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Sleep

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Original poster

Has anyone had a baby like this and WHAT DID YOU DO??

27 replies

ZuluWarrior · 18/02/2014 21:51

Apart from cry, that is.

Been here before. DS is 7m now. Our third baby so we are not newbies. He has always been an appalling sleeper. Where we are now:

Self settles after BF at 7pm. Bedtime routine. Wakes up screaming at 9. Screams despite all efforts until 10. BF. Goes to sleep (sometimes needs settled 2 or 3 times) for a couple of hours. I bring him into bed after that as I'm shattered. Quite happy in bed with me. One or 2 wakings but quicky settled with BF.

What is this screaming?? He is a happy, relaxed baby during the day. A bit pukey. Fully weaned, mix fed (I am going back to work in 3 weeks).

We have tried, unsuccessfully;

Gaviscon
Ranitidine
Infacol
Tiger In the tree
Leaving him to cry
Car seat
The head of the cot is elevated
He has a dummy

He is probably teething but he has always been like this so can't just be the teeth.

Has anyone experienced this? I think GP is going to refer us but I think they'll come up with nothing.

I'd say I was at my wit's end but I was there 3 months ago. I'm at the end of my wit's end. Will it ever stop?

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

GingerMaman · 18/02/2014 21:55

I've got a similar type of baby, except wakes up every hour. I've no idea what is wrong, if anything.

Have you ruled out allergies?

Original poster

ZuluWarrior · 18/02/2014 21:56

I'm so very sorry to hear that, Ginger.

Forgot that bit in the OP - did cow's milk protein and soya free for 3 weeks. No difference (except I lost half a stone and was very bored)

OP posts:

CocktailQueen · 18/02/2014 21:59

Reflux? Might need a combo of ranitidine and domperidone to sort?

piratecat · 18/02/2014 22:02

oh my, i feel for you 100%. i had one of these, and was at my wits end for months, and I'm afraid it's always been a part of her. She is almost a teen now, and has always struggled to switch off.

Happy lovely baby/person. Never slept in a car, a pram, nothing.

Is he a very sensitive generally, to sound, change etc??? x

RandomMess · 18/02/2014 22:02

Could well be acidic reflux still.

Be thankful he is content the rest of the time. Mine screamed/was miserable apart from when eating and sleeping (not much but fortunately all at night time) - it was hell and they kept telling me it was a "touch of colic".

With the above said acidic reflux baby EVERY single tooth was hellish.

Wishfulmakeupping · 18/02/2014 22:03

Maybe try www.parentdish.co.uk/baby/cranial-osteopathy-can-it-help-your-child-sleep/

Original poster

ZuluWarrior · 18/02/2014 22:09

Thanks all. I guess if it is still reflux then maybe a referral will help.

Random, yes, I am so thankful he is lovely during the day. It has saved him from going out the window. But makes the unhappiness during the night more confusing.

Pirate, he is quite sensitive to noise. I have wondered about sensory stuff before but it's difficult to work out whether it's chicken or egg IYSWIM. Good point though ( and nice to know your daughter has turned out fine )

OP posts:

Original poster

ZuluWarrior · 18/02/2014 22:11

Wishful, in a previous thread I have said that I am a scientist and would have to be desperate to try something with no evidence of effectiveness.

I think I might almost be that desperate .

OP posts:

CharleyFarnsbarns · 18/02/2014 23:08

Not sure if this helps but my DS sounds similar. He was/is a bad sleeper. Used to wake several times an evening and be like a different baby - he was happy during the day but in the evening the only thing that would calm him was BF. Had to cosleep as he woke repeatedly through the night as well. He still wakes in the evening and cries loads, gets in a right old state and needs cuddles to calm down. Think with him it's just he's not great at night alone. He's always liked company and wants someone with him all the time.

minipie · 18/02/2014 23:50

So he sleeps ok if in bed with you? I am wondering if there is something uncomfortable about his cot/ room.... (too cold? mattress?). I know that sounds odd but if he had reflux I'd expect him to be bad in bed with you as well...

darjeelingdarling · 19/02/2014 20:38

hmm sounds familiar - I ended up proactively cosleeping and chanting this too shall pass.....

darjeelingdarling · 19/02/2014 20:46

We had tounge tie and he has a high palette too and I think generally has always been burpy / refluxy / on edge. he's a sensitive little soul though very happy. Teething seems to really throw him more than other babies and he has always often seemed to get tummy pains. I know he knows I fix it so he likes to keep me near at night. It's gone through various phases good and bad. he's on trimethoprim too for bladder reflux though I've been assured its not that. For a long time he seemed to need to sleep propped up on a pillow in the day and sometimes at night (from about 5 - 10 months). Now he'll use me but its easier now. Omeprazole gave him horrendous wind.

Original poster

ZuluWarrior · 20/02/2014 06:12

Thanks all so much for your replies and sorry for disappearing for a while.

I just need to suck it up, don't I?
I'm never getting to have sex again.
Probably just as well. I'm done having babies.

Off to a work conference today on 4 hours of broken sleep. At least I'll get to have lunch with no children hanging off my leg .

