How are you sleeping/coping?

Mabsi1129

Ezra's favorite times of day to be awake seem to be from 10pm until 2am and then from 4 or 5 until 7 or 8am. Suffice it to say, I'm not sleeping much. I'm also having a very hard time napping for some reason. I'm somehow vaguely functional, but I have been to tired to do much else aside from taking care of Ezra. I know I need to get myself out of the house, but I'm so exhausted! 

How are are your little ones sleeping, and how are you coping with your new schedules?

SarahChristine12

I actually cannot complain about Caleb's sleeping patterns. He has, from his first night, been sleeping great at night. We feed him at 10pm, he sleeps until about 2:30-3 to wake for a feeding, goes back to sleep and doesn't wake again until 6:30am. So glad he hasn't had his days and nights mixed up. So I am actually getting decent sleep, thankfully, being i have three older boys (ages: 6 in April, 4, and 2) to take care of too.

22snc12

That's exactly the same times my daughter is up. I don't nap either, never have, not even as a child lol. Who needs sleep! She's finally coming out of her jaundice-sleepiness, so she's awake a little more during the day too. I thought that would make her a little more pattern-like at night: sleep, wake to eat, sleep, wake to eat. Instead she's just half-asleep and wants to be held and nursed constantly.

lilqt3929

Alexander's (2weeks 2 days) been a pretty good sleeper since birth, thankfully. I start a bedtime routine around 9:45pm so that he is in his RnP around 10:30pm (we go upstairs, lights down low or off w/tv on low, pjs, nurse, change diaper, swaddle, and in into RnP). He will typically sleep til 2am (nurse, change diaper, swaddle and back into RnP) and I've been able to get him back asleep typically within 45mins and then he is awake again around 5am and then 7:30am for the day. He's sleeping well, DH and I not so much . He makes so much noise throughout the night with the grunting etc that it makes it difficult for me to fall back asleep and stay asleep. We have a white noise going on our room (he's in there with us for now) and it barely does anything to cover all his little noises up. I'm not sure if I'm ready for him to be moved to his own room just yet because he still will cry or fuss when we put him down so it's just easier if he's right there for us to hop out of bed to soothe him and I dont want him waking our toddler. I remember with DD (now 2.5) we moved her to her own room fairly early because of all the little noises keeping me from sleeping. All in all, I can't complain we have a good sleeper on our hands but we just need to figure out a better alternative to us not sleeping well, I'm sure we just need to move him to his own room. 
 

Latina211508

My little guy was born at 12:41am so he definitly is awake more at night than during the day. But he sleeps pretty good. I bf him every 2-3 hours. Sometimes he takes 3 or 4 hour naps which is nice. I wake up every morning at 6:30 to get my eldest ready for school in the morning so I'm not getting a lot of sleep but Im honestly doing great. Hopefully he sleeps longer at night but it's better than my other 3 would sleep. They ate every 2 hours and my daughters cluster fed a lot. 

MississippiCatfish

My little guy (5 days old) goes down for good around midnight, sleeps til 7:30-8am, up every 1-3 hours. Last night I got two-2 hour stretches and a 3 hour stretch, so it was our best night yet! When my other kids were born, they had to be woken up at night to eat for the first week or two (and from then on they were terrible sleepers), so this is a surprise! I realized last night around 12:30 that I had forgotten to turn the sound machine on (he was really fussy/wouldn't sleep for about an hour prior) and when I turned it on, he fell asleep in literally about 30 seconds. Going to have to remember better! He also wants to be held all night, but is getting a little better every night. Hopefully within the next few weeks we'll settle into a pattern. 

I also have trouble napping, OP. I feel like adrenaline is my overriding hormone right now. I remember feeling like this with my first baby, too, and it must have gone away at some point!

egraves4

We have our good days and bad days.  I'm usually the type of person that needs to be constantly busy, so it's just been weird to be "sitting around" all day at home.  She definitely gives me a run for my money at times, but with SO working a lot, I get a little bored of just watching TV when baby girl does decide to sleep.  I think it'll be easier when I am fully healed because then I can at least go out and do more things and actually get some stuff done around the house.

