Jesus Christ

[plannedshock]

I've had 2 nights of 3 hrs sleep, tonight I came to bed at 9pm and my 7wk old screamed until 1am. It's ridiculous and has driven my dp to actual tears! There's absolutely nothing wrong, she breastfeeds for ages, good supply, is dry and winded and in a deep sleep...until you put her down, then she goes ape! When she finally does Its through sheer exhaustion and for 1.5hrs only. It's driving me nuts she will just not go down, day or night. does/did anyone else's baby do this? Please tell me it gets better!!

[joanna1985]

My 8 month is still at it in the middle of the night. I co sleep with him and i tried all of those things too op but i think all babies are just different. Some sleep well n some dont. I know how u feel about getting really annoyed though i sometimes felt angry at my lo and then felt so guilty after.
You cant help it though your only human and your going to get frustrated! Ots really hard when youve had no sleep and you cant make them stop crying!

[CabbageHead]

Our ds had reflux and also highly sensitive baby, woke up at any noise ( yes even us breathing!).. Reflux bubs dont like sleeping flat or on their backs.. So we had cot wedge to raise mattress a bit, ds liked to sleep upright, lots of LOUD whitenoise, shushing etc happiest baby on block book and white noise cd was a life saver.. Swaddling as well... Try vacuum cleaner to calm the screaming.. Motion, walking, rocking... Can u try a hammock during the day? Also ds was sensitve to too much light, noise and visual stimulation, got overstimulated very easily and still does! Recommend osteo or Bowen therapist too. Lots of fresh air too.

[seriouslysleepdeprived]

DS has reflux and a dairy & soy allergy. I have cut both out my diet as I'm BFing. It had made a big difference to his sleep. Kellymom has some good info on it.

[neverputasockinatoaster]

Both of mine were hellish sleepers. They are now 8 and 5 and sleep like angels so there is hope.

Both of them were klingon babies, both were impossible to put down - they'd have a feed, fall asleep and then as soon as they were put in the cot they would startle themselves awake and the screaming would begin.. Both screamed louder when swaddled.

Things I did - covered the cot matress in a T shirt I had been wearing, used a sleeping bag, warming the cot when I took them out, a ticking clock hung outside the cot.

DS was dreadful until he learned to roll over... as soon as he was put in his cot he would hurl himself over onto his tummy once he could. I had months of hell.

My hell with DD didn't last as long but I'm afraid that was only because I ignored guidelines and put her to sleep on her front. (Awaits flaming). I thought long and hard about even trying it. We had an Angelcare Monitor. The first night I got up the courage to try it I put her in her cot and then stood over her until she was asleep, then turned her onto her back..... I got 30 mins that night between screams. Then I let her sleep on her tummy. I weighed it all up but I was dealing with a 3 year old with what we now know to be an ASD and I was dangerous with sleep deprivation. My feelings were that I was a risk to her as I was sooo tired. DS needed constant attention during the day apart from 2 afternoons when I had a nursery place for him. I know it was against guidelines and I still feel awful but it really did sort her sleep problems almost instantly.

I hope you find your own solution. I know how you feel and you have my utmost sympathy. There is a reason they use sleep deprivation as a form of torture.

[austenozzy]

sorry for pidgin english, on the phone! carobel is a thickener, btw.

[austenozzy]

dd had silent reflux, we added carobel to her milk to her milk, and put a cot wedge under her mattress , worked a treat. slept right through from 10 weeks.

don't bother with osteo, dangerous woo nonsense.

[MoelFammau]

Wanted to add that our 18mo hell isn't normal. Most improve at 6 months. It was the dairy thing that prolonged our situation - we thought giving her lots of milk and yoghurt once she was weaned would be a good thing and it made everything so much worse!

[MoelFammau]

Sounds like silent reflux. DD had it, made worse by dairy intolerance. She could not lie flat so we slept with her on our chests, sitting half upright on the sofa. A sling during the day helped.

It was a horrible time and for us lasted 18mo. She's now 2 and still has the odd flare-up but it's nothing like the early days. GP wasn't sympathetic. We were told 'babies cry, dear' in a patronising tone - yes we knew that but not like this, surely? Exhausting. Remember looking at babies dozing in their prams and thinking how come they lie down and sleep? It seemed so alien.

Try cutting out cows milk from your diet if you're breast feeding. It was the biggest help for us.

[piggybank]

Also, I would definitely see your gp before paying privately for a cranial osteopath. I am certain they help lots if babies but I spent quite a lot of money and did not find it the cranial osteopath helpful.

[piggybank]

Other than propping up etc as others have suggested you should see your gp who may prescribe infant gaviscon to help the reflux until baby's digestive system matures.

Good luck! I hope the suffering can be eased soon.

[plannedshock]

I think it's silent reflux by the sounds of it, any tips?:(

[catty1234]

If he had wind, you may not have winded him correctly.

