Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

Flip

1 2

Original poster

Easily overstimulated 10 week old.

48 replies

SalsaP · 06/03/2012 20:00

Hi all.

I'm feeling really down this evening as it would seem I can't do much with my 10 week old son without him become unbearably over stimulated. When he becomes over stimulated he is a nightmare - wailing, flailing, impossible to console or settle. Not only is it hard for me but its heart breaking to see him that way, All we did today was go to the baby weighing clinic for about 15 mins and then, a few hours later after a 2 hour nap, a mother and baby group for 1 and a half hours. He slept for the first half an hour too! He pretty much had the same amount of sleep as other less active days so I don't think its tiredness. I feel fed up because I feel trapped to stay indoors to prevent this from happening again. Does anyone else LO's get like this, know why some babies are prone to this or have any advise please?

Thank you.

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

bumbums · 06/03/2012 20:03

Hi, I sympathise, is he your first baby?

Original poster

SalsaP · 06/03/2012 20:05

Yes he is my first.

OP posts:

bumbums · 06/03/2012 20:05

Is he breast or bottle fed and does he have an eat - activity - sleep routine yet?

Original poster

SalsaP · 06/03/2012 20:09

He is bottle fed as we had terrible latching on problems that led to severe weight loss in the first few days of his life. Back on track there though. He feeds 6 times a day at roughly 3 hourly intervals in the day and then 2 longer stretches at night. Activity wise no real routine although I tend to take him out for a walk in his pram every afternoon - mainly in an attempt to make sure he has a good sleep. We try and put him to bed at approx 7.30pm after a top and tail/bath and this normally works very well for him. He will wake about 3am for a feed and then again about 7am for another.

OP posts:

RitaMorgan · 06/03/2012 20:14

Do you use a sling at all?

I don't think my baby ever had an eat-activity-sleep routine...

TeWihara · 06/03/2012 20:16

Does he feed less or sleep more on active days?

I have a 10wk old too and if he sleeps more in the day he stays up later and feeds more in the evening IME.

They are both very very young so I don't stress about routines too much, I would just keep cuddling him/feeding him/whatever he wants until he's ready for bed and put him to bed a little later.

If he is just grizzly (not crying) you could also try putting him down in a dark room and see if he settles by himself.

AitchTwoOhOneTwo · 06/03/2012 20:19

who has told you that he's overstimulated? it seems an odd diagnosis. do you mean colicky?

when mine got that 'waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah it's all too muuuuuuuuuuuuuch' sort of a way i used to stand and hold them gently while pointing them at a white wall. but neither were colicky, so i knew it wasn't that.

AitchTwoOhOneTwo · 06/03/2012 20:19

oh and also yes to sling. just in general, they are A Good Thing.

bumbums · 06/03/2012 20:19

Just that as he's getting over tired you need to figure out exactly how long he can cope with being awake for. And if he's the kind of child who needs zero visual and oral stimulation to drop off then try to work out how to facilitate this.

All babies are different of course, so there's only so much advice any one can give you. And living with a newborn is such hard work and so demanding. Its all about them all of the time.

So maybe your ds wakes to start the day, is fed, then remains awake for an hour and is then tired. So you put him somewhere he likes to sleep. Then what? Does he like to be swaddled? Can you drape a blanket or muslin over the front of his pram to block out any visual stimulation? Would that work?
He may still be happy in the routine of a new born.

What do you think about these thoughts?

Original poster

SalsaP · 06/03/2012 20:21

I have a sling but don't really use it because he never really took to it. Althoughadmittedly its been awhile since I tried. I havent noticed a change in feeding or sleep on these days although from todays experience he did feed slightly less than usual. The trouble I have the most is that when he gets in that state he fights cuddles making it impossible to comfort him yet, at the same time, he screams even louder if I put him down anywhere. Makes it feel like an impossible situation!

OP posts:

bumbums · 06/03/2012 20:22

When I said 'oral' I meant no sound .

bumbums · 06/03/2012 20:23

A dummy maybe?

AitchTwoOhOneTwo · 06/03/2012 20:24

cuddles are touch, though, a sling isn't quite the same. do try again with it, they are marvelous things. not baby bjorns, though, that's different.

