Please help I'm soo tired

[EllasMummy]

We have been co-sleeping with DD since she was 7 weeks old with her in a co-sleeper as our bed is quite a small double. It was working really well. I would nurse her to sleep in the side lying position in our bed, wait 20 mins or so for her to fall into a deep sleep and then move her across into her co-sleeper where she would have about 3 or 4 hours sleep before waking to feed again. She wouldnt have to fully awake before I would start to nurse her so she would stay asleep and I was able to put her back into the co-sleeper as soon as she had finished. It used to be wonderful, so easy and next to no sleep deprivation.

For the last month though she has been waking every 2 hours and then for the past week every 1 1/2 hours and now she will not sleep in her co-sleeper inbetween feeds. She is taking a long time to resettle even if she is right next to me in our bed. I feel as if I have hardly shut my eyes in the last week and certainly not for longer than 45 mins to 1 hr at a time.

I am scared to let her sleep too close to me. She wants to have her face next to my breast and her hand in my armpit. I have big breasts and I am worried about smoothering her.

On top of all this she is a night owl and will not go to bed before 11pm. If we get her down earlier than that she wakes up after 30 mins ready to go again as if it was just a nap rather than the start of the night. I am definately not a night owl and I am feeling exhausted before we even go to bed.

I really want this co-sleeping to work, I love being next to her as she sleeps and I would hate to put her in a cot in another room. I just dont know what to do. Last night I was crying in bed because I am so tired.

Please, any help or suggestions for things to try would be great.

[love2bhome]

Hi Becky!

I feel your pain:crying I have not been co-sleeping since birth, we started co-sleeping around 6 months of age. Until then dd would sleep in her crib on her own, sometimes all night! That ended.... And when it came to choosing CIO or co-sleeping we chose co-sleeping. I can remember several instances when I cried to dh, I just want some sleep!

I am fortunate to be a SAHM so I often nap during the day when we've had a night where dd wakes every hour or so. These stages usually pass, sometimes with a new tooth or a growth spurt. She is now 13 months and still only sleeps 3 hours MAX in bed with us. I too have only a double bed and no side sleeper! I often end up falling asleep with her on my breast, her preferred sleeping position. When ever I wake up or if I manage to unlatch her before I fall asleep I like to put her up on my pillow beside my head. I have a firm pillow so I don't worry much about her breathing. I find hearing each other breath helps both of us.

This next comment may be a little harsh....the first time I read it I thought it was. I can't even remember where I read it.... but it was in an article against CIO. The author made some sort of comment about parents giving up their right to sleep through the night when they have kids. I am comforted by that in a weird sort of way on the days when I think I'm going to fall asleep standing up. :)

I wish you many peaceful nights with your dd close by you!

[lovingmother]

My son is 8 months old. I remember that his sleeping patterns changed a lot, as the months went by, and one thing that seemed to help with him not waking up again so soon after bed time was to make sure that he had a full tummy at the beginning. After month four or so, I started a bed time ritual with reading a book, then giving him a bottle with some pumped breast milk in it, with the lights out, then nursing after that and he usually falls asleep for a sound couple of hours. This before bed meal is the biggest of his day, still.

Has anything changed at home -- like are you gone more, or is something else big different? When I went back to work after maternity leave, he woke up much more often and nursed much more often than before that or than when I take two weeks off from work (now). For the past two weeks he has been sleeping for four hours at a time, which feels like a great luxury to me.

By the way, One book which I found to be VERY helpful is by Dr. and Mrs. Sears -- their Baby Book (blue cover with some babies on it). Their nighttime parenting book is also helpful.

All the best to you.

[Island Mommy]

4 months is when my dd's sleep really started to get bad too. I now think it was teething. If you're OK with conventional drugs you could try giving her some pain relief about an hour before her bedtime.

Try to get one with an anti-inflammatory. Advil or Motrin are the brand names here. In the UK it may be paracetimol? Just ask the pharmacist.

If you're not OK with conventional drugs there are homeopathic teething tablets and other natural remedies that are used to ease teething pain. It's worth a try.