Horrible Sleeper

camdensmom32 · October 2013

I am not even sure what to do or try anymore with DS. His sleep just gets worse and worse at night. Crying it out isn't effective and going in and soothing him isn't either. Tonight for example DS went to bed at 7:30pm. At 9:50pm he woke and has been crying/screaming since then and it is now 10:45pm. I refuse to go in and give him a bottle as he just had one prior to bed and I'm sure he will wake up again later for one. I talked to his pedi at his 6 month appt about how much worse he has gotten with sleep and she didn't have any answers. I just can't handle the multiple wake ups and then listening to him scream and cry!! Any suggestions??!!

love4b · October 2013

I hate to say it, since it's not gonna help you get any more sleep, but he may just really be hungry. My daughter went from eating twice during the night for months, to now eating every two hours - and I mean REALLY eating. She will literally drain my boob each time and for the last feeding of the night - around 6AM - it's like she's frustrated that I'm pretty much out of milk. There is so much growth happening right now for them, physically and mentally, they just might need the extra nourishment.

camdensmom32 · October 2013

After more than an hour of listening to him scream I broke down and am giving him a bottle. I'm so frustrated!

burneyonboard · October 2013

Have you started cereal yet? That usually helps some. You aren't alone bc some nights my lo wakes up at least four times and he has always been an alert baby. With dd we used a fan and classical music. It was soothing and she loved the fan blowing. She slept all night. I guess every baby is different bc it didn't work so well with this baby.

shadysladyWed98470 · October 2013

Have you started cereal yet? That usually helps some. You aren't alone bc some nights my lo wakes up at least four times and he has always been an alert baby. With dd we used a fan and classical music. It was soothing and she loved the fan blowing. She slept all night. I guess every baby is different bc it didn't work so well with this baby.

This! when my LO started eating a veggie in the evening, along with a bottle, he went from an ok sleeper to a great sleeper. Is he on any solids?

squatchiebaby · October 2013

I'm so sorry. My baby was that way for close to 3 months and I thought I was going to lose my mind. She is still an inconsistent sleeper but at least we get an occasional good night these days. Thursday night she woke up screaming and wouldn't go back to sleep. After about an hour and a half I gave her gas drops and Tylenol and she finally passed out. We have two teeth and I think she's working on a third and wakes up with her mouth hurting. The cereal and purres I give her before bed also seem to give her gas. Is your son teething? Are you giving him solids yet? If so maybe he's uncomfortable. I hope you find a solution soon. It is so hard to function the way you are going.

camdensmom32 · October 2013

shadysladyWed98470 said:

burneyonboard said:
Have you started cereal yet? That usually helps some. You aren't alone bc some nights my lo wakes up at least four times and he has always been an alert baby. With dd we used a fan and classical music. It was soothing and she loved the fan blowing. She slept all night. I guess every baby is different bc it didn't work so well with this baby.

This! when my LO started eating a veggie in the evening, along with a bottle, he went from an ok sleeper to a great sleeper. Is he on any solids?

Yep he is on solids. Gets them at least 2 times a day with one of those feedings in the evening. Been giving him solids since 4 months. Hasn't seemed to make a difference in his sleep. Thanks for the suggestion though.

camdensmom32 · October 2013

(bobo)2 said:
I'm so sorry. My baby was that way for close to 3 months and I thought I was going to lose my mind. She is still an inconsistent sleeper but at least we get an occasional good night these days. Thursday night she woke up screaming and wouldn't go back to sleep. After about an hour and a half I gave her gas drops and Tylenol and she finally passed out. We have two teeth and I think she's working on a third and wakes up with her mouth hurting. The cereal and purres I give her before bed also seem to give her gas. Is your son teething? Are you giving him solids yet? If so maybe he's uncomfortable. I hope you find a solution soon. It is so hard to function the way you are going.

DS has been teething for 3 months and still no teeth! I'm sure a lot of that is probably his problem. We usually give him Tylenol before bed and gripe water. He is a pretty gassy baby. I always hope one day he will just start sleeping better but it doesn't happen.

skidderdo · October 2013

For your sanity and his, I'd just give the bottle/boob! This stage won't last. We are trying to transition BACK to the crib right now. At 3 months our LO was STTN. Then he hit 4 months and was up every 2 hours eating. So he was back in bed with me. Now he can make it about 4 hours in the crib, but once he's awake he is AWAKE... and there is no point in me standing there fighting him trying to get back to sleep when I know darn well he will instantly fall asleep next to me in bed. Whatever works. I am balancing work and school and would rather everyone sleep, than to have LO sleep the way I THINK he should be sleeping.

leasaj · October 2013

I feel your pain! My LO has NEVER slept through the night. The longest she's gone is 5 hrs and that has only been a few times. Typically I get up 2-3x a night but for the past week its been at least 4x. I'm exhausted!

Mandmeesh · October 2013

I agree with a few of the other mamas that LO probably actually IS hungry, and to give him a bottle. It's different for me since I just nurse him (which seems much easier than preparing a bottle in the MOTN). M's sleep has been insane always. He slept much better as a newborn when I would wake him up to eat. Now we bedshare. I'm not even positive how many/what times I wake up in the MOTN because with him right next to me, I barely have to wake up.

Good luck. If it's any consolation, there are a lot of us still up like crazies at night

AAAHinkley · October 2013

Sorry no help here, but I'm in the same boat. She was down to one or two wake ups but for the last two months I feel like each week it gets worse. Last night we were up 10 times!! And she feels 4am is a good wake up time for the day. Ugh....some day we will all sleep again....right!? Hang in there!

