Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Sleepless Nights
Josh is still having a lot of trouble at night, in fact, he rarely sleeps at all which of course puts a lot of pressure on us. After midnight he turns into a different baby who won't sleep for more than 10 minutes at a time, screams, and flails around. No amount of swaddling or shushing can calm him down. Needless to say this is hard on us because one of us has to be up with him all night and the second we lay down to rest is when he starts crying again. Our best guess is that he has reflux and gas but we'll have to discuss it with the doctor again. If anyone has any advice as to how to deal with an extremely fussy baby it would be appreciated.
Otherwise Josh is doing well and we are coping with the lack of sleep.
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So sorry for the lack of sleep. When Catie was about 3 months old she started this unconsolable screaming every afternoon about 4 PM. Nothing would quiet her for about an hour or two and it made my so stressed. I read that one theory is brain growth and stimulation. What the study said is that there is a theory that the baby is getting overstressed by the new sights and sounds they are experiencing. When they are younger, they ignore their surroundings for the most part but at this time they start to react to the "stress". There was no solution except patience and time but I felt better hoping it was due to her "growing brain". That's when I resorted to the "Serenity Prayer"! The baby will outgrow this stage but I would go outside for a little while to relax and regroup. It got much better in about 2 months so then she progressed into spraying her rice cereal all over the place (my hair,clothes,etc.) Sorry I don't have a surefire cure, just try and get some rest when you can, Love, S., T. and C. xo
ReplyDeleteAre you trying to get him to sleep in his crib or are you open to other places? For E's first 2 months or so, she hated sleeping flat on her back in her crib since she also experienced reflux and it was uncomfortable for her. We let her sleep in her bouncy chair (pretty much exactly like Josh's monkey chair above) for naps and overnight, and she slept SO much better when inclined. As long as she wasn't able to roll over, we felt she was safe in her bouncy chair even for extended periods. We just put the bouncy chair in her crib, so she knew that's where she slept, and eventually she transitioned to the crib.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear it's been tough - lack of sleep really gets to you, but like Susan said, it will get better as he gets older.
I'm sorry to hear he's having troubles sleeping at night. What we tried for Sophia was "The Happiest Baby on the Block" techniques. You can buy the DVD or Book. That worked great for her - the technique is the 5 "S's". Also, try a White noise devise - like a sleep sheep, or classical music turned down low. We also put one of our pillows under the girls crib mattress to prop them up a bit as they both had reflux. Then we would swaddle them, and roll up blankets on either side as a barrier - so they didn't roll. Hope any of my suggestions work. Take care - hope to talk to you soon!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the suggestions so far :) We have tried the 5 s's and they seem to work as long as we are holding him but the second we lay him down he starts screaming, even if he was asleep before that. The white noise is a good idea since it was so loud in the NICU. We were going to ask the doctor about sleeping in his car seat so maybe sleeping in the monkey chair would work. Right now at night when we try the monkey chair he still acts upset, probably because of the gas, but that might be a good option. We have the crib mattress propped up but not to the same angle as the chair.
ReplyDeleteHi Becky - A few more suggestions I forgot to mention - ask your doctor if you can use infant Gas Drops. Sophia had bad gas problems as well - to the point where she would wake up screaming and it was hard to comfort her. Also - I would rub Sophia's belly in a counter clock-wise direction around her belly button - that helped sometimes too. We also would bringing her bent legs/knees up to her belly and repeat; that would work. We tried anything - it's hard to see your baby like that. Hope you get some relief for him and you guys soon. Let me know if you need anything.
DeleteWhen our Truman was born he did this and we were so frustrated that we just started cosleeping with him and it was the best thing ever. Of course this is not for everyone . We have done this with our four children and its worked wonders for us. Still wake up often but I feel more rested . With Asa we also but big blankets under the top part of our mattress to prop it up for his reflux. There is a lot of research done on cosleeping so read about the negatives and positives and see if its for you or not. Hope you get some rest and I will pray for you all to get some sleep and quiet.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.askdrsears.com/topics/sleep-problems/co-sleeping-yes-no-sometimes
When we had Molly, about 2 weeks after she was born (the night my parents came to the UK from NZ) she started with colic. She screamed from about 4 or 5 pm (someone once told me this was 'arsenic hour' when they are tired and hungry but still have some energy to burn) until around midnight - and she was like that for 3 months exactly... that probably doesn't help you, but that first night Nana come downstairs after Nev and I struggled for about 2 hours with her and took her from us - 15 minutes later she was asleep. So either get a Nana, or (as Nev believes Mum had tucked up her sleeve) a gin syringe :)
ReplyDeleteSeriously though, it is really hard to see them struggling and so unhappy, but it really does pass. It will feel like you are in the bad phases forever, but in a few months Josh will be sleeping like an angel and you will look back and it will seem like it went in a flash. Sorry I have no practical advice like your other lovely friends who have posted, but I thought a laugh could help you guys! xx Ellen, Nev and Molly