Re: ok moms, tell the truth

Pretty bad - but not as bad as I had thought it would be - but I won't lie I was really tired. My friends told me to nap when DD did in the beginning during the day - and I found that it was a savior for the first few weeks. You don't have to do it all day but I would try to catch one nap when DD did. She was up every 3-4 hours in the beginning, sometimes every 2-3 depending on the night. She slept for several hours a night as of 5 weeks. So it got better.

Re: ok moms, tell the truth

I slept more than, then I do now...

As a newborn the baby slept like 20hrs/day and bet your @ss- I napped everytime the baby did.

Re: ok moms, tell the truth

Much worse than I thought it would be BUT, I attribute most of that to BF and no bottles b/c I had to be the one to give DS all of his "meals" I never slept for more than 1.5 hrs at a time - and that, is what made it rough!

Re: ok moms, tell the truth

Honestly, not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. The first 3-4wks were rough all around (every hour feedings, nursing, healing, crying at the drop of a hat) but after that, she started sleeping through the night.

Re: ok moms, tell the truth

I havent reached the sleep deprieved moments yet. DS sleeps 3 - 4 hours after feedings and I pretty much nap or relax when he sleeps.

Re: ok moms, tell the truth

well you know how you feel when you get up at lets say 5am for work?? That feeling when you really cant drag your butt out of bed but you know you'll have to otherwise you'll be late??????

Well, if your DH its not helping, its that feeling 3-4x every night until they sleep 5-6hrs, then its 2x every night until they sleep thru.

In the daytime you nap where you can. Oddly enough though, I wasn't THAT bad during the day time. I was less tired than I expected. It was just getting up those times during the middle of the night that were a killer.

Re: ok moms, tell the truth

I got so much more sleep back then than I do now!!

She slept A LOT during the day and although I didnt nap every time she did, I made sure to rest.

Also...I was VERY LUCKY! She would go right back to sleep after her middle of the night feedings and when she didnt, she would just lay quiet in her bassinet. Sometimes I would have to wake her because she didnt wake on her own. Thing is though, I always stayed up late..so 2 of her middle of the night feedings, I hadnt even gone to bed yet. My dh would go to bed (he was off for the first month) and then he got the early morning ones. So it all worked out.

Now, shes 2, and im ALWAYS EXHAUSTED! For me, the exhaustion came later on!

Re: ok moms, tell the truth

To be completely honest....DD was always a good sleeper Even being EBF'd.

Being sleep deprived was the ONE thing I was not...got hit with everything else though

Re: ok moms, tell the truth

There are no words.
The first 3 months were so so so tough! My DS was a very gassy cranky baby and would wake up every 1.5 hours or so and just cry and cry...at times I cried right a long with him. It made me so sad that he was so uncomfortable and I was just so exhausted. I did try to sleep when he slept and I was very lucky that I had a lot of help from my mom and MIL. Actually my MIL would come over 2 nights a week and stay with DS from 9 until about 1:00 so I could get a good block of sleep. I remember thinking that 4 straight hours of sleep was blissful!!!
But as horrible as it was I loved holding him so close and he was so little and squishy melt my heart every 2 hours on the dot! :

Re: ok moms, tell the truth

I don't know if it was easier on me because I work nights so I was used to sleeping during the day but I didn't really have any sleep depravation. DD was a very good baby and slept a lot and so did I! Plus since I EBF I never even set a foot out of bed at night and she was a speedy nurser. Sure the house was a disaster but no bags under the eyes for me. I am however paying for those easy days now that DD has hit the terrible 2's hard.

Re: ok moms, tell the truth

I really was ok b/c DD slept a good stretch in the morning from 7am-11am. As soon as I would put her down to sleep I would go right to bed. I was home for 9 weeks and I really lived by the saying "sleep when the baby sleeps". I really was on automatic pilot. I think the sleep deprivation got worse once I went back to work (esp the past three weeks b/c she is teething and is up every 2-3hrs) b/c I get very little sleep and still have to function during the day. The first few weeks really weren't that bad.

Re: ok moms, tell the truth

Honestly, it was awful. DS didn't sleep for more than 5 hours at a time until about his 6th month . Months 0 - 3, he was up every 2-3 hours. I went back to work when he was 8 weeks, and I was just wiped out. It does help to know it's temporary.

