No Napping = Cranky?

RUN and get the book "The Happiest Bay On The Block" by Dr. Harvey KARP. He talks about 5 ways to soothe a crying/colick baby. In a nutshell; swaddeling, sucking, shushing, swaying and holding sideways. He may have a website . . .
Good Luck!

Look at what you are eating . Stay away from gassy thing cabbage, broccoli etc. and chocolates. Otherwise call the doctor. You might have to try a formula that is easier on the little ones tummy.

He sounds uncomfortable. I don't know much about GERD, but I know that my little one was sensitive to milk products. Once we discovered this, by doing a food diary, I eliminated milk from my diet (I was nursing) and she was a much happier baby. You might want to put on your investigator hat and try to figure out if there is something that is making him gassy or uncomfortable. Did you change anything you ate in the last 3 weeks?

There is nothing wrong with being in the 100th percentile.........when he starts to crawl and walk his weight will adjust. He does sound like he has colic........so 2 suggestions. Rub a little warm olive oil on his tummy and see if that helps. If you have a great homeopathic store in your area you might just want to pop in and ask for some help (they are usually wonderful places). There is nothing wrong with nursing a child to sleep provided you are comfortable with that it will not create a bad habit, but I wouldn't do it past six months (he should adjust long before that time). Being a preemie you need to adjust for that so he is really developmentally only about 6 weeks old. If you are tired (and I am sure that you are) and cranky and feel stress so will he. Ask a friend for some help if possible, then you go take a nice long shower or bubble bath and relax. Trust me when tell you all of this will pass.
I have three children and I nursed all of them to sleep and they are just fine with no problems. If you have further questions please feel free to email me back.

Penny Amic CEO/Clinical Director
Special Beginnings, Inc.
An Early Intervention Network

Hi Erica,
One thing that worked wonders with my 3 babies who are now between 4 and 8 years old; was a warm bath, soft music, and 1 drop of lavinder oil on the bottom of each foot then a pair of socks. The lavinder, music, and the binky may just do it. I have a son with APD and it worked even for him. I wish you and baby the best, and hope this helps.
Blessings,
A. P

I don't know anything about GERD, but don't sweat nursing him to sleep. I nursed my son to sleep most of the time for the first year. At about 4 months I gradually started to put him down immediately after nursing when he was drowsy/sleeping, but not in a deep sleep yet. Within a few weeks he was okay with this & would stay asleep after laying him down.

I agree with the other mama about trying an elimination diet to see if something you're eating is upsetting his tummy. Dairy is typically #1 for stomach upset so I'd start with that. Great job on nursing!

Pacies are great for GERD babies. My youngest has GERD. He's 15 months and we're starting to try to wean him off his meds very slowly.

Does he have gas? A big side effect of Gerd is gas. My little guy needed stronger gas meds 3 times a day. Does he poop? Constipation is another problem (as well as the opposite). You can try gripe water. I hear amazing things about it.

My son also slept with the head of his crib up on about 3.5 inches of books. Basically you need the head of the crib at an angle of about... well, the head should be around 3.5 to 4 inches up. This helped a lot. I made sure the crib was balanced and it couldn't tip or anything. Mine slept like that until about 10 months until he was too active for me to trust it. It really helped him.

As for bad habits, he will have them. there's only so much you can do with a gerd baby. They hurt. You really shouldn't let them cry it out unless you know for sure everything is under control. (plus your guy is too small). And just to let you know, I'm big on routines and self soothing. My oldest is great at it, great sleeper. But each child has their own way and a Gerd baby just needs more attention.

Listen, do whatever works. Seriously. At this age he needs to rest and feel happy. Yes, try a pacifier or a swing in addition to the nursing. Warm baths, warming him with a hairdryer, car rides...whatever! I worried about "bad habits" too but I life became sooo much easier when I just gave up thinking and started doing. Good luck.

I don't know if anyone mentioned this already, but the only problem with nursing a GERD baby to sleep, is laying them down right after eating will make the GERD worse. We used to hold our sons (yep- both had it badly) upright for at least 20 minutes before laying them down at all after a feed. I think this was an important detail. Also- our Pediatric Gastroenterologist said that the GERD peaks at 4 months, and we noticed that after 4 months it did slowly improve. I hope you can get some help, so you can get a break- it's a hard beginning as we well remember.
All the best,
S.

