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May 2012 Moms
DeepaHale
member
LO stays up for HOURS during the night - Help!
DeepaHale
member
Initially my LO was sleeping 2-3 hours during the night, would get up to eat and go back to sleep. Lately she's been refusing to be put down in her bassinet.
BG: she is 3 weeks, almost 4 weeks, old.
We put a soft pillow (one of ours so it covers the entire bassinet) inside thinking maybe the mattress was too hard for her. That helped for one night.
The next night she just didn't want to be put down. She was fine sleeping in our bed (which if she's in there I have to be awake because I cannot cosleep with her without worrying) or sleeping in our arms or our chest but she woke up as soon as we put her in the bassinet.
My MIL recommended putting a mobile in the bassinet and having a fan on because the nights have been warmer. Again, the first night we did that it worked great and she slept regularly.
Last night she was back to refusing to sleep unless she was being held or in our bed. She's sleeping well during the day but I don't force her into her bassinet, I let her stay on the bed since I'm awake.
How do I get her to sleep during the nights? I try to get her to stay up during the day but even when I do that she won't really sleep at night. I tried putting her in her bassinet during the day so she would be used to it but she either wakes up or she sleeps fine but still struggles at night to sleep.
Sorry if this seems jumbled, I'm just so tired.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: LO stays up for HOURS during the night - Help!
First...no pillow in the bassinet. That sounds dangerous and LOs are actually supposed to have a harder mattress. Do you swaddle? That might help. Also, I'd really work to get her sleeping in the bassinet during the day so she's used to it (like you said). Have you talked to the pedi? Maybe it's reflux or something?
Ditto PP on getting ride of the pillow. Babies are supposed to sleep on firm surfaces. I wouldn't recommend keeping her awake during the day either because then she'll be overtired and it will be more difficult to get her to sleep.
Have you tried swaddling? It's the only way we can get our LO to fall asleep in under an hour. Also, try standing up and rocking her or swaying back and forth with her. One other thing that we've found that works is a Sleep Sheep set to the heartbeat setting. Is she eating enough? If my LO is still hungry, he will often stay awake, even though he's content. As soon as he eats another ounce or so, he falls asleep almost right away.
Unfortunately, at this age, our LOs dictate the schedule--they sleep and eat when they want. Our son was up from 1 until 4 this morning, completely happy, but wide awake. It's so hard now, but it'll get easier.
BFP #1: 6/10/11 Natural m/c 6/20/11
BFP #2: 8/30/11 Vanishing Twin diagnosed at 8 weeks, DS born 5/6/12
BFP #3: 5/24/14 stick, baby, stick! Beta 1 (16dpo): 645, Beta 2 (18dpo): 1652
We were using the pillow as a secondary mattress but I will take it out, as a ftm I'd rather err on the side of caution.
We were swaddling her regularly but she started getting a heat rash so we stopped doing that thinking that we were overheating her. She did sleep in the morning when my bf swaddled her since it was cooler than before.
She has a followup appt coming up with her pedi so I will bring it up. I don't know much about reflux so I'll look it up as well before her appt. She's been making me nervous since her other new thing has been spitting up a lot of milk and sometimes from her nose as well.
Like I said before I'm a ftm so sometimes I think I tend to overreact about things that might not be a big deal.
first off, absolutely NOTHING soft in the bassinet! it's a HUGE SIDS risk.
second, a fan in the room is a good idea regardless, as its been proven to lower SIDS risk.
now onto the sleep issue, there are a couple things that could be going on here.
1. she could have reflux or another issue that makes her prefer to be on an incline. have you tried a bouncer, swing, or rock and play?
2. she could have her nights and days mixed up. make sure you're letting plenty of sunshine in during the day, and keeping the room dark at night, even for feedings and changes.
3. she could just want to be held. there's a reason they call this the "fourth trimester". she went from being snuggled and rocked 100% of the time to maybe 50-75% of the time. that's a big change! you could try swaddling her, especially in blankets that have your scent on them. but honestly, you might just have to suck it up until she's more comfortable - take turns holding her with your husband and as many friends or family you can muster.
you could also look into an arms reach co-sleeper, or side-caring the crib, so you can safely cosleep - the attachment parenting board will have more info.
The Sleep Sheep sounds like it'd work since she loves falling asleep when we hold her against our chest.
I'm still trying to figure out how much she wants to eat. So far what she likes to do is eat, burp, maybe have a diaper change and then finish eating. Ounce wise she varies from 2-3 and sometimes even 4ozs so I try to just follow her cues to see how much she wants.
With all the spitting up sometimes I worry I'm overfeeding her.
1. She likes the bouncer and we use it when we're hanging out in the living room but I haven't tried using it to put her to sleep in. I will def bring this up to her pedi and see what she says about it possibly being a reflux issue.
2. We def keep the room quiet and darker during the night to try to get her to see the diff.
3. Yea since she's so little I'm mostly hoping its just something she grows out of as she establishes a pattern. And I have def kicked my bf awake to take her when I seriously need to rest.
Sorry if my replies are late or confusing, LO is awake so its harder to type with one hand.
If its warm in the room, swaddle her in only her diaper in a very light blanket...either thin cotton or a bed sheet cut to the right size. Make sure its very snug and that it won't come unwrapped...a small piece of masking tape to hold it is okay if she wiggles out of it otherwise.
White noise: you can buy a machine from Bed Bath and Beyond or a Sleep Sheep, etc., or just use a noisy fan.
Try offering a pacifier, but be prepared for crying if she drops it before she falls asleep.
Last resort, do all of the things I already mentioned but put her to sleep in a swing rather than her bassinet. Make sure she's reclined all the way and securely buckled in. I'm not a huge fan of sleeping in swings, but some parents claim their baby will not sleep any other way.
I've found the fastest way to get mine back to sleep if everything else is OK (diaper clean, belly full, burps and farts out) is to wear him in the sling. He usually falls back asleep in about 15 minutes, then I lay down with him still on my chest. If you're not cosleeping, then you'll have to figure out a good way to get your LO out of the sling without her waking up.
FWIW, I think it's normal at this age for them to want to be held all the time. I would get nothing done around here if I didn't have a sling.
Something else you can try is swaddling and background "music," like a vacuum or hair dryer. My husband made a CD of those kinds of noises with our first, and now we're using it with our second. Good luck!
(Sorry for all the repeat advice; I don't have much time on the computer anymore, and didn't read the responses.)
I would try a rock and play. Our LO loves hers. It cradles her and makes her feel as if she's being held and it lets her sit up slightly so it helps for belly aches as well.
GL!
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I'll echo what's already been said. DS1 had reflux and slept in his carseat/swing for his first 3 1/2 months since he had pretty bad reflux. It made me nervous at first, but it really was the only way he would sleep.
Again, try swaddling. DS2 likes to be tucked in pretty tight. He "sleeps" in a bassinette in our room, which we keep cool with a fan (which also helps with some white noise).
Don't try to keep LO up during the day, since they still need tons of daytime sleep at 3 weeks old. Try to keep things noisy and bright during the day and dark and quiet at night. Unfortunately it's most likely a case of just figuring out the world and getting used to day and night. It's tough, but sounds completely normal and something they'll eventually outgrow.
Good luck and hang in there!
Thank you everyone for you responses and tips.
She slept last night! It was the swaddling that did the trick. We put her in a light outfit and swaddled in a light sheet. As the weather gets warmer I will probably just put her in a diaper alone and swaddle her.
I didn't realize her growing would mean more feedings as opposed to just larger feedings so thanks for the info about that. I did notice that she likes to drink 2ozs take a break and then drink another 1-2 ozs.
Thanks again everyone!