OAD because sleep!

[godgirl13]

@stripe i could have written this about my 3.5yo. my husband and i are high sleep needs and our son is low sleep needs. both have sleep apnea too. LO never STTN and always ends up in bed with me. i wouldn’t care about that so much if he would go down on his own. it’s like a physical fight to get him to bed and asleep. i have to hold him until he falls asleep and then sneak out. i’m sick of reading stories. i’m tired. he tantrums all day, too, so i’m fully touched out by 9pm. i have no time to myself anymore. i am hoping it gets better in the next 6 months. i hear 4 is better than 3.

 

[stripe]

@godgirl13 Oh I’m so sorry. The one thing I’m grateful for is that if he doesn’t nap, he’s tired by 7-7.30 and I invested in a rocking chair when he got too big to rock in my arms - he falls asleep in my arms in the chair now and I carry him to his bed every night. He usually stays there until 10-11pm but sometimes wakes earlier. At least it buys us a bit of time in our own bed. I hope yours gets easier soon.

 

[picko13149]

@stripe For sure. I'm high sleep needs and my toddler... is not. He gets 8 or 8.5 hours at night on a good night, still wakes up in the middle of the night at 2.5 and needs me to fall asleep.

You combine this with him preferring me (mom) for an entire year of screaming bloody murder if Dad picks him up and I just can't risk having another one like this. I'm too exhausted and touched out, there's no bandwidth for a second. So we got a dog instead!

 

[goonie]

@stripe My almost 6 year old still doesn’t sleep all night in his own bed. He wakes up and crawls in with us. Which wouldn’t be fine expect he likes to flip upside down and then kick us the rest of the time. And he sleeps great now compared to the rest of the times of his life.

We were leaning heavily towards OAD anyway but the lack of sleep really sealed the deal.

 

[flashnkitties]

@stripe I’m
So sorry op sending you my love and strength. I too have a child that’s hated sleep since birth. She’s almost seven now and still wakes once a night. I am so over it.

I don’t think anyone can really comprehend how difficult it is when a child
Doesn’t sleep thru the night for years.. it’s insanity

 

[stripe]

@flashnkitties I am so sorry. 7 years is a long time wth broken sleep! Does she still need you as much in the nights/mornings? Sending solidarity!

 

[flashnkitties]

@stripe Thank you so much

She’s definitely been high needs since birth, and is very attached to me at nights especially. When she turned six I finally was able to get her to sleep in her own room, but for the past almost year she was having a lot of anxiety at night and waking 4/5 times. So recently she’s been back in the room with me.

Now she’ll wake once a night… it’s been a really tough almost seven years

 

[stripe]

@flashnkitties Gosh it sounds so tough for you! I feel like I think I find something that helps with sleep for a while and then it all changes again! A friend recommended magnesium spray for kids - you spray on their feet before bed and he has slept slightly better since we started using it ( I got some of the adult one for me too and it seems to help me sleep also) - but it may not be that at all?! He has started consistently waking up for the day at 5-5.30 which is not fun. How do we do this?! All my best to you x

 

[yeshualovesme]

@stripe My 2.5 year old sleeps with me or my husband every night… we’re lucky to get a 3 hour stretch before she wakes up and we end up in her bed. It’s so hard!

 

[stripe]

@yeshualovesme Oh gosh poor you guys! I can sometimes get a 4 or a 5 hour stretch out of mine now and it feels luxurious when it happens- I hope your daughter starts sleeping a longer stretch soon x