Should I be picking baby up in the night? Noisy sleeper

[Liloh]

I'm a first time parent to a DD who has just turned 7 weeks. From the first week she has been a very noisy sleeper but only when sleeping flat in her moses basket or crib. She grunts, strains, wimpers and make lots of other unusual noises constantly. Myself and my husband found it really difficult to sleep through or ignore so would take it in turns holding her while the other slept.

Over the last couple of weeks we have been managing to put her down in her crib or basket and she will sleep the first hour or two fairly quietly, but then the noises starts again. She has terrible trouble with wind and also reflux which I think are behind some of the noises and she sometimes sounds uncomfortable but I'm not sure if the noises make it sound worse than it is as she rarely wakes up or cries in the night. When she is making the noises she is asleep and doesnt cry, although sometimes she may make wimpering noises.

I'm unsure whether I should be picking her up or leaving her to settle herself. If left she will stop after a few minutes but then the noises begin again. She also kicks her legs and tosses and turns. If I do pick her up she stops but starts as soon as I put her back down, unless its wind in which cases she carries on with the straining noises regardless of cuddles, belly rubs, bicycle legs etc. She also doesnt really wake or cry for a feed but that might be because I usually pick her up and then offer the breast before it gets to the point of her crying.
I'm at a complete loss as to what to do. I want to be there to for her if she needs me but at the same time I'm exhausted as I'm only getting a couple of hours of sleep a night. If she is making noises but is asleep should I be picking her up or only if she wakes up and/or is crying?
I'd really appreciate any advice

I don’t know but my five week old is the same, I do think newborns are just very noisy sleepers- they are nose breathers with tiny nasal passages which accounts for a lot of it.

I generally just put white noise on and Rey and sleep through it, although a lot of the time I’m just dozing really. I certainly wouldn’t be staying awake to hold him.

*try and sleep through it.

When he starts making louder more insistent noises and his eyes start opening, he gets picked up for a feed.

I remember being so surprised by how noisy my first baby was over night. Leave the baby and do your best to sleep.

If she’s asleep and not crying then I would leave her- young babies are just noisy sleepers. If you find it difficult to sleep through it then I’d take it in turns with your husband to wear earplugs.

Thanks everyone

It's so hard when lying next to her not to react but I guess she would wake up and cry if she needed me. I just feel a bit guilty trying to sleep when she sounds so uncomfortable

Mine was SO noisy, and I remember lying between her and DH feeling trapped and miserable! I eventually learnt to sleep thru the noise and only wale up if she needed feeding, although it wasn't brilliant until she went into her own room at six months, after which everyone slept a lot better! The trouble with constantly picking them up etc is they then end up expecting it every time?

I'm going to say the same a PPs. I was shocked and surprised with how such a small person could emit such noises. The grunting, farting and gurgling was something I hadn't read about.
Rest assured these are normal sounds.
My mistake with DD1 (20 years ago) was to pick her up despite my health visitor saying never disturb a sleeping baby.
Looking back on it I would have been better heeding her advice.
It is unsettling for you but it's completely normal.
You will adjust to the sounds, eventually.
I'm very jealous of you BTW.
Lucky you having a newborn.
I think it's the curse of looking with hindsight but there are many things I wished I hadn't of worried about, this being one of them.
Have a snuggle with your baby from me. You'll never get this time back

I was not prepared for the weird noises sleeping babies make! Our first night in the hospital we stayed up all night watchint/listening and as a result we were delirious with lack of sleep. It will be obvious if your little one is in distress, she will cry if she isn't happy.

Honestly DD used to sound like a baby piglet when she was little. Sqeaking and grunting and squealing in her sleep. I think they are just noisy unfortunately. I second taking it in turns to wear earplugs, and drowning it out with white noise. If it helps, it doesnt last forever, they do seem to get quieter as they get older (and more comfortable as their guts mature so less squirmy from all the wind)

I've just moved my 11 week old a few meters away from bed, I sleep a lot better, I can hear him if he needs me but I'm not as disturbed by every little noise! If they aren't crying I would leave them be and get what sleep you can!

@Liloh I could have written this post! All I will say is persevere with putting her down, and don’t worry about the noises unless she starts crying. My DS is 14 weeks now and he did exactly as you describe from around 3 weeks, I found it so distressing to lie next to him while he did it, and he would do it all night long, so DH and I resorted to working in shifts over night to hold him, and he would contact nap during the day. I think because he got used to sleeping on us we went a very long time not being able to put him down. He still only contact naps during the day, and I now cosleep with him and feed him lying down, which I desperately didn’t want to do, and am permanently exhausted because I’m quite nervous about cosleeping so I don’t sleep well. I think had we not given in to holding him for 100% of his sleep we probably would t be where we are now. Hoping the cosleeping will act as a bridge between him sleeping on us to eventually on his back in his own crib…eventually! X

My son was simular with the whimpering and straining all night, turns out he has CMPA which we only found out when u gave up dairy for 6 weeks whilst BF.
Might be worth looking into CMPA and seeing if they have any other symptoms

@Az20 do you mind if I ask if any other symptoms were present? I’ve given up dairy because of suspected CMPA, but I’m on her fence as to whether that’s actually the cause of various things x

[quote MintGreenLife]@Az20 do you mind if I ask if any other symptoms were present? I’ve given up dairy because of suspected CMPA, but I’m on her fence as to whether that’s actually the cause of various things x[/quote]
For us it was straining constantly, kicking his legs and lift them up then throw them back down all night. Then he stopped pooping and the longest he went was 15 days without going and would tend to it go every 10-15days after that for a couple of months. He would be very grumpy after feeds and squirming so you could see he was uncomfortable.
The Dr recommended giving up dairy before they would refer us to a pediatrician to check there wasn't any twists in his tummy which was stopping him pooping regularly. When I gave it up the changes were gradual so I didn't think there was any difference until after 6 weeks if BM I gave him a dairy formula and within 3 days the straining returned and the uncomfortable after bottles. At that point I realised how much the no dairy did help him.
When I spoke to the Dr they confirmed it was CMPA because of the return of the symptoms and we're now on our second type of dairy free formula.