[catty1234]

I would sit him up just a little like on a flat pillow, it would relief some pain.

[cory]

How is her weight gain?

My dd turned out not to be getting enough despite good latch, excellent supply and long breastfeeding sessions.

[OptomisticBiscuit]

You have my full sympathy too, my little one was exactly the same, hardly slept, bright red and screaming from 7pm till 11 every night, I had a real breakthrough with her about 6 months. In the early months the only thing I could do was walk with her in the pram in the daytime (exhausting, but at least she slept, there was no crying, I could eat a sandwich and choc bars as I walked, and the fresh air helped a bit) and at night I had her in a moses basket next to the bed, I would hold her on my lap on her moses mattress and feed her, cuddle her, sing, kiss and rock her all on the mattress until she eventually slept and then I would oh so gently lower her into the basket, still on her mattress and sloooowly slide my hands out from under the mattress. Like you I could not just put her down asleep, she would wake instantly and scream and scream. She would also only sleep for an hour and a half, maybe two hours, and hardly slept in the day. I remember reading about how she was supposed to sleep for 16 hours a day or something, I wished!

On a side note I'm sure she was in pain with silent reflux or similar, I got no help from the doctor who said she would grow out of it, well she did, but it was awful watching her suffer in the meantime, and listening to all the crying is so hard.

On the bright side at 1.5 yrs she sleeps 7 till 7 every night, has an hour at lunch time and is a real laugh all day long.

[LovelyWeatherForDucks]

My 7 month old is still like this! The 5 S's (swaddle, shh, suck, swing, side - google happiest baby on the block) saved my sanity several times when DS was refusing to fall asleep.

The other thing that really helped was looking at a few sample routines (eg baby whisperer, gina ford) to get an idea of max awake time / sleep needed which made life a lot easier as he didn't get super overtired so would fall asleep and stay asleep much more easily.

Also, if you haven't already, perhaps try warming the cot mattress / making it smell of you / raising the end as some babies hate being flat.

[Tournesol]

My DD was like this and I tried lots of things but in the end just let her sleep on me as was the only way we got any sleep.

By 4mo I started training her to self settle in cot using white noise and a sort of gradual retreat method. By 7mo she was sleeping through and now sleeps amazingly (she is 16mo).

At the time I seriously thought she was just destined to be a bad sleeper as my 2 other DC had been so much easier, but ultimately like the others once she was on solids she slept through.

Good luck!

[FeelingHorse]

I agree with what other have said about swaddling- DS hated it at first, really angry and thrashing around, but after a minute or so with the white noise he settles down.

We are now at the point where I Swaddle him whenever he gets hysterical and it calms him down almost instantly. It's like he is almost begging to be swaddled.

Like what others have said, it WILL get better. Do what you've got to do in order to remain sane!

[MrsOakenshield]

I would perhaps try swaddling again. DD always got cross when we swaddled her but after some vigorous rocking, and very carefully lying her down in a warmed Moses basket, she would proceed to sleep very well indeed. She was swaddled until about 4 months, when she discovered her fingers and would suck them to settle herself, so we moved onto a sleeping bag.

I would also recommend seeing a cranial osteopath, they can be miracle workers!

[piggybank]

Could it be silent reflux?

I hope things improve for you. you have my sympathy. Sleep deprivation is so hard. Even more so when you have to endure the crying.

[HandMini]

Swaddle and dummy. IT WILL GET BETTER. Around 12 weeks, then again around 6 months.

[munchkinmaster]

Swaggle, white noise, dummy if you dare.

Saved our sanity, slept better from about 6 weeks. Even better at 6 months. Slept through from 9. Honestly I used to scare myself silly reading the sleep boards on here but (no offence intended) they tend to be full of people whose babies and children don't sleep so give a skewed picture.

You will get there!

[plannedshock]

Thanks for the replies! She hates swaddling-turns into super angry baby! I co-sleep already, used to have her sleep literally on me but she's such a fidget I have her next to me but even laying her down next to me sends her into wide awake screaming. I carry her around in a sling all day pretty much, even when I take her out in her pram she screams as soon as I stop pushing-as soon as I arrive back at the doorstep! Sometimes I can laugh it off other days I'm almost telling her to shut the f**k up which is awful. Other things that turn her frenzied include waiting for me to undo my bra to feed and getting her un/dressed inc nappy changing!! Other than all these issues shes perfect!! Hahaha!

[FeelingHorse]

Swaddle,Swaddle,Swaddle! And white noise! This combination is a life saver with my 8wo. As well as co sleeping. "Happiest baby on the block" album from iTunes has great white noise tracks.

7wo is still very young, google the "fourth trimester"- it makes for an interesting read.

HTH

[Jinty64]

What fairylea says and a hot water bottle in the Moses basket or cot. Remove it just before putting her in.