Home › Forums › Infant Reflux Information › Sleeping › How well does your infant sleep?
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March 10, 2006 at 10:03 am #3499AnonymousInactive
My son rubs his head against my chest as well, as did my first, non refluxer..they it because they were overly tired and wanted to sleep but could not figure out how…My sisters son also does this when he’s tired as do most of my friends kids…
March 10, 2006 at 11:46 am #3516AnonymousInactiveMy daughter does it when she’s overly tired too. It’s not related to the reflux, at least in her case, because she is perfectly happy otherwise. Just when she gets overtired, she becomes irritable and rubs her eyes and then her face against our chest as she’s falling asleep.
March 10, 2006 at 12:16 pm #3517AnonymousInactiveMy baby does that too. When she does, I’ll nurse her and she’ll be out in
less than a minute.
March 12, 2006 at 4:30 pm #3647AnonymousInactiveHi Karen,
I have to say we’re up there with one of the worst sleepers I’ve read about on this forum….and I’m in total agreement with Laura and Tiffany. If your baby isn’t sleeping, the first thing is to get them to sleep. I feel like you can worry about bad habits later. Not napping or waking screaming all through the night will take it’s serious toll, so just getting them comfortable enough to sleep is the most important thing. And *&@$%*!! those docs who think you can spoil a two month old, that is total hogwash. Sorry for sounding so bitter, it’s been a long haul for some of us here. Can you get a different doc?
It normally takes two weeks for a ppi drug to kick in. Are you using a compounded form of prevacid? These aren’t always reliable. Is her dose high enough? See this site for dosing info: http://www.marci-kids.com. You can also look into other drugs that have been helpful to others with sleeping: Mylanta Cherry Supreme (must be the Cherry Supreme cause of aluminum ingrediant in other flavors), carafate (even though marci-kids isn’t a big fan, it helped us a lot for a short time), using zantac and the ppi drug in tandem during the day….using aloe vera and probiotics. These are all other ways of giving comfort to your refluxer. We use Zegerid and there is no risk of the med being unreliable and Lucas loves it. We’ve been very happy with it. http://www.ppiknow.com has info on different ppi drugs. Also, refluxers love to be held upright in baby bjorns or slings, so get a carrier that is comfortable and hold her as much as possible during the day, it really will help you out and will give you your hands back.
The other huge reason for uncomfortable sleep is MSPI, milk soy protein intolerance and other possible food allergies. My son has this and it REALLY made an INCREDIBLE difference to cut all dairy and soy from my diet and his- I’m bfeeding. If you are formula feeding it would mean using a formula without dairy or soy ingrediants. I think the ones are called Alimentum and Nutremigen. There is also one called Neocate, but it’s only necessary for kids with very serious problems. This site has great intolerance and allergy info: http://www.disa.com.au/
These are some of the best resources I can think of for information. You have a lot of avenues to still pursue in terms of treatment and meds and investigating food linkages. I waited 8 miserable months to remove dairy and soy and kicked myself for not doing it earlier. Doing a MSPI test or elimination diet takes dedication and time, normally the dairy proteins are out of their systems in about two weeks, but it can take up to 4 or even six weeks in rare cases. If it’s an issue, you should see improvement pretty quickly, however. Dr. Sears’ site has info on the elimination diet and allergies as well: http://www.askdrsears.com/html/4/t041200.asp
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/4/t041800.asp
The other reality is that refluxers love to be held and refluxers can be really horrible sleepers while their reflux is in full bloom. My son is 18 mos and it’s been really rough with sleeping. Most refluxers do outgrow it though and you can look forward to blissful sleep once they are feeling better!! If you can find the right balance of meds, correct dosages and clear up any possible food intolerances/allergies you’ll have a much happier baby!! I hope this helps!