PooPooInMyToes · 06/03/2012 20:28

I am wondering as well who has decided it is over stimulation?

My dd was a crier and although i used to guess i never knew for sure. Sometimes i think it was pain as she had severe reflux, other times it seemed to be because the place we were was very echoey which she didn't seem to like. She didn't like water either or being changed.

Sometimes though i just didn't have a clue! I could guess but its always hard to know for sure.

chocolatchaud · 06/03/2012 20:29

Have you got a bouncy chair? I found that when cuddles didn't work, but obviously you don't want to leave them to scream, rocking them in a bouncy chair in a very steady rhythm seemed to soothe them.

Original poster

SalsaP · 06/03/2012 20:29

bumbums I have gradually been getting on top of how much sleep he needs to get through a day without getting grizzly but those days are ones where we don't socialise and stay indoors all day apart from our walk in the pram. He does tend to get tired within an hour of a feed. He will nearly always sleep well on the walk as I keep the pram hood over him and the muff has a flap that, if positioned well, prevents him from looking out. This is why I have got into the routine of taking him for a walk daily as I can make sure he gets a decent amount of sleep in. Unfortunately he now hates being swaddled! He used to love it and would sleep so soundly but at about 8 weeks he decided he hated it and would try and fight his way out of it. I'm particularly upset about the fact he can't seem to socialise without getting in a state. During pregnancy I had dreams of us attending baby massage, music sessions etc but I daren't take him to anything like this now. Simply meeting up with other mums and babies from my antenatal classes now seems a bad idea!

OP posts:

bumbums · 06/03/2012 20:34

A dummy!!! And does your car seat have a pull over hood? When you go out to socialise take the car seat in. When he's ready to sleep pop him in, give him a dummy and pull hood right over and drape with a muslin. And put him in another room maybe or under a table or just in a corner. Sounds very wierd I'm sure but there have got to be some tactics for allowing him to get off to sleep quickly and before he comes fussy when your out.

PriscillaQueenOfTheDesert · 06/03/2012 20:35

*Salsa, he's 10 weeks old. He doesn't need to socialise. It's good for you obviously to be able to get out but really, he doesn't.

Sleeping: if he no longer likes swaddling have you tried a sleeping bag like a grobag? My son liked the security of the sleeping bag but liked having his arms free.

What sling have you been using for him?

chocolatchaud · 06/03/2012 20:36

Please don't worry about taking him to groups/classes - there is plenty of time for that. At the moment it's all about getting to know each other, the occasional little trips out and trying to find a routine that works for you

Original poster

SalsaP · 06/03/2012 20:38

Im sure its not colic as it doesnt follow that sort of pattern and it isnt at all regular. I have decided he is over stimulated as he only seems to get like this when we go out to a social event or similar - although he only gets really bad in the evening on those days. I have tried a dummy but he just sucks at it frantically and it doesnt seem to sooth him - not to mention that he cant keep it in his mouth so I have to sit with him and hold it in! I have a bouncy chair and a swing - I've really been throwing money at the problem - but neither calm him. After a few minutes he will start to complain. Typically the only way of breaking the mood is to wait until his next feed and feed him in a dark room and then he will be put to bed as he will be exhausted.

OP posts:

Original poster

SalsaP · 06/03/2012 20:41

bumbums I like the idea of using the car seat when out. I'll definitely try that!

Priscilla we do use a gro bag at night and he does really like that. The nights aren't the problem though its the evenings after a trip out. Also I thought it would be important for a LO to be out and about and get used to being around others and in different situations. Is that not the case then?

OP posts:

Original poster

SalsaP · 06/03/2012 20:45

Btw I have a caboo close sling.

OP posts:

AitchTwoOhOneTwo · 06/03/2012 20:47

it's not a good idea to use a car seat, it affects their breathing after a while, but i've seen loads of people putting a muslin/blanket over a pram hood so as to cut out extraneous stimulation. then find a bump in the pavement and roll back and forth over it until he nods off.

you don't think he could just be ravenous, i take it?

AitchTwoOhOneTwo · 06/03/2012 20:48

that looks like a nice sling, but maybe you could try a wrap?

bumbums · 06/03/2012 20:48

Could he be hungry again? I would persevere with a dummy. It could still be the answer to your prayers.

Flip

1 2