If he doesn't start sleeping soon I am going to lose my ever-loving mind.

[Belia]

That pretty much sums it up, I guess.


He hasn't STTN for weeks now, but last night was the worst. I got up with him at 11 or 12-ish and nursed. DH got up with him at 2:00- I forget whether he said he gave him a bottle of milk or just walked him around. I got up with him at 3:30 and nursed him again- no luck. I tried laying down with him in the guest room and he screamed, climbed off the bed, and walked me back to his room. I sat with him for an hour while he lay in his crib playing with his blanket... still no sleep. At 4:30 I gave up and got up with him, where he proceeded to throw magnets from the fridge across the floor and wake DH up.

So he / we were up from 3:30 on.

DH and I both work full time jobs. I cannot do this any more. I already run-run-run pretty much every minute of every day, it seems, just trying to keep this place together. Cook, clean, grocery shop, meal plan, save money. And I don't even do any of that stuff well- I'm just talking bare minimum maintenance.

I really need to start going to sleep the minute DS goes, but I'm sorry. I don't WANT to go to bed at 8:00. I want a little time to myself to do what I want. Is that too much to ask.

How on earth do those of you with 2+ kids do this???

I swear to all that is holy..... if he doesn't start sleeping soon, I don't know what I will do. But it won't be good.

[lyra1977]

Take what I'm about to say with a huge splash of salt since your DS is older than my DD and I might be having the same night in a couple of weeks (please, no). But maybe you should try putting him in a big boy bed? We had a lot of sleep trouble with DD for awhile and it has worked to make her feel in control of her sleep arrangements, so we go back and forth between her crib, a mattress on the floor, a toddler bed, our bed...whatever works to get her to sleep and keep her asleep.

Granted, my DD has only STTN about 30 times total since she was 4 months (she had a beautiful period from 2-4 months where swaddling worked), so some people would say she's been in a regression for 16 months But what you are describing is way beyond normal for this age, so in my opinion he's regressing, which means a growth spurt. When they are in these sleep regressions I think you should make your battle cry "by any means necessary" to get through it, so that everyone in the house gets the maximum amount of sleep. Even if you have to go to bed at 8 with him for a couple of weeks, it won't be forever. He'll get through this regression and on the other side of it you'll find that his brain has grown 3 sizes and all of a sudden he's speaking in prepositional phrases and STTN. As you said, last night was the worst and that really, really stinks to be at the low point.

[EzzysMom]

I'm sorry this sounds rough. I know you don't want to go to bed early, but maybe try like twice a week to do it? Lack of sleep is such a mood and everything killer and the sun shines a little brighter once you get some more sleep.

I'd also look at how much he's napping/what time is bedtime. Sometimes they just need less sleep for a little while (couple of weeks) and then they'll settle again. At least we've gone through that with my daughter.

[marispel]

What time does he take a nap?
For how long?
What is your nighttime routine?
Has your DS ever STTN?
Does he have his canine teeth in yet?

[gagin37]

Just here to commiserate. my ds is the same age as yours, and we've always had ummm, sleep issues. He goes down very late, usually around 11, is up several times, then up for the day at 8. Some days we nap, others no nap, or a very late nap because he refused to go down at naptime (3-5). I have tried getting him on a better nap schedule, but he outright refuses to budge. We've been trying to nightwean, and were doing pretty well until daddy left for a 6 week trip, and then more teething. so we're back to waking up two and three times a night. We actually had about a week where he was STTN, so I know it's possible...

[Belia]

Last night he was a little better, but I was a LOT worse.

I finally fell asleep at about 10:15, and he woke me up at... 11:00. I had 45 minutes of sleep.

I completely lost it. He didn't want to nurse- either last night or this morning. He literally pushed me and pointed to the kitchen and said "Bottle."

I had some really violent, scary thoughts. Fantasies almost. I probably would be a UAV just by describing them. Both about DS and DH. I never felt like DS was unsafe with me in any way. I was just so ANGRY. I feel so bad just writing that. I am so afraid to put that in writing.

So I gave him a bottle and he went back to sleep. I didn't get up with him again- I'm not sure if DH did or not. But that 45 minutes just killed me.

Originally Posted by marispel

What time does he take a nap?
For how long?
What is your nighttime routine?
Has your DS ever STTN?
Does he have his canine teeth in yet?

