EARLY WIDE AWAKE CLUB!! WANT SUPPORT? JOIN US!

[Toddia]

Hi, sounds like a thread I should be joining. 

I have a 6 month old son, John,  who wakes up at 4.30am and chats and gurgles away, with absolutely no interest in going back to sleep for 2 hours.  He's still sleeping in our room although we do plan to move him into his own room in a couple of weeks time (we're off on holiday for a few days next week so don't see the point in making any changes before then).  I'm a light sleeper so the slightest noise from John is enough to wake me and then I can't get back to sleep.  He doesn't seem to need anything and isn't crying, but it isn't impossible that he has a dirty nappy (that boy could poop for Scotland) I'm hesitant to check as that would wake him up even more (though I don't suppose it matters as he's awake for 2 hours anyway). 

We also have a 3 year old daughter, Isla, who comes through to our bed every night - sometimes comes through when we go to bed but we're going to tackle that when John moves into his own room (don't want Isla feeling put out whilst John is in our room).

I'll start working through this thread and see if I can find a solution!  But thought I'd say hello first.   

[Carys' mom]

Welcome Toddia . If you don't find a solution, at least you'll find support from people going through the same thing.

Well, last night was bad again. Carys woke at 12:30am and didn't go back down until 2:15am. She has ANOTHER cold, right after the last one. I think she got it from her 15 mo cousin on Thanksgiving . My SIL said he was just teething , but his nose was running like a faucet. The little bugger always manages to glom onto Carys' sippy cup at some point and drink from it - he was after her Cheerios, too. I think Carys' last canine tooth is finally popping through, too. So I'm sure that's not helping her sleep either.

I hope you ladies (and gent) are faring better than me.

[andibig]

hi ladies-seems we're getting pretty busy on this thread at the mo!. well just returned from our w/end away and i managed to get some sleep LOL

Carys mom-Sasha seems to be getting better but we've had a few rough nights. one night she wouldn't even go to bed. eventually MIL got DD to sleep.we then found out from DH that him and DD and fallen asleep in front of the TV for over an hour plus she also had her 2.5hr nap at lunchtime so its no wonder she didn't want to sleep!!!!!!!!sorry carys is unwell hopefully she'll be over her cold b4 xmas.

cymonguk-nice to see a Dad here and welcome to the club.i agree with Rina in so much that her nap (or naps) may need some tweaking as she is starting to wake earlier. with DD we have to be careful how much daytime sleep she as this can really affect her night sleep (see above comment!!). i think DD was about 14 mths when she cut down to 1 nap but had been showing signs that she needed 1 big nap for about 2-3 wks b4.

Toddia-when Sasha had early wakings we would leave her (she wasn't in the same room as us) if she wasn't crying. if your LO is quite content to remain in his cot then i would leave him to it. if he needs you he'll let you know.

[Carys' mom]

We had another horrific night again . She woke at 12:30am again, and several times throughout the night. The first couple times dh did wi/wo - finally, we decided to give her more motrin for her teething. And I think I came downstairs with her in the recliner again. It's all a blur these past few days. I just don't know what to do anymore.

[andibig]

mel
Sasha was much the same.i've now ended up in the spare bed of her room. i tell her to lie down and go back to sleep and she does most of the time. Florencia (one of the mods) suggested staying in her room for at least a week or more until things settle back again as we both suspect its taking Sasha a while to get back on track. so while shes still waking me up at least i dont have to get up.
i'm wondering if W2S would help carys if this 12.30am waking is becoming habitual

[Carys' mom]

Thanks Andrea. I'm afraid to try W2S because she has been just as likely to wake up at 11:30pm or any time. It's frustrating . With Carys, she won't even lie back down if I lie down beside her crib. And like I said before in another post, she won't even come to sleep in our bed. I know that's accidental parenting, but at least we'd be able to get some sleep if she'd do that. If my dh wasn't able to work from home a little bit in the morning like he's been able to, I don't know what I'd do. This allows me to at least catch up a little on some sleep while he watches her.

I hope things get better with Sasha soon. Take care...

[rinajack]

Well, we are back with all sorts of issues too - it has been 5-6 weeks since she slept well, I am running on Empty and still having to work too.  I got maybe 4 hrs broken sleep last night and was so tired when she was waking that it did not even occur to me to give her panadol.

When we got up in the morning, I noticed she was warm and has a temp. and she had conjuntivitis and I had to help one of her eyes open.  I am absolutely snowed at work with stuff that HAS to be done today, so I had to take her to daycare.  I feel so guilty, both becuase it is against teh rules, and becuase she should be home relaxing when she is ill.  Re the rules thing - noone else seems to stick to them, because Zara gets sick from daycare at least every second week. 

