Sleep deprivation is slowly killing you. You may want to punch the next parent who says, “This will pass.” But there are more parents experiencing sleepless nights just like yours than you realize. Real moms share their baby sleep nightmares here — sometimes all it takes to feel better about your situation is to know you’re not alone!
Your desperate wish is for your baby to go to sleep the first time you put her down and stay asleep. In the wee hours, how often have you wondered: “Does every parent nurse, walk, rock or soothe their child to sleep?”
Up all night
“With my first baby I had such exhaustion and sleep deprivation I started having hallucinations. No joke,” says Jen B. “It was by far the most difficult year of my life.”
Jen looked into various baby sleep methods and attempted to Ferberize her daughter around 7 months old. “After crying for over an hour, she did fall asleep but woke up 45 minutes later. I couldn’t do it again,” she laments.
Ultimately, sleep found its way into Jen’s home, but there was no magic solution. “We never solved the sleep issues. They all simply started sleeping better at 9 months old for no apparent reason and now sleep fine.” There’s hope!
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One is enough
For Angie C., one go-round of sleep deprivation was enough. “Let’s just say it was so hard that I do not want to have another! It was such a difficult time in my life that I honestly don’t remember much other than a negative feeling about it overall.”
Sadly, Angie is still dealing with the after-effects of sleep deprivation, three years later. “So many months in a row of poor sleep literally messed up my sleep patterns. I have a hard time sleeping to this day.” At least one person in Angie’s home sleeps well — her daughter.
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Sleep walker… er, crawler?
Kristin B., mom of one, didn’t experience right-out-of-the-gate sleep deprivation. “My son Felix slept like a champ at 1 week old,” she said. He fell asleep on his own for five or six hours, woke to eat, slept for several more hours… Unheard of for a newborn!
Unfortunately, this beautiful routine only lasted for four months — up until Felix broke his swaddle and started rolling. “Now, at almost 8 months, he has to be nursed or swayed to sleep.” That’s not all — he only snoozes for two to three hours and is restless and wakeful for the rest of the night. “He seems to be ‘sleep crawling,’ or rolling around the crib, while asleep and crying. I tell myself this is a phase.”
Accepting the unchangeable
“I think it’s all about their personality!” says Erika S., mom of two. “Vera started to sleep through the night when she turned 2. Rozi already sleeps six to seven hours, and she’s only 7 weeks old. We do everything the same way. One likes to sleep, the other one thinks it’s a waste of time.”
Solid sleep may be unattainable for the time being, but at least you’re in good company.
More about sleep deprivation
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