2 wk old sleep trauma oh help please!

[thislittlesisterlola]

my ds is having major trouble settling-day or night. After a feed goes classically 'drunk' on milk faced but then wont settle to sleep can take up to 2 hours. He has 20/30 minute naps during the day on me or dp hates to be put down. He has just started having some cranial osteopathy as we had a difficult birth and this hopefully is helping. Have just tried swaddled him- (hv said they dont recommend it but many have on here was too tired to reason with her) as he looks like an air traffic controller when he does sleep arms waving about everywhere. He has bit of reflux so he is propped up to sleep. He also has a dummy. Also keep it quiet when trying to settle him tried white noise. Tried going out in the car. Im running out of ideas can anyone help? I am one tired mummy! P.s is putting on weight fine and has wet and dirty nappies. Am currently just going with whatever he wants but i do need to be able to put him down sometimes.

Where are you putting him down to sleep? In a cot?

My DD2 is now 5 weeks and at 2 weeks old she was just like what you are describing.

DD2 has also had some reflux problems and we've needed to feed her propped up and have her sleep at an angle. Our saviour has been this chair which can recline as much as you want and it has allowed her to sleep quite well without the reflux and projectile vomiting (nice!) troubling her.

I love swaddling babies, I think it has definitely helped both of mine to sleep. This time round we are using this as it is much more lightweight in the warm weather we were having. It isn't as restrictive as a traditional swaddle but is enough to stop her whacking herself in the face!

The good news is that at 5 weeks old she is much, much better. We still have tricky days but roughly she has settled into a pattern of eating and sleeping and is gradually getting better at sleeping somewhere other than on me which means my older DD can have some attention too. Goodluck, it WILL get better, honestly!

Take it you've tried the usual tricks of putting dh's used t shirt in the bottom of the cot, and using white noise e.g. this?

You could be me! I have a two week old too - he hates being swaddled despite all the miracle wraps etc. My midwife today suggested that he was getting not enough hind milk which is why he is not sleeping for long - the hind milk makes them fuller and sleepier. Mine does the foremilk guzzle then falls off the boob drunk. She said to apply a cold flannel to wake him up and make him eat the rest of the milk. So far it worked - well, two feeds later he has slept for 2-3 hrs! I have yet to do the night though...that is always most challenging jyst because of the lonliness of being in a room with a wee person who has done nothing wrong but who is slowly torturing me into PND. By morning all I can do is cry, again!

Are any of you taking your babies out for a walk during the day? That is my top tip for daytime naps. Feed, put in pram/buggy and walk, walk, walk till they fall asleep. If you don't want to keep walking at that stage, head for home but leave dc in the pram when you get there (outside if possible). Some will wake up when you stop moving but persevere. You need to dod this every morning at the same time & eventually you can just put them for a nap in the cot.

But really, 2 weeks is very early to expect any sort of pattern, I didn't do this till they were around 8 weeks old.

At this age, sleeping in a pram or sling is your best option. Young babies do not want to be put down, full stop. Pram - like Decorhate said - outside if possible (with a blanket of course), or if you have a sling or wrap, get them tucked in close to your chest where they can hear your heartbeat - it recreates the feeling of being in the womb. You get your hands free for housework/ having a cup of coffee and baby sleeps for longer - it's a win-win.

Also, Athrawes, are you getting up in the night to do feeds? Have you thought about co-sleeping and feeding lying down instead?(after a while, you'll find that you can pretty much feed in your sleep and no, you won't roll onto the baby - not if you follow the guidelines). You can either co-sleep in your own bed or you can use a 3sided cot that joins onto your bed if you have the space.

Everyone says do side feeding and sleeping in bed and believe me I have tried, I really have! But I can't sleep that way and was getting crazy with lack of sleep. Last night baby slept in his own room and I slept with DH and whilst baby slept still in short bursts at least I was not woken by every squeek. Three short lots of sleep better than no sleep. I guess evetyone needs to find their own way and whilst this is not the PC way it might work for me.

athrawes- excuse my post natal hormones and have a hug and a large glass of something nice. I hope things are improving. Im bottle feeding so our situation is slightly different. I am also on the few short sleeps. Dp is doing some night feeds but he cant settle him so im up in bed with ds on my chest. He sleeps pretty much like this all day with me on the sofa. Have started warming the crib up which slows him waking up in the crib- 15 mins before he wakes and wants to sleep on me again. This does get better doesnt it it wont still be like this at 6, 7 wks? I just hope i can put him in crib sleepy and he'll sleep. Am getting quite worked up i wont be able to. I suffer from sleeping problems and the thought of this not getting better reduces me to tears prob not helped by all these hormones. Thanks for reading my whinge.