I was in tears this morning cause I don't want her to go there any more, but I don't have a choice, I live in a tiny town with only one daycare.  I am so tired, and it is painful to see her unwell so often, and to leave her when she is like that. Last illness she lost over a lb and since then has had dark circles around her eyes that just won't go away.

I am sure it will be OK eventually, but because I am exhausted I am having trouble staying positive today.   Even on the very odd occasion where she has slept at night (maybe twice in last month) she is waking aroun 4-4:30am.....

[legend_018]

ya day care is a killer. My LO is on ear infection #5 and she just turned 8 months old. We've been to an ear doctor and there already talking tubes. It's confusing  because we don't want to rush into it. but anyways: Dr. did say ideal situation would be to take her out of day care. She was in there full time from like 8am to 6pm. than we switched day cares and I switched to at home working for the most part and now she goes part time 2 days awake from about 9am to about 3pm. but still.

[rinajack]

My DD is almost 8 months too, and I have pretty much lost count of ear infections.  She has had antibiotics more than 7 times already, and she only goes 2-3 days per week already. I am at my wits end, and working from home in my job is not really an option.

[legend_018]

wow so what does the doctor say. Did they send you to the ear doctor. Did they start talking about tubes yet? Mass Ear and Eye in Boston moto is 6 ear infections within 6 months is a sign for needing tubes. I have some friends that say be careful though and some people tough it out a lot longer. I don't want anything to affect her hearing. She had an ear infection nov 3rd and just got diagnosed with another and it's not even the end of November yet. 5 infections starting at 4 months of age. Very tiring for the both of us. Hubby lucks out and gets to sleep thru it all "lol".

[rinajack]

Dr tells me not to stress becuase all small babies in daycare get sick alot, and once her immunity is built up it will all stop.  Because she is also teething he says this can contribute.  There is no specialist close by, minimum 2.5 hr drive to see one.  I am trying to avoid tubes too, I am inclined to tough it out, just so tired today that it seems impossible.  I would probably sooner quit my job than get tubes for her.

Then at the end of each consult he tells me to quit my job cause he thinks I was happier when I stayed home (he is getting to know us very well since we are there almost every week LOL).  I think we could get by if we tightened out belts HEAPS if I didn't work, but it would be a struggle. And we moved all the way away from our friends and family to get ahead financially, and we couldn't do that on one income. Oh, this is just so hard.

Next year her days there are still only going to be 3, but they will be shorter days than now...maybe that, and her getting older, will help.  And maybe with 3 weeks away from there at Xmas her immunity will get a bit of a chance to recover.  I can only hope.

[legend_018]

When did her ear infections start and how many has she had?
Did you ask the doctor anything about hearing and the affects of so many ear infections?

[rinajack]

They started aroun 4mo (when she started daycare).  And to be honest, I did not think to ask about long term impact, I did not even think of that

She has had about 8 ear infections, some requiring drops, most antibiotics, one needed two different antibiotics (the last one). She has also had 3 or 4 throat infections, 3 or 4 x conjuntivitis, several colds, dairy allergy, and a couple of viral infections involving really really high temps.  sigh.  It feels never ending.

We will be off to the Dr tomorrow again, so I will ask more Q's.  I might see if I can get someone to care for her just for the remainder of the year I think, to give her little body a break.

[legend_018]

Wow that sounds a bit rough. My LO had 1 bladder infection and the rest were ear infections with antibiotics. never drops.

[andibig]

rina
we are quite fortunate that DD doesn't go to daycare me and dh share the child care between us (a decision made by both of us). but we are lucky we can do that. i know in DDs first year that she had a LOT of colds (fortunately only 1 ear infection) always at the time of teething.however our drs are reluctant to prescribe antibiotics which i totally agree with and shes only ever had them once.
i'm just wondering if you are able to afford a childminder who has fewer children (i think where we are in the uk they are limited to 3 under 3yr olds)
Mel
well Sasha no better with sleep and i'm pretty sure its the aftermath of this stomach bug she had .last night she woke i got her out of the cot quick cuddle and then put her back in.at which point she started crying.i knew what she wanted was to come back on the bed so i let her cry in her cot which i felt absolutely awful about but she settled after about 30 secs (felt like 30 hrs LOL) and laid back down and slept the rest of the night.
i think i'm just going to tough this one out -we're not to give her meds at night as we don't think they are helping and we don't think shes in pain when she wakes.it breaks my heart to hear her cry :'(but my HV said as long as i don't leave her to cry it out i'm not breaking any trust with her.
i hope Carys gets better soon just so you can have a full nights sleep
Andrea