I just need to vent

My sister told me about a woman who comes to the pharmacy once a month. Her medical aid allows her one bottle of stopain (or what do you call it?) per child a month. So she comes and gets 3 bottles (for her 3 children) and they each get 5ml (or whatever it takes) in the evenings before bed because as she claims "I need my sleep"

Now, which ever way you look at it - that is just plain wrong!

Another thing...I'm SO SO SO relieved that I didn't let my baby cry herself to sleep!! Everyone told me that it was my own fault that at 9 months my baby still didn't go to sleep on her own. And then..surprise surprise..we found out that all this time she had ear infections!! All I can say now..thank GOD that I didn't let my baby cry herself to sleep!! She's one year old now, and even though I rocked her to sleep until 2 months ago..I can now (if she's not sick and that hardly happens) I don't need to rock her to sleep anymore. I give her a few sips of water and back to sleep she goes.

So to all of you that says rocking a baby to sleep is spoiling them, it's not true (not in my case). All I can say is I'm SO glad I rocked her to sleep up and till now, cause I would never be able to live with myself if I let her cry herself to sleep and found out afterwards it was because of constant earache.

So yes RM, I'm one of the moms that rocked my baby to sleep and I'm proud of it.

Jensen was a bad sleeper, would wake up every 2 hours or so in the beginning, I was absolutely exhausted and we tried everything. Eventually, we moved him to his own room and he started sleeping through.

I have never drugged my child in order to get him sleep, I dont believe that is what a parent should do to their child.

There is always a reason why your child will not sleep, find out what that reason is and 10-1 your baby will be asleep. If sleep training is needed then so be it.

Jensen still wakes up every now and then, probably 3 days of every week during the early hours of the morning, and I accept that, I go into his room, make him comfortable, if it includes me holding him for a minute or 2 then so be it, because I wont always be able to hold him the way I am doing now!

Most of us chose to be parents, we made the decision to follow through and have the baby, and you need to learn to accept that you wont sleep a full 8 hours on most days. You need to learn to accept that you are not your own person, your house will never be clean again - its part of parenthood and in all honesty... I LOVE IT!

I must admit I've twice given my son Bennets Colic Mixture (half dose) to get him to sleep. The paed advised a full dose every night. He didn't have true colic I believe, he just screamed on and off from 7pm til 10pm. Anyway the 2 times we gave it to him he had literally screamed the full 3 hours and by that point had made himself ill and we were worried he'd have an aneurism or something if he didn't calm down. I'm ok with it. I also gave him Calpol before and after his vaccines.

I used to live in Dubai and lots of the moms who travelled used to give their kids Calpol on the planes so they would sleep and not cry. Personally I'm not comfortable with that since a lot of the time I think it was just moms embarrassed. I mean everyone knows babies cry, it's ok.

I wouldn't be comfortable regularly drugging my child and I won't do it to give me more sleep - but if I feel it's the only way he can sleep in exceptional cases I will provided the paed has ok'd it. Sorry dunno if you wanted different opinions or just to vent one off!

Ok firstly, there's a difference between medicating a baby and using homeopathic medicine. Does homeopathic meds count under your the word 'medicating'.

I'm one of those sleep deprived moms...and it's come to that point that I want to SCREAM and not stop SCREAMING when Mignione woke up HOURLY or twice every hour EVERY night. No sane person can live like that. Getting about 3-4hours sleep a night for a year is ridiculous. So I decided to start using homeopathic meds (Sister Lilian). I can't say wether it's working or not but I'm using it for in case it might work.

No mom expect to sleep late until 10 in the mornings. You know that when you get pregnant that sleeping will happen no more. BUT there's a difference between not getting any sleep at night and complaining because you can't sleep in over weekends.

To me, letting a baby cry (controlled or not) is cruel. Even letting your baby cry for 10minutes is cruel in my eyes!! You think medicating a baby is cruel. Everyone is allowed to their opinion. When people start using meds that literally bum out the baby..yes..then I also think that's not right. But giving a baby that's been crying for 5hours inconsolably, Panado or Nurofen thinking that they might have pain? There's nothing wrong with that in my opinion!

Julz - you are again living in my head.

I totally understand sleep deprivation in the first 3 months or when baby is sick, but for the rest of it - I place the blame firmly at the parent's door. FIRMLY AND SQUARELY!

Sleep train your child - grow some balls and learn to say no and walk away - your child will figure it out that it is now time to sleep.

Yes I do understand how your heart breaks at the sound of your child crying - that is why they scream - it is a survival technique.

Believe it or not, your child is not that special or that unique - we all have children who would rather be patted and walked up and down the passage for half the night.

Teach your child to go to sleep, and self-soothe, then you go to sleep yourself - and get into a routine.

I get so pissed off - half this forum is filled with moms who are patting thier kids to sleep for fekn hours and the other half filled with mothers with toddlers who do not understand why thier kids will not sleep in thier own beds and want to be with them all night, and thus have not had a good night's sleep since Thabo was in charge!!

Anyone notice the link?

I am not sure if it is the PMS talking or the Erex that I have just started taking, that stuff does not agree with me ... but there we go.

I think it depends on the level of tiredness. If you are so tired that you can barely function then yes moan complain bitch and try and find a solution to the sleep deprivation.

But if you're just tired from weeks/months of interrupted sleep then yes suck it up. That is part of being a Mom.

That being said I can't ever see myself giving Casandra anything to make her sleep. Not even rescue remedy or sister lilian or whatever. I would feel like a terrible mom for doing that.

Crying is normal. Babies cry.