My 4 Week Old Doesn't Sleep for More That 30 Min. at a Time

I wish this forum had been around when my cranky, non-sleeping daughter was born! She, too would not sleep, and I kept telling the pediatrician who just shrugged it off as "normal", and said the baby had colic.

It took years to untangle all the pieces. She was diagnosed with migraines at age 2, and I have read that a lot of very young children with migraines got diagnosed with colic as infants. The other thing is she also had problems with allergies, gluten, etc although at the time she was just being breast-fed!

You must be beyond exhausted!

Hi
I have to agree with some of the other mothers. My son could not nurse b/c of nerve damage and could not handle milk based formula b/c it made him constipated. We put him on the Nutramigan by Enfamil (Almentimum is similar by Similac) and he was fine after that....

you CANNOT spoil a 4 week old. He is crying for a REASON. hopefully you can get this worked out and I would highly recommend getting a sling...had to use it with both of my boys.

if I can find my old sling you are welcome to it, I am done with it...just have to find it since we just moved a few days ago. email me privately.
J.
(____@____.com)

Hi, once again you cant spoil a 4 week old. Make sure when you try to get the baby to sleep you turn off all the lights. Swaddle them good and tight at that age. The SHH works really well but if you get tired of going shhh all day which i know i did. There a womb puppy. It plays noise that imitates the sounds in the womb and works wonderfully on my daughter who is almost 5 months. We started using it around 4 works and til this day it still helps. Also around that age laying her on her stomach and gently patting her bottom may help get her to sleep. Then roll her when you feel its safe. Hope this help and Good luck!

The other Moms have had some great advice! I just wanted to second their outcries about anyone saying you are spoiling your child ... you can't spoil a 4 week old! And, babies cry for a reason. Something is bothering him, as I'm sure even your sweet baby doesn't want to be awake that much! Poor thing ... and poor Mommy!

Can you have a friend, relative, etc. come over and give you a break for at least a few hours so you can get some much-needed rest? Sleep deprivation (esp. at that level) can really get to you ... and you need to take care of yourself, as well, so you can take care of your kiddos!

I would definitely try some of the other posters' suggestions ... especially regarding the formula, sleeping ideas, etc. Plus, my kids hardly ever run a fever when they are sick (even really sick), so it might be worth a trip to the doctor anyway just to make sure.

Best wishes to you ... I hope he starts sleeping better soon (and you, too!). Please keep us posted.

Hey J.,

I want to clear up something from the start...you cannot spoil a 4 week old baby! I usually don't say things like this...but whoever told you that is ridiculous!

Anyway, I swear...that sounds like my son. For about the first 6 weeks, I would cry about all day long off and on while my husband was at work. One day I seriously thought about handing the baby to him and running away! He witnessed several of my crying/screaming melt-downs!

I was like you, just exhausted. My son would sleep in 30 min. spurts off and on throughout the day, then he would be awake from about 10 PM to around 4 AM every night! I thought I was gonna just lose it several times.

I do remember that right around 6 to 7 weeks, things started to calm down. He started getting his days and nights pulled together somewhat and would sleep for at least 2 to 3 hours at a time.

My son's issue was colic and over-stimulation. My suggestion is to not use any music or lights of any kind. Take him into a room that is not very well lit and just rock him. With my son, the more I tried things, the worse it got. I would have to take him into his nursery and rock with the lights off and nothing going but his heartbeat bear or the dishwasher. I couldn't talk and sing.

I HIGHLY recommend The Happiest Baby On the Block by Dr. Harvey Karp. It talks about how to transition the baby from the womb into being a baby in the world around him. The ideas in this book really started to pull me through and give me ideas to cope. Also, sleep training books like Babywise, those did nothing but make him and me frustrated.

I can tell you that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Coming from a mom who has been there!! Believe me. Hang in there, it will start to let up soon!

Oh, and one more thing. Baby's bowel movements start to slow down b/t 4 to 6 weeks to 1 every day to every other day. So that part is normal.

