Don"t know what to do, please help!

I think I am going to lose my mind, my DS's have been awake every night for the past week or so from about 11pm to 2am and the other night was 11 to about 5am. Some nights they are just wide awake and other nights they are fussy and crying. When i try to put them down they wake and cry. Tonight, I got one to sleep, but the other is wide awake.

They nap well during the day, but I can only catch up on so much sleep and I am exhausted and feel like I am going crazy! My DH helps, but with both of them up, it just exhausts both of us and we have a three year old that needs to be cared for as well. I have tried keeping them up during the day more, but nothing seems to help.

I am desperate for any advice or anything that has worked for others. I have tried car rides, swinging, etc, but nothing seems to work. I am on the verge of crying all of the time.

 

UHH! that's awful, I'm so sorry. Can your pediatrician help you out? Maybe they have gas/reflux when you're putting them down...do they have their days/nights still confused? We had the same type of problem but it was at weeks 1-2. Perhaps your pediatrician can give you some advice....

good luck.

 

Emma slept in her swing all night for 3 months for that very reason! I'm sorry, I don't have any advice! Jake slept with me for the first 3 months...it was the only place he would sleep soundly. :hug99:

 

I do not know if I can help you much but I really do remember that feeling of help/hopelessness. Mine are 3.5 months now and I will tell you, honestly, it is a bit better, but I am definitly still struggling. I think that I cried everyother day up until 2 months. I pretty much cried all day yesterdasy. Please remember that whatever they are or are not doing right now that is driving you crazy cannot possibly go on forever.

As far as sleeping goes we had to resort to the swings when they were six weeks. I know you said you tried and the swings are not working. Have you tried swaddling??? Mine would never stay in normal blankets so we bought miracle blankets online and they have been a lifesaver. If you are interested just google miracle blanket and you should get something. We also lay them angled towards their sides on the inclined sleep positioners and they seem to like that. I hesitate to say this though as I am really trying hard to get them out of these things now and it is not working very well. I say do what you can to get by though.

I wish I could help but I will say that it will not be this way forever. It is soooo sooo sooo hard. Please do not feel like you are the only one out there wanting to cry everyday...

Please PM me anytime.

Amy

 

Ours slept on our chests for quite awhile because that was the only way we could get a couple of hours of uninterrupted sleep. We also have a toddler so I know what you mean about being exhausted. A couple of ideas might be swaddling, pacifiers, white noise machine, or lullaby CD.

Also I dont think I would try to keep them up longer during the day. Make sure they get the sleep they need because if they are overtired that can work against you as well. During the day they can sleep with a lot of light and noise and at night its dark, quiet, soothing noises. Maybe you are missing the "window of opportunity" at night and they are overtired by 11, so maybe getting them down 15/30 minutes earlier might help??

Hope this helps. Hang in there, this is a tough age!!

Rachel

 

:hug99: I don't really have any advice, but know this too shall pass! My DS slept with me in a recliner for 2 months and after that he slept in his bouncy chair for another two due to Reflux. He is now a wonderful sleeper in his very own crib for at least 11 hours a night. Hang in there! :hug99:

 

I would look into reflux too. Are they crying the whole time? Do you use the swing? I used the swing all night for both of mine many times in the beginning. Sometimes you need to do what you can to get sleep. Maybe bouncers too? :hug99: I remember this time, it is not easy! It will get better, I promise. :hug99:

 

I don't mean to scare you but my girls are 8 months and the last time I slept good was while the dr was sewing me up after my c-section. my girls hate to sleep - they fight it till the end and if somebody accidentally
falls asleep - the other one seems to sense it and either wakes up or is WIDE awake!! so they tag team me!!
the only way they sleep is with me - so I don't sleep well

I told my husband that the greatest gift he could give me for our upcoming anniversary would be an uninterupted NAP! that would be better than diamonds to me right now!

 

Oh, man, isn't this just the worst time? As happy as we all are to have our new babies, the lack of sleep really can just drive anyone insane.

How about a bath before bedtime? One of my girls gave me such a hard time every night and they did the tag team thing too. It took everything in me to stay calm and not just go kazoo. But the bath every night ritual really got a good thing going. Don't get me wrong, it didn't answer all the sleeping problems in a day, but it really was the answer for us in the long run.

The best of luck to you. Hang in there.....eveyone has been through it...

ETA: Oh, and gripe water. I know that you said that they're not full-on crying every night, but when mine were, gripe water literally knocked them out for the count within 5-10 minutes. I guess they were gassy? I'm still not sure....all I know is it worked amazing for us....

 

First of all, BIG HUGS to you! I know it's extremely hard. You've already received good advice but I think you're in the thick of the stage where they are confused between day and night and honestly we just had to suck it up at that stage. What DH and I did was to take shifts so we could get a few hours of uninterrupted sleep. For example, DH sleeps when he gets home from work (7-12 pm) and I take the next shift (12-5). Hope things get better for you soon!