DS is in daycare from 7:00 - 3:00. He's a good napper there- he sleeps from about 12:30 - 3:00. We put him down to bed at 8:00 every night. We start winding down about 7:15 or so- we turn on Sprout and watch RubberDubbers, Kipper, eat some fruit, listen to lullabies. At 8:00 DH or I rock him to sleep with a bottle of milk.

It's interesting to me that every night he wakes up after about 3 hours- which is about how long he naps at school. It's like he's trained to only sleep for 3 hours at a time.

DS slept through the night from about 3-6 months, then regressed a bit, then slept through the night probably 6 out of 7 nights a week for the last while. Then about 2 months ago that stopped. I don't remember too many details- it's all pretty fuzzy. He has never been a horrible sleeper.

He's getting his canine teeth now. The very tips are pointing through.

I am so tired of feeling do frazzled and on edge. I am so sorry that he is unhappy all the time.

[Climbergirl]

I have SO BEEN there! Working full time, teething baby, doesn't want to sleep, etc.

I would consider cutting out the TV at night. Honestly, it makes me more awake and I have a harder time going to sleep if I have watched TV before going to bed. Annoyingly, DH has the TV on right now (grrrr).

Anyway, the only thing that saved me was pushing the crib next to the bed. At least that way, I could put my hand on him before he really woke up and would sometimes settle him down quickly. That way, even if he did get upset, I did not have to physically get out of bed. I am a SAHM now and we are transitioning DS to a big bed in his room and I have thought I was going to seriously lose it numerous times over the past few months (and I did not have to work the next day). Ok, truth be told, I did lose it a couple of times. It wasn't pretty. Mainly because I have to get out of bed to take care of things.

You should look into things to help with the teething. We are teething now as well, and giving him something for the pain is helpful. There is an oil that helps to numb (gum-o-mile), homeopathy (this has really helped), and worse come to worse, Tylenol.

I hope this gets better soon. There is nothing worse than not getting sleep.

[gagin37]

Originally Posted by Belia

Last night he was a little better, but I was a LOT worse.

I finally fell asleep at about 10:15, and he woke me up at... 11:00. I had 45 minutes of sleep.

I completely lost it. He didn't want to nurse- either last night or this morning. He literally pushed me and pointed to the kitchen and said "Bottle."

I had some really violent, scary thoughts. Fantasies almost. I probably would be a UAV just by describing them. Both about DS and DH. I never felt like DS was unsafe with me in any way. I was just so ANGRY. I feel so bad just writing that. I am so afraid to put that in writing.

So I gave him a bottle and he went back to sleep. I didn't get up with him again- I'm not sure if DH did or not. But that 45 minutes just killed me.




DS is in daycare from 7:00 - 3:00. He's a good napper there- he sleeps from about 12:30 - 3:00. We put him down to bed at 8:00 every night. We start winding down about 7:15 or so- we turn on Sprout and watch RubberDubbers, Kipper, eat some fruit, listen to lullabies. At 8:00 DH or I rock him to sleep with a bottle of milk.

It's interesting to me that every night he wakes up after about 3 hours- which is about how long he naps at school. It's like he's trained to only sleep for 3 hours at a time.

DS slept through the night from about 3-6 months, then regressed a bit, then slept through the night probably 6 out of 7 nights a week for the last while. Then about 2 months ago that stopped. I don't remember too many details- it's all pretty fuzzy. He has never been a horrible sleeper.

He's getting his canine teeth now. The very tips are pointing through.

I am so tired of feeling do frazzled and on edge. I am so sorry that he is unhappy all the time.

s I have so been there! the anger and then the guilt, it's so hard! One night i had dh take ds and put him in his bed for a few minutes because i was so mad. we all just cried and cried. And canines are the devil, ds is getting all 4 right now, 3 have broken through. We do an amber necklace, and sometimes Tylenol and Hylands teething tablets.

[Louisep]

We've been to hell and back with sleep and as soon as I read your post and looked to see how old your son is, I immediately thought "teething" (two year molars might be on their way).

The day my DS got his first tooth through at 5 months, he stopped sleeping. The day he got his last tooth through (save for 2 year molars), he started sleeping.

His canines were the WORST of the lot.

Also, his nap sounds very long to me. Do you think it is too long? I'm sure it's teething-related though.

Poor you, it's horrible. DH and I switch off with DS - one of us sleeps with him one night and the other the next.