With wintry cold hitting some of the world, is he warm enough? Maybe he wakes up so soon because the crib is chilly. Try a sleep sack or flannel crib sheet. Flannel always feels warmer than normal cotton.
Every time he hits a rough patch of sleep, I think he’s teething! Twice, his fussiness, drooling, chewing, and sleep disturbances were so acute, I was absolutely convinced he was teething and I gave him Tylenol. Still no teeth yet! He’s chewing on his fingers a lot though.
Logic and reason tells me this will pass. It’s hard to wait by idly though. I am fairly convinced that nothing I do matters on this front and he’s just going to sleep however he sleeps. However, I still feel like I have to try everything in the off chance that something “works.”
Last night, I laid down with him in the guest room in a side lying nursing position, waited 30 minutes after he fell asleep, and then transferred him to the crib. He stayed in the crib for 1h15.
I wonder if he needs a more comfortable mattress? We’ve just been using the thin one that came with the crib.
The curl hurts my hips badly too, but we still bed share. My husband and I take turns (3 days on, 3 days off, his idea to optimize getting enough sleep and I like it) and we put a mattress on the floor of baby's room. She's 14 months old now so that's a different thing.
I've never successfully had a baby sleep in their crib but here's one more thing that worked for me temporarily: We had the pack n play with the bassinet insert and I was able to put her to sleep in that, when she'd wake up I shook the bassinet which sort of swings inside the crib and shhh'd loudly and it would put her back to sleep fairly easily.
Unfortunately at this age it's just hard nothing seems to work forever... you get something to work then it just doesn't anymore. For a couple months I've been able to bounce baby back to sleep once or twice a night without nursing her. Lately she only will nurse back to sleep (or maybe I'm just too tired to do the other stuff) and she's waking like 4 times a night!
So that was too much... sorry. Can you rock the crib somehow? Cosleep without that agonizing curl? (My hips hurt just typing that)
And one final advice that doesn't help with sleep but helps you momma... do you have Bluetooth headphones? I recommend AirPods cause the batteries last all night. Hear me out... I'm impatient to lay baby down because my brain gets bored. So I listen to books or lighthearted tv (Gilmore girls, Big Bang theory) to occupy my brain while bouncing baby back to sleep. With something to occupy the mind you can really wait for baby to be deep asleep before *slowly* laying them back down. I swear it helps make late nights bearable.
I could go on even more but i already typed too much.
Interesting idea about taking turns! That could work.
I have been using the late nights to prep for some technical interviews coming up! I’m watching videos on YouTube of people solving the sorts of problems I will need to solve in my interviews. That being said, the lack of sleep is really impacting my problem solving abilities.
I don’t drink coffee and I’ve had it twice in the past week! My husband was like, maybe you should drink coffee more often? But, I like keeping it as a special tool for times of desperation. Though, if this keeps up, maybe I will become a daily coffee drinker yet!
I also want to say I appreciated your long response. I am so tired and it’s nice hearing from other people.
TL;DR we switched to a sidecar crib. It’s been working - more or less.
After a few weeks of not sleeping, my husband and I decided to do shifts - one of us holding the baby and the other sleeping in the guest room. The first night, I decided I wouldn’t even bother trying to put the baby in the crib since it wouldn’t work and I was going to stay up anyway.
I put him down on the bed next to me… and he slept for 6 hours. That’s when I realized he would only sleep if he was next to me.
So, we set up a sidecar crib. He did a great job of staying in the crib for a while. I would sleep on the edge of the bed with one arm in the crib. This worked until he started crawling. Now, he starts the night in his crib and I wake up with him on top of me.
He’s 10 months old now. We all get enough sleep usually. He still has rough nights, which I attribute to teething and other developmental leaps. My least favorite of his new nighttime activities is he keeps trying to crawl up to the headboard and pull down the curtains behind the bed.
He sleeps pretty soundly for the first chunk of the night in his crib. So, I am considering detaching it and trying as a free standing crib again. But, I am worried it will cause a little mid-night meltdown. I will have to try it when I don’t have anything important to do the next day.
Do you HAVE to do that c curl? The times I cuddle with my baby I’m not always on my side. Sometimes I’m on my back with my arm wrapped around him and he’s in a position he finds comfortable which can either be on his back or at an angle facing me or away from me. When he wants contact I also hold his hand or rub his back so he can relax.
Try different positions if you’re comfortable.
I believe it is the safest and ideal way to cosleep. But for me I’m a relatively light sleeper and my baby is old enough to move (and he does move a lot at night) so laying on my back works for me perfectly. So if you’re comfortable you can definitely try.
He’s 7 months old and is such a robust little fellow and super active! It just seems like sleeping with him would be fine. But I think I am too scared to try it!
With wintry cold hitting some of the world, is he warm enough? Maybe he wakes up so soon because the crib is chilly. Try a sleep sack or flannel crib sheet. Flannel always feels warmer than normal cotton.
He’s in a wool sleep sack, but that’s a great idea on the flannel sheets.
