My feed
Premium

Please
or
to access all these features

Join our Sleep forum for tips on creating a sleep routine for your baby or toddler.

Sleep

Newborn with reflux and hates sleeping in our bedroom!

26 replies

MrsWeir1980 · 03/01/2020 06:25

Im just looking for some advice I have a 3 week old who has bad reflux, doctor has given him gaviscon but Im not 100% sure its helping. We have a snuzpod and ever since he has been born he wont sleep in it, we have bought a sleepyhead and he will sleep in that in the livingroom during the day but at night when we move him to our bedroom he will sleep for about 30 minutes then he stirs and starts screaming and nothing seems to settle him. He constantly wriggles about and I know its his reflux bothering him, if anyone has any advice on settling reflux babies please let me know

We have taken to sitting in the livingroom with him, my husband does a few hours to let me sleep then i take over about 4am to let him sleep. He will sleep for a cpl of hours at a time but only in his pram in the livingroom, we keep trying to persevere with our bedroom and we have tried putting him down during the day in the room with one of us watching him but again he wont sleep.
I know hes only a few weeks old so he is still trying to get to grips with things but im panicking slightly as my husband is due back at work in a cpl of weeks and I feel im going to have to sit in the livingroom with him all night so as not to disturb my husband.Confused

I just feel like nothing we try works and i feel so helpless as he is so uncomfortable.

OP posts:
Report
FenellaMaxwell · 03/01/2020 06:30

Have you tried putting the sleepyhead in the snoozepod? Or if he has reflux, buying a wedge for the mattress?

Report
Pippinsqueak · 03/01/2020 06:35

My girl hated the next to me crib when newborn, after three weeks of no sleep I ended up downstairs on the sofa for three weeks with her in the pram.

Go with what works for you to get some sleep

After the three weeks I began to try going upstairs again with her and after a couple of false starts we managed to get her to settle. She's now nearly a year and in her own cot in our room.

Report
MrsWeir1980 · 03/01/2020 07:03

@FenellaMaxwell hi Fenella, we have tried the sleepyhead in the snuzpod but he only manages about 30 mins sleep. We have a reflux leg on the snuzpod but it hasnt really made much difference.

@Pippinsqueak thanks for your advice, i think i might have to do that, im not sure if the snuzpod is maybe a bit big for him at the moment whereas the pram is a bit more enclosed

OP posts:
Report
pinkyboots1 · 03/01/2020 07:09

I know it's a bit of a faff but could you you take the pram upstairs to see if that helps x

Report
MyDcAreMarvel · 03/01/2020 07:10

You can’t use the sleepyhead for unsupervised sleep and even then it’s not really safe. If it’s reflux you need gaviscon and if that doesn’t work omeprazole.

Report
MyDcAreMarvel · 03/01/2020 07:10

As in even with supervised sleep it’s not really safe.

Report
Delilah7 · 03/01/2020 07:28

@MrsWeir1980. Hi! I have a 6 month old with GORD, he slept amazing in the next to me crib if I put the sleepyhead in it! Have you tried that? Also raise the cot slightly. That seemed to help him! X

Report
Pippinsqueak · 03/01/2020 08:43

@MrsWeir1980 I found my daughter wanted the safety and enclosed area of the pram, I wish I'd known this after three weeks of trying to get her to sleep in the next to me crib. I literally had 15 hours sleep the whole first two weeks. I just thought she would sleep in there like the adverts lol but thinking back she went from a nice warm inside of the body and I was expecting her to sleep in a large open area with no coziness around her.

I keep kicking myself for that.

Report
MrsWeir1980 · 03/01/2020 09:38

@MyDcAreMarvel my little one is on gaviscon but its not really helping, it was my midwife that actually mentioned the sleepyhead she said it might help but the nhs dont recommend them, if they were that unsafe they would be banned, major retailers sell them even mothercare and mamas and papas. We researched them before we decided to buy it.

