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Sleep

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Original poster

Baby flails in sleep and wakes up

16 replies

Cariad007 · 17/05/2014 17:40

12 week old DS tends to flail around and kick about in his sleep and inevitably this wakes him up. Anyone else's DCs like this? How did you put a stop to it? He hates being swaddled so that doesn't work and although we put him in a Gro BAg that still doesn't stop the flailing.

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Singsongmama · 17/05/2014 17:46

It's maybe just a stage. My DS did that for about a fortnight when he was about 6 - 8 weeks. He then realised that it wasn't worth waking up so snuffles back down to sleep. First few times his legs and arms flew out like a star fish, he was terrified, poor thing!

Gileswithachainsaw · 17/05/2014 17:49

Mine did this as a baby. Dd2 had a really strong startle reflex and it woke her up all the bloody time.

The solution was to let her sleep on her tummy.

Probably not ideal though but she wasn't happy on her back

Original poster

Cariad007 · 17/05/2014 17:56

Mine has been doing this almost since birth and I'm starting to wonder if he'll ever settle. He's a difficult baby at the best of times - can go from happy to hysterical in the blink of an eye, screams for hours each evening, hates the pram AND the sling and just will not settle himself to sleep unless he's being fed and even then not that often. I'm at my wits' end :(

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Gileswithachainsaw · 17/05/2014 18:00

Had anyone mentioned silent reflux? That can make them irritable and the constant feeding/swallowing is soothing for them.

Original poster

Cariad007 · 17/05/2014 18:38

That's what I thought but two GPs and a paediatrician said no. One GP said reflux is just a buzzword and all babies have it to a certain extent and grow out of it. So not v helpful!

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HolidayCriminal · 17/05/2014 18:40

This is why swaddling was invented.

MrsHerculePoirot · 17/05/2014 18:43

My DD was like Giles said. Put on her back she would startle herself awake almost immediately- even in hospital the midwives put her on her side to sleep as she wouldn't stay on her back. After four weeks she hadn't slept for more than 20 minutes unless she was being held and I was so scared of falling asleep on the sofa or something with her. I ended up putting her on her front and watching her as I was terrified, but she slept for three hours by herself and moved her head from side to side happily. After discussing with the health visitor she slept on her front after that, she was never brilliant sleeper until she was much older, but it was much, much better for us.

Original poster

Cariad007 · 17/05/2014 18:55

We were given bad advice by the hospital who told us swaddling was not recommended. And of course by the time we realised swaddling might help, DS was having none of it and would scream whenever we wrapped him up.

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Gileswithachainsaw · 17/05/2014 19:06

Is there a walk in clinic you can go to? Seems mighty strange that drs aren't believing in a majorly common problem with babies

Original poster

Cariad007 · 17/05/2014 19:18

Yes, I went to the walk in pediatric clinic at the hospital but the pediatrician didn't think there was anything wrong with DS other than colic and said to keep on with the Infacol. GP also suggested Colief but it's outrageously expensive for a tiny bottle and seems a faff to give to a breastfed baby as it's got to be mixed with expressed milk and given a half hour before a feed.

OP posts:

Gileswithachainsaw · 17/05/2014 19:41

I guess all you can do is keep going back and hope you eventually see one that listens.

I would suggest too maybe starting a thread in children's health or breast and bottle feeding and listing everything that you and the baby are going through. There are many reflux experts they may be able to really advise you as to whether it really sounds like reflux and what you can do.

nannynome · 17/05/2014 19:47

DS did this, we ended up sleeping on his tummy too, he has slept well ever since. It is against the SIDS guidelines but is what worked for us.

MrsHerculePoirot · 19/05/2014 11:36

They tried swaddling Dd at hospital - she wasn't having any of that either! She didn't have reflux, silent or otherwise, it is thought she had a strong startle reflex which woke her. Apparently in a small number of babies it does wake them and we think it was that - my DS (6 weeks) does the same, but it doesn't wake him. Just offering another possibility btw, of course I have no idea why - my DD now just says babies are 'pickles' so maybe that is the answer!

cakebaby · 19/05/2014 14:36

My ds did this for a few weeks around this age. Drove me nuts him waking flapping every 20 mins, he'd do it whilst nodding off too. I tried all sorts of swaddling type gadgets, he hated them all & got out of most of them in seconds. The one I was going to try next was a zipadeezip or something, it'll come up on google. I think someone here recommended 'angel wings' which can help too. Sorry to be vague! unhelpful? he grew out of it after about 6 weeks of trying everything!

MNPinto2014 · 19/05/2014 15:02

Try lying baby on side on a large muslin and then swaddle when asleep by tucking on end under tummy and other end over back and tucked in under ribs.

Try putting a rolled towel under the mattress to tilt it up.

A soother/dummy to help with the constant sucking.

Mimi2022 · 26/11/2023 09:29

@Cariad007 i know this is a very old thread but did you ever find a solution?

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