New Mummy blog: The sleepless nights are back!

We weren’t expecting them for another couple of years, but bedtime battles with Honor have already begun. And despite only being 15 weeks old, it seems that she’s winning.

Once her colic disappeared, Honor became a great sleeper. No longer having to pace the floor with her for hours, we were able to implement a set bedtime and a nightly routine. It was fairly straightforward and she settled into it while we rejoiced at being able to reclaim a bit of our evening. She would wake for a feed around the time we went to bed, and would then settle down for a good long sleep lasting between six and eight hours.

So far, so textbook. Our clever little girl was already, medically speaking, sleeping through the night (technically defined as five or more hours of sleep in one go) at just three months. We patted ourselves on the back, although admittedly, we hadn’t really done anything at all to deserve the credit. In fact, Honor seemed to have taught herself to sleep well despite, rather than because of, some of the things we did.

For example, we were told time and again, by midwives, health visitors, books: do not let your baby get used to falling asleep on you, do not feed them to sleep*. You must put them down while they’re still awake. Otherwise they’ll never learn to put themselves to sleep. It makes sense, of course.

[New Mummy blog: My baby has caught her first cold]
[New Mummy blog: Choosing the right midwife is key]

*As an aside, their suggestion to prevent this happening was to gently tickle baby’s foot to wake her up again and continue the feed until she stops but is still awake, therefore full. They have, however, never seen Honor when the sozzled, milk-drunk stage takes hold – no amount of tickling is going to do it.

In reality, a cosy, cuddly feed, a dimly lit room and lullaby music playing gently in the background add up to a scenario in which I found it impossible to keep my eyes open, never mind Honor. She was, invariably, out for the count by the time she went in her cot.

And so, with hindsight, it was inevitable that our good fortune was not to last. As she has grown ever more aware of herself and her surroundings, Honor is no longer sleeping through the night. She is, at best, sleeping for no more than two hours at a time before waking, and often it’s nearer just 40 minutes. And then, of course, she is unable to settle herself, she wants company, and begins to cry.

We know it’s our fault. But, lulled into thinking the worst of the sleepless nights were behind us, we were caught completely unawares. And it’s hard. No longer in those very early days, where it’s acceptable to loll around in your pyjamas until lunchtime, hoping to grab a nap when the baby sleeps, life has gone back to its usual rhythm. Honor has places to go and people to see – and a sleep deprived mother trying to carry on and keep up while only really half functioning.

And now, despite our desperate backpedalling to put right our mistakes, she’s showing no signs of going back to her previous sleep pattern. We’ve got our work cut out – but on just two hours sleep are struggling to muster the energy to begin.