Hi there,
When our daughter was born 25 months ago, she was a terrible sleeper...I drove myself crazy and asked about ten thousand questions on this website (and hence, probably drove all of you crazy, too!). Her patterns were so erratic and she had screaming fits throughout the night...at some point we just gave up and went with it and stopped trying so hard to fix everything and she began sleeping through the night at 16 months old...and has been since. Now we have a 3 week old with a much different temperament..and I've vowed to be a more relaxed mom when it comes to this stuff. Yes, .he is easier to soothe than she was and doesn't have episodes throughout the night of inconsolable crying like she did. I put him in the bassinet and he seems to do an okay stretch before waking next. After that, though, it's downhill. When he wakes, I nurse him in bed with me but when I put him back, he tosses, turns, is irritable and I repeat the scenario 3 or 4 more times before either A. giving up and letting him sleep next to me, or B. he settles down in his basinett....but this can take a long time of trying. What am I doing wrong? Why does it take so many tries before he falls back asleep? Like our daughter, he's not a big fan of the pacifier, and I don't want to go out and buy a million different ones like I did with her, only to have him reject them all. He does seem gassy and I've tried gripe water...maybe I'm not burping him enough? Maybe he's eating too much and when he wakes, I should try other ways of getting him back to sleep? Or, maybe I just need to go with it and trust that things will change in the coming weeks...or not! Thanks for the help!
have you tried swaddling? That worked wonders with my daughter, she was swaddled for 9 months. Before that she was a cat napper.
How does he sleep when he is next to you?
I don't think you are doing anything 'wrong'...he is just a brand new baby who was in this perfect cozy environment 3 wks ago and now he is in this strange new world and all alone when he is trying to be cozy.
Do you swaddle him? Does he like that?
Has DH tried to give him the pacifier? That was how we got DD to take it.
He is too little to not nurse him at night...
I'm gonna guess he just wants to be near his mama.
And that is ok.
GL!
Like another mom mentioned earlier today, you can contact Elizabeth Pantley (No Cry sleep lady) on FB.
Oh and CONGRATS! :)
I breastfeed and co-sleep, my newborn is also 3 weeks old and was given the 'diagnosis' of colic from both a pediatrician and ER Dr. from 7p-12am is his worst times and once he sleeps around midnight, we are good until I have to wake everyone up at 7am for school. He wakes up 1-2 times in that 7 hour stretch, but doesn't cry, just slaps at my breast and grunts from his efforts to get my nipple to wake me up because he's hungry.
I did notice burping was a HUGE thing with my son... he NEEDED to be burped each time he let go of the nipple and absolutely after every nursing session. Gripe water does help with his fussiness (we've only tried the Mommy Bliss brand).
Something else I learned... feed from only ONE SIDE for a whole nursing session and if his next nursing session is close together, use the SAME SIDE as last time. The longer the baby nurses on the breast, the more the breastmilk will change to a more nutrient dense and fatty content (hindmilk), which is better for baby than the more fluid foremilk which is meant to quench thirst.
Here are some links I've used and found helpful!!
http://www.breastfeeding.com/all_about/faq_colic.html
http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/breastfeeding/common-pro...
I say go with what works. I know they say don't do x or y because you will create bad habits, but the baby needs sleep and so do you so live for today. Example: my first was awful at sleep and today at 5 yo, she still likes us to lie with her to go to sleep. She is a snuggler and always has been. My second I was going to do differently. He went down fine swaddled in the evening, but when he woke up a few hours later, he sounded congested (no cold and this went on for months- they mentioned reflux, we tried meds, but bottom line, the meds do not stop reflux, they just neutralize the acid per se, so they told us to elevate his head). Anyway, we had a wedge under the mattress for elevation, but it still did not help in the middle of the night. So, gasp, we would put him in he swing after his first awakening, and, yes, left it on low, and he would sleep 6 hours that way! This went on until he was 7-8 mo!!! He napped fine in his bed and went down in his bed in the evening, but he just felt better propped once that congestion set in. I would cry to my husband that we were creating bad habits, etc, but he would tell me it was working and we would deal with tmorrow's problem tomorrow. To this day (he is 2 yrs 8 mo), he is my Best sleeper of 3!!!! He goes to sleep by himself in his big boy bed, sleeps all night and waits in his bed and calls for me in the morning. So, in short...do what works now. Get some sleep and do whatever will let him sleep. My third slept mostly in his carseat until 9 months for medical reasons, and the pedi said if I was sleeping and he was sleeping, it works. Now, he, too, at 14 mo sleeps in his bed all night. Do what will get you sleep now!!! Good luck and congratulations!!!!
Well... my own son hated the bassinet. He'd sleep anywhere BIG, but if he could touch the sides of anything, he wigged out.