Re: ok moms, tell the truth

It was pretty bad for us.

She was on a 3 hour schedule for the first 4 months. So for 3 months we were waking up every 3 hours to feed her.

That was tough.

Once we could feed on demand, she would still get up, but not as bad as every 3 hours.

Re: ok moms, tell the truth

Posted by chelle

To be completely honest....DD was always a good sleeper Even being EBF'd.

Being sleep deprived was the ONE thing I was not...got hit with everything else though

Message edited 9/2/2008 8:18:35 PM.

Re: ok moms, tell the truth

It was tough for the first few weeks - DH took the morning shift so I would sleep from 5am until 9am, which was a godsend. But for the first 2 months I slept on the couch - she was up every 90 minutes to 2 hours for that first month.

I remember one time I asked DH for a sandwich and I couldnt remember the word 'plate.' I kept saying 'can I have a sandwich on a thing?' and I couldnt for the life of me remember the word - then I started crying because I felt like an idiot - then my boobs started leaking because I was crying -then I started crying harder because I was an idiot with leaky boobs. DH just stared.

Re: ok moms, tell the truth

To be honest, I can't remember. That's why I signed up for another!

Re: ok moms, tell the truth

Posted by pmpkn087

I didn't have any sleep deprivation. I'm not lying! Steven was a dream

It wasn't until he was about 8 or 9 months that he work up and DH and I would share getting up. I could count on one hand how many times I barely got any sleep.

Message edited 9/2/2008 9:32:04 PM.

Re: ok moms, tell the truth

Honestly? Not all that bad. It only lasted about 2 weeks before she started sleeping 6-8 hours a night and by 6 weeks, 10 hours a night and by 8 weeks, a solid 12 hours a night. It's bad, but not terrible

Re: ok moms, tell the truth

It doesnt feel as bad as you think it would. You some how manage to keep moving and doing what needs to be done.

Re: ok moms, tell the truth

i seriously don't remember the first 3 months. after 6 months it got better, and only at 9 did i start feeling human again. i was dealing with a colicky DD with little help from DH due to his crazy work schedule.

i am hoping having #2 will not be as crazy, but at least we now know what we can expect!

Re: ok moms, tell the truth

I wanted to add b/c I see so many saying oh DC was a good sleeper etc..that Im talking about the first FEW days.

My son started sleeping through the night at 5 weeks old...so it was ok after that but the first few days, weeks. they wake every 3 hours to eat.

No matter how good a sleeper your baby is, they wake every 3 hours to eat at that age unfortunatly. Thats the hard part where you get no sleep.

Take turns with DH and have Help over and go sleep.

Then liek sooooo many have said, before you know it, they are sleeping and you will be better!!!

Re: ok moms, tell the truth

I didnt sleep at all!

We got about an hour here and there, but mostly we were up trying to soothe her. MAN what a rough night

Re: ok moms, tell the truth

In our house it was pretty bad, DD was not an easy baby but you may have a baby that's the total opposite. It's so hard to say. Try not to think about it now and just rest as much as you can.

Re: ok moms, tell the truth

bad. for the first few weeks, she had her days and nights mixed up...and no matter how much I knew I should sleep during the day - i couldn't do it.
then, at 6 weeks, she slept through the night for the first time....and I fell in love with her all over again.

Re: ok moms, tell the truth

The 1st 3-4 weeks were hard, but not as bad as I was expecting. BUT, I had learned to live on minimal sleep and strange sleeping patterns from working nights for a few years before DS was born.

The 1st few weeks I would feed DS at 8 and then go right to bed (yes, asleep by about 9) and my DH would feed him at 12 and then I would be on for the rest of the night. DS came home from the hospital after spending a week in the NICU eating every 4 hours. They had him on a great schedule and I didn't want to mess with it. So I would be able to sleep from 9pm-about 4am. It was great! And by 3-4 weeks DS would eat at 12 and then sleep til 7am.

I was lucky that he was on such a good schedule and also that my DH likes to stay up late! He gets up for work between 5-6am but he always liked to stay up late, so that 12 feeding was fine for him.