As for nighttime, I actually think we are doing pretty well.  Some nights are better than others.  At first, we thought she hated her RNP and I was so upset that we had bought it, thinking we were going to have to just sleep her in her crib already since we didn't want to fork more money out for a bassinet (and BBB are assholes and wouldn't take the RNP back), but she is doing better and seems to be pretty well with the rocking, she just needs to be settled before we can lay her back in there, otherwise she will scream within several minutes.  Pacifier has been a huge help too!  

Achae

I also have trouble napping during the day, my body just must not be tired enough. That said this LO likes to be held for naps, he wakes up within minutes of setting him anywhere. He has bad gas pains and constantly wakes up to fart or have the gas move through his system. At 4 weeks we at least have a pattern of going down for good around 9pm, waking around 2 am; then again at 5 am and 7 am. After burping and holding him upright and getting settled into bed myself I might get 5 hours?

recently LO has been waking after his 2 am feed and giving me more screaming for an hour or two. It used to just be during the day last night my husband found me crying while rocking crying baby and he took over and snuggled baby to sleep after about 30 more minutes of the crying. Then he snuggled me since I was so stressed. I've contemplated going back to work early because who enjoys being screamed at for 8 hours a day? Ugh. 

egraves4

@Achae  I can totally relate.  Our normal routine at night when she wakes up is to feed her, burp her, change her diaper, and back to bed.  Some nights, she will stay up and just cry.  I'll rock her, walk around the room, sing her lullabies, and nothing will work.  The other night, this went on for 2+ hours and I just cried and handed her over to my SO.  10 minutes later, she's back in her RNP fast asleep.  So unfair.

dtaded13

Turner usually eats around 8:30 and then sleeps 9:30-1:30. Then we change and feed and he's back asleep by 2:30. Then he wakes up anytime from 4:30-6 to eat and doesn't settle back to a deep sleep til around 8am, he just cat naps til then. Me and DH take turns rotating at night so tonight I put DS to bed and DH gets up first, I get up second. It's helped immensely with not feeling too overly tired. His nighttime sleep is in a bassinet in our room.

We try to stick to "eat, play, sleep" during the day. He naps in the swing and also in the moby wrap or car seat/stroller on our daily walk. 

meg+on+the+DL

All she is doing lately is eat! Like every 30-60mins!! My nipples feel like hell! I want to cry because I feel like it's all she does. I know she's getting enough because she is having a ton of pee diapers. We go to the doctor tomorrow and I hope she has some words of wisdom! Or else I'm going to go bat shit crazy!

BabyHope2013

DS does pretty well. He's the opposite of my first DS---doesn't cry nearly as much but I also think that I'm more immune to the newborn cries at times and have more patience with them. Not getting much sleep but surviving. DH and I have a rotation of I feed and put the baby down to sleep around 830 pm and DH feeds him around 1130-midnight and then I'm up with him at 3-4 am to feed him again. Hoping that middle of the night feeding stretches later and later in the coming weeks to at least 5 am. We will keep this schedule up because it's what we found worked best when I went back to work last time with DS1. 

No naps during the day for me unless it's the weekend and DH is home. It's the only time I have to clean, wind down and watch some tv or get anything else done with having my toddler home with me. I love having DS1 home with me right now too but I really miss the days of being able to curl up on the couch with my newborn and just snuggling. Haven't had much of that with this baby. 

jordans_wife

Mabsi1129 said:

Ezra's favorite times of day to be awake seem to be from 10pm until 2am and then from 4 or 5 until 7 or 8am. Suffice it to say, I'm not sleeping much. I'm also having a very hard time napping for some reason. I'm somehow vaguely functional, but I have been to tired to do much else aside from taking care of Ezra. I know I need to get myself out of the house, but I'm so exhausted! 

