Prem baby not sleeping at night

[StaceyHC]

Hi all, has anyone else with a preemie experienced a severe lack of sleep overnight, and how long did it last? I'm lucky to get 2hours of broken sleep across a 9 hour time period, he just won't settle, and no matter how long I cuddle him to sleep, he wakes the second I put him back in his crib. He was born 29 weeks gestation and I've had him home just over 3 weeks and no improvement - lots of crying, grunting, snorting and general restlessness. Any advice at all is welcome!

So apply that you didn't get any replies @StaceyHC.

How are things now?

No worries! So we’ve been home 8 weeks now and he’s literally within the last few days started to make a little improvement! He’ll sleep around 1.5-2hours after most of his night feeds now, so I’m averaging around 4-5hours total a night so it’s not quite as bad as before!

So glad that LO is doing longer stretches for you and hope you're getting some support

I have no advice, but our little one was born at 34 weeks and we having similar issues! He'll sleep for up to two hours at a time in his carrycot during the day but won't sleep at all at night unless I'm holding him, w
and then he'll doze but will wake easily if I move. He's been home for just over two weeks so far, after spending two weeks in hospital. I wondered if maybe he likes the comfort of me being there after being on his own at night in hospital?

We're in the same boat, 29 weeker, home about 3 weeks. He'll sleep in the dockatot next to me on the sofa during the day but at night when I try to put him in the crib it's like there's a bolt of electricity that wakes him.

Dad & I taking it in shifts at night so that we get some sleep but he's starting a new job next week so I'll have to do the nights. Any tips would we welcome.

@shangelawasrobbed yeah I think you could be onto something there, although I do think my little boy spent so much time in nicu that he’s somewhat used to being alone. When he’s in a good mood he’s able to put himself to sleep, although it does take a while!

@lori2019 I had the same, slept like a dream in the dockatot but typically can’t sleep in that overnight and I wasn’t comfortable taking the risk anyway! We’ve been home 10 weeks now and things have somewhat improved. He’s now sleeping around 3hours in between each feed at night and he is actually sleeping for the most part now. He got to about 6 / 7 weeks corrected age and it was like he finally understood that night time was for sleeping, although he still will not go down in the next to me crib, he has a Moses basket which has a much smaller surface area, I think he likes being able to touch the sides. So you could try that if you haven’t already?

@StaceyHC Thank you for the Moses basket tip. We're on night 4 of good sleep, he's just waking for feedings. Guess he likes the smaller space.

@lori2019 that’s great news, I’m glad he’s settling more and you’re getting some sleep too!