Let's talk about YOUR sleep

I'm just curious how much ( or how little) sleep people are functioning on these days...especially those in the first few months of being a twin mom? I am most interested in those of us who have toddlers or other children and can't always nap during the day. How many hours of sleep do you get in a night? How are you doing?

 

I do not sleep during the day at all. Mine have both been pretty good at sleeping long stretches just never at the same time. i am still up every 2 hours aprox. BUMMER! I don't nap because they only consistently nap together in the morning and I can't nap in the morning. Plus, if I have a together nap I have so much else to do. Surprisingly, I'm doing ok even though I'm very very tired. I feel like I'm walking under water all day but I haven't been sick or anything.

 

I was in such a crazy sleep-deprived haze the first few months. My only saving grace was at sometime during the day I could put a show on for my two year old and sack out on the couch for a few minutes while the babies were in the swings. The babies ate constantly--every hour for the most part (the first 2 months I'd say) so I was up ALL night. Ugh, just thinking about the first few months makes me sleepy. Now I get to sleep a six hour stretch at night for the most part. I'm still tired, but then again I was an 8-hour-a-night kind of girl before the twins came along. I sure miss the days when I could nap with my toddler!!

Reyna

 

The first few months were torturous!! Between 3-4 months, we had a reprieve and they both would sleep about 6-7 hours at one point each night. Then teething began and now they are back to waking a billion (or so it seems!!) times per night, and I am getting sooooo little sleep, it's ridiculous. Last night, I got 3.5 hours, broken up into 1-hour chunks. No one else has ever gotten up with either of my babies (except one night when my mom fed them when they were first born) at night, so I am EXHAUSTED. Probably not what you wanted to hear, and I hope that it gets better for you (and stays that way, unlike for me).

:hug99: :hug99: :hug99:

 

I am getting about 4-6 hours a night broken up into 45min to an hour and a half increments. I also have a 2 and a half year old who takes a 2 hour nap everyday. It hardly ever works out that I can nap when he does. The few times that all three have been asleep, I am usually trying to catch up on laundry, thank you cards, phone calls, email, etc. I am surprised how well I am managing on little sleep. But, I have been sick now for about three weeks. I think my body is just so weak. My twins are 7 weeks old and BFing every 2 hours.

 

I don't have a toddler but I don't sleep during the day, usually there is a one hour stretch in the afternoon when they are both sleeping but I am running around trying to pick up the house, catch up on laundry, or sometimes just vegging with a good book and cup of coffee. On a good night, I will get a 6 hour stretch of sleep from 10ish-4ish, then 2 hours from 5-7:30ish. On a bad night, I get about 3 hours broken into 1 hourish increments. Luckily the good nights have far outweighed the bad nights lately. I must say though that I only take one baby at night, our "bad sleeper", and DH takes our "good sleeper", I think he gets a total of 8-9 hours of sleep in 2 big chunks.

 

I get up pretty much every 1 1/2 to 2 hours at night. It does suck. During the day too they eat every 2 hours so I never have time to nap. I too hope it gets better soon. It is hard to function on little sleep.

 

I remember always being amazed those first few months how little sleep you could function on!! Now that I'm used to getting more sleep again, I find I'm much more affected by it though.

In the first few months 5 hours of sleep a night (not even straight sleep) was like a dream come true, but now that they are regularly sleeping for 11+ hours, I am soooo tired and cranky if my sleep is interrupted. I think it's all about perception!!!

Suzi

 

Before we hit the wonderful 4 month mark I was going on about 5 hours broken up into 3 chunks...Sleep 9 to 11, 12 to 2, 4 to 5....YUCK!! I could never anp during the day.

Around 4 momths we started going 5 hours stretches in a row!!

 

i wake every 3-4 hours.. i am very tired... i do not nap... my 4 year old would thrash the house....

