Babies: 0 - 3 Months
jx23
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Help Needed with 8 Week Old Sleep
jx23
member
I’m having sleep issues with my 8 week old.
He has a slight case of reflux so sleeping consistently in his bassinet has been difficult. He wakes frequently to be burped, held upright to sleep on my chest, or to pass gas.
He doesn’t take naps lying down, they are always on me.
Bedtime: Typically he goes to bed at 7:30-8pm. He sleeps 3 hours really well then it’s up for a feeding. Back down again for maybe 1-2 hours before waking up and needing help to go back to sleep. Again an hour or two later for food. And that pattern continues until 6:30-7am. He seems to sleep a total of 7-8ish hours at night.
Naps: He usually takes a nap either 1-2 hours every 2ish hours but it’s a huge ordeal to get him to sleep. So his first nap is usually 9-10am, again 12-1pm, and again 3-4pm, and the last one maybe around 6pm for a half an hour. Then it’s feeding, bathtime, winding down, and feeding again before bed.
His total nap time is somewhere between 5-6 hours. All naps are while on my chest because no matter how long he has been asleep he will always start kicking his feet and wake up if he is on his back during the day and then turns into a huge crank by the evening from not sleeping.
Naps: He usually takes a nap either 1-2 hours every 2ish hours but it’s a huge ordeal to get him to sleep. So his first nap is usually 9-10am, again 12-1pm, and again 3-4pm, and the last one maybe around 6pm for a half an hour. Then it’s feeding, bathtime, winding down, and feeding again before bed.
His total nap time is somewhere between 5-6 hours. All naps are while on my chest because no matter how long he has been asleep he will always start kicking his feet and wake up if he is on his back during the day and then turns into a huge crank by the evening from not sleeping.
Total sleep is somewhere between 12-14 hours a day. This seems like not enough sleep for a 2 month old.
He is always swaddled for sleep. He also gets white noise for the first 20 minutes of sleep. I breastfeed, with a no dairy and no wheat diet. He sees a chiropractor once a week to help with reflux and his tightness from a difficult birth.
I’ve tried lifting up his mattress a tad but he just scrunches all the way down the mattress because of how much he kicks and wakes himself up so it’s not safe.
I’ve tried putting him to sleep drowsy but awake but that always ends in him crying and me having to start all over again to get him drowsy again. So right now I’m rocking him to sleep then laying him down. If I’m not doing something actively to help him sleep he will not fall asleep or back to sleep on his own.
In general he is a very happy talkative boy. He loves bathtime and hardly ever melts down or has crying fits. He just doesn’t sleep very well.
How can I get him to sleep in his bassinet at night without kicking and waking up every hour? How can I get him to nap during the day in there? And what’s with all the kicking? He kicks and grunts so much he wakes himself up.
I’ve read so much conflicting information. Some say put him to sleep drowsy, others say he is too little to be able to self soothe and fall asleep himself. Everything I’ve read says he should be sleeping 15 hours or more everyday but the most I calculate is 14 on a really good day. Should I be worrying about this or just go with the flow until he gets older and I can sleep train him?
Re: Help Needed with 8 Week Old Sleep
I’ve taken a break from trying the bassinet for naps. I feel like I’ve just heard that getting her the sleep she needs is most important at this age.
White noise works best if used consistently from eyes shut to eyes open. It offers a canceling out effect for other sounds and needs to be consistent, I wouldn't shut it off. Also, the type of noise is important. A waterfall noise is better than nature sounds where a bird chirps occasionally- meaning, a consistent noise is best.
Our baby is 7 weeks old today. She slept through the night for the first time but we had these problems too.
If you swaddle him, do a tight or "proper" swaddle where the arms are pinned to the sides. He will fight it at first but in the end, they find it soothing because their startle reflex doesn't wake them up. I read somewhere that they need to feel something when they reach out, it reassures them to have boundaries like they did in the womb. I think it's just instinct. I am warm, I am held, I am safe. I am cold, no one is here, I'm in danger. Help!
A baby will never like to go from a warm chest to a cold, firm bassinet. Try putting a blanket in the dryer to warm it up and swaddle him in that. He might go down easier. It's a game of comfort and security with these little peepers.
If you're worried about hours slept, remember that every baby is different and those are guidelines. Plus 14 is very close so I doubt he is lacking sleep. It's tempting to play the numbers game... we did that with feedings. But the truth is, you have to look elsewhere for the result. Is he generally happy? Does he seem well rested or tired and cranky? Have his sleep patterns gotten worse, better, or stayed the same? He should be getting into a routine slowly by this age.
Hang in there, Mama. It gets easier.
I feel like he just hates sleep, and I don’t know what to do. I feel like I’ve tried everything. He keeps the same schedule as your baby… goes to bed anywhere from 8 to 9/9:30 and will sleep about three hours, then he wakes up every hour after that 😩
He is 10 weeks old today and I keep thinking it will get better “with time” but it result hasn’t.
We have the snoo, and it does help him stay down longer than he would otherwise, but we still aren’t getting great chunks of sleep at night.
After weeks of sleeplessness with our first and trips back and forth to the pediatrician I finally got an answer and it helped me so much. Our son had a CMPI both lower GI and upper GI, the upper GI caused the reflux and he was miserable. He was miserable eating and sleeping. It finally got better with time and I used Taking Cara Babies 3 months+ and our kiddo eventually became a decent sleeper. Their GI tracks are not fully developed yet which is why time helps but you may want to look closer at your diet. I know a lot of Pediatricians say otherwise but that’s just my take.
Good luck mama, you’re doing great! Also, listen to your intuition.