UGH!!!!!

[Anonymous]

I also posted this in the sleeping catergory, but am looking for the most responses as possible.

Okay, I am about to go crazy. For over a month now Justice has been doing the same thing. He will sleep one stretch of 4 to 6 hours and then he will not go back to sleep. He is tired, I think, but just won’t go back to sleep. Okay, here is what happens: He wakes up after 4to 6 hrs and eats. He falls asleep while eating. I put him down and about 30 mins later he is again tossing around. He is in an amby bed so I bounce him for anywhere from 5 to 10 mins. He falls back asleep and again tosses after about 10 mins. Then I bounce him again. Basically we do this the rest of the night. WHAT IS THE DEAL? Should I just expect to get up at this point and say my sleep and his is done? He will take one 2to 3 hr nap during the day. Of course, not when I am trying to take the nap with him. My 2 yr still takes a nap so I try to take one at the same time, but Justice rarely will sleep for that nap. Of course!!!!!!!!!!! I should say that I try to get him to take 3 naps, but he won’t. So here are the things I have tryed at night. Mylanta, teething tablets, teething gel, changing his diaper, swaddeling, unswaddeling, socks on, socks off, another blanket, fan on, fan off, different temps in the house, burping, not burping, trying to wake him to make sure he is eating, putting him in bed with me, amby bed, bouncy seat, cosleeper elevated, white noise, and other things I’m sure.

For awhile I thought it might be teething, but I’m not so sure anymore. I increased his Zegerid to 5 ml 3 x a day. Dr Phillips suggestion. Now I have thought about taking him off the Zegerid to see what will happen. Of course I think it would be a disaster. He is still coughing way after feedings so I know he still has reflux.

Sorry for the long post, but I am up and very angry. Any advice would be great.

[hellbennt]

<ducking tomatoes here>

tummy sleeping?

[Anonymous]

Not taking enough naps during the day can definitely affect night time sleep. But it could also be the reflux. I would try to work on the napping first and work with the meds. to see if this helps sleeping at night. With all 3 of my girls I have used the E.A.S.Y routine from The Babywhisper books. It really works and helps with refluxers so they are eating when they get up and not just before they go to sleep. You should check out the http://www.babywhisper.com website and look on the boards for helpful advice about intro. EASY (Eat, Activity, Sleep, You time). Abby is on a 4hr EASY, she eats every 4 hours and takes 3 naps. I have both of The Babywhisper books and they are great. Full of so much useful advice and what to do to change the accidental parenting traps that everyone falls into.

[Anonymous]

Hi Shelby,
Does he seem like something’s bothering him? Or is he just awake? Because if he’s not hurting or anything, I’m wondering if you could just leave him and let him get himself back to sleep. Usually it only takes a few nights, and they learn to sleep a lot better. It sounds to me like he might just be used to you coming to him every time he’s awake. This was the problem with my oldest son who used to wake a lot. Doing this really helped him. He actually started sleeping through the night.

Anyway, this is just an idea. Only do it if he doesn’t seem like he’s in pain or something (and if you’re comfortable with it).

[Anonymous]

Andrea- I do not want to hijack but am really interested in the E.A.S.Y. method. Can you please email me some tips with regard to this method. (us3athome@juno.com). My son is still waking multiple times per night. I am able to put his nuk in his mouth a few of the times to get him to go back to sleep, however, I know I am not helping the long term situation.

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

i’m with laura—-tummy sleeping might just do the trick.

[Anonymous]

I’ve tryed tummy sleeping. He hates it. He is now in an amby bed right beside me. I don’t know if he really knows that I’m there. I just bounce the amby for about 5 to 10 mins. It seems to me that in that time he should be back to sleep, but within 5 mins he is up again.

As far as the E.A.S.Y thing. How does that work? I am breastfeeding and he wakes up at night to eat. So, am I supposed to let him have activity at night? Also the only way he will go to sleep is to eat. Rarely I can get him to go to sleep by placing him in the amby and bouncing for about 30 mins. I have no problem with the cio method, but not until he is older. I hope that I won’t have to do that, but if it comes down to it I will eventually do it.

Also, he does seem like something is bothering him. I have thought it was teeth, but over a month now? He used to sleep a long stretch and wake up to eat and sleep for another 2 hrs and wake up and eat and so on. I mean does this sound like teething to anyone? If it is teething what can I do to help that I haven’t already tryed? I don’t know that I have tryed motrin in the middle of the night. Who knows maybe I have. I’m just so tired I don’t remember.

I don’t think any of this is normal, but I could be wrong.

[Anonymous]

it could be teething. some babies teethe for months and months.

motrin shouldnt be used for babies under 6 months, you could try tylenol though.

another thought though is some babies just have different sleep habits than others. does he seem like he is in pain? if not, he may just have inconvenient sleep habits. i know you dont want to hear that

maybe he just has to grow out of it????

