Really Struggling
TL;DR - My 7MO has had a serious sleep regression and for the past month and a half he’s been waking every 5, 15, 30 minutes to an hour, is really difficult to get back to sleep, and I’m starting to not cope well. I’ve tried sleeping on the couch so baby has some space (thinking maybe room sharing was a hindrance), rocking, bouncing, walking, nursing, bed sharing, nursing, bottle feeding pumped milk, you name it. Nothing has worked to get back to any meaningful stretches of sleep.
I found this sub last night at 4AM when I was trying to rock baby back to sleep. I had made a list in my mind of everything we could try, from hiring a night nurse to having my mom/sister/aunt/anyone come take care of baby and our toddler during the day so I can sleep. I’m starting to feel resentful, and feel guilty about that, because I’m just so damn tired and it is negatively affecting everyone. I feel like junk, am trying to self-soothe with too much caffeine and sugar, which I know isn’t helping. I just feel stuck.
I learned from this sub that anemia can cause poor sleep. He was actually just diagnosed with anemia and started an iron supplement, so maybe in a week things will begin to improve. I also realized I could be more consistent with his bedtime routine. My husband works long hours and travels often, so about half the time I solo parent and just do whatever I can to get through the day.
- Do you have your baby on a schedule? If so, what method do you follow? Taking Cara Babies, Moms On Call, etc.
- Either way, how do you handle that with other kids? Baby sleeps for maybe 30 minutes in the crib during his first nap before he wakes and will only go back to sleep if I hold him. He usually needs to contact nap for his second nap, which is proving challenging with the toddler. The toddler’s nap either ends up being too late in the day, too long, too short, etc.
- What is the radical acceptance I’ve seen mentioned here? I’ve downloaded a few of the books from the reference tab to read, but would love to know more about this concept.
- How do you cope? I fully understand this is a phase. When I was going through this with my oldest it seemed easier because I could nap when he napped and it was just us all day. Having his needs to manage on top of the sleep deprivation means I don’t shower daily, exercise, or do any of the things I enjoy. I’m just surviving.