Unfortunately it can be so hard to find out what’s going on with the sleep, especially since babies without reflux also have night wakings that are cyclical due to other reasons or developmental. I personally like to see if it might be due to reflux and rule that out. You can try elevating the mattress, though I know it is harder once they’re older. Also, you can try giving some mylanta for breakthrough control, and see if that calms him. Alternately, you can see if your doc will up the meds all together or try a PPI in a different form and see if any of those things help. If so, then at least you know it may be reflux. Another thing I look at is what are they doing when they wake up… are they just up, are they arching or writhing around, screaming, gagging… what do you see and hear- that can also give you a clue as to whether or not it’s reflux. In Hailey’s case, I can tell exactly what is waking her up most of the time… if she’s writhing around and moaning then I know it’s digestive issues, if she’s gagging or coughing or choking, or I hear her wet burp, then I know it’s reflux, if she’s just cranky then I suspect teething, if she’s screaming I know it’s an acid attack, and just plain crying in her case if often behavioural (like she just wants someone to come and hold her)… I am prompt in responding to everything but the last one. Anyhow, my point is that it can be so hard to figure out what’s going on, that you might have to investigate things through trial and error.
Shelby, I honestly wonder if Justice is having reflux attacks after his night feeding. Our doctor told us that for many babies, the night feeding (which I know is still important when they’re small) can also cause really bad reflux flareups b/c digestion is slower at night, they’re lying down, it causes increased acid production at a time when there’s usually breakthrough acid. The other thing, is that Justice’s behaviour sounds a lot like Hailey’s when she was in the amby at that age… I had it beside my bed, and I would just bounce it every time she woke up. What ended up happening was that she started expecting me to bounce her back to sleep everytime she had small wakeups, or any time something bothered her, and we were stuck bouncing her in that thing almost all night long b/c she became dependant on the sensation and she never learned how to do it herself.
Good luck to you both. Sleep deprivation is so awful, though is still the norm for us around here too. Hang in there.
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