 

I didn't have another child when my twins were born, but I did have trouble napping during the day after the first couple of weeks. Anyway, until about 4 months, a good night was when I got 6 hours of sleep total (broken into 3 chunks). A bad night was when I got 3 hours or less. The average was about 5.

I actually handled the sleep deprivation better than I expected. It probably helps that I've never slept well (on a good night I wake every 2 hours anyway). I did get PPD and I'm sure the lack of sleep had something to do with that, but other than that, I just felt like I had "medicine head" all the time. I felt more spacey than drowsy.

 

We averaged about 4 hours per night back then and it was really rough. I was accustomed to sleeping 10 hours a night before the babies were born so it was hardest on me. The first 3 weeks, I was off work and at home so we would take turns getting naps during the day. When I went back to work, it was Dunkin Donuts coffee that kept me alive. I think they put some sort of narcotic in that coffee and I was so glad they did.

They sell it at the grocery store now so pick up some and enjoy the ride...

 

QUOTE(SusieQ @ Dec 6 2007, 11:03 AM) [snapback]523162[/snapback]
I remember always being amazed those first few months how little sleep you could function on!! Now that I'm used to getting more sleep again, I find I'm much more affected by it though.


This is so true!!! When the girls first came home we were averaging 4-5 hours a night (broken up). They were eating every 3 hours around the clock and had horrible refux so they had to be upright for at least 45 minutes after eating. You do the math!!! It was crazy, but DH and I were functioning somehow. Lots of coffee, lots of loopy slap-happy conversations in the middle of the night! I do remember driving home from work one day thinking "man I really should not be behind the wheel." I had the windows open and the stereo blaring and I work 6 miles from my house, but it was not good.

Now though I wouldn't be able to function at all! When the girls were sick last month Meara was up most of the night one night.... one night!!! I think DH and I got about 4 hours sleep that night and we were totally spent the next day.

I agree with the pp about coffee. I was never much of a coffee drinker before but dunkin donuts coffee rocks!! I also became a huge fan of hazelnut creamer.. mmmm!

 

I don't know how I functioned early on. I think I was sleeping in 2 hour increments. But I was never one to "sleep with the baby sleeps". I just don't have the ability to lay them down, and immediately pass out. I can't imagine how I would be able to handle that now. Luckily, things have been really good for us. Once they started sleeping through the night (about 7pm-630am) around 4 months, it's never changed for us. Even with all the teeting going on (Jake has 3 teeth on the top coming in all at the same time, both his front teeth, and one next to them) they still sleep. I thank my lucky stars every single day that teething and time changes and food changes and colds haven't ever affected their sleep. So hang in there. It gets better. And I can't tell you how many people tried to bring me down by saying "oh just wait till this or this or this happens, they won't sleep anymore." ... but that hasn't happened. So maybe it won't to you either!

 

My girls are 7wks old and in their crib from about 8-10pm till 7-9am. I go to bed between 10-11ish and sleep till they get up in the morning. I breastfeed so I am up every 2-3 hrs feeding them for about an hour or so, sometimes more, because I do not tandem feed, I also will not wake a sleeping baby to feed.
I figure I get about 6hrs of sleep on a good night in a few sessions. And I do not nap during the day.

I still cant believe that I function on so little sleep when last year I 'thought' I needed 10-12 to function. haha

 

Oh I love seeing this posts. I felt that I was the only one dying for sleep. I LOVE sleep. I would rather sleep then eat. I would sleep 10-12 hours easily. And my toddler would let me do it. She was an easy baby and sleeping through the night at 1 month. So, now that I have the twins and they have rocked my world...let me tell you I have never been so tired in all my life!!!!!!!!!!!! I am lucky if I get about 5 hours...and that is broken up sleep. I have a toddler and sometimes I do fall asleep on the couch because I can't help it. She trashes my family room everyday but I don't care, until after I've woken up from my catnap. I am so glad others have gone through this and that I will one day be able to sleep again...lol.