Very Restless Infant

Read "The Happiest Baby on the Block." I read it when my daughter was about 5 mos., but wished I had when she was a newborn or before she was born.

There are baby swings,they help rock the baby to sleep. Is he having a bottle before he goes to sleep so his tummy is full? Another thing i tried is using the saucer vibrating chair made by boppy. Baths are also good for the baby before bedtime and will calm them down also. I have a baby swing for sale. It is normally $130 in target and i am willing to sell it for $60. it is in good condition and is already assembled.

I don't know if this will help your little one, but it did mine. When my baby was about that age, we found that he would only sleep with white noise or soft noise. We would put a blow dryer on low or a fan that hums and he would go to sleep. We even did a vacuum cleaner. I know it sounds bizarre, but the noise comforted him. We eventually took those things away and played soft lullabys all night long--also classical music.
The CD player just repeats the same CD all night. He is two and still listens to them every night while he is sleeping. These things were lifesavers. Needless to say, we went through several blow dryers and one vacuum...I believe that there are CD's that you can buy with white noise. We also had to swaddle him tight for a long time. Last resort he would sleep swaddled in his swing. Crazy the things that you sometimes have to do. Some people have told me that the only way to get their baby to sleep was take him for a ride in the car. Seems a little extreme, but might work. Wish I had more advice. Best of luck to you and your little one.

Try swaddling. Have him checked for Acid Reflux. Sing to him and rock him to sleep. Try a clock hanging on the wall that ticks (cheap at walmart). White noise such as fisher price ocean sounds... these worked formy son.
Chris

Have you tried the attachment method? Wearing him during the day in a sling? My daughter was the same way and when I began "wearing" her she loved the attachment. While wearing a sling (there are many different types and varieties) I could still get housework and other things done.
It's an idea.
Good luck.

Hi A.,

Until my daughter was 4 mos, we put her in a sling to help her get to sleep. When she started getting fussy I would put her in and rock back and forth. She loved it and would nap in there for hours. We used the Moby wrap - it was good for Grandma, Dad and me. At night she slept with us.

Good luck!

Hi~ At that age I wore a sling during the day, and when it was time for nap, I would place my lil one in her crib awake, and swaddled.....

Try putting him down BEFORE he seems tired...they usually don't stay awake for more than an hour at that stage...also a tight swaddle with arms down too. My daughter had reflux and would wake herself up as soon as she would lay down...we ended up having her sleep in her car seat until she was 4 months old...it sounds awful, but she slept best in there and often slept through the night.
J. W

you said it your self already. let him fuss until he poops himself out and try to resist the urge to go back in to soothe him when he wakes up. The faster he learns to self soothe the better a sleeper he will become.

good luck

Hi, A.,

I too had a squirmy worm for a newborn who did NOT like to go to sleep or stay asleep.

My first reaction to your flailing problem is that your baby needs a good tight swaddle, done correctly, perhaps with the aid of a velcro SwaddleMe, or similar product. One of the most important things about swaddling is to wrap your baby low, around his shoulders, so the fabric doesn't touch his face at all, which triggers his rooting instinct and prevents him from settling down. And tight tight tight -- there's no such thing as too tight, especially for the squirmy ones (that may sound weird, but I found it to be true for mine). Then rocking him (on his side, not his back), using white noise, a pacifier, etc. all will be more effective.

ALSO: Have you read "The Happiest Baby on the Block"? If not, I recommend it, the sooner, the better: it's a pretty straightforward, quick read. The advice you've gotten so far from the other moms are all addressed in this book in a really clear, helpful way. I'm not really a proponent of books in general (they all seem to be such a mixed bag), but "The Happiest Baby on the Block" is the one book I can totally get behind. I think it may help you (unless, of course, you've read it already and it hasn't).

In any case, GOOD LUCK and best wishes,
H.

I would agree with some of the moms who said he might be getting overtired. I know both of my sons did that if we did not stick to a routine and laying them down when they were starting to get tired, like yawning and rubbing their eyes. Then they not only slept better during the day, but at night as well.

Another thing I would check for is if there is something waking him up. Both of my sons also had acid reflux, the youngest pretty badly, and the youngest has had breathing problems. He could not sleep lying down for the first four months and so he slept in his bouncy chair or swing to elevate him and keep him comfortable. Acid reflux is apparently common in babies, but the youngest would wake up suddenly and scream hysterically, which showed us it was more than just waking up.

Best of luck!

y.