@Pippinsqueak yeah thats exactly what i think i couldnt believe how tiny he looked in it hopefully he will go into it when hes a bit bigger

OP posts:
Report
Discoballs · 03/01/2020 09:43

The Gaviscon worked for us, but only if baby was held upright for at least 30 mins after every feed. Would then go down for 2-3 hours. If we missed out the holding upright he'd wake after 30-40 mins.

Report
ConfidingFish · 03/01/2020 09:53

What is it about the pram that aids sleep? Is your baby propped up in some way in the pram? Or feels more enclosed like the sleepyhead (not around when mine were little)

You're not going to like this but in the day Ds2 (severe reflux, on prescription formula as per paediatrician) slept upright tucked into my arm, at night we would have to let him get drowsy and then put him in a propped cot.

For some reason the reflux was always bad at night. Ds1 had it a bit and was awful from 7pm till about 10pm. But Ds2 was always fussy throughout the night. We were also advised to give him a dummy so he was constantly sucking and swallowing.

I can't tell from photos how propped the snuzpod is in the reflux position but I had blocks that went under the cot legs and it was at more of a higher angle I think. We never laid Ds2 down flat even for nappy changing.

Have a look at the wedges to see if your snuzpod is anywhere near as steep. I know it feels like hell at this point, lack of sleep is awful. Sleep when you can as much as you can. If you have help available then use it.

Report
MyDcAreMarvel · 03/01/2020 10:01

if they were that unsafe they would be banned, major retailers sell them even mothercare and mamas and papas.
Both those shops also sell cot bumpers , they care about profit not safety.

Report
Abouttimemum · 03/01/2020 10:40

Yes unfortunately lots of things are on sale that are not safe, I’d follow the lullaby trust recommendations.
Our boy had hideous silent reflux and we couldn’t even put him down for weeks and when we did he tossed and turned and wriggled, and refused to sleep in the crib upstairs, but would have 30 minutes to an hour in the crib downstairs which we could prop up.
We ultimately slept with him downstairs until we got his reflux sorted. When hubby went back to work we did it in shifts and I slept when husband came in from work, got up 11pm-5am, then went back to bed until hubby went out to work. I hounded my gp every other day (they are obsessed with saying this sort of thing is colic and normal) until they eventually prescribed ranitidine (after gaviscon which is awful) which helped (although is no longer prescribed) and they offered to refer us to a paediatrician but thankfully we had a scheduled appointment with a paed by that point because our boy was premature and he prescribed omeprezole straight away which changed our life.
We then were able to work in getting him in the upstairs crib for short stints of sleep and eventually we all got back in the same room!
Fear not, it does get better, and as reassurance by 4 months our lad was sleeping through 6.30-6.30. Don’t let the medical professionals fob you off if your baby has an issue that’s making him uncomfortable.

Report
IceBearRocks · 03/01/2020 10:53

Our refluxer was tiny and slept in his moses basket until he was about 14 months!

Report
GingerBeverage · 03/01/2020 11:11

We found that a cocoonababy in a snuzpod with the reflux bar in place + omeprazole has worked well.

Report
champagneandfromage50 · 03/01/2020 11:14

I bought wedges for the cot, pram and Moses basket. I had lots of conversations with my GP who was fantastic as my little one screamed and screamed due to reflux and the only thing that helped him was ranitidine. Gaviscon was useless and also caused constipation. So definitely get them to change the treatment. If your breast feeding they are likely going to suggest you go dairy free as it usually helps too and also I would suggest you get them to check to ensure there isn't a tongue tie in there too

Report
mousemousse · 03/01/2020 11:26

Reflux is a symptom, not a cause. I'd look at cutting dairy out as it could well be cmpa. As for sleeping, do what works as long as it's safe. I used a sleepyhead because my baby wouldn't sleep anywhere but my chest so it was either that or falling asleep with the baby on me. For me it was a better option to use the sleepyhead in connection with a breathing monitor

Report
MrsWeir1980 · 03/01/2020 17:57

@Abouttimemum thank you i think i will go back to the docs and get him on omaprazole, i just dont think the gaviscon is doing what it should. Im just a bit aprehensive about giving him medication at such a young age but then again its got to be better than how he is at the moment

OP posts:
Report
GrumpyHoonMain · 03/01/2020 18:06

My 4 week old gets gassy sometimes and we find holding him upright after a feed until he falls asleep (usually 30-45 mins) then transferring him to the Snuzpod works well.