Could he be teething or have an ear infection?
Otherwise, do whatever works--paci, soft music, white noise, calming baths. Will he sleep in his carrier? You might try that.

babies can start teething by 3 months. My 3 month old baby girl is teething too, I'm almost sure. I talked to her Ped and they said I could give her infant tylenol or infant motrin. I started that 3 days ago and she sleeps great again. You can also rub baby anbesol on the gums and that will help. It's worth a try.

Pacifier. He obviously wants to suck. It doesnt matter what the "experts" say. I did this with all three of my children and there was NO nipple confusion. He may not want it at first. Put it in his mouth and gently tap it until he drifts off. It will keep it in his mouth. He may still want to swaddle also. try a tightly wrapped blanket.

No napping can definitely make a more cranky baby. My son has always had issue napping, since he was 2 months old (now 19 months). The only thing that would work was to nurse him to sleep in bed with me. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that for quite a while, and then after a while I was worried about nursing him to sleep and stopped, so he stopped napping again. Do what works for you and don't worry about forming a bad habit. Even if you do, you can always break it later, and sleep is so important. My son was always so cranky, but getting a good nap in really helps. It even helps him sleep better at night, he used to be so tired at night he would get really crazy and start falling over himself, and get hurt, now he is more calm at night, and will just go right to bed. One more thing, he is still weird about napping, he won't do it in his crib, so I nurse him to sleep (only for naps), and lay him on my bed. Works every time, and he will sleep for hours that way. Not the best thing, but it works for us. The crying/screaming thing on wake up is also normal, my son still does that when he wakes up in his crib (not when he wakes up in our bed though). Some babies wake up happy, other don't.

Wash your finger well (get all soap residue off), and put your finger in his mouth, if he starts chewing on it (not sucking), he is probably teething. I like the Hyland's teething gel, works great, and much longer than the teething tablets.

As a momma of a preemie and GERD baby, I went through the exact thing. I remember trying everything...I switched his formula from regular to soy, What helped my son was sleeping with his crib on a angle . His head is a bit elevated, and his body is angled. This helped a bit as well. I also became so desperate that I would take a drive and let him sleep. He slept great in the car. I know its not the best, but it helped with the rest of the day. I couldn't put up with the cranky baby...so when we'd go for a drive our days were a bit better...or even for a walk. The motion and fresh air might help. Remember its just a phase...he'll out grow it. I thought it would never get better...But my son is almost 3 and those days are just memories now.

Best of Luck

My baby had GERD and it helped if I bounced on a fitness ball with her. Other thing that helped soothe her was the sound of the hairdryer. Every baby is different but thought you could try these if you haven't yet!

Have you considered a pacifier? They can help soothe, at three months you should be past the nipple confusion phase? They are actually recommended for use during sleeping for reducing the risk of SIDS.

There is baby Zantac, you can ask your pediatrician for a prescription if you're not already on it. I would also use Mylicon drops or a generic version - gas causes sleeping issues for a LOT of babies, and Mylicon drops are gentle and safe.

Also, I've read that when you lay a baby down with reflux you should lay them down on an angle. They sell baby wedges for this.. or you can set the mattress in the crib to be on an angle. (Set one side on a higher notch) Make sure the babies head is on the raised side (obviously) This helps with the discomfort caused by reflux.

If it's teething, they also have homeopathic teething tablets now. They are 100% natural, no side effects and they work very well.

i wish you talked about what meds if any he is on. prevacid is the med that is working for us and lot of our friends. reflux can be really painful and meds can make all the difference. try the bed angle and maybe elimination diet of a few of the main things (dairy, spicy food, acidic food) first, then talk to the doc about meds if none of those work.

Hi E.,

Poor you and poor baby! We had this issue with our son and he was put on meds for his reflux. The only thing that really helped much was for his to sleep elevated (usually on my chest as I reclined on the couch)...

Don't worry about starting bad habits at this age. You can't hold him enough at this age. I'd check in with your Dr and/or see if your area has any early intervention services for preemies.

Good luck!