Are you possibly letting the baby get overtired? When my son got overtired he would do those things. We started a routine for him for nap and bedtime that included bath (only at night), reading, etc. Adjust the bedtime/naptime until you get it right. Try to get him in bed asleep before the fussiness starts. I hope that helps.

Suggestions:

I would strongly suggest you talk to your Pediatrician. There might be an underlying medical issue.

Check formula, he might be having problem digesting it. If he is breast feeding maybe you are eating something that disagrees with him. Are you feeding him right before bed? if so what are you giving him? Is the room too cool or warm for him? Is there a noise that he hears in his sleeping area? Does he sleep with you? If so maybe it's time to move him, if you have already moved him maybe it is simply separation pains.
What worked for my boy was soft music - we used classical radio very softly.

I was always a big fan of a nice, soft classical music lullabye CD repeating through the night. I also agree with the "white noise" thing. I often ran a cool mist humidifier in my son's room (almost nightly) and he had no ear infections and it masked OUR household noise a lbit for him, too! Start & keep your same bedtime routine. We called it tubby, bubby, bed! Good luck!

Hi A.,

What worked for my children is giving them their bath just before bed. It would tire them out and they went right to sleep.

I hope this helps?

I. B.

A little about me: I'm a Mom of 4 with my own home based business that my Family loves to help me with.
www.trisharay.candlebizfromhome.com

Hello A.! I have a couple of suggestions for you. My daughter did the 'flail' thing & woke herself up a lot when she was very young. There's not much you can do about that other than swaddling, which doesn't work for every baby. The good news is that they tend to outgrow that pretty early on (my daughter stopped flailing by about 3 months). But, as for the trouble falling asleep...it may be that he is getting over-tired. See if you can recognize the early signs of tiredness, or just try putting him to bed earlier or adding in more naps. It seems weird to say that a baby who can't fall asleep should sleep more but it sometimes works. When children & babies get over-tired, they become more active, rather than lethargic like adults.

Here's what worked for us...up to 3 months, my daughter slept in her carseat most of the time because it cradled her more than the crib. I usually nursed her to sleep & then buckled her into her carseat (or we would put her in the carseat, snap it into the stroller & go for a walk, which often put her to sleep; alternatively, some people try going for a drive). The baby should be buckled in & the seat should be positioned properly (at the same angle as in the car so his head doesn't flop forward - we used rolled blankets to position the carseat). Or if you don't want to try the carseat, try feeding your son as soon as you see any signs that he is tired (yawning, rubbing eyes, whining a little), if feeding puts him to sleep. Up to 3 months of age, I say, do whatever it takes to get a baby to sleep.

BUT...let me give you some advice for after 3 months. Try putting him to sleep when he is awake but drowsy. As soon as you see the signs of sleepiness, do your 'bedtime routine' (which should be consistent for naps & bedtime) and put him in his crib while he is awake but drowsy. A bedtime routine helps signal his brain that it is time for sleep, and it can be as simple as changing him, turning out the lights and singing a quick song or cuddling for a few minutes. We put my daughter in her crib like this & she starting putting herself to sleep very quickly (and we never let her cry herself to sleep, which some people advocate). The key with this is that babies need to learn how to put themselves to sleep because everyone wakes up during the night. You don't usually remember it when you wake because you recognize your surroundings & you go right back to sleep. But if someone moved you to another room while you were sleeping, you would wake up wondering where you were. It's the same with babies. A baby will be confused if he fell asleep being rocked in mom's arms but he is in his crib alone when he wakes during the night. He will cry & you will have to rock him to sleep each time during the night when he wakes.

Anyhow, for now, don't worry about that part & do whatever it takes to get your little one to sleep. It works really well for most babies to transition around 3 months. My daughter has been sleeping through the night (about 12 hours) since around 3 months (and she was only getting breastmilk at that time so breastfeed babies can sleep through the night!) Some people advocate adding cereal to get babies to sleep through the night but hunger is not the problem once they are 3 months or so. The problem is that they don't know how to soothe themselves to sleep.

Good luck! Let us know what works for you!

A. H

My 2 boys were hard to get to go to sleep up until about 7 months old and I would just put them in their swing and that would always work.

I had similar behaviors with my son when he was a baby. Once I started putting him down before he even seemed tired, it made a huge difference. He would become MORE active the more tired he became, so we did not realize how tired he actually was. We did find swaddling very effective with our daughter who came later. The white noise--bathroom fan--worked for him when nothing else seemed to.

It's a little too early to expect him to take consistent naps. You may need to get in a habit of taking him for a walk or drive each morning, or wearing him in a sling, to make sure he is able to get some rest. He will eventually get better with those naps.