I feel like I have been subjected to a cruel form of torture, where you are allowed to fall asleep, but as soon as you do you are woken up again.

After having a truly horrible day yesterday I found it really hard to fall asleep, and it was after 11pm by the time I finally did. The night that followed was even worse than the day I had already had.


12am - Minnie wakes up for a feed. I hate it when that happens. She always seems to know that you have just gone to bed, waits for you to fall asleep and then wants to be fed.
I drag myself up, go downstairs to make her milk, go back upstairs, feed her, settle her and slump back in to my bed.

1am - Little Man wakes up screaming. I'm not sure why. Maybe he's had a bad dream.
I go into his room to find him standing up in his cot, sobbing. I pick him up for cuddles but he just won't stop screaming.
On and on, as loud as loud can be.
I'm struggling.
The day that I have had has not put me in a good frame of mind for dealing with a restless night.
Daddy D hears the crying, and comes in to help.  He knows how tired I am so he takes over trying to settle Little Man so that I can go back to bed.

1:30am - I have only just dozed off and Roo wakes up crying.  Daddy D is still in with Little Man, who has now gone quiet, so I somehow manage to heave my heavy body out of bed and in to Roo's room.
She is laying in her bed crying the word Mummy over, and over again.
I try to cuddle her, but she refuses.  I ask her what is wrong, but she will not tell me.
She just keeps on crying.
I start to cry too.
At this point I am beyond tired.  I do not have the patience that is normally there in this kind of situation and it takes every ounce of strength that I have to stay calm.  No matter how much I talk to Roo she just will not stop crying, and will not tell me what is wrong.
The noise has woken Little Man up again.
I end up laying on the floor next to Little Man's cot, holding his hand, while Daddy D takes over in trying to console Roo.  She finally stops crying and I hear Daddy D carry her downstairs.  He has taken her to get a drink of hot milk.
Through fear of waking up Little Man I lay as still as I can on the floor, praying that he will settle now.
The sound of footsteps on the stairs tells me that Roo is being put back to bed.
She is quiet.
I manage to crawl out of Little Man's room without disturbing him, but all of the noise and movement has woken up Boo.  Luckily he goes back to sleep without much coaxing, and Daddy D and I are able to climb back in to bed.
It is now 2:30am.

3am - I am still awake, and now Minnie is stirring again.  I put her dummy in to her mouth, hoping that this will be enough of a comfort to send her back to sleep.  I should have known better.
Once again I am out of my bed and back downstairs to make another bottle of formula.  I feed her and she is soon asleep, but now Roo is calling me again.
She tells me that she can not sleep.
Exhaustion has taken over and I do not have the strength to stand in her room trying to get her back to sleep.  I allow her to come in to my bed.

4am - Minnie is crying again.  I know she can't be hungry as she only just fed an hour ago, so I give her her dummy.
Roo is star fished across the middle of my bed meaning I am left clinging on to the side of the mattress, trying not to fall out, and in desperate need of some sleep.
Please let them all stay asleep now.

4:30am - Minnie is still not settled. She is grizzling again.
I sit on the side of the bed with my head in my hands trying not to cry, again.  She is teething horribly at the moment.
The dummy seems to be comfort enough, for now, and she goes back to sleep.

5:30am - Daddy D's radio alarm clock goes off.  He needs to get up for work.  He struggles. The radio plays in the background for another half an hour before he manages to get up.

6:30am - Minnie wakes up, wanting to play.  The rest of the children are still asleep, and Daddy D hasn't yet left for work, so he changes Minnie's nappy for me before he goes.
She doesn't want to go back to sleep so I take her downstairs and put her in her swing to play, while I lay on the sofa wondering how i am going to keep my sanity.


It is now lunchtime and I am struggling to make it through the day.  Little Man and Minnie want to play, and I have been left so exhausted that I actually feel ill.
 
Add to that a house full of illness and we are getting close to the straw that broke the camels back.

The smallest things are beating me today and I am begging praying for a better night tonight.

I have no idea how I will cope if I don't get some sleep soon.

Do you have children that refuse to sleep?
How do you cope when you are completely sleep deprived?

Missy x