First I am going to tell you who ever told you you are spoiling your baby is wrong. you are doing the right thing by answering your babies call every time he cries. lots of studies have been done to tell us that babies up to 3 months at the least cry and need to know they can trust you to answer that cry. other wise your child will tend to be more clingy at an older age. as for the every 30 min wake ups that drove me nuts too. I had to do the same thing get my husband to get up once in the night for me just to keep my sanity. He is probably going through a growth spurt. My baby ate every hour sleeping only 10 to 20 min for 3 days and than the next 3 days she was not very interest in eating but she screamed and screamed and when she slept she was fussy. I brought her to the doctors and she had grown 2 inches. the doctor told me wouldn't you fuss if you grew that fast!! so just breath in the good vibes and out the bad. if you are like me and even though you are exhausted you are too worried to sleep call your doctor. Make sure every thing is ok! the poop problem is probably the baby getting used to the new milk. even though he pooped once formula is much harder to digest for babies ask your doctor if you can add prune juice to his bottle. I can not remember what week you can start that. With all of the children I nannied once the doctor gave the ok for prune juice I put a little in every bottle of formula. It helped the children pass their stool it is especially helpful once they start on cereal. but formula fed babies tend to get bound up a lot get a good gas drop too. that will help with the fussiness.

We had the same problem and discovered our son had reflux. The doctor put him on Zantac and we switched to Good Start formula, he became less gassy and stopped throwing up half his bottle. Also try elevating his bed, they make a wedge that goes in the cribe between the sheet and the matttress. Also make sure to feed him and then keep him elevated for at least 30 minutes after before putting him down. He is too young to be spoiled, and too young to let cry to break any possible habits. If you get him on different formula and medicine and he doe snot get better, when he is older you may have to let him cry himself to sleep. my husband and I went through all of this and at three months we had to let him cry, we did check on him and let him know that we were there. After three days he was sleeping 10 to twelve hours at night and still to this day does, at three years old. Hang in there it will get better.

Oh, you do have my sympathies. I second the recommendation for "The Happiest Baby on the Block" - it worked for my son pretty well. Basically, it involves swaddling your baby (even if they seem to fight it), going "SHHHH" very loudly to them (sounds like they're back in the womb), and swinging and rocking them into sleep. It is very, very hard to figure out what will work for your baby, and it's all very different for each child. My son at that age wanted to sleep stomach to stomach with me, so I found myself in the recliner most of the time with the TV on or with a book, while he slept. If I moved at all, he would wake up. And like yours, he only slept on and off for 30-45 minutes at a time.

And I agree with the poster who said you can't spoil a baby at 4 weeks. That's just... well @#$%#$%.

You've got a lot on you with two children. BE sure to keep an eye out for post-partum depression,and talk to a counselor if you need to. The lack of sleep I'm sure isn't helping. If you need to, hire someone to help you out in the house and with your other child part-time so that some of the load's off your shoulders.

I don't know what kind of formula you are using but he could be allergic if it's milk based. We switched our 1st 2 kids to soy formula, smells horrible but less tummy aches. Also my 1st one was constantly having nasty nose issues and ear infections. Also look at your library for baby massage books. Sometimes their little bodies are just uncomfortable, birth is a major ordeal for them and massages help relax them, and you, and help in other areas such as pooping.

Good luck to you & congrats on the new one!

I had the same "symptom" with my first....

For the first 6 monhts of his life, my son would LITERALLY sleep no longer than 20 minutes at a time, three hours consecutive for the day. He screamed nonstop. There were several reasons with him, which I'll outline, but it only stopped when I put him on Alimentum from Simmilac, a completely synthetic formula.

Initially, the screaming was a result of hunger - I just couldn't seem to make enough milk. Once I gave him his first bottle of formula, at about four weeks, the insistence of his screaming lessened a bit. The hunger was satiated.

He also was born with a hernia and reflux, both of which he still has at almost-seven. I try to limit his intake of dairy while making sure he drinks enough to get the calcium he needs - which is hard since he loves milk and sneaks it every chance he gets. My sister (at 30) has had reflux all her life, though, and has had several operations as a result thus I am scared to let him have too much.

Finally, he was born with TONS of allergies, tho by five he's grown out of most of them. He did have a milk allergy initially, but that was resolved by three.

Don't worry - it won't last forever, but having just had another one a year ago yesterday, I know it sure seems like it!! If you have to demand that your husband take him, do so - you need sleep and good mental health to take care of your babies. As a single mom, I hired a babysitter a few times and asked my parents to watch him a few times just so I could sleep. If you have family close, try that too. You need a break from the screaming. And when all else fails, put him down in his crib, close the door, and walk outside for a few minutes. It seems cruel but he's not going to stop crying and again, you need a break.

Not that it ever worked for us, but try gripe water, and read The Happiest Baby as previously suggested. And I would try formula supplementation and if you already are, try alimentum. It's expensive but given the change in my son after we switch to it, well worth it.

Good luck! And don't listen to the old biddy who told you you were spoiling your newborn!!

Honey I know what your going through and it sounds like your baby has the colic. My daughter did the same thing. She never slept and she cried all the time, especially at night. Her doctor diagnosed her with the colic and acid refux. He gave her Zantac, but it didn't help. My son was an angel but he suffered from a sluggish bowel. He couldn't poop on his own till he started crawling. The doctor said that when he started crawling that it would build up his muscles in his bowels to give him the umph to go poo. You might want to talk to your doctor about glycerine suppositories. They work very good. Good luck and get plenty of rest cause if momma ain't happy ain't nobody happy.

J.

I am responding from the perspective of my work as a CranioSacral Therapist (www.upledger.com for some info on this therapy). CST addresses the body as a whole and behavior that you are describing is a message from the baby that something is really uncomfortable in his body. Babies do not cry for no reason... and a refusal to sleep is not a choice.

CST is very gentle and allows the body to release stuck places in tissue, muscles, organs, bones, the nervous system that prevent the body from its natural motion. Birth is a very difficult journey for the baby (not to mention for the mom!). So many little places in the baby's body get twisted and turned. And then, once out, they are poked and prodded in ways that sometimes create restrictions. The nervous system of an infant is not fully developed and the baby must rely on your nervous system for some things. However, the lack of sleep will truly affect the baby's growth and development.

If you wish to, please go to the website www.upledger.com and click on Find a Practitioner. Type in your city and state and look at who is available in your area. Please call and check to see that the person you have selected is trained on treating infants and ask them to share some of their experiences with babies.

CST is not a quick fix; it relies on working with the baby's body so gently. Please give it a few sessions. It is wondrous to watch when the baby finally releases and reorganizes to find comfort. You will think you have a brand new baby again!

Good luck.
P.

for starters...you cannot spoil a 4 week old baby. babies cry and they need comforting. formula babies can be very prone to contipation beacuse of the iron in the formula or he could have a sensitivity to milk/lactose. try a lactose free or soy based version and see if that helps. if he starts to get backed up again, put a couple of spoon fulls of dark karo syrup in his bottle. it'll help get things moving...or give him soem prune juice, that'll help too. also, make sure you're establishing a good bed time routine...bath, lotion rub down, story, bottle snuggles. it should help calm him down and settle him to sleep. try using the johnson's soothing bed time products...they worked beautifully for my daughter. he may be having a growth spurt too. it can affect there sleeping patterns...some babies will sleep more that usualls and others don't want to sleep at all. you seem to be doing everything accordingly and don't be afraid to enlist hubbies help...it's his baby too and you are entitled to a break.

Hey J.!
About that reflux. Did you medicate for it? You don't have to see it for it to still be happening. There is such a thing as "silent reflux." Reflux is aggravated by laying down. I am a pediatric feeding therapist and deal with this all the time. I have a link to reflux/GERD on my website that you might want to check out and see if your little one is fitting any of the symptoms. Reflux is a nightmare to live with for both the child and the parent and if caught early enough can change both of your lives! I usually recommend that parents talk to their pediatrician about trying out a medication for a couple weeks to rule it out. If they do better on the medication then you know that it was reflux. If there is no change, then it is something else and you and your pediatrician can explore additional potential problems.
Good luck and let me know if you have any questions. I would be glad to help.
J. M.
www.jennifermcveyslp.com