won’t nap or sleep at night

[Anonymous]

We have been having a lot of problems with Ben and sleeping. He will not nap or sleep at night (until 11pm) unless he’s being held. When he is put down he thrashes around and pulls his legs up. He grunts and cries. I know it’s reflux related, but I don’t know what to do. My arms are killing me from holding him all the time. I have put him in the sling and Bjorn as well, but he doesn’t do as well as when I’m directly holding him. I talked to my ped today and we’re going to up his dose to 1 1/2 prevacid solutabs given in the morning. He wasn’t convinced of the giving it throughout the day as Marci-Kids suggests. Any suggestions from anyone?

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

all i have to say is hang in there!! it will get better. shane did the same exact thing.. the second i would put him down he would wake.. if not than 10 minutes later! its because they are uncomfortable lying down! soo.. your doing a great job getting his meds upted, but i would do some at night as well.. just dont tell your ped... its not like your overdosing him.. just spreading them apart ..which in my opinion would be safer anyhow.

and is ben lactose intolerant? just wondering because i see his formula. if he doesnt seem to get better on a higher dose i might consider switching him to a hypoallergenic formula and give that a try for a while. but hopefully the meds will give him some relief! again hang in there.. !!

[Anonymous]

I have been there with Cooper. I would split up your prevacid doses if I were you. I would give 7.5mg in the morning and then the 15mg in the evening. The doctor doesn’t have to know how you are giving it. You are still giving the dose he told you to, just in a different manner. I think he is probably having some breakthrough at night and that is why he might not be sleeping. Cooper didn’t take naps or sleep woth a toot until he was 10wks old, but boy did I work at trying to get him to sleep before then. It will get better even if you don’t feel like it will. Good Luck.

[Anonymous]

Yes, I would do the same – give him 1/2 in the am, and a whole solutab in the evening, or even 1/2 a solutab 3 times per day. Are you giving it on an empty stomach and following it up with a feeding 30 minutes later? This is very important and docs and pharmacists often don’t tell you.

About the lacto free formula; it’s actually quite rare for babies to be lactose intolerant. Mother’s milk contains lactose. Do you know for sure he’s lactose intolerant? It’s more common for babies to be MSPI (milk / soy protein intolerant). This means they cannot digest the proteins in milk. You might want to try a hypo formula like Alimentum.

I hope that helps some and I hope your little guy is feeling better soon. Be sure to look at Laura’s intro link (stickied in the Introduce Yourself Forum). It has lots of valuable information which may help you.

[hellbennt]

are you holding him upright in his sling? http://www.thebabywearer.com/forum is a wonderful resource

to see how to put your baby upright in a sling (the position is called tummy to tummy)- look at this video- you keep his legs tucked in like a little frog http://www.oopababy.com/videos.php

[Anonymous]

We are giving him the lactose free formula just b/c the ped said soy was more constipating. How/where do you get the hypo kind? Is it at regular stores? As for the dosing…we are trying to do 30 min before a feed, but sometimes it’s hard. Does it make more sense to give the 7.5 first thing and then the 15mg, or other way around? It’s all so confusing! I am so glad I have found this forum. You all are so helpful and supportive! I really appreciate it!

[Anonymous]

I don’t use formula, but I know you can get both Nutramigen and Alimentum at regular stores.

As for the dosing, if you are only giving two doses, I would do the 7.5 in the morning and the 15 at night because acid tends to be a bigger issue during the night and when they are lying down. Really though, it might be the most beneficial to break it up into three doses of 7.5 given throughout the day.

[Anonymous]

I’d probably do 7.5 mgs three times per day too. And I’d try Alimentum (a hypo formula). You can buy it anywhere you buy baby formula. The hypo formulas have broken down proteins which make them easier to digest. (They are broken down further in hypo formulas than they are in Goodstart or Gentlease).

[Anonymous]

I agree with everyone above about the dosing of the Prevacid – either 1/2 tab in the morning and 1 tab in the evening, or 1/2 tab three times a day if that works out well for Ben’s schedule.

Do you and the doctor suspect Ben has MSPI (milk soy protein intolerance)? It certainly does seem to be pretty common in our little refluxers. I know, as the above moms have said, that lactose intolerance is rare in babies, but my son Ben has been lactose intolerant from birth, so don’t rule it out completely. We had a really hard time finding an appropriate formula for him (and he reacted horribly to my breast milk) because the lactose free formula has the milk or soy proteins in it, and the common hypoallergenic formulas (Nutramigen and Alimentum) have lactose. If your little guy is both lactose intolerant and MSPI, then your options are Pregestimil (like Nutramigen but has no lactose or sucrose) or an elemantal formula like Neocate.

Both of my babies were (and Paige still is) horrible sleepers, both for naps and at night. While Prevacid and changes in formula helped with a lot of the reflux and MSPI symptoms, their sleep was still terrible. I’m not saying this to discourage you, but I want you to know you aren’t alone, and maybe pass on some tips that have helped us a bit. I found that swaddling helped (untill they get older and want to move around more) and if I could get them to sleep with rocking, then I could put them directly in their swing and they would usually sleep quite a bit better. Some other moms say they found their little ones liked to sleep in a bouncy chair as well. Elevating the head of the crib or bassinet can help as well.

Good luck!

[Author]

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