When Does it Start Getting Easier?

We've had our ups n downs with b/fing and happily now they are almost all
ups :-) The downs are the night sleeping bit. We've gone from full night
sleeping at 4.5months (7pm to 7am) down to 4hr slots, then 3hr, now at
almost 10 months old it's 2hrly from 11pm til 7am. I am a complete zombie,
suffering from a heavy cold that I can't shake off cos I get practically no
sleep ( for about a month now). We've been trying the NCSS since it went to
4hrly slots 4 months ago but as you can see there's no improvement.

We're still almost exclusively b/fing cos ds is not taking to solids atall
well though we try on a daily basis, then leave it for two or three days,
then try again. In actual fact, when he does have solids he sleeps even
worse, waking up screaming with diabolical wind (gas). The cry from almost
every corner is that we left it too late to introduce solids - being done
like clockwork here at 16 weeks - cos all his peers are now on 3 meals a day
and sleeping through. I don't mind the b/fing bit atall and would ride out
the criticism without being concerned I've done wrong by him, if only I
could get some sleep - sleep deprivation is making me think I've messed up
here.

Surely a little chap might be able to sleep through at least from midnight
til 6am by 10 months. You may have noticed that I don't post as often as
I used to cos I just can't focus - this has taken 3 days to write :-(

When will it get better? Please?

--Poppy n Pup

On Wed, 31 Mar 2004 12:24:35 +0100, Poppy wrote:

We've had our ups n downs with b/fing and happily now they are almost all
ups :-) The downs are the night sleeping bit. We've gone from full
night sleeping at 4.5months (7pm to 7am) down to 4hr slots, then 3hr,
now at almost 10 months old it's 2hrly from 11pm til 7am. I am a
complete zombie, suffering from a heavy cold that I can't shake off cos
I get practically no sleep ( for about a month now). We've been trying
the NCSS since it went to 4hrly slots 4 months ago but as you can see
there's no improvement.

We're still almost exclusively b/fing cos ds is not taking to solids
atall well though we try on a daily basis, then leave it for two or
three days, then try again. In actual fact, when he does have solids he
sleeps even worse, waking up screaming with diabolical wind (gas). The
cry from almost every corner is that we left it too late to introduce
solids - being done like clockwork here at 16 weeks - cos all his peers
are now on 3 meals a day and sleeping through. I don't mind the b/fing
bit atall and would ride out the criticism without being concerned I've
done wrong by him, if only I could get some sleep - sleep deprivation is
making me think I've messed up here.

Surely a little chap might be able to sleep through at least from
midnight til 6am by 10 months. You may have noticed that I don't post
as often as I used to cos I just can't focus - this has taken 3 days to
write :-(

When will it get better? Please?

Oh I do feel for you :-(. I had one of those - well, more than one, but
after ds2, ds3 & ds4 didn't seem quite so bad, so maybe they just weren't
extreme about sleeping like ds2 was, or maybe I'd adjusted, I don't know.
He didn't try to fake us out by sleeping through & then stopping, though. I
don't know if that's worse or better! Either way, I know it's tough :-(

I don't know when it will get better - my crystal ball's in for repairs! I
can promise that it *will* though, at some point. I know saying that right
now probably doesn't help much - you really want someone to tell you that
he will, tonight, on the day he turns 10 months (you said he's almost
there, right) start sleeping through. Unfortunately I think everyone else's
crystal balls are in for repairs too :-(

FWIW, ds2, who was the *really* bad sleeper here, is now 6yo & we all
survived. He's been sleeping really well since sometime during his second
year - I can't quite remember when, but his sleeping habits must have
improved shortly after his first birthday, because ds3 was born when he was
nearly 23 months :-D

Do hang in there - it really does get better, & anyway, there's not much
you can do *except* hang in there! I know I found it helpful to realise
that we were *not* the only people going through this - so the Sears book
about high-needs babies, or the Spirited Child book, might make you feel at
least a bit more normal, iyswim.