had bad one last night. Did not sleep at all in his basket. Just back and forth with dp. He is having a growth spurt so we have one hungry boy too. Hope today is a good one.

thislittlesisterlola I have exactly the same problem as you, my ds is nearly 3 weeks old and didnt sleep last night either, he falls asleep on me and would happily stay there but when I try to put him in his basket he wakes up.
He also gets bad wind that wakes him up as he grunts and strains to get it out and that also keeps me awake.
I ended up walking around with him at 5am this morning, I literally got about 2 hours sleep last night and even that wasnt all at once.
Its so hard isnt it?

dh it is really hard and tbh soul destroying the minute you think he might just settle he stirs, cries and off we go again. 3 wks old tomorrow and im already freaking out and seriously startig to worry i.ll never be able to put him down and shower, eat, wee in peace he is asleep on me now. How has today been for you dh? Im adopting you as my 'cant get no sleep' buddy

I don't really have any suggestions, just a bit of light at the end of the tunnel (I hope).

My daughter was like this when she was very young. All I can say is that it does get better! She would really only sleep on me and a bit later, I got a sling so I could at least do a few things while she slept in the day.

Gradually she slept more at night, and got better at not waking when I put her down (though it took a lot longer before she could fall asleep in her cot or nap during the day in her cot).

I have the same problem as you except my daughter is 21 months.

Nightweaning as we speak. She just fallen asleep on me after tantrum and heartwrenchingly crying for boob

Sigh

Also just seen you have tried a dummy. Best to leave off them as can interfere with supply. At least for the first couple of months. I'vebeen told, anyway. Mine just uses me instead

I used to wear mine in a wrap the few rare times I wasn't actually sat down feeding her. Wraps better than slings I think as you can get them snug. Then just went about my business - I still sling her for daynals and go to the loo with her like this when we're out

thislittlesisterlola ds wasnt AS bad last night, I managed to get a tiny bit more sleep. He seemed pretty good til about 2am then went downhill and he woke nearly every hour.

He sleeps really well in his moses basket during the day but at night hes like a different baby.

How was your night?

It is my 40 th birthday tomorrow - I want sleep!
Everyone says it gets better but I wonder whether anyone will be alive , whether I will be married, when it does get better!
Off to walk him in his pram in desperation.

"Young babies do not want to be put down, full stop."

What a crock of shit. Both my DDs liked being put down and left alone when they were really tiny. DD1 liked to lie on the floor and stare around the room. DD2 liked to be put in her cot or a quiet corner so she could drop off to sleep.

Babies are all different. And nobody knows your baby as well as you do. You are with him all the time and probably spend most of your day staring at him in wonder.

Things I've found helped with sleeping - swaddling, dummy (only at night), dark room (DD1), not dark room (DD2), singing and rocking (DD1), "stop that squawking and put me down, mother" (DD2), in the pram for a walk, soothing music, glowing light thing

Hope you get it sorted soon. It's hard work when you're not getting enough sleep.

Hi sleepy mums,

Babies are all different and only you will work out what works for them but this, unfortunately, will take time. At 2 weeks they are still getting over the shock being on the outside and probably have no idea what they want.

I don't have a magic answers, so will speak from personal experience. To allow myself to cope mentally with those early days, i had to break down the first few weeks into days, then 6 week and then 12 week targets, telling myself that with each milestone, just as the books said, sleep and feeding would start to fall into place and sanity would creep back over the horizon. And it did (eventually).

P.s. Don't give up with the swaddling - it worked well for my munchkin, as did plenty of fresh air (even if all I wanted to do was lie in a darkened room, in silence).

Hi littlesisterlola ,my boy was the same ,I started using Baby Secrets by Jo Tantum it was my bible for the 1st 6 months .In it she tells you that new babies can only stay awake for 1 hour at a time ,and will feed naturally every 3 hours .So that is just enough time to wake them ,change a nappy ,feed ,try and wake (so they don't feed to sleep) then swaddle and back down for a nap .She suggests putting in a quiet dark room .We also got Slumber bear which has womb music .My boy loved in and it would soothe him to sleep .
Hope this helps