Unhappy 15week old... Any suggestions welcome

[Vicki009]

Hi all, I am hoping for some advice from those who may have been there and done that!

My son is 15 weeks old today and has been quite miserable and grumbly since he hit 3 weeks old, and it has more or less been constant since then. Hand in hand with this, his daytime naps never exceed 30 minutes (unless I have him in the sling and bounce around when he starts to wake up at 30 mins, or get lucky in the pushchair and manage to coast him over the half hour wake up!), even in the car!, - this started happening at the same sort of time.
It's been going on so long it feels like we've tried everything to help extend the daytime naps but no matter what we do he is wide awake at half an hour and it shows no signs of letting up. He can now get himself to sleep so we thought this might help but unfortunately doesn't seem to!
What's most confusing is that he's turned into quite a good night sleeper - down at 7pm for 10-11 hours with one wake up for a feed. However he's grouchy, rubbing his eyes and yawning within an hour of waking up and this continues all day! So confusing.

When he is awake he grumbles his way through the day with the occasional big cry - he seems to be very rarely happy. He's been on gaviscon for silent reflux symptoms which seemed to help at first but he quickly went back to the way he had been. He's now been on Nutramigen for a couple of days for suspected cows milk allergy by GP (mucousy nappies, congested, painful tummy) and he has seemed a little happier but still very grumbly and fidgety.

So I guess there is two problems... The non existent naps and the sad baby syndrome! any suggestions at all are welcome, I feel like we have tried absolutely everything but I am willing to keep going. It may just be that's the way he is!

Thanks all x

DD has always been a rubbish daytime napper, only sleeping on me/in moving buggy or car, but ok at night. We have kind of just decided it's how she is. But it does make it really difficult to get anything done.

She also has silent reflux and we found gaviscon no help at all, just made her constipated. Ranitidine has given her some relief and we used boots gripe mixture and dentinox colic drops as required too.

We also discovered 'Uptown Funk' would stop her crying fairly instantly, especially the video. We could get away with about 6 repeats before she (or us) would get fed up again. Useful when there is stuff that has to be done.

If it's dairy intolerance it can take two weeks for it to clear out of the system once you eliminate. Give it time and see if it's improved next week from that particular point of view.

It can be really tough! Some babies really don't sleep. It took me 3 mos to work out that DD1 preferred to be out and about - she was bored at home - and that long buggy walks led to good daily naps.
It sounds like you're working hard to help your LO. Since he sleeps well in the cot at night, would he sleep there in the daytime? Also, if he is suffering from tummy troubles, would he be more comfortable during the day in a more (but not fully, of course) upright position? Perhaps in a bouncy seat? DD1 and DD2 sat in these from 3 mos.
You may find helpful information/ideas here: www.parenting.com/article/ask-dr-sears-coping-with-babys-acid-reflux

Sounds incredibly tough but also quite normal and I think people are quite quick to want to give unsettled babies a label of dairy allergy or reflux or whatever. The most likely "cause" could be overtiredness - you say your baby only sleeps for 30 mins at a time but these one sleep cycle naps are quite normal, you don't say how many sleeps he's getting in a day? You should try to settle him after 90 minutes awake to stop him getting overtired. Sling naps are ok, so whatever you need to do.

A grumpy 15 week old is quite normal really though - babies are demanding! You'll probably find he's more settled in general when he can sit unaided and "play" a little.

30min naps and needing a nap an hour after waking sounds very normal for such a young baby. DS didn't nap longer than that until around 7/8mo and he didn't sleep through the night until a couple of months ago and he will be 2 in June. DS was very hard work until he hit 6mo and then it did get gradually easier as he hit milestones like sitting, crawling, walking etc. things that helped in the early months were a good sling, acceptance that a lot of this is normal and hope that it will get better. You will find the toddler stage a breeze while all your friends with 'easy' newborns will be wishing for those days back!