babies still up every hour - HELP!

[spu]

even at 16 mos old, they're still waking every hour! They quickly fall back asleep to nursing, but I'm usually the one still awake... even if I switch to another bed or sneak to the foot of the bed, barely an hour goes by when another baby wakes. and i'm feeling so sleep-deprived that it's really affecting my daytime mood so much lately. Is this common for 16 month olds? Anyone have any good suggestions for helping babies sleep longer stretches?

thanks!!!

susan

twin girls 7.20.02
charlotte + else

http://sunger2.home.comcast.net/bash/nonflash/year.html

[KUvsOU]

I hope things change for you soon! I wish I had some good advice for you. I know that there are a variety of sleep methods people advocate on the board based on their parenting style. I finally resorted to the CIO method when my son was six months old and it has seemed to work well for us. I know this does not work for everyone. If you have not already, you may want to talk to your Pediatrician about this to see what he/she suggests.

Shawna
Mom of Cade 6/16/02

[lizajane]

i know it would break your heart, but maybe co-sleeping just isn't working anymore. what i am hearing from you in your post is that you need to make a change of some kind. sleep training of any kind can be grueling and can make for a very difficult night/nights/week/weeks. but for us, a few bad nights was well worth the excellent nights we have now. we did employ some CIO methods, and i know that CIO does not suit you, so i can't help by offering any real advice. i just want to offer support and say that it is OK for you to feel like you need to make a change to make things better for you. a happier you makes a happier mom makes happier babies!

i hope the girls get some good rest and allow you some good rest!! i will be sending sleep vibes your way for your whole family!

[momtoemma]

I also don't really have any advice for you, but my DD was born one day after your twins, and she has been waking frequently for the past month or two. She started sleeping through the night early on (like 12 weeks), but now we have regressed. I would be interested in any tips people have for stopping this because right now, either myself or DH has to get up and rock her back to sleep. We aren't giving her a bottle but are changing her diaper if she is wet. She usually goes right back to sleep when rocked, but screams from her crib to be picked up.

I've read Weissbluth and know that the key seems to be that the child must learn to soothe themselves back to sleep when they wake up. My question is how do you teach them to learn how to soothe themselves back to sleep? Sorry I don't have any advice to offer...

Thanks,

[Rachels]

Susan, have you read Good Nights yet? It's a good one both for supporting the family bed and for working through gentle transitioning or nightweaning. MDC is another place to get gentle nightweaning support. Hang in there! Call if you need a sympathetic ear.

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[nohomama]

Susan,

What you've discribed is what led us to transition Lola from our bed to a crib (in our room) when she was 14 months old. It was also around this time that I began to night wean Lola. Both were gradual processes but, in our case, both Dan and I got a measure of relief from our chronic sleep deprivation within a week or two. I'm not certain from your post if these are steps you're interested in taking but, if so, I'm happy to pass along some suggestions.

[spu]

those are all really good suggestions. I just ordered Good Nights and it shipped yesterday. I'm guessing they need more space too... we started sleeping on a mattress in their room which gives us more space since it's on the floor and we have fewer pillows. I've been able to duck out and go back to my bed for a couple of hours, but they still wake looking for mama... and if I put Charlotte in her crib, she still freaks... Else actually just came down with a cold yesterday, so maybe that has something to do with it at least for this week... I would be interested in weaning the nighttime nursings since they are so frequent, but I'm also afraid of denying them valuable nutrition since they're on the lighter side...

How did you nightwean Lola and transition her into her crib? I'd love to hear any suggestions for what worked for everyone.

thanks!

susan

twin girls 7.20.02
charlotte + else

http://sunger2.home.comcast.net/bash/nonflash/year.html

[sarasprings]

DS, at 19 months, still wakes up pretty frequently. Not every hour regularly, but generally about 10 times a night. I have read that nightweaning can result in drastic changes, but we decided not to bother until DS's canines come in.

One thing that has helped me sleep is taking extra magnesium. My prenatal vitamin had only 30 mg, so I started taking 100% in supplements and it amazingly worked. I went from being up hours a night two weeks ago, to quickly falling asleep after DS nursed.

[Rachels]

Oh, yeah, I've heard that, too. My mom swears by it. Actually, the Hylands Calms Forte has magnesium in it, and it's geared for babies. Interesting.

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[nohomama]

Susan,

I've been checking the boards periodically throughout the day but somehow I missed your post. I appologize for not responding sooner and for not responding now. I'll get back to you tomorrow with some suggestions (either here or via email) when I'm not quite so tired and bleary.

In the meantime, I hope the sleep fairies visit you, Charlotte, and Else tonight.

Take care,

[starrynight]

Magnesium does work great for insomnia or trouble falling back to sleep, it helps a bit with moods too.

I hope you all get some good sleep soon!