&Micro Preemie Sleep Pattern

http://www.secretsofbabybehavior.com An eye-opener for any parent :)

Get some help, mama. Family, friends, etc. It's amazing how a good support system can make things so much easier!

My baby is also 7 months old, and she still wakes a few times a night to nurse. I can imagine it would be more difficult with a preemie. Dr. Sears has some excellent infant sleep advice that may help you:

http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/parenting/sleep-problems

Especially here it explains why "high needs babies sleep differently" section:
http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/sleep-problems/5-reasons... :

5 Reasons Why High-Need Infants Sleep Differently

"Why do high-need children need more of everything but sleep?" a tired mother once asked me. Until we had a high-need infant, I would have guessed that these babies would be worn out by the end of the day and would actually need more sleep; certainly, their parents do. A tired father once told me, "When it comes to sleep, I'm a high-need parent." Here's why high-need babies sleep differently.
1. Different temperament
The same tense temperament that causes daytime neediness results in nighttime restlessness. These babies come wired differently, day and night. Their supersensitive nature during the day carries over into their sleep habits during naps and nights. Their keen awareness and curiosity about their environment carries over into being awake and aware at night. It seems these babies have some internal bright light that stays on all day and isn't easily turned off at night.
2. Different stimulus barrier
Ever wonder why some infants can fall asleep and stay asleep amid the noise of a party, while others awaken when you tiptoe quietly past their bed? This is because babies have different stimulus barriers, which is the ability to block out disturbing sensory stimuli. Some babies have an amazing ability to block out sensory overload, as if they conclude, "I can't handle all this commotion, I'm tuning out." They fall asleep. High-need babies can't rely on sleep to retreat from sensory overload. Instead, they overreact.

Not only does an immature stimulus barrier keep babies from going to sleep; it interferes with their staying asleep. Infants with a maturer stimulus barrier may sleep through a slight discomfort, such as being too cold, too hot, slightly hungry, or even lonely. These nighttime discomforts awaken highly sensitive babies.
3. Different transitions
High-need babies don't transition easily. They don't willingly switch gears. Going from arms to carseat to arms to shopping cart is hard for them. Going from the state of being awake to sleep is a major behavioral transition, one these infants can't make without a lot of help. While you can put some infants down in their crib and they fall asleep, high-need babies have to be deeply asleep before you can put them down. Even with older high-need children, their minds race so quickly at bedtime (the time you assign for them), that they cannot wind down without parental help.
4. Different sleep maturity
Young infants spend much of their sleeping time in a light sleep state called REM sleep from which they are easily awakened. During the night infants normally alternate light sleep with deep sleep stages, switching from light sleep to deep sleep and back to light sleep as often as every hour. When making the transition between deep and light sleep infants go through a vulnerable period in which they are easily awakened. As infants mature, the deep sleep stages lengthen, so that by four to six months they sleep for longer stretches. High-need babies seem to take longer to develop sleep maturity. They are more prone to awaken during the vulnerable periods of transition from one sleep stage to another. Yet high-need infants often seem to be totally "zonked" when they are in the stage of deep sleep. Eventually, these infants are able to spend more time in deep sleep, yet they do not "sleep through the night" as early as less sensitive babies.

"I soon realized that my baby's sleep problem was really society's problem, the fault of its expectations that babies will sleep through the night. My problem was that she wasn't sleeping as expected by me or by the cultural norms."
5. Different nighttime needs
Craving constant physical contact and not being able to self-soothe are characteristics of high-need babies during the daytime. They are also nighttime features. High-need babies demand whatever day and night parenting style gives them a sense of well-being, and that usually means sleeping in physical contact with someone, preferably mother. They won't surrender to any arrangement that takes them out of their mother's arms, not even a much-needed nap. It seems that they need a womb-like environment at night as well as during the day. But just to be inconsistent, as high-need babies get older, the nighttime closeness itself can stimulate them into waking easily. High-need babies also have a high degree of separation anxiety, which can contribute to problems with going to sleep.

"He wouldn't even settle sleeping next to me. He had to sleep on me."

I can't help much, but to tell you that you are not alone. I have a feeling that you should qualify for help from social services for all that you have to do.

I also recommend the Fussy Baby Site on Facebook. I joined here because I also have a fussy baby, and they can really help give moral support, even if its only online. They have specific issues like yours and have been there.

Remember, this too shall pass!

I'm sorry I don't have a direct answer to your question, but I wanted to mention (if you did not already know) that there is an online support group for parents of preemies at http://www.inspire.com/groups/preemie/
If you don't get the answers you need on this site, you might find parents with more relevant experience on that one.
Best of luck to you and your family.

I am not sure if you are co-sleeping or not but if you aren't--I would start. Having your baby next to you, feeling, smelling and being right by you will help her get adjusted. Babies can tune their own heartbeats to match their mama's--so if you bring her to bed with you, you should be able to settle her down and get her to sleep more. One thing that helps me is to do a dream feed right before I go to bed. Around 11 or 12, I go and feed my baby asleep. She sleeps longer and I get a good solid stretch before she wants to eat again.

As far as support--can you go to church? Find some friends there? Mother's group? Breastfeeding group? Hope this helps. Good luck.

I don't know if you work or are home with the kids. You need to find a church where you could find some friends and also some help. If I was close I'd love to help you. My first baby was a preemie but not that early and it was so much work. It took him a long time to eat too. Could you feed the baby and then put the bed next to yours so you don't have to go so far and then maybe go back to sleep easier? You really need some help. Are you nursing or bottle feeding? Once my baby was this old he slept in the night but like I said he wasn't that early. Try to rest when you can in the day if you are not working and home. If you work then try to put your 3 year old down early and go to bed with her and maybe get some rest then. All I can say is it will some day be not so hard.

Aww, I hope it gets better!! So hard when they are up every hour! She couldn't be teething yet, right? Sounds like you really need a break to rest. My friend was in a similar boat but her husband traveled. She got a baby-sitter from on-line. They do background checks. She was home with the baby and sitter working at first and then would go out and the sitter would come. Or maybe if you know someone who's a teacher they could recommend a teen that's responsible.

Wish I could help!

our tot was born at 28 weeks..in our bathroom, dont despair the waking every hour so because they are hungry is actually a good sign..just feed them a then put them back to sleep
K. h.