week of 1/15

[shauni27]

Morning, all.

I am dead tired. Plus for some reason the coffee from this morning is making me feel really jittery. Not an enjoyable combination.

S has been sleeping like CRAP lately. We moved him into his own room over Christmas and attempted to let him CIO. He went 2 hours one night without stopping so we gave up. He was sleeping in 3-4 hour stretches in his crib but now he is down to 1.5-2 hours in the crib. He will wake up WAILING. We can rock him back to sleep and eventually put him in his rock n play (also in his own room) which will get us closer to 3.5 hours of sleep. I hate that he is just about 6 months and still prefers the rock n play. But on the other hand...if he sleeps best there, and therefore WE all sleep better, what is the harm? Someone give me advice or commiserate one way or another, lol. Do we try to let him CIO again? He CAN calm himself down if he isn't wailing or super crying. If he is just fussy he occasionally calms himself down enough to sleep. Are we coddling him too much? Did I ruin things because for 90% of his naps at home they are on me (because I love it)??

Ugh. Just ugh.

[lo]

Our babies sound similar so I can’t give you any advice! My DD is just about 8 months and still wakes up every 1-3 hours all night. It’s so tiring. She also ends up in the rock n play around 4/5 every morning otherwise she tries to wake up for the day, and NO.

[shauni27]

lo, I am glad I am not the only one. It is exhausting. We were waiting to put S in the rock n play until closer to 4 or 5 in the am (whenever his last wakeup was) just to get him to sleep a little later in the morning, but now he is being a jerk about his crib and really will only sleep significantly in the rnp. So frustrating.

[kellikans]

I'm doing my 3-hour glucose test and trying not to puke.

[lo]

Hugs, shauni27, it really sucks! I don’t remember what it feels like to feel well rested. The only way I’m getting through it is remembering it won’t last forever but it is NOT easy.

My DD seems to like to feel cozy and movement while sleeping, so she’s not a huge fan of the crib. Sometimes she ends up in RnP earlier in night, but she’s pretty big now and I don’t think it’s as comfortable for her all night. She loves the rocking motion, though.

[loira]

shauni27, take this with a grain of salt because A was always an okay sleeper, but she definitely napped on me 90% of the time until she was around 11 months. We had a hard time adjusting to crib naps, but it didn't seem to affect her nighttime sleep. Maybe S just isn't ready for CIO yet? I dunno. I used to drive myself into a tizzy reading all the advice posts, and seeing what everyone was doing with their babies and in the end nobody else's approach worked for mine. Schedule? Forget it, she set her own. Dropping bottles at 1? Nope, she's still drinking them at 2. Sleep begets sleep? Letting her sleep as long as she wanted in the day was a nightmare for nighttime. Teaching her to use a spoon at 7 months? Lol, I could not be arsed. So honestly, my best advice is to just do what works for you and S. I mean, unless there's a safety issue with him being in the RnP (not familiar with them as they don't sell them in Canada), what's the harm? Oh, and A finally transitioned to napping in her crib when she got too big to sleep comfortably on me - so maybe S will outgrow the RnP and want to sleep in the crib on his own.

[thoseareradishes]

shauni27, I would probably also take my advice with a grain of salt since the NICU basically sleep trained my baby, but I would try to transition him out of the RnP, and help him learn to put himself to sleep (i.e. no rocking). If he can put himself to sleep, he should be able to get himself back to sleep during the night most of the time. I would make sure he's well rested with naps before trying to put him down for the night (so he's not overtired and flipping out) and have plan on how you're going to deal with crying. Last night E was losing her shit because she was overtired, and couldn't calm down by herself in her crib. I ended up rubbing her back until she settled down enough to suck on her pacifier, then I let her take it from there. If you aren't escalating the situation by being there, then you can stay nearby and offer reassurance. He's not going to be happy because you are changing things but I think in the long run you will all get better sleep.

[Mushe]

shauni27, is he hungry at these wake ups, or just in an unfamiliar place? It’s a big transition from a RNP, which feels closed in, to a wide open crib. Do you do sleep sacks? I know he’s rolling, so I’m not suggesting a swaddle, but the close feeling from a sleep sack type thing might help.

