My four-month-old son is sleeping HORRIBLY the past week or two. One thing: He used to sleep on a nursing pillow, because he has TERRIBLE acid reflux (and is on Prevacid), but he's so close to turning over, i took the pillow away out of fear. so now he sleeps flat on his back... could that be the problem? He wakes up 45 minutes after laying down, and then just CONSTANTLY throughout the night. He's also started to have trouble pooping again.. He was a preemie so he was little and we had to dilate his little rectum to help him poop when he was smaller, and now, it's like he's having the same prob again. He's not constipated; milk of mag doesn't help and his stools are normal when they do come. He just struggles SO much to go, it will keep him up for hours. It did again last night.
Also... a lot of the time he falls back asleep, hard, after i'm holding him. i'm afraid he's getting to where he expects to be held all the time. He's starting to stay with a family member more, and i'm afraid all the people who visit him there just "baby" him TOO much! My mom told me i cried just to be held at night as a baby, and (after making sure i was fed & changed & comfy) they did the method of walking in, talking to me, patting me, walking out, letting me cry longer, walk back in, pat, repeat... but that's easier said than done at 4 am! esp when your baby's pacifier is laying right there and you know you MIGHT be able to calm him with that - only, he'll just drop it in half a minute or less! and then cry more! any suggestions to either part of the sleep problem? Has anyone had this experience? I'm going to BRU to look for a bigger incline than the one we used when he was a newborn, maybe that will help??
By the way... yes, he can hold his head up very well!! And he does sleep better on his tummy, but I havne't talked with the doc since he was a couple of months old about tummy sleeping (she said NO then). he also can roll over from his tummy to his back, though, in seriously a matter of seconds if he wants to (he's a strong baby!) SO...i dont know if he would STAY on his tummy, but you guys have given me food for thought. i'm going to call the doc today and talk to them about tummy sleeping. I mean, he can hold his head up, sit with just a little support and roll over already. I've just been too terrified of SIDS to put him on his tummy except for playtime.
THANKS for all your suggestions. You all were right, just as I had thought too: acid reflux. Like I'd said, I'd taken away the nursing pillow he was sleeping on for fear he'd suffocate himself, and ever since then... hell at night. Last night we put him in his "baby papasan" chair to sleep, we set it in his crib. After two hours of screaming and waking up... that baby fell RIGHT OFF when he was put in his chair.
So i talked to my pedi, and she adamantly said NO to sleeping on his tummy. I have to say, although I know he can roll over from tummy to back, and hold his head up, and sit with support, i'm NOT going to put him on his tummy if the doc says not to. The reason is simple: If I ignore doctor's orders and put him on his tummy, and he dies, well, it's the rest of MY life. And he's so close to flipping himself over... we'll just elevate him until then.
Inclining the mattress did not help. It's a good idea, but practically, it makes no sense: If you were laying straight as a board and someone tilted you at a 45 degree angle, you wouldn't notice much difference in your comfort. But if you're laying straight and someone props you up by BENDING you at the waist (think hospital bed), then you actually notice more comfort right then.
Plus, being in the nursing pillow or in the chair makes him feel, probably, like he's being held in a way. Who sleeps flat on their back, even tilted at an angle?? So that was definitely the answer. He had pooped this morning when he woke up, it is so obvious that's the reason.
But if anyone has any suggestions about propping him up WITHOUT using a nursing pillow - I'm open to suggestion. Like I said, simply tiliting the mattress is just making no difference by itself.
Also, my pedi suggested instead of adding rice to regular formula, that i start trying Enfamil AR, which is "Added Rice" and it's designed to help with AR.
Hopefully that will help too, but there is no doubt that he needs to be propped up - not just inclined - at night.
thanks to everyone! I know his sleep will change... but he sleeps well, as long as he is comfy. Only woke up twice last night and it was just for bottle, the second time, he only wanted a little bit and fell right back asleep.
=)
I think it has to do with his acid reflux. I was told that laying flat on their backs makes it worse for them. So what I did was take away the wedges but under his mattress cover I put an elevated mattress, I don't remember what it is called, it's not the size of a full mattress but it is made to elevate the baby's head while he is laying down to help with his reflux.
The trust you build now by holding him whenever he's fussy will positively effect his self confidence for the rest of his life.
You cannot over 'baby' (spoil) a four month old baby.
In the big picture, infancy is a flash of light. Knowing he can trust you to always be there for him long before he can articulate it is the best possible start for a well adjusted self confident child!
Don't worry, it really WILL pass, and when it's over, you'll be astonished how fast it went by.
Meanwhile, NAP whenever possible, and share the sleeplessness with his father ('s why it takes TWO to make a baby!).
He's a baby he's supposed to be "babied" They grow up so fast cuddle and hold him while can. Watch in 8 months to a yr he won't want to have anything to do with you.
yes it likely has to do with the missing wedge. Comfort him hold him do whatever you have to do, they are babies they cry and they not only need to be fed and changed but they need to be held as well.
Can he lift his head?