OP posts:

Original poster

ZuluWarrior · 20/02/2014 06:14

Yes minipie, I agree with you. If it was reflux I think he'd be unhappy during the day too, and scream when he's in bed with me too.

It just doesn't add up. He's wrapped up pretty well and it's a nice comfy mattress but there is something about the cot that he hates.

OP posts:

insanityscatching · 20/02/2014 06:38

If it's the same time each night it could be a night terror as my eldest had them when really young. You could try waking him ten minutes before the screaming would start and then resettling as that disturbs the sleep patterns. We did that with ds and after about three weeks we stopped the waking and the screaming had stopped.

TwoThreeFourSix · 20/02/2014 06:47

DS was/is similar. Reflux baby but very happy (despite puking) in the day and very unhappy at night.

Findig meds that worked aged 12 months really helped.

But still a bad sleeper aged 2.4 years. If we cosleep he sleeps loads better but we're trying to stop that as DC2 arrives in 3 months...

We think DS really doesnt like sleeping alone so might set up a bed in our room if this current attempt fails

evertonmint · 20/02/2014 06:53

This may be a dumb question but you mention you try to settle him between 9 and 10, and then BF, and you don't mention BF as one of the things you've tried.

Are you not feeding him when he wakes at 9 because it's only 2 hours since last feed? Or am I just reading that incorrectly? Does he not settle for an hour even with a feed?

I might just be reading your words wrongly so please ignore me if I am but if you genuinely aren't feeding between 7 and 10, I'd try that feed when he wakes and see what happens.

Original poster

ZuluWarrior · 20/02/2014 20:10

Insanity, I hadn't considered night terrors. Will keep a close eye on timing - thank you.

TwoThree I hope your experiment works. I have been thinking about bringing the cot back into the room too, as he seems to want company.

Everton, don't worry . I try a variety of things including bf and not bf but it doesn't seem to make a difference and he can still scream for ages even after a feed.

He seems to be having a nursing strike atm anyway so the whole BF comfort thing might be going out the window.

OP posts:

morethanmama · 20/02/2014 20:20

My almost one year old (also no 3) is also like this so watching with interest. My ds simply hates his cot and has absolutely no routine (not for want of trying!). He hardly sleeps in the day other than in the car and I pretty much always feed to sleep.

He was tongue tied too. He is a really happy baby and I think he just wants to be close to me. It's hard though.

thezoobmeister · 20/02/2014 20:32

Yeah, both mine did this at various ages - sleep got better, got worse again, at sort of random intervals. Waking screaming all the time for no apparent reason.

I spent too much time stressing with DD1 over causes. Gave her loads of unnecessary medicine. Looking back, it was pointless worrying because in fact I already knew what worked - boob and co-sleeping - just that this solution didn't fit my pre conceived ideas of good parenting ...

With DD2 I have fully embraced the lazy slattern parenting philosophy and am finding that I give far less of a shit about her terrible sleeping habits.

darjeelingdarling · 20/02/2014 21:33

zoob!

kernow13 · 21/02/2014 02:51

Ooh I recognise my baby here! She loves company & would be attached to me full time if she could! I think it's because she had really terrible reflux (which thankfully is improving naturally as she develops) & had to have lots of cuddles with me to soothe her right from the start. She also has suspected cow milk protein intolerance that we are awaiting tests for. (I too went dairy free which did help her). Interestingly re sleep, she had been going through the night waking just for BF at 4am. She is now 4 months & teething & been waking every hour for the past 3 nights. Will quickly settle with cuddles or BF but wakes crying within the hour...Co sleeping works for her but I dont want that to get into a habit, or am I being too 'strict'?? Anyway I do hope you know you're certainly not alone in this!

nooka · 21/02/2014 07:13

My dd was a bit like this, generally happy during the day, but just wouldn't settle at night without hours of being paced around (she wasn't even happy with lying on me if I wasn't moving). The only thing that worked for us was having her perched on dh's jiggly knee whilst he played SimCity/ the Sims (something about the music too maybe?) until she finally drifted off. The whole process taking a couple of hours at least. The only time when dh not being able to sit still has been helpful (otherwise it drives me round the bend!).

On a more positive note I can say that once dd's limpet stage passed she has been utterly delightful, an easy toddler, lovely little girl, great tween and now is a excellent company as a teenager. She just needs to be close to people. She does still struggle to get to sleep though and has a tendency to stress out which I guess was the issue when she was tiny, she just struggled to relax enough to go to sleep, and being very very tired liked to let us know that she was miserable!

MrRected · 21/02/2014 07:36

OP my DS was exactly as you describe. An ent referral and camera down his throat under GA showed that he such severe silent reflux that his oesophagus was bleeding.

He required 9 months of treatment with Nexium to sort it out. He slept through the night within 3 weeks of starting the meds.

ateddybearfromdelaware1 · 21/02/2014 07:41

When my ds was doing this, it was because he was over-tired so I tried putting him to bed earlier - sometimes at 6/6.15pm and he would sleep much better. Worth a try

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