Report
Mommaplaysthebanjo · 20/04/2021 06:51

@MrsWeir1980 hi OP. I know this thread is a little old now but just wondering how you’re getting on? My lb is 8 weeks and has reflux. He has been prescribed omoprezole but he is still very unsettled. He is EBF and I have gone dairy free (three weeks in although had a couple of slip ups over the past few days).

Have things improved for you? I’m hoping for some reassurance that things do get better you see. My DS1 had reflux too but no way near as bad as DS2. Sad

Report
MrsWeir1980 · 20/04/2021 09:20

Hi, i forget sometimes what i posted in a new mum daze lol. Aww reflux is tough going, it does get better even though you want to punch people that say they will grow out of it as that doesnt help you now! Im happy to say my son is now 16 months and hasnt had reflux badly since about 9 months. It does improve slightly when they start weaning but we still had some issues. It wasnt until about 9 months when we got a sleep consultant (my son was waking every 20-40 mins during the night) that she told me to get back to the doctors as his reflux wasnt under control and we found out he wasnt on the right dose for his weight so we increased it and split it so we gave half in the AM and half in the PM and what a difference within about a week he was sleeping 7 to 2am then after a while right through and he just changed into a much happier baby. We still have him on omeprazole just now but we will look to get him off it soon. I would make sure your little one is on the right dose for their weight and keep weighing them every so often, and the usual keeping them upright after a feed etc, its a bit different for me as i bottle fed (my son never latched properly) but it will get better over time

OP posts:
Report

Don’t want to miss threads like this?

Weekly

Sign up to our weekly round up and get all the best threads sent straight to your inbox!

Log in to update your newsletter preferences.

You've subscribed!

Thatwentbadly · 20/04/2021 14:20

[quote MrsWeir1980]@MyDcAreMarvel my little one is on gaviscon but its not really helping, it was my midwife that actually mentioned the sleepyhead she said it might help but the nhs dont recommend them, if they were that unsafe they would be banned, major retailers sell them even mothercare and mamas and papas. We researched them before we decided to buy it.

@Pippinsqueak yeah thats exactly what i think i couldnt believe how tiny he looked in it hopefully he will go into it when hes a bit bigger[/quote]
Cot bumpers and cigarettes are also really dangerous but are still sold. Please don’t think just because something hasn’t been banned it’s safe to use.

Report
MrsWeir1980 · 20/04/2021 14:50

@Thatwentbadly Well Sleepyhead worked well for me until my LO was happy sleeping in his snuzpod, he was never left alone in it. As i mentioned i did my research before i bought it.
This post is nearly 2 years old, the girl reposting was not going on about that anyway so not sure why you feel the need to make the comment

OP posts:
Report
Mommaplaysthebanjo · 20/04/2021 15:07

@MrsWeir1980 thanks so much for taking the time to reply! My son will be weighed next week (I assume) by his doc as he’s having his 6-8 week check (all done differently now due to covid but I hope weighing is still part of it!) so will definitely discuss dosage with him then. That’s a great tip about splitting the meds AM and PM. My son (DS2) regularly screams from about 4-8 which may be reflux related or colic I guess so that should/ could help!

I think I was very lucky with DS1 as he had mostly outgrown his reflux by 3/4 months. Keeping everything crossed that it happens like that again 🤞🏻 So pleased to hear that your lo doing better now xx

Report
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.