11 w/o disordered sleep - agh!

[lbandrb]

DS is generally tricky to get to sleep and keep asleep. The typical pattern is that he needs movement to get to and often stay asleep during the day, and the tools we use can work very quickly. But it's become harder in the past week to keep him awake beyond an hour at most, usually 35-40 minutes. He tends to wake up cranky, clearly needing more sleep, so I work hard to get him back to sleep when needed. He also seems to be finding it more and more of an effort to go to sleep, however soon I catch the need - he usually cries himself off, even while being comforted/moved around etc.

The blessing was that his night sleep was restful and we've recently got a lot better at getting him off before he gets overtired. HOWEVER, in the past couple of days his night sleep has gone haywire. Feeding lots, comfort sucking loads (whereas he previously didn't), not wanting to sleep unless on, next to (or worse) attached to me, and even then not being peaceful. I'm already worn out utterly by this 24/7 sleep battle and wondering quite what has gone wrong, and if I can do anything to resolve it.

He did have a couple of days of reflux, so could be recovering the milk needed. We're away from home - could he be unsettled by this? I thought he was too young for that. Could it be a growth spurt? We've used the dummy quite a bit more in the past couple of days - could this have stimulated a need for comfort sucking? Help!

Can I do anything to break through this 35-minute barrier for daytime naps (which seems often the limit wherever he is sleeping and whatever we do)? Do I just need to ride out this nighttime upset? My worry is that he's not getting enough sleep, and overtiredness just creates a downward spiral.

watching with interest - we have a very similar situation with 13w DS. The weekend is over meaning DH is likely to go back to spare room tomorrow. I'm becoming a 24/7 rocker/soother. Then I move him to cot... and he wakes up!

Same here ! a week of waking every 40-60 minutes every night and not sleeping during the day unless on me or in the pram. There is a growth spurt around now.

Pleased to hear I am not alone! I believe there's a growth spurt around 12 weeks, as you say, curlyclaz13 (at least, according to the Wonder Weeks book). My son is 11 weeks today, and was almost 2 weeks overdue, so he'd be going through the issues bang on schedule, as that book times from due date.

We might be having a rather extreme response, given the combination of growth spurt with being in an unfamiliar environment and recovery from a little bout of reflux. I've never heard such emotional screaming (it's definitely emotional) or dealt with such clingy behaviour and disrupted sleep in my baby before.

Grainmum, I am interested to know if the challenges you are facing a recent development too.

Relatively recent. For the first couple of months he just seemed to feed and go straight back to sleep, now he's much more likely to wake when I transfer him after rocking/feeding to sleep.

Going to write down what happens tonight and see if the HVs have any advice. He seems to settle on his tummy much better for naps this afternoon but wakes up on rolling over!

grainmum snap, it's the waking up when you put them down that is a bit frustrating, it doesn't seem to matter how long I keep him on me for as soon as I put him down,apart from after his first bedtime feed, he wakes up. I actually managed to put him down on the floor after he fell asleep yesterday and he stayed asleep there for about 20 minutes ! Not ideal but I got to go for a wee and get a drink, no idea what the issue with his cot is though he was fine for the first two weeks.

So the HV team suggested what I knew deep down - to put him down sleepy awake, then try to sooth him without picking up, move away from the cot when quiet so he can soothe himself to sleep. Pick up until calm if hysterical.

Thing is every time I put him in cot on back he's hysterical!

We need to do something so we're going for shush pat for now - only have to master roll onto back, not full transfer!

I got a stretchy wrap sling and wore dd almost constatly all day to get through this stage. She seemed to manage to sleeo for longer during tge ssy this,way, and that led to better sleep at night. I felt less hobbled as i could get on, get a drink, food etc.

My dds definitely were more unsettled away from home from tiny, and fed way more, i think as a way of keeping me close.

I personally wouldn't try the whole sleep training thing at this age - it's too young. Try to go with their needs at this stage, use strategies to make if less stressful for you and this phase will pass.

SuffolkLatch, we have a stretchy wrap sling too and it's the thing we use most to get DS to sleep. I almost never dare to try to remove him asleep, but do wonder if he sleeps in quite an unsettled way. If I catch his sleepiness at the right time he can go to sleep very quickly but then I tend to have to keep patting his bum / moving around gently / singing to keep him asleep, and if he seems to go into a deep sleep I have to be careful to keep moving again as soon as he stirs. Did your DDs sleep soundly in the sling? The light sleeping may be a symptom of the silent reflux we are trying to resolve, though - I do wonder.

Hello all I can join this club too. I have gone from 6-7 hour stretches from 12 week old DS at night several weeks ago to a new low last night of 40-60 min stretches in Moses basket only.
This is DC2 and am in uncharted territory as DD slept through 8-10 hours by now!
Day times are ok - probably he sleeps too much as catching up - but nights are getting worse.
I had actually thought the 12 week spurt had passed and saw a little improvement - but now it's getting worse by the day.
He has had a tummy bug so am hoping this is a factor.

Going to stay with family tomorrow and am slightly dreading all the advice and judgements. Plus the fact it may make things even worse!

We have been given infacol to see if that helps. he doesn't wind easily and falls asleep feeding so I end up in a circle of feed, sleep, wake, wind, feed etc.

We have a stretchy wrap sling too and it's definitely great for encouraging day time sleep - DS slept from 3 to 5.30 this afternoon in it. I think this is partly because you cab respond to stirring really early and support them to resettle and sleep for longer.