Crying out in the middle of the night

SummerBabyLove

My DD is 16 weeks old and up until last Thursday, slept in a RNP.  Most nights lately she is STTN or waking only once around 4am to eat.  She has reflux which is the main reason she has been sleeping in the RNP instead of her crib.  In reading the recent posts about transitioning babies to their cribs, I figured I would bite the bullet and try it out.  She is very restless in the crib and her flailing limbs wake her up.  I didn't want to start swaddling her because she likes her arms up by her head.  With that said, I did wrap the swaddle around her legs to keep those under control.  The transition has thankfully been easier than I anticipated.  DD has been sleeping pretty well in the crib but one thing that I have noticed is her crying out in the middle of the night.  Of course I sleep with the monitor right next to my head so when she cries out, it scares the bejeezus out me.  When it first started happening, I would go into her room assuming she needed to eat but when I went to get her, I realized she was still sleeping.  She is usually a little restless so I will put my hand on her chest until she settles down again.  When I go back to bed and finally fall asleep again, the little stinker will do it again.  Needless to say, I am one tired mama.  Does anyone else's LO do this while sleeping?  

BlondieBia21

Yes. Do you have the mattress on an incline? My lo does this when she is flat because I'm guessing the reflux hurts her throat but not enough to completely wake her.

JilllyBean

My baby doesn't have reflux and will do this too. Maybe it's a bad dream? I don't know but I don't think it has to do with reflux. I think it's pretty common

runningwild

Yes. My DD is 19 weeks tomorrow. She doesn't have reflux, but she does this crying out in her sleep too. She was in a rnp for a while and did it in there too. That's actually why I moved her to the crib when I did. I thought she was crying out because she couldn't move (roll). Turns out that probably wasn't the case, as she still does it in the crib. I know what you mean about it scaring the crap out of you. Lol I jump up out of bed every time!

bumpuser3155624

Mine does this same thing. No clue why but she does it.

SummerBabyLove

BlondieBia21 said:

Yes. Do you have the mattress on an incline? My lo does this when she is flat because I'm guessing the reflux hurts her throat but not enough to completely wake her.

We have a crib wedge under the sheet to try to keep her at an incline. The problem with this is that she moves around so much so she ends up all over the crib.

Good to know my LO isn't the only one who does this. I think I'll turn the monitor down!!

steelerbaby29

No reflux here but my LO cries out sometimes during his naps. Most of the time it's a little cry with a whimper. He never usually wakes up, and when it happens I just want to comfort him but I don't dare do that unless he wakes up on his own.

bel194

Yes mine has been doing this too periodically. From what I've read, babies this young don't dream so it's not a bad dream. Also, she's never had reflux. I think it's either that she startles and she's being woken up from it and it's making her cry or it's teething pain. That's all I got.

bel194

I just did some googling and this is what I got:
"Babies cry while sleeping due to the raw nature of their neurological systems. When their brains form sufficiently to gain full control of all their body functions, they will usually stop crying in their sleep. This will be observed in the 3rd to 4th month."

Hope this helps..

kyloraltonsmommy

My DS does this, he is on incline and has reflux but still does it. People tell me it is a sign of night terrors. I hope not.

BelhurstBride

bel194 said:

I just did some googling and this is what I got: "Babies cry while sleeping due to the raw nature of their neurological systems. When their brains form sufficiently to gain full control of all their body functions, they will usually stop crying in their sleep. This will be observed in the 3rd to 4th month." Hope this helps..

I was going to post the same thing. I've always understood that it was related in an immature neurological system.