Sleep

samilea05 · September 2016

I miss it. I miss getting more than an hour at a time. My first child was a terrible sleeper. Only slept when held, only slept if my nipple was in his mouth, for forty minutes at a time. Ezra doesn't seem to be that terrible yet, but I would totally love to get a two hour stretch of sleep here soon. I thought as a second time mom I would have this figured out. Any other second time mom's have any tips?

noelani42 · September 2016

Nope...just remember, we will sleep again!

jensou · September 2016

When they're teens you'll have the opposite problem. Waking them up for school takes a stick of dynamite. But you won't have to wait that long.

Victoria is 4 weeks and I get 3 hours stretch once a night and 2 - 3 for a daytime nap. The rest is just as you're describing. No tips or tricks to offer (just my true empathy) but I'll keep checking here to see if anyone else has!

In the meantime here's hoping you get some zzzz's soon

jennlynn777 · September 2016

All of my children were like you describe. It doesn't really get easier with each child unfortunately. You have a better understanding of things but that doesn't really make sleep deprivation easier. This to shall pass ;-)

schuberta · September 2016

The only thing that's better this time around so far is understanding that the sleep deprivation phase will eventually pass. With DS1 it was so easy to fall into despair, thinking I'd never sleep again. Now I know better, it DOES end, and just keeping that in mind definitely helps!

CindyR29 · September 2016

I feel as though I got spoiled with DS because he was a pretty good sleeper. I got my hopes up thinking second time around would be the same way but DD has a different thing in mind lol I don't have any tips but here's to hoping we all get some good sleep soon!

tiger2010 · September 2016

No tips, sorry, but like others have said, this will pass. Hang in there! Know your not alone and consider yourself a part of the sleepless nights club

kdtaylor6177 · September 2016

Does anyone have tips on getting a baby to sleep at night without having to be held?? The moment I put her down, she starts crying! During the day she naps well in her swing, but she hates her PNP. At night she won't even let me put her in the swing. I knew I'd be short on sleep, but not sleeping at all is taking its toll.

AMT1107 · September 2016

@kdtaylor6177 we are experiencing the same thing. DS sleeps during the day but at night the minute we put him down he starts crying. I've been sleeping on a recliner chair with DS on my chest, it stinks but we are able to get 3 to 4 hours of sleep in the overnight hours this way.

homebird · September 2016

kdtaylor6177 said:

Does anyone have tips on getting a baby to sleep at night without having to be held?? The moment I put her down, she starts crying! During the day she naps well in her swing, but she hates her PNP. At night she won't even let me put her in the swing. I knew I'd be short on sleep, but not sleeping at all is taking its toll.

Do you swaddle? White noise? Rock?

We have always used a "bedtime routine" with the kids when they were babies. Around their "last feeding" for the night we would give them a bath and put on jammies. I'd turn down the lights or take them to a darker, quiet room and turn the white noise machine on. Feed, swaddle, rock and lay down. Right now we're using the rock 'n play or DockATot. Haven't really tried the crib yet, probably won't for a while as it's in my daughter's room and I don't want to wake her up.

A book I'd recommend (if you haven't read it yet) is Happiest Baby on the Block. It's all about how to calm babies and help them sleep better. It's not a sleep training book though, I'm personally not a fan of that.

kdtaylor6177 · September 2016

We def. spent the night in the recliner, but only one of us really slept and it sure wasn't me! Norah hates to be swaddled but I'm wondering if it's the type of swaddle so I'm trying a different one tonight. We are also borrowing a rock n play after at least 15 friends suggested it on Facebook! I should probably start a bedtime routine with her, her brother has one that works wonderfully so maybe I'll see if that works for her too. Thanks for the book recommendation! I'll have to check it out!

asht · September 2016

Have you tried a bassinet? My daughter hates the pack n play but does fine in a bassinet. Not sure if it's the height or the more confined feel.

jessbaldwin14 · September 2016

FTM here but so far my boy is sleeping 3-4 hr stretches. What has been a game changer for us has been me pumping and bottle feeding. Before I started exclusively pumping, he was snacking on me and cat napping all day. Now I'm able to keep track of how much he is eating each feeding and with a full belly he is sleeping longer! It is also helping me get on somewhat of a schedule with the whole change, swaddle, feed, sleep routine every threeish hours. Hope this is helpful.

estephenson13 · September 2016

@jessbaldwin14 that's what happened with my first DD, once we started bottle feeding rather than nursing her schedule fell right in line!

Jillybear82 · September 2016

FTM here. We put a soft blanket down like a fitted sheet in the PNP. Our little guy likes things cozy. Our guy likes to be swaddled, even if it is so hot the air conditioner is on, but wants his arms free. Our problem is that he sleeps in the daytime and is awake in the evening.

rock1cherry · September 2016

My Molly is only 5 days old so we don't have this totally down yet, but I'm feeding every two hours during the day. 6-8-10 so on to 10-12 at night then going until 3 am then until 6 am. So you get two longer shifts off through the night. So far it's working well. She loves a good swaddle and she sleeps a lot. I am going to try to nap while she naps during the day at least once and see how I feel. Apparently, after some time, you can reduce the night feeds or change how they work and she will start sleeping through the night longer - hoping this is true. This is all advice from my lactation specialist at my pediatrician.
Good luck!!

BabyBoyH92016 · October 2016

My little guy's day time naps range anywhere from 30minutes to 1.5hrs (he's 7 weeks). Sometimes he wakes up and starts to softly cry...almost like a whimper. I feel like he's still tired when he cries like this. I always struggle on whether or not to get him or not since it's not a real cry. Half the time he'll fall back asleep, but it's hard for me to let him cry like this for more than 3-5 minutes. I've tried to pick him up and soothe him back to sleep, but he never goes back to sleep once I pick him up. Anyone else familiar with this type of crying? Do you end nap time or wait it out?

jennlynn777 · October 2016

If my guy whimpers for more than 1 minute or starts to cry I always pick him up. Most times I find he needed burped.

Want a personalized experience?

Sleep

Re: Sleep

Choose Another Board

Search Boards