Sleeping Advice

pnga ope unces of warm water in a bottle and swirl peppermint candy in it for a bit. Thishelped my kids.

I would also suggest making some changes to your diet. Especially try cutting out all dairy for a while and see if it helps his gas. It will take at least a few days to see any changes. Broccoli, beans, and garlic can also cause gas problems for nursing babies. Everyone has to find their own way but I was never a proponent of cry it out. I would keep trying to find the cause of the gas or maybe he really is really hungry right now. Babies do go through growth spurts where they eat a lot more than usual. Good luck, lack of sleep is the worst.

It might also be teething if the baby isn't obviously hungry or grunting/burping/farting (if as you said the gas drops don't help).

My son cut his lower teeth at 4 months...but it's when you *can't* see the teeth (when they are pushing up from below the gum-line) that they apparently hurt like the dickens.

If it didn't seem like gas to me, I would try teething tablets (homeopathic) and if he was still up and they didn't seem to work I moved on to infant's Tylenol at the dose recommended by my pediatrician for his weight. Usually my sons teething symptoms also included diahhrea, INSTANT and really BAD diaper rash, and sometimes a runny nose/mild fever (when he had no other cold symptoms), so when he had this combo I was pretty certain I could skip the gas meds and go straight to teething pain relief.

Like others, we went through the same/similar thing at 3 mos with our now 4 month old and I think that really, it just kind of passed...I didn't (couldn't) do the cry it out but I did try to distinguish between him needing to burp/gas and nursing. My husband was great and HE took him and tried burping him/patting him first and if that didn't work, I nursed him. (If I took him, it was autopilot for eating.) It was tiring for both of us to be up but after a week or two the gas situation went away and he cut down his feedings. (He was also eating every 2 hours). Double bonus! Our pediatrician told us at 3 mos if he cries - feed him. If he's just grunting and seems uncomfortable like he has gas...pat him on the belly, back, burp him, etc...and put him back down. After a week of husband help - we moved onto that stage, where we followed that advice and it worked for us. I didn't change my diet because I was too oblivious/tired to figure that one out. Trust that it will pass sooner or later -- and don't feel pressure to do the cry it out method if you are not comfortable with it. Sending the sleep-gas-free gods your way! good luck.

Hi there,

I know it is hard and you feel like a zombie from lack of sleep but it will get better! Just continuing to provide security and loving responses to your baby is going to pay off in the long run-he will thrive, and so will you and your relationship with him. I don't think there is reason to suspect that there is something pathological about your little tiny new baby's sleep pattern-this sounds very typical. I just encourage you to think of yourself as the heroine of this epic journey of new motherhood. There is not enough acknowledgment of how tough it is, and what hard work mothers have to do during this time..best to you during this arduous time. It won't stay like this! (there will be new challenges!.....)

It could be something you're eating, if you are breastfeeding. If not see if the doctor will let you change formula because the baby could need lactose free formula.

But try lying the baby on his back and rolling the knees slightly bent toward the stomach (like riding a bicycle exercise) the gas will escape.

Try putting the baby across your lap and massage in a circular motion on the babies back.

I hope you get some sleep.

No advice here, just empathy! My son (now 3 and a great sleeper) didn't sleep 7 hours in a row until after his first birthday (right about 14 months actually), and didn't consistantly sleep long enough for ME to sleep through the night until after 2 years old.

I found some readings about healthy sleep habits very helpful (even though I didn't have a baby or young toddler with sleep habits that were easy for me to deal with, he did develop healthy feelings toward sleep and is now a very easy sleeper).

Hang in there.

T.

Your baby is used to being in your belly for most of his life and will take his own time finding his schedule probably. But you can help by guiding him and keeping opportunities open to him. What I mean is to keep comforting him at night (crying it out is too early)- maybe with a baby belly oil to rub counter clockwise (facing him) on his tummy- before you react with nursing? sing? This does happen for a short durration with most babies, as did with my two.
once he gets interested in the world around him he will become exhausted and will want to sleep longer. Make sure he has belly time and lots of you talking to him while staring into each others eyes. I know it may sound strange but he's interested in your face and voice, lights, black and white shapes, gentle sounds , and lots of belly touch.
keep reading too
Take care, and wishing you the best

You may want to check your diet if nothing else is working for you, I had a strict diet until about 4-6wks ago my baby is now 8mts old. Are you eating beans, brocolii, dairy, chocolate? Anything that may give you gas and will also pass through your milk and straight to him.I gave up lots of vegetables and slowly incorporated them back he seems to have no problems now. Good luck.

Have you ruled out acid reflux problems?

Hi D.,
I agree with the others that this will pass, but I'm not sure when. I now have a five month old daughter who seemed to have the same problem when she was 2-3 months. The only thing that helped me was cutting out all gaseous foods from my diet.. no garlic, beans, broccoli, cabbage, onions. I was pretty diligent about it which made my life a little bland, but it was worth it for her. Now at five months I can eat whatever I want, but she still wakes up every 2-3 hours. I still working on it, and I'm hoping patience is the answer.

I guess it depends on his weight and if he's waking to nurse because he's hungry.... Our little guy wouldn't sleep for the 5 hour stretch until he weighed close to 14-15 lbs... at about 5+ months... Good luck!

I sympathize deeply because my son was the exact same way. I think the hardest thing to accept is that 3 month olds, many of them, just don't sleep that well. Their nervous systems are too sensitive. I know there are babies who do by this time, but mine sure didn't. Do you swaddle him? I found my son slept better when he was in a swaddle that he couldn't get his hands out of--we had to buy the special blanket from Harvey Karp's website (author of happiest baby on the block books) because they're like little strait jackets--but they work great. Other than that--can someone else get up with him at least once in the night? That could help you.

Hang in there. It gets better!