How are are your little ones sleeping, and how are you coping with your new schedules?

I'm not sure how old your baby is, but I know at 1st I had the same issue. I was so exhausted. I layed down for bed and my water broke so I didn't get any sleep that night. I got maybe a couple of hrs in the next couple days. I was totally fried. I was wired from the adrenaline from birth I think and I had insomnia for the first 4 or 5 nights. I was so stressed out and worried I'd never sleep but I finally started sleeping. Like literally passing out the second my head hits the bed after I lay him back down. He's still up every 2 to 3 1/2 hrs but luckily he sleeps well. He wakes to eat and usually passes right back out again. It does get better! And as far as going out I wouldn't attempt it til you feel up to it.

jordans_wife

meg+on+the+DL said:

All she is doing lately is eat! Like every 30-60mins!! My nipples feel like hell! I want to cry because I feel like it's all she does. I know she's getting enough because she is having a ton of pee diapers. We go to the doctor tomorrow and I hope she has some words of wisdom! Or else I'm going to go bat shit crazy!

Have you tried popping a binky in instead? That's what I do to buy time sometimes and it works well. My son was the same way at first but we are getting closer to feeding every 2 1/2 to 3 hrs.

Vkrosa

Oh last night was Hell! Amelia woke up at 12 to feed after that she screamed on and off for 4 hours. After hr two and trying to calm her and only catching a few breaks my H stepped up and we tried everything. Bouncing, rocking, bottle feeding, breastfeeding. Everything! I don't know what we are in for tonight. 

meg+on+the+DL

@jordans_wife Sometimes the binkie works, sometimes not. Right now she has thrush, so we have to stay clear of the binkies until that clears. The doc said it'll just keep spreading. And I read about cluster feeding. It's fairly common. The rest of the days aren't bad, she'll sleep 2-3 hours. It's just the late nights. 

vjraab

My little one is totally hit or miss. Last night she woke every three hours to feed with little noise in between feedings. I was so proud. The night before last, she woke every 30 minutes and it was hell. My husband had a stomach ache and didn't help and doesn't really help throughout the night at all, so this momma is exhausted. We started using mylicon for her gas, and it really made a difference last night. 

mrscammack

We're still in the some nights are better than others phase. The best night we've had she went 5 hours between feedings and slept most of that time without fussing or crying so that was really great! She usually goes 3 hours between feedings during the day and 4 hours at night so we get pretty good stretches of sleep most of the time. I'm formula feeding so DH is able to help with her feedings which makes the nights a lot easier. There are some nights where she wakes up every 2-3 hours or won't go down in her bassinet after a feeding but those are becoming less frequent - I'm hoping it's a good sign that she's getting the hang of this nighttime thing and we'll only get better from here! 

MrsSmithA

My little guy has been sleeping well - usually 2-4 hours at a time overnight. Breastfeeding on the other hand has been super challenging for us, so he's been having mostly bottled breast milk at this point.

blueberrymomma

My little man sleeps great(4-5hours), if you are holding him at night. Which obviously that doesn't make for a restful night for mommy or daddy. If you lay him in his crib he makes a lot of noise and wakes every 1-2hours. Isn't always hungry just wants to be held.
We were spoiled with are first. She's feed at midnight then sleep 6-8hours. Plus you could lay her down half awake and she'd fall asleep. This one we can lay down dead asleep and he'll wake up in 2min
Were borrowing a friends RnP so I'm hoping that will help him sleep 

paytonpedro

Reading everyone of these responses are spot on to what we're going through here too. That song "in the midnight hour I cry more more more" has new meaning. It's like he turns into a gremlin between 11pm-3am. Last night I had to supplement with formula and it definitely helped him sleep better. He slept from 3-5 & 5-7:30! So, so did I! That was our best night so far. We've been putting him in a cradle to sleep and he hates laying flat on his back (like he's supposed to). My husband downloaded an app that plays heartbeat and other noises and that really soothes him. But between 11-3 he just wants to be held and screams when put down. Nights make me pretty anxious, just thinking about not sleeping makes me cry. I've had to stop nursing (hopefully just for now, I'm pumping and bottle feeding- supplementing when necessary) so that makes me cry, too. Being a mommy is hard!