Re the food thing - don't listen to the people who are telling you that you
got it wrong. For a start, even if they were right, you couldn't change it
now anyway (my time machine's in for repair too!). But anyway, they aren't
right. Lots of babies aren't really keen on solids at 10 months, & there's
no evidence that it's due to solids being introduced "too late". And since
your little guy is having plenty of breastmilk, at least you know he's
well-nourished :-)

--
Hedgehog

I have no real experience, as my guy is short of 4 months old, but I highly
recommend the No Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley. She has loads of
great suggestions for all situations.
Don't blame starting solids "too late" (at the right time, that is) -
there's no evidence there's a "window" for solids . . . but there is a
window for increasing your baby's risk of diabetes and other lifelong
problems - it's starting solids too early.
And breastmilk should continue to be the staple of your baby's diet for at
least another few months . .
Good luck,
Hannah


"Poppy" wrote in message
news:VTxac.1445$4N3.841@newsfe1-win...
We've had our ups n downs with b/fing and happily now they are almost all
ups :-) The downs are the night sleeping bit. We've gone from full night
sleeping at 4.5months (7pm to 7am) down to 4hr slots, then 3hr, now at
almost 10 months old it's 2hrly from 11pm til 7am. I am a complete
zombie,
suffering from a heavy cold that I can't shake off cos I get practically
no
sleep ( for about a month now). We've been trying the NCSS since it went
to
4hrly slots 4 months ago but as you can see there's no improvement.

We're still almost exclusively b/fing cos ds is not taking to solids atall
well though we try on a daily basis, then leave it for two or three days,
then try again. In actual fact, when he does have solids he sleeps even
worse, waking up screaming with diabolical wind (gas). The cry from almost
every corner is that we left it too late to introduce solids - being done
like clockwork here at 16 weeks - cos all his peers are now on 3 meals a
day
and sleeping through. I don't mind the b/fing bit atall and would ride
out
the criticism without being concerned I've done wrong by him, if only I
could get some sleep - sleep deprivation is making me think I've messed up
here.

Surely a little chap might be able to sleep through at least from midnight
til 6am by 10 months. You may have noticed that I don't post as often
as
I used to cos I just can't focus - this has taken 3 days to write :-(

When will it get better? Please?

--Poppy n Pup

"Poppy" wrote in message
news:VTxac.1445$4N3.841@newsfe1-win...
| When will it get better? Please?

Sorry can't say. All I can say is that I feel for you and am in the same
boat as you. DD (11 months) wakes up every hour, sometimes every 1/2 hour!
We have been doing the NCSS for 3 months now. It was getting better for a
while with her only waking twice at most during the night. Then she got a
cold and that screwed everything up and it was back to square one. Then she
started teething and her second top tooth just broke the gums yesterday so
that screwed things up. The only thing that works for us is co-sleeping and
even that is not easy some nights but at least I don't have to physically
get up and go to her room. That's the thing with the NCSS, it works but
little things can set you back completely and you have to start all over and
the process takes so long using the NCSS. On the other hand we have tried
crying it out for 3 nights and will NOT go there again.

My plan of attack is to have her get two weeks of good nights sleep
co-sleeping with us. Then I am going to move her crib into our room and have
her sleep in her crib beside me. Once she can sleep well in her crib I will
try and move it to her own room. I hope it works because I start work in 6
weeks and can't even imagine working with such little sleep.

Sorry I couldn't be of any help, but at least you know you are not along.
Good luck.

Nadene

Luna wrote:
I have no real experience, as my guy is short of 4 months old, but I
highly recommend the No Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley. She
has loads of great suggestions for all situations.

She said, "We've been trying the NCSS since it went to 4hrly slots 4
months ago but as you can see there's no improvement."

NCSS *is* No Cry Sleep Solution.

--
tristyn
www.tristyn.net

Poppy wrote:
I am
a complete zombie, suffering from a heavy cold that I can't shake off
cos I get practically no sleep ( for about a month now).

Are you cosleeping?


The cry from almost every corner is that we left it too late to
introduce solids - being done like clockwork here at 16 weeks - cos
all his peers are now on 3 meals a day and sleeping through.

Pfft. Nonsense. The fact that your little guy gets gassy when he eats solids
is a good indicator that he probably has some food sensitivities, and his
reluctance to eat solid food is probably an instinctive reaction to avoid
that which makes him feel ill. Have you tried keeping a food diary to see if
there are any obvious culprits behind his tummy troubles?

--
tristyn
www.tristyn.net

"Poppy" wrote in message
news:VTxac.1445$4N3.841@newsfe1-win...
We've had our ups n downs with b/fing and happily now they are almost all
ups :-) The downs are the night sleeping bit. We've gone from full night
sleeping at 4.5months (7pm to 7am) down to 4hr slots, then 3hr, now at
almost 10 months old it's 2hrly from 11pm til 7am. I am a complete
zombie,
suffering from a heavy cold that I can't shake off cos I get practically
no
sleep ( for about a month now). We've been trying the NCSS since it went
to
4hrly slots 4 months ago but as you can see there's no improvement.

