164
votes
Accepted
I'm losing it, with a talkative toddler, a colicky baby, chores, work, and lack of sleep
Ok. I'm going to take a shot at this. I semi-agree with Erica's comment that this could be seen as primarily opinion based but at the same time, it's not and there are methods out there that we ...
- 13.4k
70
votes
I'm losing it, with a talkative toddler, a colicky baby, chores, work, and lack of sleep
Find help.
If you're not getting enough sleep and you start crying over dirty clothes, you are exhausted and breaking down. I don't think this is normal behavior (just my opinion, but we had a baby ...
- 8,675
52
votes
I'm losing it, with a talkative toddler, a colicky baby, chores, work, and lack of sleep
I have a practical piece of advice: wear your baby in a sling/wrap.
My 10 month old has been worn by either me or dad ever since she was born, and we cannot begin to imagine how much harder our ...
- 1,752
28
votes
I'm losing it, with a talkative toddler, a colicky baby, chores, work, and lack of sleep
Sorry to be pragmatic, but:
Get your 3 year old daughter in full time daycare
If money isn't an issue, spend the $1k/month to get her in a place to socialize with others. She needs to talk, that's ...
- 488
16
votes
I'm losing it, with a talkative toddler, a colicky baby, chores, work, and lack of sleep
I've been in this situation twice now, and it is horrible! Hang in there. Here are some simple, concrete things I can suggest (or +1) that may help:
Babywearing can be really great. If your baby won'...
- 161
16
votes
My son refuses to use the bathroom at night, despite the apparent need to
kids are very different so there is no single answer that would be the right one.
A few suggestions are:
make sure he drinks enough early in the evening, not directly before going to bed.
make sure ...
- 161
10
votes
I'm losing it, with a talkative toddler, a colicky baby, chores, work, and lack of sleep
From another Dad with young kids: hang in there. This sucks. It's going to continue sucking for months. The above ideas are all great but the truth is nothing is really going to help, and you and your ...
- 201
10
votes
How to improve parent sleep quality once child is sleeping through the night?
Yes, this is common and expected - you now have someone else to worry about.
The good thing is that over time you will relax more about the new human you are responsible for, and each one you have ...
- 26.5k
7
votes
I'm losing it, with a talkative toddler, a colicky baby, chores, work, and lack of sleep
I grew up with much younger siblings, so we quickly fell into a pattern where I took night feedings (yup, the evil bottle), much as i had when i was 5 and 6. DW got a full nights sleep and it was no ...
- 3,697
6
votes
I'm losing it, with a talkative toddler, a colicky baby, chores, work, and lack of sleep
With three kids at home (10 months, 4 year old and 5 year old) I find shopping on my phone and picking up groceries at my local store to be a good option. We have a few grocery stores here that ...
- 61
4
votes
I'm losing it, with a talkative toddler, a colicky baby, chores, work, and lack of sleep
Your post brings back memories - well, more like foggy sleep-deprived fugues, but sort of like memories.
One thing nobody else has mentioned is some kind of professional overnight babysitting service ...
- 141
4
votes
Accepted
How to prevent baby falling asleep at breast and keep asleep at bassinet
TL;DR: Your baby's fine. They know what they're doing. Talk to your wife about what she needs from you to survive this difficult period. Chuck your feed schedule into a closet and don't come back to ...
- 10.3k
3
votes
Do babies have difficulty to fall asleep after playing?
You will find that
a) all babies are different
b) your own baby will respond differently at different times
c) all outcomes are possible
Seriously, though - using up energy can help a baby to sleep,...
- 26.5k
3
votes
I'm losing it, with a talkative toddler, a colicky baby, chores, work, and lack of sleep
It's brutal. It's temporary. My three year old is talking incessantly next to me. now. Dada, dada, can I ..., dada, dada, why ...
When he was younger, there were several places nearby that you ...
3
votes
I'm losing it, with a talkative toddler, a colicky baby, chores, work, and lack of sleep
We've got 3, twins at 18 Months and a girl who's 3 and a half years old, so I can appreciate what you're going though, minus the colic.
My Tips:
Get some sleep. Others have posted this above. It's ...
- 31
3
votes
Why does my 2.5 son not sleep at all when he's with me, but sleeps all night with his father? (We're divorced)
The simplest scenario is usually the most likely. It might be that when he's with his father they are doing active play, so he's simply tired out at bed time. Not sure about your mother, but when I ...
- 3,697
3
votes
Why does my 2.5 son not sleep at all when he's with me, but sleeps all night with his father? (We're divorced)
Is it possible that your ex is not telling the truth about how well your child is sleeping?
I think this is a possibility as we have friends who forget that they should be together with parenting ...
- 422
3
votes
How to take a vacation from kids when it's not possible to actually leave them?
You have my sympathy. Both parenting and working on your research/degree is stressful; doing both while under time-pressure and in your situation sounds incredibly difficult. I'm not sure it's a help, ...
- 69k
3
votes
How to improve parent sleep quality once child is sleeping through the night?
Certainly not sure about brain changes; but things are just different, so it's not surprising you'd have something change. You're also older now - and as my doctor regularly tells me, getting older ...
- 61.8k
3
votes
How to prevent baby falling asleep at breast and keep asleep at bassinet
Keep in mind that a week ago, during the delivery, your child entered a world that is very different from what she experienced before. It is possible that she needs the comfort of the familiarity of ...
3
votes
Toddler playing in room instead of sleeping
Welcome to having a toddler. It's a lot of fun, but it does come with certain ... complications. This is one of them, and it happens for pretty much everyone.
First: this is, to some extent, a ...
- 61.8k
3
votes
13 month old constantly wakes up at night
You have a lot of components to your question, so I'm going to try to break it down a bit.
You Want Your Child To Sleep Through The Night
You want your child to sleep through the night, but are ...
- 2,376
2
votes
Sleeping problems
My best suggestion is for your wife to sleep when you get home. As soon as the baby has been fed, she sleeps for as many hours as possible. You need to sleep, too. Perhaps you could make room for the ...
- 17.5k
2
votes
How can I get my 13 month old to eat better and sleep through the night?
I asked a very similar question here about a year ago
1 year old baby won't eat in day, drinks milk all night
and I got some helpful answers although no-one could really suggest how to get my ...
- 2,202
2
votes
How can I get my 13 month old to eat better and sleep through the night?
You must be very tired, and very stressed!
The good news is that I think you might be able to fix this quite quickly and easily.
But first, you mustn't ever try to force-feed your child. No matter ...
- 326
2
votes
Accepted
How to get my 6 month old baby boy, to have a better night
From what you are saying this sounds like a new behavior so I can list some potential reasons.
Six months is a growth spurt, so if you are breastfeeding, it's not unusual to have a few days to a week ...
- 7,330
2
votes
Do babies have difficulty to fall asleep after playing?
Common sense for adults, children, and babies alike is that after intense and exciting activities the body and the brain needs some time to quiet down. Think of yourself: maybe you had guests over, ...
- 1,752
2
votes
I'm losing it, with a talkative toddler, a colicky baby, chores, work, and lack of sleep
My eldest dd was also breast-fed and had a terrible time with colic and constantly gorging/sicking-up everything. My wife heard there was a strong chance dd could be dairy milk intolerant and that the ...
- 21
2
votes
How to take a vacation from kids when it's not possible to actually leave them?
How can I take a vacation [with my spouse] from my kids when it seems not possible to actually leave one of them behind?
You can't.
What you can do is tell your spouse that you're at the end of your ...
- 8,675
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible