Newborn Grunting / Co Sleeping

[MJM1608]

Looking for some advice please 🙏🏻

Our 2 month old since birth has been terrible at lying on her back in the Moses basket / next to me / anywhere! During the day when we try put her down for a nap (when she’s in a deep sleep) she opens her eyes immediately or the most we get is 30 minutes (even out in the pram!!). We’ve tried swaddling / raising one side/ lullabies playing/ vibrating the pram with a RockIt etc. At what point does napping on a person become a bad habit?

During the nights she will go down in her crib for the first 3/4 hours quietly but after 3/4am is constantly making grunting and groaning noises, kicking her legs etc even though she seems asleep. She doesn’t often cry but we can’t sleep with the noise 🤯 We’ve tried omeprazole for reflux, colief, white noise, raising the crib etc and nothing works. The only way we get sleep is with her sleeping on my chest (following lullaby trust guidelines) as she’s upright. Does anyone have any experience with this and can offer any advice? Thank you!

My baby is 12 weeks and has just this week for the hang of not wakening the minute he's put down. Up until this point he was contact napping because like your little one if he didn't open his eyes immediately he would only sleep 10/15 mins🙈 during the night he has learned to get himself to sleep although needs rocked during the day and for his bedtime sleep. They are bizarre little things. He was incredibly noisy too but that has settled down thank goodness🙈

Some babies are ridiculously noisy sleepers. It’s sounds like in the day she doesn’t nap longer than 30 mins but at night mainly sleeps but keeps you awake with her noises and general restlessness. In the day will she have a longer nap then 30 minsif she sleeps on someone’s chest?

With the nighttime racket if she’s asleep but noisy would playing white noise help you mufflethe rustling and grunting a bit? It’s so hard, I really sympathise. Imo in the day if she will sleep on you while you sit on the sofa I’d go for it at this stage if you can. As long as you won’t end up falling asleep too which would be dangerous. I used to sit and read an ebook or watch something on catch up with DS asleep against my chest. It was the only thing that would ensure he would sleep for an hour or so and I’d get a sit down and a bit of downtime too. It does get better. I think the noise and restlessness can be trapped wind or reflux and that often improves when they can sit up/stand as their digestive systems seem to not be scrunched into such a small area.

Can totally relate to this. Daytime naps are hit and miss and contact napping gives us the biggest success. The pushchair or car work for us but like you, not for long. I also nurse to sleep then stroke his nose to keep him in a deep sleep. Sometimes works, sometimes doesn’t.
Noise wise DS tends to make more noise if he hasn’t been winded. Sometimes he is just awake enjoying life. I tend to sleep through anything that isn’t serious but to be honest white noise has been great for my sleep as it drowns out the grunts (but not the serious cries).

We’re in the exact same position, except I’m too scared to co sleep if I’m honest. We can’t put our LO down in the day, as no matter how deep a sleep he is in on me, the second his back hits the mattress he starts crying. At night we put him in our next 2 me crib and he strains/grunts/farts/squirms all night long and makes such a racket. He goes round and round spending a few minutes settles and quiet, a few minutes noisy and squirming. The only way we get any sleep is sleeping in shifts. So my husband goes to sleep in the spare room for three hours, and I stay in the bedroom with our LO, and then we switch. It’s a nightmare, but I have recently started getting a bit of sleep next to him, so I thinks slowly starting to grow out of it. I think it’s just their digestive systems maturing x

It's normal. Babies want to be near their parents so will often fuss when they sense they've been separated. The grunting will subside as she gets older!
I might be wrong but don't think lullaby trust recommend sleeping on parents chest? Safe co-sleeping saved my sanity though! Absolutely love it now. We both get so much quality sleep! Not for everyone of course, just do what you're comfortable with but grunting and waking when put down are very normal 😊

