Baby fighting sleep?

SharLovesAlex · April 2015

My baby boy fights his sleep like nobody's business. I can tell he's sleepy because he rubs his eyes and his eyes get droopy. But instead of just falling asleep, he fights it! He becomes angry and fussy and pushes up with his feet (like he's pushing off the side of a pool or something)! It's crazy! He's not even 2 months old yet. Does anyone else's baby fight their sleep? Usually I rub his forehead and that calms him, but he sure hates getting sleepy sometimes. Anyone else having similar issues? If so, how old is your baby? Mine is 7 weeks.

MeganPobega · April 2015

Just dealt with this tonight. My 7 week old is finishing up her 6 week growth spurt and she is sure going out with a bang. After 12 LONG hours of her being awake and screaming, she is out. I drove around twice, nursed all day, tried formula, a pacifier, bouncing her, rocking her, the swing, laying with her, nothing worked. She just fought. I finally swaddled her super tight and rocked her as I nursed. She is FINALLY asleep! She hates to be swaddled but I didn't know what else to do but confine her arms and legs, so she wasn't punching and kicking to keep herself awake. Now my 3.5 year old is up lol. A mothers job never ends haha. Hang in there!

SharLovesAlex · April 2015

@MeganPobega That's so funny that your baby hates being swaddled. Mine does too! But it's the only way I can get him to stay asleep, otherwise he's kicking and punching himself awake, too. He seems to feel tricked once he wakes up and realizes he's been swaddled! But the good news is, he has slept through the night without crying the past 2 nights so dad and I can get some rest. I wake him up to change and feed him every couple of hours, but then he's back to sleep. I'll be glad when he stops fighting his sleep, though!

myjessesgirl · April 2015

My LO is five weeks old and is the same way: hates to be swaddled, loves to sleep but fights it with a passion. One night I spent fifteen minutes of inconsolable crying (after finishing nursing) while holding her and trying everything to get her to quiet down. Turns out she really just wanted to be left alone because she went right to sleep once I put her down in her crib! She is better now at night, but will fight any naps off if she's not
Perfectly comfortable (in her swing or lying belly down on my chest). But I don't mind her sleeping on me during the day for now.

aprilk86 · April 2015

My 4 week old fights sleep constantly and sometimes the only way I can make him nap is by taking him to bed with me, nursing him to sleep and laying with him to avoid him being soooo over tired and fussy. When he falls asleep he wakes 5-10 minutes after you put him down and cries until held again. It's exhausting and I get nothing done! I didn't expect this much fighting of sleep until he was a bit older lol. We only swaddle at night as part of a routine but he always managed to break it and get his arms out, even the swaddle me blankets with Velcro. I must add how bad it hurts when he fights sleep while nursing because he starts violently wiggling and doesn't let go of my nipple! Ouch

SharLovesAlex · April 2015

@aprilk86 Mine also fights when he's nursing buy is still latched on...it hurts! I started pumping and putting milk in bottles to save my nipples haha. He also tries to get his arms free from the Swaddle Me blankets. I'm hoping this passes and he stops fighting and just goes to sleep. Once asleep, he stays for a couple of hours...just as long as he's swaddled, otherwise he flails his fists and wakes himself up.

NLB2009 · April 2015

I just went through this last night. We were up until 430. I swaddled him per routine but it just made him more angry. So I unswaddled him, took him for a drive, put him in the swing, nursed almost constantly and nothing worked! He'd fall asleep, in the car, while nursing, or while being rocked but the second I put him in his cosleeper he'd wake up punching and kicking! So frustrating! He's even doing it now while trying to nap.

CG79 · April 2015

My little guy fights the sleep...the only way I can get him to fall asleep is to swaddle him and rock or walk him around for like hours!! He is just over 6 weeks old. Once I do get him to sleep and can finally put him in his bassinet he will sleep good for 3-4 hours...it just takes a lot of energy and patience to get there....

leibas · April 2015

My little guy did this for the first time last night and we tried all of the above just like it seems everyone else did. Although I think he may be struggling with gas too! He's 7 1/2 weeks old ... Maybe it's just something they do about this age? It's a challenging time for him to do this for us and I'm starting the transition back to work tomorrow with a practice run at day care.

KD32412 · April 2015

FYI. For those of you who are breastfeeding, sometimes caffeine can cause baby to become irritable, jittery, or agitated, and can contribute to sleeping problems.

I had to completely cut out all caffeine from my diet, as I'm extremely sensitive, so is my daughter.

SharLovesAlex · April 2015

@KD32412 I know about the caffeine, I don't even risk drinking it! I totally cut out caffeine drinks.

soxgurl · April 2015

My baby is 7 weeks And just recently started doing this. I think it may be because she's way more alert now so she's picking up on every sight and sound and always looking around even if it's dark. Hopefully this is just another phase that will pass soon.

SharLovesAlex · April 2015

@soxgurl I'm hoping it's a phase too. He fought tonight after his bath for over an hour...I finally got him to sleep at 11. I hate when he does it at the boob because he gets all wild and it hurts! Ugh, I hope this passes soon.

ngolimento · May 2015

For everyone with a suddenly sleepless 7 week old, you may want to check out an app called Wonder Weeks. 7 and 1/2 weeks is a major cognitive and developmental leap, which leads to these issues.

adelems · May 2015

I dealt with this with my first and now again with my second. My babies usually will fight sleep if they are in my arms or if they get over tired. For both of them I had to watch them and learn their very beginning signs of getting tired and then being a "going for nap" routine. Which consists of cuddling them up in my arms with a blanket, walking or laying down with them, signing to them gently, give them a passy, and then after just a few minutes I lay them in their crib and they usually fall fast asleep. If they don't then I'll get them back up for maybe fifteen minutes and then try again.

That all being said, my baby is 4 weeks and going through a development leap (wonder weeks app) and the last two days our routine is a little sketchy. He's seeming to want to fall asleep in my arms right now but I'm confident we will get back to normal soon. Also, having a nap routine and bed time routine and starting to lay them down in bed while they aren't quite all the way asleep at this young age is a great way to start good sleeping patterns and routine for when they are older! At least it worked really well for my daughter who is 4 and still takes naps like a champ and sleeps great at night

SharLovesAlex · May 2015

Thanks, I'll be getting that app asap.

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