Lhyacinth888 · October 2013

My DD is a really gassy baby and used to get up every few hours because she had gas- loud farting. We give her gas drops now a few hours before bed and also gripe water (not every night but when shes gassy). I have a strong let down (she is bf) so I try to empty into a burp cloth first. I also try to keep her active a few hours leading up to bed so she can help move her own gas around. I also read giving a warm bath before bed or putting a little warm compress on their belly can help relieve the gas. I tried a compress last night and it seemed to help. I also don't give a lot of solids to DD. I feel her digestive system is a little under-developed and that she is gassier when given solids. Every night my DD isn't gassy she sleeps through the entire night. On the nights she is gassy she is usually up every few hours. My DD also likes to eat when she's gassy as a comfort but sometimes I have found that feeding her again causes more gas. I have been trying different things and haven't found one thing to work, it's all been trial and error. I do feel like as she's getting older she is having less problems with her gas. I'm sorry your little guy isn't sleeping and I hope things get better for both of you soon! Gassy babies are tough! You can't really let them CIO because they are in pain but getting up every few hours to help them get back to sleep just isn't practical. Sorry this is so long...

camdensmom32 · October 2013

phill027 said:
I'm not going to deny that your baby may be hungry, but are you scheduling at all? If not, I recommend reading Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. Once you schedule, you will have a lot more confidence in determining why baby is crying at certain times. It has worked really well for us.

I've tried to start a schedule but isn't quite working. And I did try to read Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child but I don't have the time or patience right now to sit down and read a book.

ToAoShesha · October 2013

Does he sleep on his back or tummy? My baby can't roll yet and she can't move to get herself comfortable. I have started watching her sometimes when she won't sleep & if I help her flip positions she seems to sleep alittle longer (2 hours vs 45 minutes). This was not a cure all answer for is as y baby still wakes up a ton but it has helped a little & maybe it will help your guy a little or a lot...... Some people swear once on their tummy their baby slept like a champion.... My LO seems to prefer a different position each night

camdensmom32 · October 2013

ToAoShesha said:
Does he sleep on his back or tummy? My baby can't roll yet and she can't move to get herself comfortable. I have started watching her sometimes when she won't sleep & if I help her flip positions she seems to sleep alittle longer (2 hours vs 45 minutes). This was not a cure all answer for is as y baby still wakes up a ton but it has helped a little & maybe it will help your guy a little or a lot...... Some people swear once on their tummy their baby slept like a champion.... My LO seems to prefer a different position each night

Since DS started rolling he is now a side sleeper. It has improved his naps....just not night time sleep.

[Deleted User] · October 2013

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camdensmom32 · October 2013

phill027 said:
@christineeberle another resource is moms on call. You can buy their books cheap on amazon. They are really short books based on the same concept (mostly) behind HSHHC and give you sample schedules. Whatever schedule you use, be consistent and give it 3-5 days to work. Once the schedule takes hold, you can be flexible with it a bit (for traveling, weekend outings, etc). For us, Jackson is mostly like clock work since we started scheduling. He gets tired around his nap times and bed time, he wakes up ready to eat at mealtime, etc. And he has been STTN with little sleep regression for a long time now (10-12 hours) and I'm breastfeeding. It's worth the investment of time now so you can all start sleeping, IMO.

Just downloaded Moms On Call on ibooks. It's a much easier read than HSHHC. Thanks for the tip!

JBDamonM · October 2013

I feel your pain. DD was a better sleeper 0-4 months then she was from 5 months on. However like your LO, this was also when her teething kicked up. We now give her Oragel Natural teething tablets before bed. We've done this 3 nights in a row and I don't want to jinx it but so far it's been amazing. She was up every hour for 4 hours in a row last week, now she's only been up once. The tablets are all natural, they don't numb but do contain chamomile to help sleep. I would highly reccomend trying them. I also switched LO to a bottle recently for MOTN and its made me realize she's also hungry when she wakes up.....she always downs her bottles. I refuse to think about sleep training until this changes. It just doesn't seem fair to subject her to that when I know there's a reason she's waking up. FX for you that things get easier soon.

camdensmom32 · October 2013

@phill027 any tips or tricks to the suggested schedule?? And did you just cold turkey quit the MOTN feeding??

arschm02 · October 2013

phill027 said:

Oh and another trick I read in a few places is to turn the lights on every morning at the time you want to start the day and not before. So any motn feedings should be in the dark.

I did this from day 1 and it definitely helped. I know it helped because DH was unaware that this is how I did anything MOTN so he couldn't figure out why he wouldn't go back to sleep after he would do the bottle feeding at night. Oops, guess I forgot to tell him to make sure to keep it dark.

camdensmom32 · October 2013

@phill027 so per the suggested schedule does that mean I should no longer give a bottle at nap times??

CatfishAnn · October 2013

The No-Cry Sleep Solution is a great book for sleep problems. Good luck!

camdensmom32 · October 2013

phill027 said:

christineeberle said:
@phill027 so per the suggested schedule does that mean I should no longer give a bottle at nap times??

It's an eat, play sleep routine, so you would give the bottle at suggested feeding times and then use non-feeding techniques to put LO to sleep. Does that answer your question?

Just to clarify, you don't play during the bedtime routine. LO goes down for the night right after eating.

Thanks

Sarahbeth1169 · October 2013

My baby has been doing this as well for the last week. He was sleeping really well and would be up at 1:30 am and about 4:00 am. I put him to sleep round 9. But the last 2 weeks he is up like every 2 hours sometimes sooner then 2 hours. Its crazy but he will be 6 months this week so I think he must be growing. And he hasnt really wanted his cereal or fruit or veggies mostly he wants just milk.

I would say to feed as much as he wants he could be just really growing. Good luck. It will get better. At least that is what I keep telling myself. :-)

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