We're still almost exclusively b/fing cos ds is not taking to solids atall
well though we try on a daily basis, then leave it for two or three days,
then try again. In actual fact, when he does have solids he sleeps even
worse, waking up screaming with diabolical wind (gas). The cry from almost
every corner is that we left it too late to introduce solids - being done
like clockwork here at 16 weeks - cos all his peers are now on 3 meals a
day
and sleeping through. I don't mind the b/fing bit atall and would ride
out
the criticism without being concerned I've done wrong by him, if only I
could get some sleep - sleep deprivation is making me think I've messed up
here.

Surely a little chap might be able to sleep through at least from midnight
til 6am by 10 months. You may have noticed that I don't post as often
as
I used to cos I just can't focus - this has taken 3 days to write :-(

When will it get better? Please?

--Poppy n Pup



If it helps any, DD's sleep settled right down after she turned 1 .. and
now, she might *stir* a little at night (too hot / cold etc) but she usually
goes straight back to sleep (albeit in our bed) and has also gone from only
sleeping on me for daytime naps (after a bf) to *voluntarily* asking for
1 -2 naps during the day (which can last from 40 minutes to 2 hours).
I can remember going batty when she was 11 mo and wondering if I would ever
sleep for 4 hours straight again....
HTH
Amanda

--
DD 15th August 2002
1 tiny angel Nov 2003
EDD 19th August 2004

/bonks self on head

I'm sorry, Poppy. That'll teach me to reply to posts while playing with
babe, writing papers, cooking, and talking on the phone.
Then I have absolutely no advice . .
Hannah


"iphigenia" wrote in message
...
Luna wrote:
I have no real experience, as my guy is short of 4 months old, but I
highly recommend the No Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley. She
has loads of great suggestions for all situations.

She said, "We've been trying the NCSS since it went to 4hrly slots 4
months ago but as you can see there's no improvement."

NCSS *is* No Cry Sleep Solution.

--
tristyn
www.tristyn.net

"A&G&K" wrote in message
...
|
| "Poppy" wrote in message
| news:VTxac.1445$4N3.841@newsfe1-win...
|
| If it helps any, DD's sleep settled right down after she turned 1 .. and
| now, she might *stir* a little at night (too hot / cold etc) but she
usually
| goes straight back to sleep (albeit in our bed) and has also gone from
only
| sleeping on me for daytime naps (after a bf) to *voluntarily* asking for
| 1 -2 naps during the day (which can last from 40 minutes to 2 hours).
| I can remember going batty when she was 11 mo and wondering if I would
ever
| sleep for 4 hours straight again....

Amanda, you have given me hope:-) DD is nearly 11 months and I was beginning
to think I'd never sleep a solid 8 hours again.

Nadene

Poppy wrote:

We've had our ups n downs with b/fing and happily now they are almost all
ups :-) The downs are the night sleeping bit. We've gone from full night
sleeping at 4.5months (7pm to 7am) down to 4hr slots, then 3hr, now at
almost 10 months old it's 2hrly from 11pm til 7am. I am a complete
zombie,
suffering from a heavy cold that I can't shake off cos I get practically
no
sleep ( for about a month now). We've been trying the NCSS since it went
to
4hrly slots 4 months ago but as you can see there's no improvement.

: ( Sounds similar to my experience. Ella didn't want solids until she was
11 months old. I felt like I spent every day whipping up gourmet treats
from Annabel Karmel and then tossing them in the bin. Then one day I was
eating a pizza and she just took a slice and ate the whole thing. I
couldn't believe it. (I had given up on food separation long before then!)

With the food thing, I would just offer whatever you are eating or drinking
and if there's no interest, don't worry about it. It's still early days.
My doctor told me I had 'missed the window' (what does THAT mean?) and all
my friends' babies seemed to be wolfing down three jars of Heinz every day
and growing huge and sleeping all night.

I bought Ella a sleeping bag around a year old, and that seemed to help
although it took a few nights getting used to. I think that some of her
wakings were due to the room temperature fluctuating. Around 14 months or
so she started sleeping MUCH better - just waking once or twice a night -
and now she is 18 months and more often than not is just waking once (around
4a.m.). I feed her and she goes back to sleep - I'm sure she is getting
hungry then.

I hope it gets better soon!
ROSIE xx