In one question: is there any chance I will not go crazy from sleep deprivation?
I'm 31 wks along with baby #3, and DD2 will be 17 mos. when the baby comes. DD2 has co-slept since birth, and she's a pretty good sleeper....when everything's quiet. She absolutely will not sleep through noise, not in the day or at night. We use a white noise machine or a fan to help this, and we use music during the day to help her stay down for naps. But any sudden noise will wake her (um...like a crying newborn).
Our sleep situation is that dh sleeps in the next room, and it works for us both for now. He has a harder time with night-time parenting than even I do (controlling frustration), though neither of us are good at it. But I have nursies to pull out so that helps me get better sleep no matter what!
In the second bedroom, where the girls and I sleep, we have bunkbeds with a toddler bed as a sidecar to the bottom bunk. DD1, 7yo, sleeps like a rock, and is on the top bunk. She moved to her own bed when DD2 was born, but is not ready to move to her own room. I sleep on the bottom bunk & DD2 sleeps either with me or on the toddler bed next to me, then comes to me when she wakes. She is nightweaned and I try very hard to stick to the nightweaning "rules" (no nursies until daylight) unless she is sick or I'm completely exhausted and she won't give up. The few exceptions to the rule have not made us backslide in nightweaning at all so they don't concern me. She takes a paci and a sippy cup of water at night to get back to sleep without nursing.
As my due date approaches, I'm getting more and more nervous about how co-sleeping with a newborn and such a young toddler is going to work - or if anyone is going to be getting any sleep at all. Here's what I've come up with so far.
1. Ideally, DD2 would take to sleeping with DH for awhile, but I don't see that happening in reality. Realistically, I think I might be able to get her to sleep with DH every few nights to give me a break and maybe work into being with him at night eventually. Would it be worth our time and possible lack of sleep to try it before the baby comes instead of after? Could this make it more likely to be successful?
2. If DD2 continues to sleep in the room with me after the baby comes, should I expect that she is not going to be so keen on our no-nursing-at- night when she sees the new baby able to nurse throughout the night? Last night, I was at my best friend's house who just had a baby a month ago. I held her baby a few times while she ran and did something, and each time, after I gave the baby back to her, DD2 wanted to nurse. It was like she was "reclaiming" me.
It was cute, but wouldn't be so cute in the middle of the night. I do plan to tandem during the day for as long as it works for the three of us.
3. Is there anything I can do about her sensitivity to noise and the fact she'll have a newborn crying throughout the night next to her? I can't think of a thing except maybe music throughout the night? Earplugs? Do they even make earplugs for a one year old?
Sorry for such a long post. I'm sure I'm not the only one who wakes up during the night, tossing and turning over anxieties - especially when I'm pregnant. These things are what I think about every. single. night. during my 3:00 a.m. waking while I imagine a new baby in the mix. I've wanted to post about it for a long time, but there's never a good time to write it out. I'm a horrible mother, wife, human being when sleep-deprived so this is my number one worry. Any experience from others with closely spaced babies would be sooooo appreciated.
I'm 31 wks along with baby #3, and DD2 will be 17 mos. when the baby comes. DD2 has co-slept since birth, and she's a pretty good sleeper....when everything's quiet. She absolutely will not sleep through noise, not in the day or at night. We use a white noise machine or a fan to help this, and we use music during the day to help her stay down for naps. But any sudden noise will wake her (um...like a crying newborn).
Our sleep situation is that dh sleeps in the next room, and it works for us both for now. He has a harder time with night-time parenting than even I do (controlling frustration), though neither of us are good at it. But I have nursies to pull out so that helps me get better sleep no matter what!
In the second bedroom, where the girls and I sleep, we have bunkbeds with a toddler bed as a sidecar to the bottom bunk. DD1, 7yo, sleeps like a rock, and is on the top bunk. She moved to her own bed when DD2 was born, but is not ready to move to her own room. I sleep on the bottom bunk & DD2 sleeps either with me or on the toddler bed next to me, then comes to me when she wakes. She is nightweaned and I try very hard to stick to the nightweaning "rules" (no nursies until daylight) unless she is sick or I'm completely exhausted and she won't give up. The few exceptions to the rule have not made us backslide in nightweaning at all so they don't concern me. She takes a paci and a sippy cup of water at night to get back to sleep without nursing.
As my due date approaches, I'm getting more and more nervous about how co-sleeping with a newborn and such a young toddler is going to work - or if anyone is going to be getting any sleep at all. Here's what I've come up with so far.
1. Ideally, DD2 would take to sleeping with DH for awhile, but I don't see that happening in reality. Realistically, I think I might be able to get her to sleep with DH every few nights to give me a break and maybe work into being with him at night eventually. Would it be worth our time and possible lack of sleep to try it before the baby comes instead of after? Could this make it more likely to be successful?
2. If DD2 continues to sleep in the room with me after the baby comes, should I expect that she is not going to be so keen on our no-nursing-at- night when she sees the new baby able to nurse throughout the night? Last night, I was at my best friend's house who just had a baby a month ago. I held her baby a few times while she ran and did something, and each time, after I gave the baby back to her, DD2 wanted to nurse. It was like she was "reclaiming" me.
It was cute, but wouldn't be so cute in the middle of the night. I do plan to tandem during the day for as long as it works for the three of us.3. Is there anything I can do about her sensitivity to noise and the fact she'll have a newborn crying throughout the night next to her? I can't think of a thing except maybe music throughout the night? Earplugs? Do they even make earplugs for a one year old?
Sorry for such a long post. I'm sure I'm not the only one who wakes up during the night, tossing and turning over anxieties - especially when I'm pregnant. These things are what I think about every. single. night. during my 3:00 a.m. waking while I imagine a new baby in the mix. I've wanted to post about it for a long time, but there's never a good time to write it out. I'm a horrible mother, wife, human being when sleep-deprived so this is my number one worry. Any experience from others with closely spaced babies would be sooooo appreciated.
I have similar concerns and am curious to see what others have to say. 