Poor dear, I would guess if you place him on his tummy and his head in the corner of the bassinet or crib, he would sleep so much better.. Our daughter could lift her head at about 3 weeks and the Doctor said she could sleep on her tummy.. She slept pretty much through the night at 6 weeks..
At least during one nap today give it a try..you can be right there to keep an eye on him, if it freaks you out.. I have never been able to sleep flat on my back..
You can prop up one end of the crib on bricks or books. That might help with the incline problem for now- until he can move around in the crib.
You can try a little Karo syrup to move the bowels. The syrup moves things along the bowels, hopefully to where he can finish moving them out. Also, I have found that when my daughter cries really hard, she poops. Maybe just let him cry hard a little bit and see if that helps some. Not ideal, but a few minutes of screaming beats crying for hours because he's struggling.
Finally, when he is straining like that, you could just put him on the changing table and let him kick around naked. That sometimes gets things moving- but have a diaper underneath!! You can also push his legs to his chest. I have found this works especially when inserting a rectal thermometer. Again, not ideal but has worked for me with my 10 week old.
Good luck!
Hope this helps!
Both my kids had AR so bad and I had to sleep them both on their tummies. My doctor said the same thing...if they can lift their head its ok. Also, I got an Angle Care monitor just in case. If you don't want to try that you should ask your doctor for the sling so you can prop the mattress up at night and he can sleep at an angle without sliding down to the bottom of the crib. Also, if the AR is bothering him that much...it might be time to bring him in to get his dose adjusted. When they are that little they grow so fast and the does for the meds changes frequently.
Good luck!!!
If he can roll over on his own, it is a natural instinct to turn his head towards air. It's developed with that ability. So if he sleeps well on his tummy and is getting there on his own, you don't need to worry about him suffocating. It's instinctual to not, just like you wouldn't if you slept on your tummy.
This is coming from a pediatrician.
Also, you're at the heart of the developmental fun. Sleep disruptions are part of the territory. Everytime my kids were about to "do" something new (roll over, crawl, walk, etc..) we had a week or two of wakefulness at night. Once they mastered the skill, they would go back to sleeping as normal.
Don't panic, create good habits that you stay consistent with in how you go to him in the middle of the night (don't offer bottles if not hungry...) and it will work itself through.
The acid reflux sounds like the problem. Lying on your back can be extremely painful and unpleasant when you are experiencing reflux. If your son can roll over already, it shouldn't matter that you put him to sleep on his stomach, and that should help him a lot. Elevating the mattress slightly at one end would also help (but mine always move around so much in their sleep, it wouldn't matter).
We have had two children with reflux as babies, and it was always worst at night, making it very difficult for them to get into a good sleeping pattern. Our 2nd child had reflux that went undiagnosed till 18 months, and nights were absolute heck. We thought we were coddling him too much because by that age, our first had been sleeping through the night for half a year. Once he started the prevacid, it was a whole new world for all of us.
Until you have the reflux under control, you can expect to have difficult nights. But even then, not to be discouraging, but realize that the sleep pattern may very well change back and forth until your son is at least a year old (or possibly older), but if you pay close attention to his behavior, you will get good at telling when he's upset because he's hurting or not feeling well and when he's upset because he's not getting his way. Good luck to all of you!
It does sound like you changed his sleeping conditions and he is unused to sleeping horizontally and probably feeling pain or discomfort from the acid reflux. Is he on formula or breast feeding? If you are breast feeding, changing your diet might help if some of the foods you're eating bother him. If he's formula fed, can you try a different formula to help the acid reflux? I would try to prop the mattress up on one end if he will not roll around too much, because he could get stuck in the nursing pillow or a wedge. Letting him sleep in a swing is a good idea too, if he will do that. If you decide to let him sleep on you, you have to commit to that in a safe way, but you can also do the sleep training as your mom did with no traumatic effects, because you are not ignoring his needs, just training him in a new habit. Think of how long it takes you to change a habit! It may take a few sleepless nights but pays off in the long run with full nights of sleep! We have been getting at least 8 hours since our daughter was 4 months. She sleeps between 10-12 hours a night and we are all happier and healthier for it now that she is 15 months.
I didn't expect either of my kids to be UN-'babied' until nearly a yr old. I still do sometimes if it's appropriate cause... My daugher is 7 and my son is 2.5. My kids were coddled for what some might say 'excessively' until about 8mos old. Now... They won't cry unless there's something REALLY wrong.
My guess is the AR. I've had it... NOT PLEASANT! I did NOT sleep at all on the nights I had AR. I just wanted someone to coddle and love on me and I was 24yrs old! I could only sleep in a recliner. If it bothered me that much as an adult, I could only imagine that it would be just horrifyingly miserable for a baby.
I would suggest 'making' a wedge out of blankets or pillows UNDER the mattress to see if it makes a difference.
My son slept in his swing (without it rocking) until he was 8mos old. He slept better there than anywhere else. The transition to the crib was only a hassle for 2 nights which we did on a long weekend... because we anticipated the hassle.
I say if a baby sleeps well one place and it's safe... Let em sleep there until too big or otherwise unsafe.
