Hello everyone, How are you getting with your baby night sleep? Mine doesn’t sleep well, in fact, he sleeps quite bad at night. Since he was born he hasn’t slept much. While still breastfed he woke up every one or two hours but it was considered to be quite common. Now he is not breastfed any more for about eight months, he is nineteenth months at the moment and still continues waking up lots of times during the night. I get really tired at night, when after one or two hours sleep he wakes up and calls me. I have tried not to take him on my arms when he wakes up, to sleep with him, I have given him antiestaminics prescribed by my pediatrician, of course, however, there hasn’t been much difference. The more that he sleeps before waking up at night is three or four hours and when doing so I get such a relief that the next day I am in a better mood.
How do your baby sleep? does he/she sleep well or do you feel like me?
My lo is not a great sleeper. She will gets me up at least once but often two or even three times a night. She has trouble settling herself when she wakes up, so often wants to nurse herself back to sleep. I think it is my fault for allowing her to nurse herself to sleep. I think I’m going to see what happens if my dh gets up with her instead. She does not take a bottle so will not expect food from him. Hopefully it works!
Good luck to you!
Our 3 youngest grandsons stay over half the week with us. They are very lively kids. Any one of them is likely to wake up at some point in the night and need reassurance before settling again. Mostly they are restless when they have coughs and/or colds.
The youngest has had nightmares from being about 10 mths old, not every night, but every few days. I think it may be just overstimulation at bedtime.
When this happens DS has decided that it is important to settle him without getting him out of bed, because the middle GS went through a stage of sleep pattern when he would only be pacified if he was lifted out and taken into the living room - eventually he would yell just for that. We managed to wean him out of it after a few weeks of being firm.
The 3yr old and 2yr old have mostly been sleeping through since about 7 mths old.
The 3yr old has always known when he is tired and asks to go to bed. He is the ‘best’ sleeper of the three 
My baby does not sleep well either. She is awake at least three times in the night and sometimes 5 or 6 times. She slept a lot the first month of her life (I think because she had jaundice) but ever since then she has slept badly. She also does not nap much during the day. She seems to need very little sleep as the few times she has been overtired she has been grumpy and it is seldom that she is grumpy even when she has had little sleep.
I am exhausted and am not sure what to do. My baby is still breasfed and feeding at least twice every night. She is a very restless sleeper and if in the bed with me she will kick me awake all night too.
If anyone has a solution to these problems or ideas on how to cope, please do share them
I have the same problem. My Andrew is 2yrs. and has never slept through the night. We took his pacifier away about a month ago and he still asks for it in the middle of the night or for water. Sometimes he will even remember the words we read that night and screams “monkey, elephant.” Maybe he is over stimulated. I can’t wait to have one good night sleep! :blink:
This problem can very demoralizing and of course totally exhausting for the parents. I suggest considering the following, in the order listed.
-
Diet. There are some very informative web sites on the topic. If you send me a private message I’ll be happy to send you these site links.
-
Sleep Environment. The child needs to feel safe in its sleep environment and should be a clean and calm place. If possible don’t allow the child to play in its sleep environment. It should also be kept very clean. A jacket hanging on the back of a door, a pile of books or curtain blowing in the dark can seem very frightening to a young child’s mind. Also try a soft glow night lamp if you haven’t already.
-
Physical. Ensure the child is getting enough exercise in the day.
-
Emotional. Young children often feel and are more aware than we realize. A Father or sibling shouting and screaming can disturb a young child and affect its sleep pattern. Also moving homes or trying to put the child down to sleep in different locations can be very unsettling for them. They also pick up if its Mother and Father are unhappy and this will make them feel very insecure.
It really comes down to the child feeling safe and secure to be able to enjoy a full nights sleep.
That all said some children will still wake a few times in the night. The best we can do here is create the safe environment for the child and you soon find the child still wakes but goes back to sleep on its own as it feels secure.
I’d also suggest parents alternate nights so at least you’re getting a good nights sleep every other night. Of course if you’re still nursing this can be problematic. But still involve the Fathers they can be a great assistance its an amazing time for them to bond with their child. And in my experience they are excellent at it.
I hope these few ideas help or give you some food for thought. It can really be quite trying, but keep the dedication and cover them in love.
my youngest doesn,t sleep much either, in fact she can go 24 hrs on only 4-5 hrs sleep. She is not grumpy or hyperactive, just a busy little girl. We have tried all the various sleep routines, even ones we,d never heard of, and nothing as worked. She wont stay in her cot and play, once she is awake thats it. So me and my hubby take it in turns to stay up with her, at least this way we get some sleep. Basically when asked the doctor about her, he said some chidren just dont need the sleep, and will eventually settle down. Our life my seem chaotic to some, but it works for us. Bringing her into our bed didnt work, and as soon as you put her in her cot, whether she is out for the count, or just drifting off, she will immediately awaken, and then get herself into a right state. So we let her fall asleep, when she finally does on the sofa, and leave her to sleep. Then either myself or hubby get on with some work, usually lesson planning as we homeschool, or hubby does some programming.
My other daughter Shania was exactly the same, then at 3 years she just went to bed, normally. Our method may seem chaotic and a rod for our own backs, but it works for us, and at least everyone does some sleep, rather than having a night or broken sleep and waking up with a bear like a sore head.