Anyone else feeling nearly suicidal by 2am????

[crunchy_mommy]

My 20mo DS's sleep is soooo erratic. Fortunately we've been having more good nights than bad lately (a good night being I get to sleep for 2-4 hours straight)... but some nights, like the last 2, are just horrendous. I have AF so I'm sure it's partly related to that somehow... but with horrible cramping and a kid that's waking up every 5 minutes for several HOURS, I literally wanted to die last night. I wouldn't mind so much if he just needed cuddles or something, but he HAS to nurse, that's the ONLY thing that calms him, and especially when I'm not feeling well, I just can't stand to be in 'nursing position' all night long (I'm a stomach sleeper)...

Maybe he's teething or something. I don't know. And after a couple hours of nursing and then him waking up a few minutes later, he finally fell asleep -- only to wake up soon after SCREAMING for his puppy dog to wake up. (The puppy is a little 1.5" plastic dog he pulled off DH's old toy fire truck & he carries it around during the day sometimes. There was no way I was going to find that thing in the dark so I had to do some serious talking to convince him to go back to sleep without the puppy.) Sometimes, like that, he seems to be having nightmares, and other times he seems uncomfortable (not sure I'd say he's in pain???), and then sometimes I just don't know.

I don't think nightweaning is an option for us, I don't think it would go over well at all, but maybe I'm wrong. Anyone nightwean successfully even though their gut told them it would never work for their kid?? DH is no help, once he's asleep he's out cold. I can function somewhat during the day (after all, I've been living on 2-4 hour sleep increments for nearly 2 years) but in the middle of the night, I am not kidding, I feel nearly suicidal. I JUST WANT TO SLEEP.

[chaoticzenmom]

I have nightweaned a few times. It's hard, especially when you have a child like yours who seems to want the breast in his mouth all night long. When your body aches all over, your mood is horrible and all you think about is sleep to the point where even the thought of sleep makes you want to cry....you need to nightwean.

If you don't want to nightwean yet, make sure that your baby has even the possibility of sleeping through the night. Is he warm all night? Are you making a tent cover over him that doesn't actually keep him warm? Is he in polyester pj's (a huge no no for my kids) Cotton, full-coverage pj's and I make sure that the covers are loose enough to drape in between us to avoid the baby getting a chill.

Also, I have a toddler bed right up next to my bed and the wall. I try to get the baby to sleep there and that helps him sleep longer. My movement, messy covers, my smell, all those things wake him up in my bed, but he's better in his bed with my hand over there on his back or holding his hand or if I rub his hair.

If you nightwean, shower and wear clean pj's to bed. When the baby wakes up and comes to you, pretend to be asleep. Sometimes, that's enough. If the baby keeps trying or starts crying, you can try comforting them when they cry, hold the, rock, pat, whatever, but stay relatively asleep, don't let the energy of wakefulness (or anger) enter the room if possible. It also helps to wear a clean sports bra or something. It will take 4 nights of this. The pattern seems to be Night 1, horrific, night 2, better, nights 3 horrific and night 4???
That's been my experience so far.

[crunchy_mommy]

Thanks for the tips, though I'm not sure either of us is ready for nightweaning, I don't think I can deal with it until he's at least back to sleeping 2-4 hour stretches. But maybe clean pj's/sheets/etc. would help anyway, reduce the milk smell?

He sleeps in sweatpants with no shirt. He hates having anything on his feet and prefers not to have the shirt either and he pushes off the blankets so I guess he is warm enough, maybe too warm?

I may need to try the mattress beside our bed again. We tried it when he was younger but he always ended up in my bed within seconds.

I think something was really bothering him last night (I don't know what????) because right now it's past 11am and he's still fast asleep in my lap (he's usually awake at 10am) and he's only woken twice since 9am (he usually wakes a lot more in the morning). I just don't know, I feel so bad that he doesn't sleep well, and so bad myself (I called in to work today because between a heavy AF and a horrible night's sleep, I just couldn't bear the thought of trying to WORK (I WAH).