Cereal?

megzjax

My baby is 6 weeks old and she is fighting sleep at night terribly! I have tried to get into a routine of bath, reading a book, and rocking her as I nurse her. She will fall asleep at the boob but as soon as I lay her down she is wide awake and cries. I've tried to lay her in our bed, her crib, and her bassinet and nothing works she wakes each time. The ONLY thing that works is putting her in her swing. She stays alseep there, but I don't want to make a bad habit out of that and her never going to sleep unless she's in the swing. Everyone tells me that cereal helps them fall asleep. How early should I start that or should I at all? I really only wanted to do breastmilk until 6 months but I don't know what else to try. Please help!

cinderin

I would not start cereal.

Have you tried a swaddle?

Our DS often sleeps in his swing, I wouldn't worry too much about that. Ours has a 5 point harness so it is safe.

VitaLuna

This is not unusual for a baby that age. I wouldn't start cereal just to get her to sleep. Babies wake up when they're hungry and you don't want them artificially full with something that has practically zero nutrition. Welcome to having a baby... She'll get better at sleeping eventually. My LO did.

winecastle14

Cereal isn't good for them at any age, but especially at 6 weeks old. Cereal in a bottle is a choking hazard. The recommendation for solids is 6 months old.

You should have her checked out for reflux. My DD had reflux and acted the same way when she was laid down flat. Make sure to get a good burp out of her after she eats each time. I put my DD on Zantac, but in hindsight, I wish I had taken her to a chiropractor first. I take her now (14 months, started at 10 months) but wish I'd taken her for the reflux.

Please don't give in to people pushing cereal in a bottle. Research "open gut in an infant" for more information. Good luck.

jasieandry

I wouldn't do cereal she's way too young for solids and cereal has little nutritional value. My first daughter slept in her swing for a few months. She now sleeps in a big girl bed just fine. 

YellowLily2013

If she's having trouble sleeping flat on her back -- check to see if she's suffering from reflux. It's more common than I could've imagined we were able to elevate his mattress some and it allowed him to sleep much better.

RagsdaleA

@megzjax Try swaddling, white noise, room dark...maybe even giving a bottle at the bedtime feeding so you can know exactly how much LO is taking to be full. Also, look into BabyWise and Moms on Call for scheduling/tips if want more help. We use MOC.

kelli&dave

My son had a difficult time sleeping at that age and my parents and in-laws have mentioned this to me a time or two (or 25). This lead me to do quite a lot of reading on the subject and asking for advice from anyone who'd give it to me. The general consensus is, that babies are not ready to handle any solids for the first several months. Their little tummies are not meant to digest cereal. It takes a lot longer to digest, so they are not hungry right away. Cereal in the bottle may in fact lead to longer stretches of sleep. but it will certainly not help an infant FALL asleep.

PPs have good advice. sleeping at an incline may help your LO. Most nights my son starts out the night in a bassinet where we have slightly propped up the pad with a rolled up blanket. Sometimes he likes to sleep in the detached seat part of his swing. I wouldn't worry about using the swing if you need to.

LBeez13

Cereal did not help my baby sleep through the night at all. He still wakes up at night and he is about 7 months old. Don't believe the hype about solids and sleeping through the night. I think every baby is different.

megzjax

Thanks for all the advice! I haven't given her cereal and I won't. My dr definitely didn't tell me to just friends and family mentioned it. But from everything I have looked up it says not to because they aren't ready for any type of solids. I did look into the happiest baby on the block and we hae been swaddling her and playing white noise all night. It seems to be helping!