My son was also a marathon burper. We're talking 45-60 minutes. Small burp after a few minutes, dinosaur bwaaaaaaaarrrrrrRRRRwaaaarp after 45-60 (I read a lot of books burping him). Marathon burping accomplished, he'd have no gas issues.
That was just my kid, though.
Other kids need swaddling (which my son hated and would NOT sleep in, period, nor be happy in awake), or need "tight" spaces to sleep in.
I'd say "go with it", in trust YOUR instincts about your baby. That's the problem with books. There are a million and eleven different things you *could* try, but trying them all just seems exhausting and pointless. Try what seems natural. Since your first thought was "Maybe I'm not burping long enough," I'll bet you $20 you're right. Moreover... if he doesn't have these problems in the daytime, I'll bet it has something to do with nursing in bed &/or nursing laying down. But that's just me. Whatever seems like a "huh" moment yourself is probably right.
The best place for baby to sleep is wherever baby will (safely) sleep. We co-slept with our boys. Absolutely nothing wrong with that!!! If you really need him to sleep somewhere else, you could try a swing or a bouncy seat or his carseat. It's very, very common at this age for babies to want to sleep in a cozy, snug, safe environment. Next to Mamma and Daddy tends to be very popular. You could also try swaddling, though that never worked for us.
When our older son was about 3 months old (and I was a little more relaxed) I finally got the hang of side-lying nursing. I would nurse him in bed and fall right back to sleep. When I woke up later, I would just take a quick moment to make sue he was safe (no blankets or pillows or anything too close to his face) and go right back to sleep. I got so much more sleep that way than trying to put him back in his crib.
Think about letting him sleep with you. I got more sleep, and it was a very special time in their lives.
3 week olds dont make sense to anyone. dont bother trying to fix them they will change drastically in a week. at this age they need a lot of help to get back to sleep. good luck !
I would suggest talking to your doctor. This sounds like acid reflux and it tends to get worse for a long spell at night for some reason. Both of my kids had it, and it really shows itself by 3 weeks. You may need to give them zantac (this is safe even by Dr. Sears). If you want to test it out, give him 1ml of Mylanta and see if he stops crying or at least cuts back. My kids couldn't have any dairy, and one can't have any soy or breastmilk. He is 4 months, so I figure he'll grow out of it a year like his sister. I spoke to the nurse at the hospital, and she said that at least 50% of all babies are born with Acid Reflux or GERD. I hope this helps, you can also try Hyland's Colic pills. They seem to work better than gripe water and they are safe. Good Luck!!
I had the same problem with my first child, who is almost 5. We didn't have any sleep for almost 2 years. My 6 month old seemed as you mentioned more relaxed and easy baby but he started having difficulty to sleep at night around 3 weeks as well. I gave up trying to put him in his crib, I let him slept next to me, even if he woke up often to nurse. I think his tossing, turning was stomach issues. He didn' seem gassy but later we found out he was allergic to dairy and eggs. I noticed also that keeping him cozzy and warm helped a lot. He liked to be swaddle but by 3 weeks old he didn't like it anymore. Have you tried "Colic Calm"? I was very nervous to buy it, but it works as a miracle, I still use it when he is fussy and anything seems to calm him down.
About 2 weeks ago he started rolling so I cannot let him sleep on my bed, and surprisingly he has adjusted to taking naps in his crib and he sleeps from around 7pm to 11pm there, he wakes up when we go to sleep.
I have purchased lots of books in the market about sleep issues (with my daughter) and this book to me is the best: "Good Night, Sleep Tight: The Sleep Lady's Gentle Guide to Helping Your Child Go to Sleep, Stay Asleep and Wake Up Happy [Hardcover] Kim West (Author), Joanne Kenen (Author)" the recommendations for older children helped a lot.
Bottom Line: I don't know if I am right or not but I cannot let him cry in his crib, I have tried for a couple of minutes and it is horrible, he doesn't calm down, cosleeping he is a happier baby even if he is not the perfect sleeper.
I agree with those that mentioned try the swing or car seat. Those worked better for my 4 until they were a little bigger.
Good luck =0)
I had the same issues with my now 3 month old- he is 14 weeks. I ended up nursing and letting him sleep next to me from 4 weeks- 8 weeks after he did the initial waking during the night. I would crook him face up after nursing on my shoulder above my armpit area and sleep on my back- which I often do anyway. He slept MUCH better and went to sleep easier in his bassinette during the night after 8 weeks. Our issue was less gassiness than hiccups and general wakefulness. I can now happily say that I nurse him when he wakes at night and put him in the crib awake- he goes back to sleep on his own...and he found his thumb :) none of my kids took pacis....but 2 are thumb suckers. Best of luck!