Both of mine have been noisy sleepers, turns out it’s totally normal for newborns, including the whimpering. Settled down around the 3 month mark though. I used white noise to block it out so I could get some sleep, or earplugs so you can hear if she wakes and cries but don’t hear every little noise, but definitely don’t pick her up unless she’s crying or awake, if she’s sleeping happily then leave her! Let her wake for a feed, and get as much sleep as you can.

@Az20 hmm that’s interesting, I’ve always questioned CMPA with my DS as he has normal dirty nappies and no rash etc. Gp did say could be mild CMPA so we’ve been prescribed a dairy free formula but yet to try it. HV advised we try a normal formula to see how he reacts but I’m nervous of doing that in case he reacts badly. Here are my observations…

Before dairy free:
Grunting/straining, most frequently when on back/at night, but sometimes in day when being held
Unable to lie on back at night
Frequent hiccups
Occasionally bringing up whole feeds (a few times a week)
Very gassy
Coughing after feeding
Fussing when feeding

After dairy free:
Hiccups, gas, sickness & coughing seemed to improve, still fussing when feeding, although had one good week at around 6 weeks dairy free

After reintroducing dairy:
Hiccups and gas seemed to worsen, grunting/straining back, fussy feeding ongoing

Would be good to know what you think. Once I thought his symptoms were possibly returning I promptly stopped dairy again. X

We used to call DS2 piglet because he was so noisy. From the day he was born!
Farting, grunting, squeaking, you name it, he did it. He was like a tiny alarm. I ended up moving his crib into my walk in closet so I wouldn’t hear him as much!
I stopped picking him except for the night feeds and in the end co-slept with him as he seemed to settle better lying on his side next to me or tucked up under my chin.
He’s 7 now and still wants to sleep under my chin!

[quote MintGreenLife]@Az20 hmm that’s interesting, I’ve always questioned CMPA with my DS as he has normal dirty nappies and no rash etc. Gp did say could be mild CMPA so we’ve been prescribed a dairy free formula but yet to try it. HV advised we try a normal formula to see how he reacts but I’m nervous of doing that in case he reacts badly. Here are my observations…

Before dairy free:
Grunting/straining, most frequently when on back/at night, but sometimes in day when being held
Unable to lie on back at night
Frequent hiccups
Occasionally bringing up whole feeds (a few times a week)
Very gassy
Coughing after feeding
Fussing when feeding

After dairy free:
Hiccups, gas, sickness & coughing seemed to improve, still fussing when feeding, although had one good week at around 6 weeks dairy free

After reintroducing dairy:
Hiccups and gas seemed to worsen, grunting/straining back, fussy feeding ongoing

Would be good to know what you think. Once I thought his symptoms were possibly returning I promptly stopped dairy again. X[/quote]
It sounds like it could be partly down to an allergy. It's worth speaking with your doctor to confirm it. It wasn't until we reintroduced dairy all his symptoms came back and we realised he was in quite a bit if pain with his tummy that we decided to move to a dairy free formula.
Babies are generally loud sleepers, mine likes to talk and giggle in his sleep, but if you have other symptoms during the day at wake times it's work speaking to the Dr and explaining your observations :)

@Az20 thanks so much fir replying. GP thinks possibly a mild intolerance and has prescribed a dairy free formula, but have been advised to try a normal formula first and see how he reacts x

You have my sympathies. Me and my wife are living through this hell now for the last 12 weeks, averaging around 4 hours of sleep each per night by doing it in shifts.

DS has CMPA and silent reflux and just does not sleep well. Constantly moving, kicking and groaning. Poor little things must be in discomfort but the sleep deprivation for us parents is a killer. People often say just let them get on with it but in our experience it just escalates to full on crying every time. I really hope your situation improves... every night I hope to myself that it's better than the previous night and I'm sure eventually it will get better.

Hi did this ever improve for you?

My 6week old baby sleeps silently when on our chest or in his pram if we’re out for hours at a time but as soon as we lay him in the crib at night he will toss and grunt and make really loud noises every 5-10mins startling us awake so we cannot sleep. He still sleeps for around 3hrs before needing a feed but he is SO loud. We are having to do shifts so that we can get sleep in the spare room but means we are only getting about 4hrs sleep a night and are exhausted. cosleeping is an option but also leads to us having no sleep as we are not comfortable doing this really.

He is formula fed now and we are going to try switching to a comfort brand…we have though possibly this could be a dairy intolerance as he appears in discomfort, even though he’s asleep, but seems strange as only happens in the crib. Any advice for some seriously sleep deprived parents!?

Hi, sorry I've just seen your comment on this thread. It was really difficult for the first few months but got better when DD was medicated for reflux (Omeprazole). It then improved further when she started solids at 6 months. DD is 2 now and sleeps like a dream so it does happen but I know it's tough when you are in the thick of it. I was also against co sleeping but in hindsight wish I had tried this as the sleep deprivation really affected me and husband. Hope you are coping ok x