Remind Me

I've just had a rough few days, well really not any rougher than the last 6 weeks but I think my expectation is that it's supposed to start getting a little easier around this time and it definitely is not. We are still only going 3-4 hours between night feedings and the evening fussiness is as bad as it's ever been. And the babies are really starting to fight naps now, I think that now that they have started to discover that there is a world out there, they would rather look around than sleep which makes for overtired, cranky babies. And they hate their swing, bouncy seats, etc. so the only way to get them to sleep is to rock them at the same time, which is getting hard to do now that they are larger, my arms get tired long before either one of them is asleep.

So tell me, am I on the cusp of it getting easier or do I have to wait it out another 6 weeks, be honest, I just need to know what I'm in for so I can mentally prepare.

 

I was going every 2-3 hours until a couple of days ago.. now i think its awsome that they go 4 hours at nite! I am just waiting for the magical 3 month mark.. we will see if it gets better by then..

 

We did every 3 hours at night until 2 months, then it slowly started to get longer.

by 4 months things were so much smoother!

Hang in there!!

 

Honestly 3-4 months it got a little easier because their bottles were spaced out a bit more. Then at 5-6 months it got harder again because they got frustrated that they couldn't do all the things they wanted to do (play, roll well, etc). At almost 8 months its much easier because they are sleeping better at night, mobile and can play, loving (nothing better than a slobbery baby kiss!), and are developing a very funny sense of humor.

That is probably not the answer you want, but that was my experience. GL and take lots of pictures... I can't believe my tiny girls are so big now and even though I have a ton of pix, its still not enough! -Leighann

 

Hi Mary! You are "in the thick of it" right now! Around 3.5-4 months it got easier. Hang in there. :hug99:

 

I'm right beside you Mary. Things are exactly the same for me. With mine I am just learning how to deal with night time sleep. Mine are starting to go a little longer at night at 6 weeks 6 days, about 4 hours between feedings. And they are enjoying sleeping beside me at night. Which I don't like but I gotta do what I gotta do. They are at least sleeping and not crying to held all the time at night. Anyway, it will get better...we have to tell ourselves this. I know we want it to be better right now but it is a process. Just watch before you know it you'll start seeing the change. GL and hope to hear about their progress.

Kelley

 

I have to agree with pps...around the 3 month mark things got a "little" better and there was a definite improvement by 4 months. It does get better, but those early months are HARD! Hang in there...there is a light at the end of the tunnel. It was about 4 to 5 months old that I actually could get 5 hours straight of sleep...that made a world of difference for me and how I could "handle" everything else.

 

mary..oh, it's so tough. you are in the HARDEST stage imo. 6 - 8 weeks were ROUGH. 10 weeks things started to get easier. actually, at 8 weeks they were doing 4 hour stretches, maybe a 5 hour stretch here or there. by 10-11 weeks they were only waking once at night to eat. i thought 12 weeks (3 months) was the magic number. honestly, it didnt get noticlebly easier until closer to 4 months.

we are 5 months today and still working things out..naps, espcially. you are right...they start to protest naps the more alert and sociable they become. you are getting there though. one day soon you will look back and these weeks will be a distant memory.

hang tight, friend. praying for you!

 

You sound just like I did at 6 weeks. I even posted almost the same thing! Everyone told me 6 weeks was the magic number, but 6 weeks was the hardest for me. Now at almost 3 months things are getting easier. They are still eating every 3 hours during the day, but they are going 6-8 hours at night. Hang in there!

 

I am there with you! My girls are 7.5 weeks, and I keep thinking -- Gosh, they still need to eat every four hours! When will this end?! (I was totally spoiled by my first, who slept 8 hours at night consistently at 6 weeks!)

Glad to hear that we're in this together, and that it should get better soon...or at least the challenges will be different.

 

Ditto what everyone said. I just wanted to send a :hug99: your way. You are in the thick of it. Good luck! It does get better!

 

The first three months I basically hid in my bathroom and cried. But, by four months the gas got better, the reflux was way under control and they started sleeping through the night.

 

My girls will be 3 months on Friday. 6-10wks was the hardest. I thought I would go nuts!!! Claire screamed every night and Carlie was tough all the time. Things are SLOWLY getting better now. Claire sleeps through almost every night and Carlie is starting too. However, they nap everyother day. One day they will sleep all day and the next they won't sleep but here and there. It is frustrating but you are at the hardest point and it does get better.

April

 

It's so good to read these posts. This place is my saving grace I swear.

Last week Greta started sleeping 6 hours. They both scream from 8-12 midnight...inconsolable. Nights are still hard because Lulu wakes up a bunch but at least it's only one now. They are getting more social which means more awake time during the day. It's so hard to get them to nap. If one more person says "sleep when they sleep...you need sleep" I'm going to slap them. They don't sleep at the same time and on the off chance they do, I can shower or put something in my mouth...I can't sleep. I'm feeling like I'm going to go nuts soon. I like reading that the 10 week mark was some improvement for some...it gives me hope.

