It has taken 23 months to get a good nights sleep (Your Baby and Sleep in general)

Member Name: wisemind

Product:	Your Baby and Sleep in general
Date:	25/03/09 (260 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Energy and better mood

Disadvantages: Not one

This is a review I have hoped to be able to write since I have joined Dooyoo and now am in a position to do so.

My son has had sleep problems since he was born.

I personally believe that part of his problem relates to the fact I never had a full nights sleep during my pregnancy due to the need to be sick so he never inside me learnt what it was like for mommy to settle down for the night.

Also when he was born he had jaundice and as a consequence had to be woken every 3 hours to feed but was also very drowsy so often had to be stripped down to his nappy to wake him enough to get his milk in him.

Once his Jaundice had cleared he was much more alert and then seemed to be in a routine of waking up regularly throughout the night but as a newborn baby you think it is expected and you just wait for things to improve but they never did. He often ended up in my bed so I could get a little more sleep.

When my son was twelve weeks old he had his second set of injections and slept through the night. I woke up with mastitis and he decided he would go back to spending time with mommy through the night.

One of my biggest mistakes was I would pick him up when he was stirring knowing he would want a feed and believing that if he didn't want it he wouldn't take it after reading stomach literature stating that you can't over feed a breastfeed baby. This mean the never had the chance to learn how to settle himself.

I did ensure he had a good bedtime routine which was bath at the same time get dressed and then upstairs for supper. Once he was upstairs he stayed upstairs so he understood that it was night time and this worked really well. The majority of the time I didn't have any trouble getting him to sleep.

When he was seven months old I decided to move him to his own room to see if that improved things but he never seemed to settle in there and I spend many nights sleeping on his nursery floor in the hope that he would become more secure in his room. In the end I had an airbed in his room and we spent many nights sleeping on the airbed just to get some sleep.

My son has been breast fed and I tried to give him formula on a couple of occasions when he was on growth spurts in the hope we would be able to get some sleep but while he initially would be very contented and settle down to sleep within a couple of hours he would be violently sick.

We were referred to a paediatrician who suggested he may have milk intolerance and advised me to continue breast feeding until he was one. I now don't think he does but I think that something in formula that didn't agree with him.

When he was ten months old we moved to a refuge which meant we were back in the same room and he was sleeping in a travel cot. He continued waking every 2-3 hours and I would often get him in bed with me so that not to disturb the other women or children in the house.

We would sleep together in a single bed when he went for a nap as he got more sleep that way and I could also get more sleep. We had a new health visitor in refuge who when I talked about his sleep problems and breast feeding she advised that with all that we had been through and the turmoil our life was currently in it was best to keep things as they were. Despite him spending his first birthday there I continued to breastfeed on demand and get up to him every couple of hours during the night.

When he was 15 months old we were re housed and I kept him in with me as it was yet another big change for him. He did like living in the refuge as there were so many people around to give him attention and he loved the hustle and bustle of the place.

He was however more relaxed and did seem more settled but still continued waking with the same frequency through the night.

I spend many evenings once he was in bed decorating his new room and building furniture. Each morning he would go in all excited at his new room and point to stick ups of Thomas the tank engine and I built him a junior bed which he loved.

He was 17 months old when his room was finished and he moved in. He was very excited to sleep in his new bed but yet another idea that had no impact on sleep.

There were periods where he would improve slightly and got up to maybe 3-4 hours but then he would be unwell or teething and he would go back to waking every 2-3 hours.

He started nursery and at nursery he learnt how to go to sleep without the comfort of my breast. This was a big step for him.

About two months ago I had a few nights where he was awake for hours at a time and I was reaching complete exhaustion. I decided it was time for things to change as I couldn't see things improving without some major hard work from me.

I started following the routine he has at nursery to get him down for a nap without breast milk following the same. He didn't particularly cry at nursery but I have had many tears and pulling at my top but once I started I knew I needed to continue. I would lie him down in bed and gently rock his back till he fell asleep and if he got up I lay him back down.

Two weeks later I stopped giving milk through the night. I would give him breast milk for supper to get him off to sleep but then I would offer him water and I was shocked that he wasn't actually even thirsty so I knew it was about comfort that made me more determined to continue.

On the first night he woke once for 30 minutes then for an hour a few hours later but this was a vast improvement for us. Each night seemed to an improvement on the night before. He was also was having better naps during the day. He was previously sleeping for 30 minutes during the day now he is having at least an hour now.

One evening after he had a woke quite late from a long nap after 30 minutes worth of milk he still wasn't going to sleep so I went and had a bath and left him in his room to get ready for sleep. I then rather than reinforce if you don't go to sleep you get two suppers. I told him that he had had his supper and now it is night time. He settled quite well then a miracle happened he slept through till 5.20am.

The next day I took him out to car boot and he ended up falling asleep there and having an early nap so after he had eaten a late lunch and a big tea I knew I needed to continue as I had the night before so I put him straight to bed after his bath. He was very tired and fell asleep within two minutes. I was so shocked. He slept through again till 5am. It did feel sad although after 23months of breastfeeding I was truly ready to stop it did feel like a big milestone and my baby boy was now a big boy.

The consequence of this is that he seems to wake up in a better mood and wants to play more rather than watching TV and I have so much energy I spend more time playing rather than wanting to sit on the sofa through exhaustion. Other people have noticed that within a few days of unbroken sleep the bags have disappeared from under my eyes.

I would recommend to anyone who is having sleep problems to get tough. It is hard but the results can be seen in such a short time which is good for you and your little one.

Summary: Tough love is necessary for a good night sleep