blueberrymomma

Update: Camden slept 8hours last night! I double swaddled him, filled his belly, and he slept like a rock in the RnP. Oh and he didn't use his pacifier

lilqt3929

baya5 said:

Update: Camden slept 8hours last night! I double swaddled him, filled his belly, and he slept like a rock in the RnP. Oh and he didn't use his pacifier

Ugh, so jealous!! I hope you got a good night's sleep as well!

dtaded13

Turner slept 6 hours last night! But sadly that meant him thinking 330 was wake up for the day time... Normally he wakes around 130 and then 430 and stays up for awhile after that... This momma is tired! And he also takes forever to fall asleep for naps and then only sleeps a few minutes. I'm trying something new for a few days to see if he can teach himself to sleep. He cries even if I'm rocking/bouncing... I did the same thing with my daughter at 6 weeks (he's only 4) and within 3-4 days saw massive improvement. 

blueberrymomma

lilqt3929 said:

baya5 said:

Update: Camden slept 8hours last night! I double swaddled him, filled his belly, and he slept like a rock in the RnP. Oh and he didn't use his pacifier

Ugh, so jealous!! I hope you got a good night's sleep as well!

Yes finally got 6hours straight but it felt like 10!lol. I just hope it's not a fluke because my 2.5 year old is sick which means waking up at 3am and coming to our bed 

hnull

Baby girl sleeps pretty good. She wakes up every few hours to eat or I wake her at 3, and then goes back to bed within 30 min. I just can't sleep while she's sleeping I just watch her in her bassinet. Which I need to be better at because right now she is an angel (seriously so good rarely cries only right before feeding sometimes and when getting changed if she's awhile for that) but mom just can't sleep. I get about 3 hours a day. Hoping at her next nap I'll nap too. 

nbc2015

Random question: what is RnP? I can't figure it out for the life of me.

TalulaPants

Rock n Play @nbc2015

meg+on+the+DL

I have that RnP @TalulaPants! Best money we ever spent! LObwas not digging the cradle. She is doing so much better sitting up a little when she sleeps. 

TalulaPants

@meg+on+the+DL it's the only thing she will sleep in for a 1-2 hour stretch. We bought the Halo Bassinest (waste of $275) the Swaddle Me Cosleeper and the crib. She won't use any of them. Have you had success with the RnP?

meg+on+the+DL

@TalulaPants She is doing so well in the RnP!! She'll sleep for a minimum of 2 1/2 hrs. Last night she slept for 3 1/2 hours. I woke up in a panic because I felt like I'd been asleep forever. I have it right next to me at night, then we bring it out to the front room during the day. So amazing to have greater spans of sleep time!!

meg+on+the+DL

@TalulaPants Here she is knocked out in it last night! 

TalulaPants

@meg+on+the+DL do you have the head part elevated? There's a clasp under it I noticed. Also, do you heat it up with a heating pad or just transfer her to it? Lol sorry for all the questions but it seems like all my "friends" who were there through my entire pregnancy have disappeared now that she's here.

meg+on+the+DL

@TalulaPants You are totally fine! I'm a FTM and I rely heavily on my mommy friends. But I do have it up and clasped. It seems weird to have her laying back with her feet up. And I don't heat it up. She's a human heater! I just lay her down and tuck her blanket. I usually don't have her in there swaddled, I just happened to this time. I haven't even strapped her in. So far, I don't think she's needed it. 

Katty422

egraves4 said:

@Achae  I can totally relate.  Our normal routine at night when she wakes up is to feed her, burp her, change her diaper, and back to bed.  Some nights, she will stay up and just cry.  I'll rock her, walk around the room, sing her lullabies, and nothing will work.  The other night, this went on for 2+ hours and I just cried and handed her over to my SO.  10 minutes later, she's back in her RNP fast asleep.  So unfair.