[Anonymous]

It is hard to get them on EASY until the reflux is under control. There is no “A” time during the night. Abby is bottle fed so I am not as familiar with EASY and breastfeeding but on The Babywhisper board there is a Breastfeeding section. Here is a link. Under the EASY forum there is also lots of info. and frequently asked questions at the top.

http://www.babywhisperer.com/smf/

[Anonymous]

Shelby, I think at least part of the problem is that he has become accustomed to being fed and bounced to sleep. I always put my babies to bed awake and they learned to fall asleep alone in their cribs. Then when they wake at night, if they are not in pain or discomfort, most of the time they put themselves back to sleep. When I fed them right before bed I would jostle them a little and make sure they were not sound asleep before laying them down, so then they’d fall asleep on their own.

I don’t know much about EASY, but I’ve heard of it and the concept of feeding, then awake time, then sleep is recommended by some of the other sleep experts as well. The idea is that if a baby is always fed to sleep, they will want to be fed everytime they wake up at night or whenever they are tired. They won’t no other any way to fall alseep. The same goes for rocking or bouncing. If that’s the only way they know how to fall asleep, that’s what they will want each and every time they wake up. Babies have shorter sleep cycles than adults and even when they are old enough to sleep through the night, they will have several periods of light sleep and may wake up fully. That’s why it’s so important that they learn to fall asleep alone.

Justice is still pretty young, so I wouldn’t expect “sleeping all night” yet, but you can start training him by putting him down awake but groggy. Practice this during the day for naps first. Most babies his age will only be able to stay awake 2 hours at a time, so try to make sure he’s not getting over tired. The more over tired he is the more he will fight sleep and the more frequent night wakings he will have. Dr. Weissbluth’s book, Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Baby describes this very well.

Remember that sleep (or the lack there of) is the most common complaint of parents of infants, so you are not alone! And of course, be sure he is not in any pain before you try any “sleep training.”

Good luck. I hope you are all sleeping better soon.

[Anonymous]

Laying him down groggy has never worked for him or for my older son. How does that work? When you say lay them down groggy, does that mean let them cry. If I lay Justice down groggy he just cries. I am so confused. I have tryed the groggy thing, rocking him, bouncing him, and who knows what else and the only thing that works is letting him eat. Well, rarely bouncing. I don’t mind him waking to eat. I personally still expect it at this age. I just thnk that after his long stretch when he eats he should go back to sleep.

It really does seem like something is wrong, but I just can’t figure it out. He falls asleep again and then just can’t seem to stay asleep. I wouldn’t think it is a growth spurt because it has been going on for a month or more. I do have to say that once I feed him the first time, I do try to wait at least 2 hrs before I feed him again. I just sit there and bounce him over and over. I know that I should be thankful because at least he is sleeping. I just expect more from him because he used to give me more. It has just been this last month or so that he has not been sleeping well.

Thank you all for your comments and advice. Keep it coming. Even if you can’t help Justice and me maybe the stuff posted here can help another mom. Keep up the good work ladies.

[hellbennt]

from the babywearer http://www.thebabywearer.com/cgi-bin/bookshop.pl?locale=us&a mp;cat=sl

The No-Cry Sleep Solution: Gentle Ways to Help Your Baby Sleep Through the Night
Elizabeth Pantley, (foreword by William Sears)
McGraw-Hill (28 March, 2002) ISBN 0071381392
Whether your baby sleeps in your bed, a sidecar or a crib in another room, and whether you are breastfeeding or bottle feeding, this book can help with sleep issues. A good one to read before sleep problems start as it gives excellent advice on habits (and how to change them), routines, sleep associations etc. A very gentle method.

Nighttime Parenting: How to Get Your Baby and Child to Sleep
William Sears, (foreword by Mary White)
Plume (01 November, 1999) ISBN 0452281482
An AP approach to sleep focuses on what works best for the whole family – it may be co-sleeping, using a sidecar, separate beds or separate rooms, though the Sears’ certainly promote co-sleeping if it works for you.

Sweet Dreams : A Pediatrician’s Secrets for Baby’s Good Night’s Sleep
Paul M. Fleiss
McGraw-Hill (01 December, 2000) ISBN 0737304944
[Amazon Editorial Review]
Most new parents quickly and sadly discover the difficulty of getting a child first to go to sleep, and then to sleep throughout the night. Dr. Fleiss, a noted family pediatrician for more than 30 years, shares his secrets for discovering a child’s natural sleep patterns, developing positive bedtime rituals, nutritional and lifestyle aids to sleep,

[Anonymous]

Thank you Laura. I will check our local library for those books. I have read the no cry sleep solution, but I am thinking about checking it out again. I flipped through it and read what I thought I needed to, but I think I missed some stuff. I am bad about just flipping through books and not reading the whole thing.

By the way, I was just telling someone that you should write a book about infant reflux. I don’t know if there is anything out there, but there should be.

[hellbennt]

well, I kinda consider my welcome/intro my book (& from there all the links I’ve written)

[Anonymous]

Just an update. While away on vacation. I noticed that Justice has 4 teeth coming in all at once. I don’t know if that means he will start sleeping again once they are in. I’m kind of expecting the way he is sleeping now is probably going to be the norm for awhile. It’s much easier for me if I just expect the worst. Thanks for all the comments.

[Author]

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