@User65412 thank you for saying it’s normal 🙏🏻 Feel so helpless and unsure what to do! Sorry you’re totally right they don’t recommend it, I meant we put duvets and bedding out of the way. This was advice our midwives gave as we confessed it was the only way she would sleep. Safe co sleeping doesn’t work because she’s still on her back which she doesn’t like 😢 glad it works for you and you get a good sleep - sleep is so precious!! Hopefully with time things get better xxx

I have no advice but am here in solidarity x
I could have written this post OP (as I sit here with my 5wk old, scrolling MN at 4am). We have tried everything you have, and nothing has helped. Hopefully in time, they will grow out of it as their digestive system develops x

Yes. I can reassure you that all babies grow out of wanting to contact nap and there is nothing unusual about it.

As for nighfs...12 weeks here. Every night we take it in turns to sit upright with baby so she sleeps whilst one of doesn't. Not for the first part of the night, as it's not a problem then, just after the first night feed. Since 8 weeks it is gradually improving, as their digestive system becomes stronger the grunting is easing. So now baby can be put down after an hour of sitting upright and the noises are less.

So in conclusion it's all normal, but obviously tiring!

9 months here and baby still contact naps. Don’t see anything wrong with it; they’re way too little to form “bad habits”.

Another solidarity message here! DD is nearly 7 weeks and sometimes is great but other times will only contact nap and is so noisy at night too. She often nurses to sleep so I don't want to wake her by winding her, it often takes ages to get a burp from her, but if I don't she'll wake up from discomfort anyway.
Also avoiding co-sleeping because I think our mattress is probably too soft to be safe.
Not wanting to wish away time as I know they're only little for a while etc etc but I am looking forward to when she sleeps more than a 2 hour stretch!

PS. I will be sad when I realise one day I've had my last ever contact nap and my baby (toddler by then) no longer wants it! I'm a sentimental old soul.

Thank you for your input everyone! FTM so no experience & had no idea about these issues that would potentially occur during the night! Poor babies must be uncomfortable but they also take forever to wind if they’re asleep! Sorry we are all going through the same struggle but I’m sure we wouldn’t have it any other way to have our baby safely in our arms 🥰 I’m relieved to know she is not in serious pain & it will get better over time! I will enjoy contact napping for a long as I can in that case! Really appreciate your replies xxx

I have a 5 week old baby and she's such a noisy sleeper! She grunts and kicks and flaps her arms. I can't even describe the noises she's making, there's all kinds lol

At first I used to pick her up and soothe but I've stopped that. As long as she's not crying, I leave her to it and she eventually falls asleep.

Co sleeping is so dangerous when they're that young, just stick it out and try different things with them.

Sorry OP I know how you feel. Good luck

It may not be reflux or wind. If baby is disturbed by sleeping on their back then do check out the possibility of floppy larynx. Noisy breathing is another symptom.

@MJM1608 omg this was my baby when he was born. He was a nightmare sleeper during night and day. 20-30min during day but not often and nights a handful. He use to make endless noises, grunting, sounded like he a cold but didn't and fidgets. In the end I tilted the Moses basket and put him further down so his feet is touching the end of basket. I also used white noise to help as well. He is now 5 months and sleeps longer at night with hardly any mutters and fidgets.

My baby was so loud when he was sleeping. Made these horrendous strangling sounding noises, but was fast asleep.
Some small babies have very soft windpipes so they make all these awful noises when they lie on their backs. Nothing you can do about it really, but it does make it very difficult for you to sleep. It did get better after about 3 months for us.

my toddler is nearly 21m and is contact napping right now

It’s completely normal, my babies have all done the same thing and my 4 month old would do that 4 hours fine then grunting the rest of the night, would only sleep and nap on me until he hit 11 weeks old and now he will only go to sleep in his cot or pram and I miss those sleepy cuddles aom much. I even posted on here that I was worried I was making a rod for my own back by holding him to sleep but I definitely did not. I miss lying on the sofa with him asleep on my chest now xxx