Wow my little girl just started this too. I contribute it to poopy  pains.  She seems very uncomfortable she squirms and gets red in the face at times

mwmiller4

@TalulaPants I "preheat" our RnP with the heating pad and it really helps her stay asleep when I transfer her because our bedroom is a little chilly (thanks, crappy Windows and Midwestern weather) and she's in a fleece Halo swaddle. We also bought the halo bassinet--I'm hoping/delusional that once she's slightly older we'll use it. Not to be dumb, but you can elevate the head part of the RnP?! How?!

charliegoldengirl

Help! My son will be 3weeks old on Wednesday.  He is like some sort of night gremlin.  He will sleep an hour and 15 mins like clockwork at night and wake up grunting and groaning like nobody's business.  If I ignore him, he eventually escalates to crying.  He is so loud and it sounds like he is really uncomfortable. He does this in his bassinet and in the RnP.  He sleeps nice and quietly on his belly on my chest. He was almost 11lbs at his 2 week check up and he doesn't need to be eating every hour at night! During the day he regularly goes 2-3.5 hour stretches without eating.  I'm so tired...

Katty422

charliegoldengirl said:

Help! My son will be 3weeks old on Wednesday.  He is like some sort of night gremlin.  He will sleep an hour and 15 mins like clockwork at night and wake up grunting and groaning like nobody's business.  If I ignore him, he eventually escalates to crying.  He is so loud and it sounds like he is really uncomfortable. He does this in his bassinet and in the RnP.  He sleeps nice and quietly on his belly on my chest. He was almost 11lbs at his 2 week check up and he doesn't need to be eating every hour at night! During the day he regularly goes 2-3.5 hour stretches without eating.  I'm so tired...

Just try to get naps in as much as you can.  I 

lilqt3929

charliegoldengirl said:

Help! My son will be 3weeks old on Wednesday.  He is like some sort of night gremlin.  He will sleep an hour and 15 mins like clockwork at night and wake up grunting and groaning like nobody's business.  If I ignore him, he eventually escalates to crying.  He is so loud and it sounds like he is really uncomfortable. He does this in his bassinet and in the RnP.  He sleeps nice and quietly on his belly on my chest. He was almost 11lbs at his 2 week check up and he doesn't need to be eating every hour at night! During the day he regularly goes 2-3.5 hour stretches without eating.  I'm so tired...

Could you try feeding him more often during the day (maybe don't let him go more then 2 hours between feeds)? I've read that sometimes longer stretches during the day can aid in the day/night confusion, while I dont know if it would help and realize he isn't going too long between feeds now but it may be worth a try. Maybe some cluster feeding at night may also be worth a try. I hope you're able to get some sleep soon!

notasycophant

@charliegoldengirl he might have silent reflux which makes laying on his back uncomfortable.  It's worth getting checked out and super common. 

Eta: the frequent drinking is normally because milk eases the burning. But it's a vicious cycle. 

OctoberStars

charliegoldengirl said:

Help! My son will be 3weeks old on Wednesday.  He is like some sort of night gremlin.  He will sleep an hour and 15 mins like clockwork at night and wake up grunting and groaning like nobody's business.  If I ignore him, he eventually escalates to crying.  He is so loud and it sounds like he is really uncomfortable. He does this in his bassinet and in the RnP.  He sleeps nice and quietly on his belly on my chest. He was almost 11lbs at his 2 week check up and he doesn't need to be eating every hour at night! During the day he regularly goes 2-3.5 hour stretches without eating.  I'm so tired...

Do we have the same baby? Mine recently developed a hoarse voice along with not being able to sleep in the bassinet for longer than an hour. Today I'm experimenting with raising one end of the bassinet about 30 degrees to see if it's a reflux issue. If the issue is that he can't sleep anywhere but in my arms then i don't know what I'm going to do. I'm getting less and less sleep each night!