make it better again

Does anyone have any thoughts? I wondered whether he is starting to experience some separation anxiety as well as the teething? (he balled his eyes out when my MIL came the other day and cried when she held him and normally he is fine, and has started crying when I leave the room- but not consistently) Also I have been giving him 2-3 doses of calpol a day for about 5 days now- should I carry on with this? Im not sure if its ok to keep giving it day after day after day?

Hope I'm making sense? Just needed to get this all out my head coz I'm feeling pretty low today and the more I keep going over everything the more confused I feel and the more negative I get. I've been suffering with PND and its times like this that I really feel like I am not a very good mummy and that I just can't cope

 

[pinkyprincess]

Sorry you're having a rough time. I agree about the separation anxiety but no advice I'm afraid! I find Tyler difficult to settle at night sometimes I don't know if he's in his own room but in the day time I sometimes I walk out and leave him for 10-15 mins (not crying just chatting) then try again. I know that's harder to do at night and hell I'm no expert at nights!

 

[Bella2]

Oh hon aounds like you're having a really rough time at the mo. To be honest though is sounds as if his behaviour is mostly down to teething - I found Grace to be worse too just AFTER the teeth had cut through, I had a rough few nights where she would scream everytime I laid her in her cot but it did get better in the end. Have you tried calprofen? It's basically baby ibuprofen but I found it worked better than calpol and the effects last for 6 hrs rather than the 4 hours that calpol works for. If it's really bad you can give it alongside the calpol too. Also have you tried the teething powders? They're quite good for helping to calm baby.

The good thing is you know that he is capable of settling himself so I'm sure after this awful teething period has passed he will go back to sleeping well. As for the separation anxiety he's probably craving his mummy more than anyone else because he's just feeling under the weather. Please don't feel you're a failure, you're doing really well, I honestly believe that being a mum is the hardest job in the world I really do x x

 

[mum2b410]

Yeh, I bought some calprofen the other day but havent given it yet coz we were giving calpol and wasnt sure if u could give them together. I havent given him any calpol today yet so I will try the calprofen I think.
Interesting that Grace was worse just after teeth cut coz I thought they were meant to be better once they had done the initial cut thru the gums. Did Grace get the bottom two at the same time? Dunno if thats normal or could be y he's acting like this coz they have come thru at pretty much the same time!

 

[LaurenMM]

Oh hun you poor thing I really can't get over how much Ethan and Angel have in common she used to be so good with self settling and napping and suddenly she started doing exactly the same as Ethan just messing around in the cot when she's so tired, whining then eventually crying. Like you I don't believe in CIO so I let her mess around but soon as she cried I went in. Honestly it could take me almost 2 hours just to get her to sleep and then she'd only sleep for 30 mins I honestly didn't know what to do I tried everything and nothing worked. Then for no reason she stopped and started falling asleep instantly and stay asleep for about 90 mins dunno what I did differently but something worked and now were back to square one again god really sorry for waffling on babe just wanted you to know I know how you feel so sorry I haven't got any decent advice but you are so not a failure hun you're lovely!! Really hope ur ok xxx

 

[jules84]

I may be stupid, BUT i thought the worst of teething was when the teeth were actually travelling down the gums? So he could be teething more but you mightn't be able to feel them yet?

As for the calpol I would try not to give it every day purely because you dont want it to stop working? Have you tried other teething things? My nephew has an amber anklet that his parents think is the bees knees? What about fresh air? I know when I have a toothache I need to be cold. It seems to help me. I have no clue about babies but Im sure its the same for them as us?

Sorry your having a rough time , hopefully it's just a phase xx

 

[katie_lou]

I use nelsons teething powder and I think it's great xxx

 

[Bella2]

Yeah I thought the same thing about teeth that they were meant to hurt more before they came through but for some reason with Grace she got more upset after they appeared! Really wierd! Yes she did get bottom 2 at the same time, I have a feeling top ones might be on the way now It is such an awful feeling when they've gone from being such settled babies to being the exact opposite, I remember thinking what's happened to my Gracie? Can relate to the not going down for naps thing, yesterday it took me nearly an hour to get her to go down for her nap, part of wonders is it because they're a bit older now and everything is more interesting which is why they protest when put in their boring old cot? x x

 

[mum2b410]

Been thinking about an amber bracelet- where's the best place to get them from?
I should have a good check round his mouth I guess to c if any more feel like they're on their way!
Dunno whats going on today with him- besides the nap thing he just sat on my lap after his bottle and had a cuddle and a biscuit- normally he wants to be back playing the second he has finished and is squirming around to be put back on the floor! x

 

[jules84]

Been thinking about an amber bracelet- where's the best place to get them from?
I should have a good check round his mouth I guess to c if any more feel like they're on their way!
Dunno whats going on today with him- besides the nap thing he just sat on my lap after his bottle and had a cuddle and a biscuit- normally he wants to be back playing the second he has finished and is squirming around to be put back on the floor! x

Sounds like he is out of sorts. I would prob just find somewhere where theres LOADS of reviews. Theyre knotted in between each beadxx

 

[mum2b410]

Oh hun you poor thing I really can't get over how much Ethan and Angel have in common she used to be so good with self settling and napping and suddenly she started doing exactly the same as Ethan just messing around in the cot when she's so tired, whining then eventually crying. Like you I don't believe in CIO so I let her mess around but soon as she cried I went in. Honestly it could take me almost 2 hours just to get her to sleep and then she'd only sleep for 30 mins I honestly didn't know what to do I tried everything and nothing worked. Then for no reason she stopped and started falling asleep instantly and stay asleep for about 90 mins dunno what I did differently but something worked and now were back to square one again god really sorry for waffling on babe just wanted you to know I know how you feel so sorry I haven't got any decent advice but you are so not a failure hun you're lovely!! Really hope ur ok xxx

Thanks chick- it is funny how they are so similar! How is Angel doing with her naps at the mo? xx

 

[mum2b410]

Yeah I thought the same thing about teeth that they were meant to hurt more before they came through but for some reason with Grace she got more upset after they appeared! Really wierd! Yes she did get bottom 2 at the same time, I have a feeling top ones might be on the way now It is such an awful feeling when they've gone from being such settled babies to being the exact opposite, I remember thinking what's happened to my Gracie? Can relate to the not going down for naps thing, yesterday it took me nearly an hour to get her to go down for her nap, part of wonders is it because they're a bit older now and everything is more interesting which is why they protest when put in their boring old cot? x x

True! During my 70min battle earlier he made his way over to the mobile and set it off himself- never done that before (i then turn it off from outside the door with the remote!lol only for him to then want to start it up again!!). I wouldnt mind in the slightest but its the fact that he is yawning and rubbing his eyes like mad when I set him down in the cot first of all- I know he is tired but he just doesnt want to accept it and go to sleep at the mo! He would rather 'play' and distract himself and then get more upset coz he gets overtired the longer it goes on!!
.......But yeh, been thinking exactly the same today- 'where has my good boy gone?!' He's just not his normal self

 

[Bella2]

Yeah I thought the same thing about teeth that they were meant to hurt more before they came through but for some reason with Grace she got more upset after they appeared! Really wierd! Yes she did get bottom 2 at the same time, I have a feeling top ones might be on the way now It is such an awful feeling when they've gone from being such settled babies to being the exact opposite, I remember thinking what's happened to my Gracie? Can relate to the not going down for naps thing, yesterday it took me nearly an hour to get her to go down for her nap, part of wonders is it because they're a bit older now and everything is more interesting which is why they protest when put in their boring old cot? x x

True! During my 70min battle earlier he made his way over to the mobile and set it off himself- never done that before (i then turn it off from outside the door with the remote!lol only for him to then want to start it up again!!). I wouldnt mind in the slightest but its the fact that he is yawning and rubbing his eyes like mad when I set him down in the cot first of all- I know he is tired but he just doesnt want to accept it and go to sleep at the mo! He would rather 'play' and distract himself and then get more upset coz he gets overtired the longer it goes on!!
.......But yeh, been thinking exactly the same today- 'where has my good boy gone?!' He's just not his normal self

Little bugger with the mobile! Gosh she sounds so similar to Grace - at least we know we're not alone! Good luck and lets hope they get past this phase soon! x x

 

[LaurenMM]

Oh hun you poor thing I really can't get over how much Ethan and Angel have in common she used to be so good with self settling and napping and suddenly she started doing exactly the same as Ethan just messing around in the cot when she's so tired, whining then eventually crying. Like you I don't believe in CIO so I let her mess around but soon as she cried I went in. Honestly it could take me almost 2 hours just to get her to sleep and then she'd only sleep for 30 mins I honestly didn't know what to do I tried everything and nothing worked. Then for no reason she stopped and started falling asleep instantly and stay asleep for about 90 mins dunno what I did differently but something worked and now were back to square one again god really sorry for waffling on babe just wanted you to know I know how you feel so sorry I haven't got any decent advice but you are so not a failure hun you're lovely!! Really hope ur ok xxx

Thanks chick- it is funny how they are so similar! How is Angel doing with her naps at the mo? xx

They've gone downhill again I'm afraid, taking aggges to get her off and even then she's only down for 30 mins xx

 

[mum2b410]

Oh hun you poor thing I really can't get over how much Ethan and Angel have in common she used to be so good with self settling and napping and suddenly she started doing exactly the same as Ethan just messing around in the cot when she's so tired, whining then eventually crying. Like you I don't believe in CIO so I let her mess around but soon as she cried I went in. Honestly it could take me almost 2 hours just to get her to sleep and then she'd only sleep for 30 mins I honestly didn't know what to do I tried everything and nothing worked. Then for no reason she stopped and started falling asleep instantly and stay asleep for about 90 mins dunno what I did differently but something worked and now were back to square one again god really sorry for waffling on babe just wanted you to know I know how you feel so sorry I haven't got any decent advice but you are so not a failure hun you're lovely!! Really hope ur ok xxx

Thanks chick- it is funny how they are so similar! How is Angel doing with her naps at the mo? xx

They've gone downhill again I'm afraid, taking aggges to get her off and even then she's only down for 30 mins xx

Not good! Do u think they are just going thru some developmental thing or is she teething again like Ethan at the mo? x