i've been a cosleeper with my older daughter before. there were a few nights when i didn't get much sleep. but with joey, i'm awakened AT LEAST 6 times a night and have been this way for over a year now. i'm on the verge of a physical and emotional collapse. i'm so freaking exhausted that i can't think, i can't get up the energy to feed myself, i just want to lay down. is there anything at all i can do to get joey to just SLEEP! i'm kind of on the verge of hysteria.
Maybe it's time to transition him into his own bed so he isn't waking you all night long? I co-slept with Adrienne only for the first 8 months, and when she was 8 months old, I put her in her own room in her own crib, and she's sleep through the night since (though she didn't sleep through the night when she slept with me, I think we were waking each other up, I'm not sure.) I'm glad Adrienne sleeps in her own bed and now I have my own space, too. You didn't mention whether or not you wanted to continue co-sleeping or not, so there's my two cents.
yeah, we've wanted to let her choose when to move on to her own bed, but kai is 4.5yrs and she's only just moved to her own room. she moved to her own bed at 2.5yrs. joey prefers to feed at night, too. i'm like a pacifier. and i know that allowing a child to ween herself is the best way to go, but i think i'm starting to see things that aren't there because i'm half asleep all the time.
I wouldn't want Adrienne in my bed for that long. I don't think I could do it. I like my bed to myself. Now, you have said you wanted to let her choose when to move to her own bed, but even at sake of your own sanity?
yeah, i'm thinking i may have to kick dave out of the room until i get joey into her own bed. i'm not functioning. it's going to be a nightmarish, noisy, heartbreaking process i think. i'm so tired every morning when i wake up that i feel nauseated. i'm cranky, i'm whiney, i cry at the drop of a hat. i can't cope any more. i guess what i really need to know, now that i've made up my mind, is how to gentle the process for joey.
Try it gradually. Try having her take naps in her crib during the day. After a week or two of that, try putting her to bed in her bed after she falls asleep (if she doesn't fall asleep on her own. I assume she nurses to sleep?). You can try going to the pregnancyweekly.com forums http://community.pregnancyweekly.com/forums/default.aspx There are a lot of forums there, most all to do with parenting and such, maybe someone there can help. (or, of course, someone here! )
when my kids ever nursed all night long, it was because something was wrong. Usually it's just because they didn't nurse enough during the day. Allergies also cause this problem, sometimes the only sign of an allergy is sleep issues. Rather than kick the kid out of the bed, I'd be trying to find what the problem really is. I would start by looking at environmental irritants, like the laundry detergent you use on his clothes and your sheets and blankets, body soap, lotion, shampoo, any of those things if they contain artificial fragrances cause me to have problems sleeping even if there's no irritation or rash present on my skin. I feel itchy and crawly all over and just can't sleep. If that's not the issue, next I'd suggest you look into food allergies.
No advice here, but I just had to give you some {{{big ol' hugs}}} sweetie...and here's to some hopeful zzz's.
I've been where you are, and here are (((hugs))) too. My daughter was alot easier to wean than my son. I thought he would nurse all night forever and ever. He is almost 4 now and quit nursing altogether on his own around 3 1/2. I put a toddler bed right next to my bed for him and let him transition that way, keeping it gradual but moving him there when he was asleep after he fell asleep with me. Iguess he was about 2 1/2 or 3 then, but he sleeps on his own now and does ok. Good luck, it just feels like forever when it's happening, then one day it's over and it seems so amazingly short. love to you!
i'm mainly being used as a pacifier. i know she's got some reason for clinging to the nipple. she's very well fed, there's no denying that.
well i had the same exact situation with aiden...... he would wake up at least 5 times a night and it was so exhausting and nerve recking. but my body got used to it and i would just pop my boob out and he would nurse for a few minutes and i would eventually fall back asleep with a toddle on my boob. finally i had to wean aiden and i would keep a sippy cup of water next to the bed when he woke up i would give him his sippy and tell him that booby is all gone he drank it all so now there is no more. it seemed to have worked. i have gotten to sleep like a normal person for the past three months and it feels so good. well i hope that this helps. also if joey is well fed before bed time try to ware her out during the day if she takes an evening nap see if you could take that nap away so that she will sleep trhough the night instead of waking up. and if she is just using you as a pacifier or something to calm her down see if you can give her a security blanket or stuffed animal. good luck
she is just incapable of staying awake past 7:00 pm. it wouldn't be so bad if i wasn't trying to spend some time with dave. we'd just all go to bed early. *sigh* some days are worse than others....thanks for the advice and best wishes everyone.
well hmm.... how many naps does she take during the day?????? if you want to get some rest your going to have to rearrange her entire nap and sleep time schedule. i did that with aiden plus when he took naps i did as well. it helped alot. but if oyu are trying to spend time with your hubby then keep the schedule as is and try giving her a nuk at night ( i dont know if your against nuks or not but it may help especially if you think she is just using you as a pacifier). see i never had the problem of trying to spend time with my hubby cuz he was/is always busy or im just not feeling like spending time with him so yeah dont know how that will work out for you. good luck
Kc-I believe if you eliminate sugar-all sugar from your diet your little one will sleep thru the night.I speak from experience on this.good luck.
i haven't had sugar in a few years now. i can't really maintain an atkins diet sort of food sugar/carb standard, but i think refined sugar is the devil.
well, i've been working out the napping schedule with her. i've eased her into a couple brief naps and inserted a light solid food feeding right after she wakes up from both naps. it seems to be working. instead of trying to feed in the middle of the night, she just latches on and hold it like a pacifier more often. so we're one step closer to the goal here.