We did CIO at about 8mo, when I knew he didn’t need to eat overnight, but had to go in and soothe him, without picking him up.

[shauni27]

Mushe, He will eat anything from 2 ounces to 6 at a feeding at night. I am going to start trying to see if I can rock him to sleep without a bottle if it has been less than 3 hours (which worked last night). He is in a sleep sack and also, despite what everything says about not having anything in the crib, we use a sleep positioner to make him feel less open, you know? It doesn't seem to make a difference.

I have heard that laying flat is worse for both teething and ear infections. I will keep an eye on both and maybe try tylenol as well, checkc his temp, etc. It is new that he has been crying and wailing like he has been the last few nights.

[cactuscookie]

We used Merlin's magic sleepsuit when we stopped swaddling. I don't know if it made a difference, because we sleep-trained and crib-trained at the same time, but if nothing else, it was HILARIOUS.

[shauni27]

Jan 15, 2018 15:34:34 GMT -5 cactuscookie said:

We used Merlin's magic sleepsuit when we stopped swaddling. I don't know if it made a difference, because we sleep-trained and crib-trained at the same time, but if nothing else, it was HILARIOUS.

I am considering it, but I also feel nervous about it--like, what if S wakes up and needs to move for some reason, and he is unable to? Did you find it helpful?

We essentially never swaddled. After 2 weeks we stopped because he just hated it.

[cactuscookie]

Jan 15, 2018 15:42:06 GMT -5 shauni27 said:

Jan 15, 2018 15:34:34 GMT -5 cactuscookie said:

We used Merlin's magic sleepsuit when we stopped swaddling. I don't know if it made a difference, because we sleep-trained and crib-trained at the same time, but if nothing else, it was HILARIOUS.

I am considering it, but I also feel nervous about it--like, what if S wakes up and needs to move for some reason, and he is unable to? Did you find it helpful?

We essentially never swaddled. After 2 weeks we stopped because he just hated it.

Oh, she could definitely move in it. She'd roll over, stand up when she woke up, etc.

I don't know if it was helpful, but, almost a year and a half later, she still sleeps in a sleepsuit - a much looser one now, but it seems like a good way to make sure she's cozy and warm when she moves around too much for a blanket to stay on her. That being said, as a little baby, she was a bit of a swaddle addict.

[loira]

Jan 15, 2018 15:34:34 GMT -5 cactuscookie said:

We used Merlin's magic sleepsuit when we stopped swaddling. I don't know if it made a difference, because we sleep-trained and crib-trained at the same time, but if nothing else, it was HILARIOUS.

OMG look at little H! She's so cute in that thing! I love your quilt, too.

By the way, can you believe our DDs are almost 2? A turns 2 on Friday!

[lo]

My DD also uses the Merlin Sleepsuit. She can totally move in it, just doesn’t thrash around and kick her legs up. Once the baby can roll in it you have to stop using it.

[lo]

My DD also uses the Merlin Sleepsuit. She can totally move in it, just doesn’t thrash around and kick her legs up. Once the baby can roll in it you have to stop using it.

[shauni27]

I think we waited too long for the sleep suit. everything I am reading says to do it to transition from swaddling. That was when he was less than a month. He is now 6 months :/

loira, I cannot believe A will be 2!!

[grover]

do any of you follow the wonder weeks? Leap 7 can suck it. Or maybe it's the 8-10 month sleep regression. Either way, our whole house is exhausted and miserable

I feel like I can't complain too much IRL though because she has pretty much STTN since mid May. And I'd totally be okay with doing a wakeup nightly, but last nights "1" wake up dragged from 1 am to 4:45 when I said screw it, and put her back in crib with a bottle (she landed up with 2 during the one wake up for a total of 13 oz), and tried to get a 40 minute chunk of sleep. I was originally thinking growth spurt, since she drank a TON today, but she's already woken up twice since going down at 7:15.

[cactuscookie]

Jan 15, 2018 17:53:41 GMT -5 loira said:

By the way, can you believe our DDs are almost 2? A turns 2 on Friday!

