Moms: Question about "sleeping" babies and a tired mamma who needs help.

smilee

okay, stupid question # 200

Do all babies fidget and grunt and make crazy noises when they sleep?  D is SOOOO noisy at night.  I feel like I do not notice it during his naps.  He has mostly been napping on me or in the bouncy chair during the day, so perhaps that is why.

We have him swaddled and in his crib at night and he does appear to like the swadling, but I feel like all he does is fidget. I am starting to think the video monitor is a blessing and a curse.

My biggest challenge right now is sleeping- not so much him, but me.  I have to look at every noise he makes which is kinda constant so I am getting zero sleep.   The last couple of nights, he has had some good stretches in the crib and he does go down fairly easy after feeding, so he id doing great, but I can't seem to relax enough to sleep.  It is starting to take its toll as I am incredibly baby-bluesy, I know my iron situation is not helping and now I'm  seriously sleep deprived.  

Tips, thoughts, advice... etc.... I'll take it as I know I  can't go on like this forever and my anxiety is just getting magnified....

mrsolsenk12

Totally normal. I had the hardest time sleeping for the first few weeks because every noise he made woke me up (and he was noisy). What made it easier for me to sleep was moving him farther away from the bed (not right next to it) then I couldn't hear all the little noises as easily but he was still close by.

jcombs

Yeah the term "sleep like a baby" is a misnomer in my mind.  Mr. I. grunts and makes all kinds of noises.  I had to figure out when he was making awake noises versus sleeping ones for when he wanted to eat at night.  I am still sleep deprived and have issues falling asleep with my fibromyalgia anyway. The only thing that helped me was napping when he napped as well...those cat naps definately helped.  Also I bought the angelcare thing and that helped me.  I still have him in the bassinet next to the bed, but I don't worry about the noises as much and figure if I miss his feeding cues, he will eventually scream for his lunch.  Momma's sleep is important for him too.

njdcgirl

Yes...totally normal as to the noise.  As for suggestions, I don't really have any since I haven't been there yet.  I know a lot of people end up taking the monitor away at some point - b/c they can hear him cry easy enough when he really needs you.  At so young though, I can't imagine doing that!

I hope you get some great suggestions...I know how hard it is to be sleep deprived!  You're doing great, Smilee!

sasa625

DD was a very noisy sleeper... it's ultimately part of the reason why we didn't make it to 6 months in the same room. I would wake up with every little noise. At first I actually found it adorable, then the cuteness wore off (probably because of the exhaustion )

cheekyali

Not sure if all babies do but mine certainly does. He looks like a fish caught on a line in his Swaddle Me- he flaps his legs up and down throughout the night. He makes all kinds of noises and his face twitches etc. I think all new moms check to make sure their babies are breathing.

Our pedi told us that babies sleep like adults and have sleep cycles where they wake up and fall back asleep too, so you will notice that soon too.

You will get used to it and won't check on him so often, I promise.

Eli fidgets so much, this morning he ended up sideways in his basinette!!!

TakYelgif

Totally normal it's gets better after the first month or so then they fall into a less fitful sleep pattern.  With DS we could not even swaddle him because he moved around so much and the noise was hard to tune out most nights.

I don't have much in the way of tips or advice for us it was just something we had to ride out.  I do hope it gets better for you soon!

tigerlily5

totally normal and i totally know how you feel.  at the beginning it was really hard because i would lay awake all night just waiting to hear her cry and listening for every noise.  you could look into the angelcare monitor.  how far from your room is the baby's room or are you in the same room?  what i ended up doing was sleeping in the room next to DD's room for a while and not using a monitor.  that way i knew i would hear her cry but i wasnt able to hear all of the grunting, etc.

either way, just remember it does get better!!!

 

GuitaristsGirl

Yep.   I'd try swaddling him tightly (so his legs are tight too, not just arms like in a Swaddle Me).  Also, we found that saline drops before bed helped a little - ours was a little of congestion too, I think.

For me, it was actually good to have him right next to the bed - counterintuitive, I know, but I think it made me feel secure that he was okay so I subconsciously allowed myself to tune him out more. 

GL mama! 

EastCoastBride

My advice- turn your monitor down!  To a level where the little noises aren't noticable, but you know if he really cried out, you'd hear it. 

qtpa2t

My baby was totally a noisy sleeper.  That's why we moved her to her crib in her own room at three weeks.  The room is right next door in a small house, and we figured any noise she did make that was serious, we would hear.  (And that way we wouldn't freak out about every grunt, snort, etc. and sleep better and not rouse her needlessly either.  It did work, and she started sleeping through the night.)

JGirl2005

I couldn't sleep for weeks.  He slept in our room and I'm a heavy sleeper.  I was just constantly checking up on him - due to dealing with IF, a loss, and just paranoid about SIDS, etc.

 i hate this advice but it is the only thing that helps in those first 6wks.  Sleep when they do during the day.  it works and honestly I slept when he did while on maternity leave -f or the first 3 m.  They were hard months for me and DH was helping me out.  We didn't have many other people come to help us out.

igh0318

Yes--I actually thought there was something wrong with T because he was SOOOO noisy. I literally could not sleep listening to him. Ocassionally, I would sleep in the spare bedroom and let DH wake me up when he needed me so I could get a some sleep.  It took him a couple months to get through that.   

It is so hard when you are running on little to no sleep.  I know it doesn't help when you're in the middle of it but I promise it does get better.  Do you have anyone who can come over so you can get a little rest?  Hang in there-you're doing great! 

JGirl2005

My son is 18m tomorrow and I still sleep with him.  sometimes we wake each other up still, he still rolls around.

But it gets better I promise...the nightmare newborn phase only lasts so long (sleep deprived).  Make sure you aren't cleaning or cooking during the day - get help!

skoorbnibor

honey, this is why E went to his room at 6 weeks. he is so noisy!

your LO is normal!

MonkeysGirl05

Not a stupid Question! Henry was a noisy sleeper too. He slept in his PnP next to our bed until he was 4 months old. I eventually got used to his grunts and squeeks he made throughout the night.

smilelari

G was always a very loud sleeper.  The good news is that it gets better with time.  You figure out which noises are awake noises and which ones aren't and you sleep through the ones that aren't.

LucyPevensie

Ooooh honey, I am just CRINGING reading this because I had this BAD with my newborn beh-beh ("this" being post partum anxiety.)  I couldn't sleep either.  I was so effing anxious about the baby and just got more and more wound up ... then ppd set it too - and ugh.  Depressed, anxious, exhaused, KOO-KOO ... that was me.

Baby is OK.  Repeat 400 times.  Baby is OK.  Try to rest.  It will help so much.  Yes they are ALL that noisy, it's bizarre.  Are you getting outside at all - fresh air, sunshine, snippets of normalcy?  Try that too.  A lot of this is hormonal though, so there's not much you can do about that.  Be good to yourself.  Eat nutritious food.  Hang in there. 

JamaicaMon!

Mine was the same way.  Here's what I did to try and tune out the noises:

- Put him in his crib in his own room

- Bought a sound machine for his room

- Turned the volume level on the monitor down to it's lowest level

- Turned the stand alone fan on high in my bedroom

I still do all of these just so I don't wake up to every little noise he makes.  I also turn the video portion off on the monitor and turn it away from me so I don't see the blinking lights.  I can still hear him perfectly fine if he actually cries (or even whimpers loudly), but everything else is tuned out by the white noise in his room and the white noise in mine.  It has been my sleep lifesaver.