sleep deprivation

[veganloraine]

i have 2 wonderful boys ages 5 and 21 months. the 5 year old JUST started sleeping through the night! the baby goes to bed at 8:00 p.m. and gets up at 10:00 p.m., 12:30 a.m., 4:00 a.m. and is up for the day at 6:00 a.m., IF it's been a good night. i am so ridiculously sleep-deprived! i can't form sentences and i can't answer simple questions without repeating them to myself and i have no short-term memory! i feel horrible. i've been sprinkling lavender oil around the bed room and under the pillows hoping the baby will finally sleep! heeeeelllp me and my sanity, please.

[pghvegan]

i have a 7 month old, so i have limited experience in this matter. :)

how is your toddler napping, during the day? does he have a consistent bedtime routine? does he have "white noise" in the background, in his room?



~stephy

[vegma]

What saved me was co-sleeping! Then I didn't have to get up too. :)

[veganloraine]

he's napping well-ish. he has a nap or two a day, depending on how early he gets up in the morning. he has a consistent bed time routine: dinner, bath, play, bed - and all occuring at the same times every day. we also provide the white noise of the fan running in the bathroom (next to the bedroom).

we also co-sleep for half the night. i lay down with him in my bed until he falls asleep, then i put him in his crib in his room. when he wakes up at 12:30 a.m. (at the 10:00 wake-up, dh walks him around until he falls asleep again and puts him back in the crib) he comes back into our bed for the rest of the night. he's a light sleeper and a wiggler and i am a light sleeper and a wiggler and so no one seems to be getting any sleep. also, i can't sleep while nursing and he wants to nurse all the time 'cause it's right there! sniff, sniff, zzzz...

[mamaoftofuboy]

What about getting a toddler bed or matress and putting it next to your bed. When he falls asleep move him into it and then keep putting him back into it. Any sleeping changes I think take awhile and it sounds like you are so miserable that you need something fast! My heart goes out to you.

[cav]

"bath, play, bed"

I read in a few books that parents should try to bore their kids before going to bed. I don't really know what exactly you mean by "play" but if it is active playing such a tickling and playing with toys then your baby will have a hard time "going" to sleep and "staying asleep". I don't know if you already do this but, these "experts" say that you should "dim the lights, read or do any other quiet and boring activity and do it everynight. You could nurse your baby but not to the point of sleep.
Another thought maybe is your baby teething?

Hope this helps!!!:)

[cav]

oh have you tried a method called systematic awakening?
since you know when your child wakes up you could wake the little one half an hour before. Keep doing this keeping the times you wake him closer and closer to the time he actually wakes up and when he sleeps right through the time he was "supposed" to wake up for a week then you can phase would the awakenings altogether. There's another name for systematic awakening I just can't remember it. Maybe look into , it could work. :)