I feel like I'm mentally prepared for this birthday, because H has the personality I kind of expect from a 2-year-old. Plus I've been mentally rounding her age up to two for a month or so now.

That being said, her birthday isn't for another 4 weeks, and as it gets closer, I might get a little more freaked out. I was all blase about H's first birthday until I put her to bed the night before, and then I walked out of her room crying about how I didn't want my little baby to turn one, so...we'll see.

I can't believe A's birthday is on Friday! It always amuses me that H was due a couple days before A but then A was born almost a month before H. And yet they were both within two weeks of their due dates!

[luv2rn4fun]

((Hugs)) grover. 8-10 months was a really hard time for both boys. C was a decent sleeper (in retrospect...L is horrible and has STTN 2x and is almost 16 months old) and I remember that regression being really rough (along with 2 year regression). Maybe teeth? Major milestone about to happen? Hope you guys get better sleep soon!

[grover]

We went to the pediatric dentist on Saturday and he said no more teeth on the near horizon yet. But she's currently working on balance while standing during the day time, so guessing that or maybe growth spurt? I dunno, but I'm tired, and it's my evaluation week. If I can get through my evaluation and follow up, I'll be ok then. But the lack of sleep just makes everything seem so much more daunting!

[loira]

Jan 15, 2018 22:58:37 GMT -5 cactuscookie said:

Jan 15, 2018 17:53:41 GMT -5 loira said:

By the way, can you believe our DDs are almost 2? A turns 2 on Friday!

I feel like I'm mentally prepared for this birthday, because H has the personality I kind of expect from a 2-year-old. Plus I've been mentally rounding her age up to two for a month or so now.

That being said, her birthday isn't for another 4 weeks, and as it gets closer, I might get a little more freaked out. I was all blase about H's first birthday until I put her to bed the night before, and then I walked out of her room crying about how I didn't want my little baby to turn one, so...we'll see.

I can't believe A's birthday is on Friday! It always amuses me that H was due a couple days before A but then A was born almost a month before H. And yet they were both within two weeks of their due dates!

Haha, I'm with you. I've been ready forever. A has... massive leadership skills, and the personality of a 2 year old. If you ask her, she'll tell you she's a big girl, not a baby. It's only when I come on here, and it reminds me of what we all had to go through to get our babies (and how never-ending the newborn phase seemed), that I'm a bit astonished to have a 2 year old.

I feel like A and H should be friends. Too bad the internet made "pen pals" obsolete.

[dellabear]

Happy birthday to A and H!

shauni27, sorry about the sleep issues. Hang in there and if it were me I'd do whatever worked even if it wasn't necessarily recommended or what I planned for. FWIW I found that my kids both slept much better if I gave them dream feeds around 11pm. Then DS STTN the first time he had formula for his DF and after that we gave it to him every night even though we'd been mostly EBF up to then. Sleep is good.

Not much going on here, DS is yakking up a storm and I can't believe how many words he is saying lately. It feels like he's more advanced than DD was at this age but then it's been awhile so who knows really. I find it difficult to remember a lot of her milestones and I quit filling in her baby book pretty early, oops.

On a personal level I'm seriously considering applying for a part time graduate program for next year, which is exciting and scary and a bit overwhelming all at the same time. I'm attending an info session next week, so we'll see how that goes.

[King26]

Jan 15, 2018 10:18:38 GMT -5 shauni27 said:

Morning, all.

I am dead tired. Plus for some reason the coffee from this morning is making me feel really jittery. Not an enjoyable combination.

S has been sleeping like CRAP lately. We moved him into his own room over Christmas and attempted to let him CIO. He went 2 hours one night without stopping so we gave up. He was sleeping in 3-4 hour stretches in his crib but now he is down to 1.5-2 hours in the crib. He will wake up WAILING. We can rock him back to sleep and eventually put him in his rock n play (also in his own room) which will get us closer to 3.5 hours of sleep. I hate that he is just about 6 months and still prefers the rock n play. But on the other hand...if he sleeps best there, and therefore WE all sleep better, what is the harm? Someone give me advice or commiserate one way or another, lol. Do we try to let him CIO again? He CAN calm himself down if he isn't wailing or super crying. If he is just fussy he occasionally calms himself down enough to sleep. Are we coddling him too much? Did I ruin things because for 90% of his naps at home they are on me (because I love it)??

