Please help me figure out what's going wrong with DS's nighttime routine!!!

KevinsBride04

For the past few nights, DS has not slept well or slept at all after his 3 AM feeding. Here's what we've been doing. Any suggestions on doing things differently or ideas on what could be making him do this are welcomed! I'm desperate! (FYI, he's not a good sleeper anyways...he naps in 30 minute increments and usually does this some at night too).

DS has napped a little the past couple of evenings in his swing (45 min to 1 1/2 hours). DH gives him a bottle of breastmilk around 10 pm,swaddles him at the end of the feeding, rocks, and puts him in the pack and play around 11-11:15. DS needs to be rocked soundly to sleep or he wakes up right away. He's slept well the first stretch at night the past couple of nights and has slept from 11-3ish. He wakes up a couple of times and stirs, but has fallen back asleep on his own. This time of the night is the ONLY time he'll do this. I feed him a bottle of breastmilk at 3:15ish (or whenever he wakes up) and rock him to sleep and put him down about 4:30. Once he's put down after his middle of the night feeding, he wakes up EXACTLY 30 minutes later and cries. We've tried getting up and giving him the paci and shhing him. Sometimes it works for 15-20 minutes and he wakes up again, or sometimes it does no good. He gets very restless after this feeding and starts grunting nonstop. DS is swaddled all night (I unswaddle during the feeding and reswaddle when he has about 1 ounce left). I think he is getting tired of the swaddle at that point in the night. He seems to start squirming around and I think that's what the grunting is about. However, the child cannot sleep unswaddles. He startles and flails every 30 seconds or so and wakes himself up. So, the past few nights, he's basically been up since 3ish and won't go back down (except for maybe one 30 minute stretch). I'm exhausted. He fights sleep like no other and the only way I can get him to nap during the day (for longer than 20-30 mins) is in the bed on me. I've been glad to do this the past three days because I need the sleep, but I don't know why DS is doing this during the second night stretch. He used to sleep "okay" after his nighttime feeding, but needed his paci put back in several times and was very restless, but slept until 6-7, nonetheless.?

?Are we doing something wrong with times at night? Should we feed and put him down at different times? Oh, FWIW, we use and/or have tried the following to help him sleep better: Miracle Blanket (still use), baby crack machine white noise (still use), t-shirt that smells like me to lie on (still use), heat the pnp with a heating pad before he lies down, elevating mat, sleep positioner, pacifier (still use), sleeping in swing part of the night (still very restless and awakes often). I don't know what could be causing this. Could he just be wanting to start his day b/w 4-5 am? God help me, if so! I'm currently reading HSHHC and plan on using some strategies when he's older, but for now is there some obvious readjusting that needs to be done? TIA and sorry so long!?

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lanie26

He's not even 2 months old. This is very normal.

My daughter didn't sleep until around 6 months. Even now she's up randomly at odd hours.

Its your child. Its crazy and exhausting but you've done a lot.

2007MarchBride

My DS is a horrible napper during the day also.  Since we have been putting him down to sleep when he is drowsy almost asleep but before he is actually fully asleep he has started to sttn.  Some days it takes a few times for him to go off on his own but most of the time he now falls asleep on his own.

tobewed0907

He could be going thru a growth spurt and actually needs to eat more often at this time.  You could try that.  He might also have some gas issues at the early morning feeding and that might be keeping him from being able to relax and fall back asleep.  Sorry, hope it gets better soon.  Keep trying to nap during the day when you can.