March 14, 2006 at 1:34 pm #3814AnonymousInactiveHi,
We really struggle with sleeping with our son too. He was finally diagnosed at 4 months with reflux, I think it took that long because he stopped gaining weight so they finally took me seriously that something was wrong. My ped recommended a book called Babywhisperer. I fell in love instantly because it not only explained a ton of baby behavior, but loving ways to help them. The author also mentioned reflux specifically and some methods to help with it. I have two of her books- the second I think is more helpful- Tracy Hogg, Babywhisperer solves all your problems by teaching you how to ask the right questions. I learned how long a baby should be awake, sleepy signs, the ten minute jolt, etc. It has been a HUGE help to me- I was never around babys before my son! Anyway- one thing that has made a big difference to us and getting past the 10 minute jolt (common in all babies)- was swaddling. As soon as we started swaddling him- he started sleeping so much better.
Now if we can just get him to sleep on his own- waiting for him to be pain free before doing sleep training again!
March 14, 2006 at 4:08 pm #3829AnonymousInactiveI agree with the other moms, the “wiggling” is from an adrenaline rush from being over-tired and not being able to get back to sleep.
You know how some kids wake up and look really groggy – rubbing their eyes, squinting? My son has NEVER looked groggy, he always looks wired when he’s tired (wide-eyeed). Bouncing off the wall, uncontrollable laughter. It’s really easy to mistake over-tired child for a happy, energetic one.
March 15, 2006 at 4:39 pm #3948AnonymousInactiveI have to say that the most important aspect to all of this is what YOU are comfortable with. It seems like everyone is in a race to get their kids to sleep through the night, be potty trained, etc. I think every child is different & a parent should not feel bad for doing things their own way.
With my 5 year old, she slept with me for the first 4 months, then went to her crib in our room until almost 6 months. Then, in her own room. Around 11 mos or so, she started having sleep issues, & we did our own version of Ferber. We comforted her every few minutes. After a week, she slept through the night. She is the most independent, free-spirited little girl I know! Oh–she also didn’t quit the paci until after 2 & her speech is NOT affected!
Now, with Emma, she has special needs & has never slept through the night. She has many health issues, goes through lots of tests/procedures, & simply has an out-of-whack sleep cycle, plus seizures. She slept with us or in our room until 9 mos, then went to her own room. However, at 19 mos, dh moved her crib into our room (it is now set up like a 3 sided toddler bed, up against our bed). She sleeps better–when she wakes up, she sees us & goes back to sleep. If she is sick & chokes, I’m right there to help her, if it looks like she is having a seizure, I can observe. Needless to say, WE are ALL sleeping better!! The best sleep we’ve had in almost 2 years!!! I don’t know when we’ll move Emma back to her own room. It will happen when she is stronger & healthier and we feel okay about it.
So, the main thing is that YOU do what YOU feel is best. And, make sure you have ruled out physical reasons for your child to not be sleeping. I think had we tried CIO with Emma & then found out how bad her GERD was, or that she was having seizures, or aspirating, etc. I’d feel horrible. Hoping all you mommas get some much-needed & deserved Zzzzz’s VERY SOON!!!
March 18, 2006 at 10:38 pm #4195AnonymousInactiveHonestly, I feel like you’re telling my story. I was not able to put Gabriel down to sleep on his own until he was nine months old and properly treated. Believe me, I tried. No matter what anyone said, I worried I was spoiling him, but I would not do it differently if I were to do it again. Developing trust is very important these first few months. Sleep habits can be worked on later, once your baby is no longer in pain. If you push things too much now, you will only stress yourself and your baby out. Gabriel would only sleep on my chest–and then for only a few minutes at a time, for the longest time. But now he is sleeping through the night most nights–on his own.
March 31, 2006 at 1:49 am #4992AnonymousInactiveI have to say i am in the early stages of trying to get things figured out with reflux and colitis and laryngomalacia. But sleeping,knock on wood is getting better. I bought her a swing that swings side to side (cradle swing) and it works wonders. My daughter does that burrowing her face. Sounds very similar, she has to be held sometimes. But most of the time i can put her in the swing and both of us are off to lullaby land. You can get it online on babysrus. They have 3 kinds. And it ranges from 90-140 dollars but well worth it. The only thing is that if your child is under 12 lbs you it swings really fast b/c of the weight. Just put a blanket so that it drags on the floor and it will swing nicely. Good luck.
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