Can’t sleep, won’t sleep?

I have become accustomed to sleep. The boys have been sleeping well for months, with the exception of early waking the night has been peaceful and I’ve not been disturbed over night. This is in stark contrast to the first 20months with just Boo, he would wake reliably at 2.30am, and we’d spend the next 45minutes settling him for him to then get up at 5am..they were long days and I was a zombie! We never complained about it to anyone, accepting it was part of parent hood, but I realise now some people have more success with their child sleeping and some have less! I used to sit and listen to one ‘friend’ in particular who would spend our weekly catch up complaining that her baby didn’t sleep..(…it turned out her baby actually went to bed at 9pm, got up at 7am..) and she would constantly add the words ‘You have no idea what it feels like to have your child refuse to sleep’. Did I feel like bashing my head on the table? Yes!

 Over the last few weeks, E has started to wake at about 1am and cry so much that he wakes Boo up. Boo is very good natured and after a drink and trip to the loo he settles back to sleep, E is more determined he’ll continue screeching until he is exhausted and falls asleep. Last night after carrying him and trying to calm him for 10minutes, I resorted to letting him cry in his cot for 2 or 3 minutes (more than anything as I needed to calm myself down as sobbing Mummy isn’t the best way to calm baby!) and he fell asleep before I could pick him up again. As I’m sitting here writing this and watching him chewing on a piece of toast, it occurs to me that he is probably teething his big teeth. I wonder if a dose of calpol before bed may be the solution to a sound nights sleep? 


So hands up, who else is still having a broken nights sleep and do you have any tips to keep going even though you’re shattered?


I have no useful tips other than..fresh air makes everything seem better!