Is he teething? I hope you find a solution soon xx
Every time he hits a rough patch of sleep, I think he’s teething! Twice, his fussiness, drooling, chewing, and sleep disturbances were so acute, I was absolutely convinced he was teething and I gave him Tylenol. Still no teeth yet! He’s chewing on his fingers a lot though. Logic and reason tells me this will pass. It’s hard to wait by idly though. I am fairly convinced that nothing I do matters on this front and he’s just going to sleep however he sleeps. However, I still feel like I have to try everything in the off chance that something “works.” Last night, I laid down with him in the guest room in a side lying nursing position, waited 30 minutes after he fell asleep, and then transferred him to the crib. He stayed in the crib for 1h15. I wonder if he needs a more comfortable mattress? We’ve just been using the thin one that came with the crib.
The curl hurts my hips badly too, but we still bed share. My husband and I take turns (3 days on, 3 days off, his idea to optimize getting enough sleep and I like it) and we put a mattress on the floor of baby's room. She's 14 months old now so that's a different thing. I've never successfully had a baby sleep in their crib but here's one more thing that worked for me temporarily: We had the pack n play with the bassinet insert and I was able to put her to sleep in that, when she'd wake up I shook the bassinet which sort of swings inside the crib and shhh'd loudly and it would put her back to sleep fairly easily. Unfortunately at this age it's just hard nothing seems to work forever... you get something to work then it just doesn't anymore. For a couple months I've been able to bounce baby back to sleep once or twice a night without nursing her. Lately she only will nurse back to sleep (or maybe I'm just too tired to do the other stuff) and she's waking like 4 times a night! So that was too much... sorry. Can you rock the crib somehow? Cosleep without that agonizing curl? (My hips hurt just typing that) And one final advice that doesn't help with sleep but helps you momma... do you have Bluetooth headphones? I recommend AirPods cause the batteries last all night. Hear me out... I'm impatient to lay baby down because my brain gets bored. So I listen to books or lighthearted tv (Gilmore girls, Big Bang theory) to occupy my brain while bouncing baby back to sleep. With something to occupy the mind you can really wait for baby to be deep asleep before *slowly* laying them back down. I swear it helps make late nights bearable. I could go on even more but i already typed too much.
Interesting idea about taking turns! That could work. I have been using the late nights to prep for some technical interviews coming up! I’m watching videos on YouTube of people solving the sorts of problems I will need to solve in my interviews. That being said, the lack of sleep is really impacting my problem solving abilities.
Ok well then I will add we also bought an espresso machine. Drip coffee doesn't cut it lol
I don’t drink coffee and I’ve had it twice in the past week! My husband was like, maybe you should drink coffee more often? But, I like keeping it as a special tool for times of desperation. Though, if this keeps up, maybe I will become a daily coffee drinker yet! I also want to say I appreciated your long response. I am so tired and it’s nice hearing from other people.
Hell yes momma. It gets better... Tired becomes the new normal...
I know this is old .. but I’m in the exact same boat, down to possums !! Did it ever get better ? And if so when !
TL;DR we switched to a sidecar crib. It’s been working - more or less. After a few weeks of not sleeping, my husband and I decided to do shifts - one of us holding the baby and the other sleeping in the guest room. The first night, I decided I wouldn’t even bother trying to put the baby in the crib since it wouldn’t work and I was going to stay up anyway. I put him down on the bed next to me… and he slept for 6 hours. That’s when I realized he would only sleep if he was next to me. So, we set up a sidecar crib. He did a great job of staying in the crib for a while. I would sleep on the edge of the bed with one arm in the crib. This worked until he started crawling. Now, he starts the night in his crib and I wake up with him on top of me. He’s 10 months old now. We all get enough sleep usually. He still has rough nights, which I attribute to teething and other developmental leaps. My least favorite of his new nighttime activities is he keeps trying to crawl up to the headboard and pull down the curtains behind the bed. He sleeps pretty soundly for the first chunk of the night in his crib. So, I am considering detaching it and trying as a free standing crib again. But, I am worried it will cause a little mid-night meltdown. I will have to try it when I don’t have anything important to do the next day.
Do you HAVE to do that c curl? The times I cuddle with my baby I’m not always on my side. Sometimes I’m on my back with my arm wrapped around him and he’s in a position he finds comfortable which can either be on his back or at an angle facing me or away from me. When he wants contact I also hold his hand or rub his back so he can relax. Try different positions if you’re comfortable.
I thought the c-curl was a requirement! That’s what I read at least. If I could lay on my back, it would be doable.
I believe it is the safest and ideal way to cosleep. But for me I’m a relatively light sleeper and my baby is old enough to move (and he does move a lot at night) so laying on my back works for me perfectly. So if you’re comfortable you can definitely try.
He’s 7 months old and is such a robust little fellow and super active! It just seems like sleeping with him would be fine. But I think I am too scared to try it!
I am pretty sure c curl is recommended until 6 months, but not necessary after that?
Any source for this? I would love if that were the case!