Sleep / thrashing about 3months old

[sunshinebaby2018]

Hello - I have 3month old twins T2 is a great sleeper but T1 really struggles. He falls asleep relatively easy with cuddles, rocking etc and we put him down in a swaddle.

The reason for the swaddle is that he is thrashing about in his sleep - This can range from making small hand movements to thrashing around, punching, kicking in the air. Or it is night terrors or reflexes or a combination of all these!

Poor thing it wakes him up (some times screaming crying!) so he never gets big chunks of sleep and he is tired in the daytime. Naps are better and if he falls asleep in my arms I can restrain the effect. Swaddle helps when I first out him down but he still wakes himself up later on!

Have you had any similar experiences? When will it pass? The doctor said its a development thing and it will pass by month 3 , but nothing yet!

It affects his quality of sleep, any attempt in training, and our quality of sleep as it takes a while to calm him down again and it also wakes up his brother some times.

Any advice? I would like to not having to swaddle him to sleep, and poor thing to be able to have long stretches of sleep every night.

He sounds grunted and groaned too. His sleep was just so fitful. Is this immature nervous system and when will those involuntary movements stop?

They do stop eventually, but, as with all development-related things, no one can tell you exactly when. Or he may just be a naturally fitful sleeper- lots of adults toss and turn all night after all!

Three months is very early to be:
a) sleep training
b) expecting any long stretches of sleep at night

Sleeping for longer duration is developmental and will happen when it happens. And l'll add that any sleep training involving crying is developmentally harmful before six months and shown to have a long-lasting impact. Finally, you're likely to hit the four month regression soon, so the sleep of the good twin is likely also to become horrendous. If this happens, it is nothing you have done and is not the fault of the baby- it is a natural part of development.

Thank you!

I am against sleep training to be honest but was wondering how it might help him.

It's scary to watch him thrash around at nights he is like he is possessed (I know this sounds stupid obviously I don't believe he is!) but he seems he is struggling and he looks in distress?

What is this thing?

Hmm, so he looks distressed in his sleep, you mean? Mine used to do something similar, but not all the time. Apparently they don't have nightmares until much older, but it sure looked like it! I used to pick mine up and cuddle her when it happened and wake her up she kept crying when I'd done that, but I've no idea if that was the right thing to do or not. If he looks very distressed, I'd film it and then show it to the GP just to make sure they're aware of what exactly you're describing.

*wake her up if she kept crying when I'd done that

The grunting is normal, but it can also be exaggerated if he has any trapped wind.
Have you tried a cranial osteopath? A friend swears by regular visits to hers for her baby, helps realign and keep her comfortable apparently. Could have some discomfort somewhere that’s worse when lying flat rather than being curved when cradled?

Also - could just be a thrashy baby.... 😂

Mine was the same. Thrashed and screamed usually from about 2am after a feed for the rest of the night. Everyone told me I had to ride it out but it was so hard. I tried Dr Browns anti colic bottles and one night later it had stopped. Now he just noisily sucks his thumb instead!