What's funny is that after they sleep for a long stretch, I'm actually crazy enough to be glad when they wake up. I miss them. I'm a mad woman.

Thanks to everyone who takes a few of their precious moments to post about your experiences. I can't tell you how helpful it is to me to see that there are others and I'm not a bad mom who can't get her babies to sleep or eat.

 

Mine still normally eat every 3 hours it was the schedule the doc watned when they came home so small and they adopted it and clung to it. Around 4 months they started sleeping all night long... I can say that by about 2 months they were getting up ONCE a night... It is all kinda a blur but i can say i never thought it was that bad and i was back at work at 11 weeks... Getting up once a night was fine and i really missed it once they chose to sleep all night long. LOL.. I think that it will start to get easier for you from here on out... Just hang in there and remember this too shall pass. My little boy was a god send still is... never fusses but Savannah well she is more demanding. LOL... I hope you get some rest soon. My mom kept them at 7 weeks for a night and we slept all evening and night, can you get a refresher?

 

Mine were only 4 pounds each and they ate every two on the nose for about 8 weeks, then started to space out the nights ... they are now every 2 1/2 -3 hours and they are 16 weeks (11 weeks adjusted) ... as for the fussing, mine still fuss a lot, but get better every week ... I would say that 13 weeks was a turn around. You can make it! They will start smiling and cooing soon and that makes it so much better. Now mine go to bed around 8PM and don't usually wake for their first night feed until anywhere between 3 and 6 ... with one being a better sleeper than the other. I simultaneously nurse during the day but one on one at night ... they don't wake at the same time ... all that stuff will get easier and easier! I am still waiting to be out of survival mode, too ... but I think that will be a while.

 

Thank you so much for the replies, just knowing that this is normal and that other women have survived it helps tons. They are both asleep at the same time for the first time today, fingers crossed that it at least lasts 30 minutes. I don't know what I would do without this site, I swear it's my sanity sometimes.

 

Your babies are only two days younger than mine.
We're in the thick of it too. It seems like I've constantly got a baby in my arms these days! They're eating every 3 hours during they day, but stretching it out to 5 hours at night. The good news is that they sleep at the same time so I do get a break. The bad news? They wake up at the same time which can be a struggle.

Good luck! It won't be too much longer before things get dramatically easier!

 

:hug99: Gosh, I had such a hard time around the time you are at. I think it got better at 3- 4 months. You can do it!

 

Just another "hang in there" from another whose been through it....AND SURVIVED! And dude, I used to love to sleep, so it was a brutal blow. I know the thought of another couple of months seems like an eternity, but next thing you know, you're there. And then it flies by. I've said before once on here that I used to repeatedly say to myself over and over, "Hang in there, hang in there, hang in there....." when I was in the thick of it and I felt like I just couldn't last one more minute.

Sleep when they sleep. As much as I wanted to laugh in people's faces when they suggested that to me, it's really the truth. You need to rest.

Good luck and, once again, HANG IN THERE!

 

If you read my previous posts I had the same question at that age. I PROMISE it gets better. Between 3-4 Months it got better.

 

I found something that works for me is putting them in their car seats. I would go crazy if I did not do that. I was getting to the point of craziness around 6-7 weeks and one night while my DH was doing some chores, he put screaming DD in her car seat and she loved it. I know they do most of their sleeping in theirs. They also started hating the swing and bouncy seat around that time. I have to feed them every two hours too now around the clock and when I found out that putting them in the car seats helped them nap, it made my life a lot easier.

 

well I'm right there with you too. Mine are 7 weeks tomorrow. We had a few days of one 4 hour stretch and I thought I was seeing a good trend, but now we're back to 3 hours max. And even with that DS wakes up screaming between feedings and needs to be picked up and comforted for a minute and then he'll go back down.

I'm glad you asked the question. We're going a little nuts here too. It's helpful to see everybody's responses and know we're not alone.

 

I actually found 6-9 weeks (mine were born at 37 weeks) to be the hardest time. They were awake more, and fussy, but not interested in anything. After 9 weeks it got a tiny bit easier because they were more willing to be awake and just look at stuff, sometimes at least.

It got a LOT easier at 3.5 months. One of my DDs started sleeping 11 hours (she went from the longest stretch being 6 hours to sleeping 11 hours, within a week) and the other one started going 11 hours with two short feedings.

I was no good at "sleep when they sleep" -- the thought that I HAD to sleep just stressed me out -- but I made myself lie on the couch at least. Your body can still get some rest, and if you take the pressure off yourself, you may wind up dozing off.

 

I agree that this is the worst time. For us, 6-9 weeks was the absolute worst. Then it got a little better and at 3 months it got a LOT better.

I remember people telling us that it will get better at 3 months and they might as well have said 3 years - that's how far off it seemed. When you're in the thick of it it's just awful and the only thing you can do is keep going. It will get easier!

We've all been there. Raising twins is a monumental task and you should be proud of yourself to have made it this far.

Good luck and hang in there! :hug99: