SLEEEEEEEP (or lack of!)

[Bubbles26]

After some advice/experience/comforting words!!
DS 2 is 11 weeks old and just a god awful sleeper and I'm struggling. I have a near on 3yr old who was just completely different as a baby (I know they are all different) he used to sleep when he needed to sleep, take good naps, sleep well at night- not through but at least fed and went back to sleep!
However..... I seem to have the Satan of sleep. He won't settle for naps. Anywhere. Unless we're out which I can't do 3/4 times a day. If he does go to sleep he is awake after 35 mins and I can't get him back to sleep. He won't feed to sleep. He won't rock to sleep. He won't bounce to sleep. He isn't really interested in a dummy..... from an early age I left my first to have a little grizzle when i put him down and within 10 mins he was asleep. DS2 just gets hysterical. You kno the purple breath holding cry! (Which i don't let happen)
Night times- he goes to bed pretty well anywhere between 6.30and 7 and will normally wake at 10 for a feed and go back off til 1/1.30. Then he's just a nightmare. Won't settle. Will be asleep in my arms but when I lay him down he wakes. He cries. If he does go to sleep he's awake again an hour and a half later. It just feels never ending at the moment.
I try to put him down for his first sleep when he shows tired signs which to be fair is probably the only sleep he settles in to quite well. But then he wakes after 30 mins. It's not enough and we spend all day chasing our tails in a cycle of over tiredness. Unless I go out so he sleeps in car/buggy.
Any tips/suggestions....:: in ALL ears and willing to try anything!!

 

[Blueclass]

Sorry no tips but your not alone. My baby is almost 6m and never sleeps up less I feed her to sleep and hold her. As soon as i put her down she is up and crying wanting to be fed again. She goes to sleep when I go to sleep as she wont even go down for a few hrs on her own. Once asleep in bed she will sleep say 2 hrs then I'm up every 2hrs feeding her. I'm so exhausted. I need super nanny!

 

[can]

Hi no advice really either and what I'm going to say won't make you feel better but my 16 month old still needs rocking to sleep!!!! And he is still up 2-3 times a night. He is my third and they have all been terrible sleepers. I just think some babies sleep better then others. Hang in in there I know it's extremely hard but at 11 weeks there is still plenty of time to change. I'm holding he settles into an it if a routine soon for you as he gets older and more aware of his surroundings. Good luck and if you crack it please let me know!!

 

[fcroxy]

Sorry to hear your having a tough time. Sounds a lot like my oldest daughter, especially only napping whilst in the car or pram. My oldest (shes 3 next week) was a horrendous sleeper, didn't sleep more than 2 hours at a time for the first 6-8 months, hardly napped, has only just started sleeping through this past month! When I say sleeping through, she generally wakes once a night still for a drink but doesn't usually wake me anymore. Except the other night when she woke at 3am and didnt go back to sleep until 7.30am!!nLike can said some babies sleep, others dont!

I tried everything I could with my daughter, some things worked for short periods of time, others didnt. I was told sleep breeds sleep so if you can get your LO to have better naps in the day it should start to help night times. The HV told me to put my LO down for a nap 2 hours after waking and to repeat throughout the day, that way it was building her sleeping up gradually. Although it took a while for her to get use to she did respond to it and would then go down for naps easier. This did take a few months. Funny thing is I also do it with my youngest daughter subconsciously and pretty much have done since the beginning and shes a great sleeper so far (shes 16 weeks)

Have you tried pushing your LO in their pram in the house for naps? I had to do this for a while and although its time consuming and frustrating I found my daughter would generally nap for an hour or so. If I saw she started to stir after 30-40 mins I would start pushing again before she fully woke and most times she would fall back to sleep for a little while longer.

Have you tried co sleeping? If your LO will only sleep in your arms maybe they'd sleep well beside you. I know its not for everyone but I have done it many times, just to get some sleep at least!

Also is your LO a very sicky baby? My daughter had reflux which meant she would always be unsettled laying flat and I couldn't lay her down for at least half hour or so after a feed as she would be in too much pain and really unsettled.

Another thing I tried was white noise, you can get white noise apps or videos on youtube. It sometimes worked, other times not.

Sorry for the long post, as im writing more stuff is popping into my head that I tried lol. I really do hope it gets easier for you as being sleep deprived is the worst thing ever. xx

 

[YorksLass]

What fcroxy said about the daytime napping seems to be true for our daughter too. Not really knowing what I was doing at first, I wasn't enforcing day naps at all, and her night sleeping was crap, up every hour or two lol
Now I do similar, making her nap every 2 hours in the day, if only for 10 or 20 minutes. I let her sleep on me for those as she gets off easier, stroking her eyebrows gently. At night, she's been great so far the last 2 weeks, I can only assume because of the napping routine! She's just gone into her own room, which I think has helped also, and I've made it as dark as I can. After some training I can now put her down awake too, give a kiss, say goodnight and leave and she'll often just settle herself now. She tends to wake still between 11-1 for a feed, and often wants to get up and start her day anywhere between 4-6am, but at least she's sleeping in some solid chunks!
Hope things get better for you soon, the sleep deprivation is awful. That's definitely something I know - I have a sleep problem anyway, so if my little un sleeps, then invariably I bloody can't lol

 

[kumber]

My youngest only ever slept in blocks, I was feeding him 2 hourly day and night until he was 10 months old.

11 weeks is very young to expect long stretches of sleep, the waking in the night sounds completely normal. It's really hard but it does get better!

 

[Bubbles26]

Thanks for the replies ladies. I know it will get better it's just bloody tough!! He's slept well the last two nights but he's in his bouncer in his cot. It's the only way he will settle and stay asleep but don't want it to be a permanent thing. I'm trying different bottles to see if they help with his reflux. He's not actually sick but he screams out in pain it's horrible. I'm not expecting nightsthrough and when people say their babies slept through from a couple of weeks old I think that's great but it's not the norm! It's more the fact I can't even lie him down that's bothering me. I tilt his cot. He's in a sleepyhead swaddled. I lie next to him and it makes no difference. Don't want to wish this time away as they are only
Little once but I can't even set up the pushchair to go out without him crying. Not easy with a 3 yr old!

 

[kumber]

What meds are you on for reflux? If you spent already, invest in an upright sling for the daytime that fully supports his head and hips. They are a bit pricey but they're SO worth it, as you can pop them in and get on with everything else. Once he gets a decent sleep in the day, he'll start getting a better lot of sleep at night

 

[Ttc1234]

Sounds very similar to my lo! He was a nightmare baby - didn't sleep and cried a lot! He is now 21 weeks and doesn't cry quite as much and now has 2-3 30 min naps a day which is better than nothing but still needs constantly entertained or he will cry!. Basically - everyday come rain or shine I go out in the pram otherwise I'm demented by night. Serious. If I had a depressive personality I'd be depressed - luckily I can laugh about it. It's been tough but is slowly improving! Also try swimming as it may tire him out (I get a 1 hour nap afterwords). Also background noise may help - we go to a toddlers group and he loves it - smiles and stays settled and everyone comments what a lovely settled baby he is!!!haha
Goodluck

 

[Sprout]

Could you try bed sharing? I brought our LO into our bed at 5 months and it dramatically improved her wake ups, plus I could just feed her to sleep and not have to worry about trying to move her