Hello everyone and Happy New Year. This is my first post ... another new mom suggested this site. My husband and I are at the end of our ropes and I really don't know what else to do. I'm sorry if this gets long, but I need to explain our situation. I've done searches on the internet and cannot find something that really fits our situation.
Our son is 13 weeks old. He slept at night in his bassinet until 9 weeks ... he was getting too big for it and we wanted to have the time to transition him to the crib. Well, there was no transition period. He was fine in the crib immediately ... that was until about eight days ago.
Now I have a perfect angel from the time he gets up in the morning until the time I try to put him down at night.
And I'm not talking about him crying in the crib ... I am talking about complete lunacy. He will scream and scream bloody murder ... you know the red face, holding the breath craziness! And this will last for approximately four hours from the first time we try to put him down. After I take him back out of the crib he will not stop screaming for hours and hours.
Now, for the record, we DO have a bedtime routine that has stayed the same since we came home with him. We've tried putting him down awake as well as asleep. He does take adequate naps throughout the day, without going overboard. Last night I even tried putting him to bed at 7 instead of 9. So instead of screaming from 9 to 1, he screamed from 7 til 11. Again, this is after I take him back out of the crib ... he just won't stop wailing until he tires himself out so much that he basically has no choice but to sleep.
He has no issues falling asleep anywhere else. I actually think he does not like to lay flat. He'll nap with no issues on the floor with the boppy pillow, in his carseat, and in his swing. But I also know I'm not supposed to put him to bed at night with pillows, so I don't know what to do.
Oh, on the bright side, once he falls asleep he'll go for a good six hour stretch, which is a life saver, but getting him there has become an absolute nightmare.
My apologies for jumping in here and asking a question without giving advice, but this is my first baby and I'm learning as I go. I'm not sure I have any good advice to give anyone, but if I see something I have dealt with and overcome, I'll be glad to chime in and help.
Thank you in advance for any advice you can give.
Quoting Peps75:
He has no issues falling asleep anywhere else. I actually think he does not like to lay flat. He'll nap with no issues on the floor with the boppy pillow, in his carseat, and in his swing. But I also know I'm not supposed to put him to bed at night with pillows, so I don't know what to do.
This may be your issue right here. Before continuing with any kind of sleep training I would have your DS checked for reflux. Because this sounds just like my DD did when she was about 3 - 4 months old. That's when we discovered she had "Silent Reflux". Here are the signs of silent reflux:
What is silent reflux in infant?
Silent reflux in infants is exactly the same as infant reflux minus the spitting up. When an infant refluxes silently the stomach contents travel up the throat but the infant is able to swallow it back down again before it actually comes out. This means the stomach acid burns on the trip up the throat and on the trip back down. Silent reflux in infants is not as obvious because there is no actual spitting up, which makes it much harder to detect.
Symptoms of silent reflux in infants
Your baby may exhibit only some of these symptoms:
poor weight gain or rapid weight gain gulping with a painful look on the face sour breath, wet sounding burps persistent or chronic cough frequent hiccups sudden burst of painful crying painful wakeups from sleep or poor sleeping habits poor feeding habits, possible feeding aversions neck or back arching during or after feeding excessive fussiness, crying or colic demands to be carried constantly red or salmon colored throat blood in the stool or spit up These last two signs are possible indicators of Barett's Esophagus. The risk of Barett's Esophagus is slightly higher with silent reflux because there is generally more damage to the throat with silent reflux in infants, although it is still a fairly low risk.
Once we got our DD's reflux under control - with constant adjustments to her meds. and positioning of her mattress at a 30 degree incline - she began to sleep much better. I'd highly recommend you contact your ped. and get your son checked! Good Luck Momma and if you need anything else feel free to PM me.Alyson
Is it possible he is going through a colicy period? Maybe he is too cold or needs to be swaddled?
None of my children liked cribs. My first liked them the most but my second child hated them and this baby has always slept in my bed so I've never tried a crib. I just don't like how firm and noisy crib mattresses are and figure that probably bugs a baby too, but I don't know. Have you tried co-sleeping or is that a possibility?
I never thought about Reflux because in his three months he's only ever spit up a handful of times total, but what you posted makes a lot of sense! He does have frequent hiccups and wet sounding burps too, like in the list you posted. Thank you for your advice and for possibly steering me in the right direction. I would have never thought of calling the doctor and saying, "we're having trouble sleeping at night" LOL, but I am def. going to give them a call Monday morning.
Oh, as far as the swaddling, my little one never liked it. When I was pregnant everyone kept saying to get the "swaddle me" things, so we did. He didn't like them or being swaddled in a blanket. We try every now and again, but he'd rather be free than constricted. I have thought about co-sleeping out of desperation, but would rather not. My husband is an incredibly sound sleeper, so it just makes me very nervous.
Thank you again, so very, very much!!!!
In the meantime here's some things that you can try that'll help your LO. Raise the head of the bed to about a 30 degree angle. I do this by proping up the mattress with rolled up towels. After feedings give mylacon drops and keep him upright for 15 - 20 min. this will cut down on gas in his tummy and less reflux. If you nurse cut out ALL dairy products. That sounds crazy I know but you will see an improvement in about a week without the dairy. If formula fed switch to a soy based formula. I promise this does help! My DD takes Zantac 1.2ml 2xs a day about 30 min after getting up in the am and then around 5pm in the evening (about 30 min. before dinner) and that really helps. But these meds aren't a quick fix, they take about 2 weeks to work and have to be adjusted as your LO grows. HTH!
Alyson you are a lifesaver! Yesterday after reading your replies I did some research online. Research I would have never done if you hadn't steered me in the right direction!
Per your thoughts as well as what I found, we had a much better night last night. I added some baby oatmeal to his last bottle. Something on the internet said it makes the food a little heavier and less likely to creep back up? Then after that bottle I held him upright for about 45 minutes before trying to put him to bed. He ended up doing the typical baby fussing, but no screaming! Within an hour sleep took over him and he stayed asleep until 6 this morning!
I have to admit that I feel like a big jerk. I was getting so frustrated thinking he was just being cranky. I never thought that he might be in pain or that something was actually wrong because this only happened when trying to put him down for the night. I thought he was just being cranky and not wanting to be alone.
Alsyon, thank you so much for sending me in the right direction. I think I may try your idea of propping the crib mattress up too. Of course, I'll still be calling the doctor on Monday.
Liz
I'm so happy your LO has found some relief (and you some sleep). When you call your doctor tell him everything you think and what you've tried and be adament that your baby get help, not just about the sleeping but about the reflux. Drs are more likely to fix a medical problem, but sleeping isn't usually something they can help with, that's why we're here!
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Please help me get my baby to sleep. I'm loosing my mind!
- Peps75
on Jan. 1, 2010 at 7:07 AM