8wk old thrashing about at night - is she asleep?

[caroline0]

Hi
For about the last 3 or 4 weeks my dd has been trashing about during the night quite wildly and making grunting, almost straining noises. At first I thought she was awake so would try and feed her, but after much watching of her in the middle of the night, I think most of the time she is actually asleep so now I tend to try to ignore it unless she is crying / obviously asking for food.

I just wondered if anyone else had had a wildly thrashing baby and if I am doing the right thing in assuming she is asleep during all the thrashing?

Also, if anyone does have experience of this, will she grow out of it or is there anything i can try to stop her being so agitated. She seems tired in the morning so I'm wondering if this is affecting the quality of her sleep. And yes...this is my first!!

Thanks for any help

[Mothigail]

My DS did this! And he grew out of it after a few weeks. We just presumed it was down to reflux etc and put some padding under his mattress so his head was elevated slightly - although I never had it checked out or anything. Do not worry. The grunting and straining sounded very dramatic to me but I learned to ignore it. As as long as she is feeding, winded, filling some nappies and otherwise fine, it's all groovy I'm sure. I'm no health prof, though!

[Mothigail]

Oh, I didn't really answer your question...Well if she's not asleep and needs more she'll catch up in the day, etc...it's all very handily self-regulating I find at that stage...

[Mull]

My DS did this. I think it was colic/wind that was bothering him, but not enough to actually wake up IYSWIM. I made sure he was swaddled tightly and tried to ignore the grunts and groans - this did mean moving him into his own room at 5 weeks though .

He grew out of it by about 16 weeks I think.

[Wafflepuss]

My daughter does this, looks and sounds like she is wrestling a crocodile in her sleep. She has reflux and it's the acid washing back up her gullet that causes the grunting and the thrashing is her reacting to the pain of the acid in her chest. Might be worth a trip to the gp for your lo just to check things out?

[gourd]

Might be having a wee, or dreaming - my 12 week old does it all the time. It's a bit of a pain as she can go on for an hour or more before she actually wakes up, which means I can't sleep due to all the noise, but there's no way I'll wake her up till she's ready or she'll be extremely grumpy!

[caroline0]

Thanks all for your replies - they are much appreciated. I'll def have a chat with our GP and otherwise just ride it out! Its just good to know its not just mine having a party in her sleep!!

[mylifewithstrangers]

My DD also did this. I used to think it sounded a bit like she was in labour! Anyway was definately wind. I found it helped it I lifted her knees up to her tummy - she would settle quietly then (as long as legs kept elevated). I would sometimes put a pillow under her legs to keep them there.