Feel like a zombie - please tell me this will get better! (7 week old)

[Bartimaeus]

I have a 7 week old DS. At first he slept relatively well, fell asleep by himself no problem. However this last week he seems to have "forgotten" how to go to sleep, especially in the evenings but also sometimes during the day.

This week we've seen lots of different behaviour, all in the evenings:

• screaming for 2 hours (until midnight!) because he was overtired (he'd been up 7 hours in total by the time we got him to sleep),
• just not going to sleep but lying there, eyes wide open, not crying until he'd been there for about 30 minutes
• feeding for 2 hours before drifting off to sleep and although he opens his eyes when put in his cot he fell alseep again (bliss! only happened once)
• feeding for 2 hours but then either falling asleep and waking as soon as I move and not going back to sleep or just not falling asleep

One evening I made sure we put him to bed with only 2 hours since he woke up from his last nap (to avoid the screaming from overtiredness) but that didn't work - he just didn't want to sleep.

Last night I ended up having him in bed with me, with him feeding lying on my side. However, despite feeding for ages he didn't drop off until 1am by which time I was in tears from exhaustion. I can't sleep with him in the bed with me - I'm not at all comfortable and I was having very scary thoughts about how I might squash or suffocate him. I ended up putting him back in his cot and letting him suck my finger to sleep. Plus I think he had silent relux and he really needs winding after (and sometimes during) every feed so cosleeping and feeding in bed is not pratical.

We've tried (with hardly any success) :

• putting him in the sling and walking around - he sleeps whilst in the sling but wakes the second you take him out
• putting him in the pram - he hates this and cries
• the radio not tuned to anything - no effect whatsoever
• walking around with him - no effect (used to work every time)
• sitting cradling him with our fingrs to suck - no effect (used to work occassionally)
• feeding to sleep - he feeds for a couple of hours but rarely falls asleep and I'm afraid it doesn't help his reflux
• playing soothing classical music - no effect
• saying shhhh in his ear in a rhythm - little effect

We don't have a routine really, just feed on demand and try to get him to bed by 9.30pm (earlier is not posisbly with DH's work). He naps a fair few times during the day.

Got to post and run unfortunately as we're going out for the day.

Any advice is gratefully received!

Thanks

Posting and running too, but I just had to say, yes it does get better. Absolutely and completely. This stage may seem unbearable and feel like eternity but it honestly cross-my-heart does end. The first 12 weeks (obviously this is all ime and imo) are hard but it passes.

It does get better. 2 hours is quite a long time for a small baby to be awake (my DD was 7 mo before she could manage that) so perhaps try an hour or an hour and a half. When my DD was that little I found that patting, shusshing, White noise etc only served to overstimulate her and the best thing was just to put her in a completely dark room (for bed anyway) with just my hand on her chest. I know you say that your LO cannot go to bed before 9.30 due to dh working but if at all possible I would try to put her to bed between 6.30 and 7 (I think I have read that at that time babies are naturally at their most drowsy) as it sounds like overtiredness could be the problem. Don't worry too much though - I'm sure things will settle down soon

Also if he likes sucking how about a dummy? If he is reflux-y, this should help.

If you use the sling to get him to sleep wait 20min before you try to put him down, to make sure he is in deep sleep.

What about a dummy?

Thanks

We try the dummy every day but it usually falls out after a couple of minutes and sometimes he closes his mouth really firmly to refuse it...

The cheeky thing slept all day yesterday, only waking for feeds and then only staying awake about an hour so i suspect he is overtired. Typical he chose a day when I couldn't sleep too!

I sympathise! I've found that sleep is a shifting pattern, some nights are great, some you wonder what on earth just happened. Two things to try: White Noise app (iPhone, best 59p I've spent - conch shell was / is a favourite). Hairdryer noise, full blast.

This article is regarding a much older baby than yours, but I think gives a helpful description: www.askmoxie.org/2010/07/qa-7monthold-nap-strike.html

It will get better!