Sleep Regression- it's a real thing!

I'm sat writing this after, spending an hour and a half, trying to get, my 7 month old baby, back to sleep- so please excuse any spelling mistakes! My little sleeping angel, who only used to wake at 6AM and 8AM now refuses to go back to sleep after waking at 3:50AM... My eyes are literally stinging with tiredness and my arms ache from holding her for so long, in the dark, as she snorted wriggled and squirmed. Definitely makes me think- NO MORE BABIES.

I have been following a routine, and she used to sleep! But they definitely lull you into a false sense of security... It wasn't so long ago that I awoke before Harper did (8th December 2018)! She hadn't woken us up once, and I proudly got her milestone card out and did the photo for facebook... This sleeping thing, it only lasted for maybe a week, before the true night owl was back...

Babies have a way about them, that in the morning, they throw all of the cute smiles at you, so you can't stay mad... But slowly, the sleep deprivation chips away at you, your eyes sting with tiredness, you try and nap when they do, but 1. you know it is the only time that you can get anything done and 2. you know you need an adult nap, not a 2 minute power nap that seems to sustain my child...

Oh, and I thought I'd got her asleep... HAHAHAHAHAHA... jokes on me... SHe's awake and talking, waving her hands around. Harper thinks- sleep is for wimps. She's a hardcore baby.

This evening's antics began the same as always. I put her down to sleep at 8pm, I then woke her up at about 10:45 for her dream feed and bum change. She then went back down, no issues at all. A few hours pass, my partner and I sleep, drift into a deep sleeeee... NOPE, NOT ALLOWED. 3:50 AM, yep, that hour where most people are enjoying the best of their beauty sleep, Harper sounds. Like a cockerel, she cockadoodaldoos until my dreamy state is shattered. I drag myself out of bed, still blinking off the hazy blur filling my eyes.

Little angel face stares back at me, the light from the baby monitor, illuminating her face. She is still making a half hearted cry at this point. I lifted her out and swayed as I fed her (yep, still stood up but the glorious armchair is arriving tomorrow- I AM SO EXCITED FOR THIS CHAIR) until she seemed done. I winded her, went to put her down. SHE SCREAMED BLUE MURDER.

Round 2- I got her back up, fed her from the other side, once again winded her (she farted a lot but no poop-parenting is so glamorous), then went to put her back down. She only soft cried so I went back to bed. NOPE.

She began howling. So... you get where this is going...

After a whole HOUR and a half of repetition, even staying in there stroking her hair, pleading with her, I ADMITTED DEFEAT. I picked her up, dragged my pillows off of my bed and nested downstairs on the sofa.

So, the reason for my story, is to share my coping mechanisms to counteract my walking dead appearance.

1) CAFFEINE. The all important joyful warming mind-boosting coffee. The smell literally touches my soul. I'm not sure where I would be without it-maybe crying under a rock... I was once told that you could have 2 sots of coffee whilst breastfeeding, so I always try to plan those shots wisely.

2) ROUTINE. It may seem like what's the point? My baby doesn't sleep anyway... BUT, if you keep your routine, they do eventually get back on track.

3) GET THEM IN THEIR OWN ROOM. I know a lot of people don''t, and some don't have the space. If you have a separate bedroom for bubba, move them out. It helps everyone sleep better! Plus, you get the all important alone time with your partner,

4) THINK AHEAD. It will get better, remembering this can help with the hard times. Plus, it's still your gorgeous baby, even if you wish you were waking up to them at 8am instead of 4am.

5) KNOW WHEN TO ADMIT DEFEAT. It's better to get some sleep by co-sleeping, then spend 3 hours trying to get baby back to bed. Try again tomorrow.

6) HAVE A GOOD CHAIR NEAR WHERE BABY SLEEPS. Babies are heavy! If you are going to get up to feed them, you may as well have a comfy chair to do it in!