Baby won't sleep... Any advice welcome!

[BlackCatMummy]

Help!

My 22 week old baby refuses to nap or even sleep properly. He will nap lightly in the pram or the car seat but the minute we near the house he's awake. I've tried putting him down to sleep during the day. It worked 3 times after screaming for around 30 minutes and my going in occasionally to shush pat. Now he just refuses. He's absolutely exhausted. Has 2 lines and black rings under his eyes. He also doesn't really sleep at night. He goes down super well at 7.30 and then is up for feeds/changing at 11pm, 1am, 3..4..5..6 onwards. I'm exhausted and right now he's lying in his cot screaming this awful scream. The option is to get him but that doesn't help as he will be more tired. He does sleep if you're in the rocking chair, but again only very lightly. The screaming is making my nerves sing and I'm almost in tears all the time. I've tried feeding, baby massage, nothing works.
Please help, I genuinely don't know what to do.

I don't think I have any answers but I do feel for you, there is nothing like the awful stress and exhaustion that comes its a sleepless baby. Have you tried doing a dream feed at night, half an hour or so before your baby tends to wake for the first time? Google dream feeds and you should get lots of info, worked a treat for us. It may also help to think about weaning if you haven't already, or adding in a bottle of formula in the evening if you are still breast feeding? In terms of naps, I had a difficult time with my baby as well, and decided to work on one nap at a time starting with lunchtime - we would go in to his room together at 12 and I would try to make sure that no matter what happened we wouldn't come out again until 2, whether he was sleeping, feeding, rocking, cuddling or crying in that time. I'm not a fan of CC so I never left him alone and crying. I think this helped him to absorb that 12-2 was sleep time and within a few weeks he was sleeping fairly consistently for that period. I think the thing to remember is that going to sleep and staying asleep (I.e resettling during periods of lighter sleep) is a skill that you need to gently help your baby to learn. It is so difficult to keep perspective when you are exhausted though! Good luck, I hope things improve soon.

Thank you so much. I am definitely going to try the lunchtime going into the room idea. I think the problem is he gets lonely and scared so that will help if I'm there. Also we've been doing the dream feed but too late as he's started stirring already when we do it, so will do it a bit earlier. Thank you again!

Are you me?

24 week DD. Won't nap during the day unless moving - pram, sling, car, birth ball.

She screamed for 3 and half hours between 3am and 6.30am. Normal night for us. Sometimes, she screams for hours all day too.

She has silent reflux and we are waiting for an appointment with a paediatrician.

I have no advice beyond this: do whatever you have to do to survive.

Poor you - have you tried gaviscon? Infacol? Calpol? Babies can start teething at 4 months so it may be that. Has he ever slept ok. Have you tried swaddling? Try to avoid rocking if you can. Could he be having too much stimulation? Black out blinds can help. Unfortunately each child is,different and we mainly had probs with colic, teething or if generally not well. I hope it improves soon! Does he feed well? Bf or formula? Maybe ready for weaning and hungry? Good luck.

Have you tried a sling? I just walk around with dd in a sling and then she falls asleep and i let her, at some point i can sit down and she keeps lying in the sling. I also let her nap on her tummy as she immediately wakes up on the back. Try those two things and see if it improves?