Ugh. Just ugh.

J sleep has sucked the past 3 weeks. Prior to that he was doing a 5 or 6 hour stretch every nigjt. Now it's a 2 or 3 hour stretch and he's up at least 3 times. We plan on sleep training him in the next few weeks because I'm exhausted and having trouble functioning. So all that to say, hugs, I hear you.

[shauni27]

ugh, last night after a lot of reading I tried to put S down drowsy but awake. I think we made some key mistakes during that process, but it essentially lead to 2 hours of him screaming. we tried to calm him without picking him up, we tried picking him up, etc. he threw up from crying so much. we FINALLY got him to sleep just about 2.5 hours after starting his bedtime routine and he slept 4 hours in the crib and then 4 hours in the rock n play.

I think I am going to try it again tonight with a few minor adjustments during the process to make it a little easier on the poor guy to see how it goes.

[mpc]

shauni27, I'm sorry sleep is so bad right now. The transition from the rock n play to the crib was brutal. We were still rocking to sleep then, so we just kept doing that every wake up. When you say he cried for 2 hours one night, was that with you going in and doing checks or did you stay away the whole time? I can only speak to what we did, and I know everyone has to find there own way that works. We followed Ferber's method really close. Went back in to check after x minutes, we'd rub her back for a minute or so then leave. She'd cry a lot harder when I left, but overall I think she stopped crying sooner than if I never went in there. It's so hard though, especially if you've already had nights where he has cried for hours. I maintain that sleep is the hardest part of the first year. I hope you can find something to get you through this week, then the next.

[shauni27]

thanks mpc and @daylily. We were going in and checking on him every 2 minutes then every 5 then every 7 then every 10, etc. We finally stopped and picked him up when he vomited. It is awful. I am willing to try again because I KNOW he can self soothe (he has done it a handful of times). Blah.

[scm1011]

Jan 16, 2018 9:35:58 GMT -5 @daylily said:

shauni27 , thinking of you. I can't give great advice because we had a really bad sleeper until 12-14 months, but some of the things we tried with mild success were the sleep lady shuffle and giving motrin while teething (which S might be? He is about that age). You could try upping daytime food (both bottles and solids) and dropping a nighttime feeding to get him out of that habit?

Don't feel guilty if CIO isn't working for you though. DS would also get himself so worked up he would vomit. So we stopped. Sometimes its not something you're doing wrong, its just the kid you have. Anyway, hugs.

Agree, 100%

I know I already sent you my sleep saga timeline, so I won't repeat, but when we tried to sleep train at 6/7 months it didn't work because I really think my kid just wasn't ready. Like @daylily's DS, Cal was just a terrible sleeper until about 12 months. Now he STTN 95% of the time (and its glorious). We retried sleep training at a year, and just it clicked this time. 

Big hugs. Being sleep deprived, listening to your baby cry/scream, all of it is so so awful. It's not forever, do what works best for you now. If that's the RNP, then it is what it is.

[oneslybookworm]

hey ladies!

sorry for those with sleep issues, sleep deprivation is the worst!! hang in there!!

Not too much going on here...G had the flu last week but is better now, and had his 6 month visit yesterday. 17 lbs, 11.6 oz., and 27" in height! Crazy how much he's grown...he's like a weed. We also went ahead and managed to get him a flu vaccine now that he's 6 months, because the flu and all other manners of sickness are running rampant in our community.

We finally got our court date!! We finalize in early February and I am so excited! We booked our flights and hotel yesterday, and now I'm just counting down the days!!!

[shauni27]

oneslybookworm, I meant to tag you this am to ask how G was feeling! Glad he is better and is such a healthy little guy. and YAY for your court date!! I am beyond excited for you guys to put all of this behind you <3

@daylily, can you talk about the sleep lady shuffle? I cannot find anything without actually purchasing something. I would love any details you could provide!

[shauni27]

@daylily, thank you, I think that is what I was just reading about that.I am going to try another few days of our CIO gradual approach and if that doesn't work we will try the shuffle/chair method.