Sleepyhead question -would this help us?!

[Magnolia12345]

Hi my 7 week old baby is quite unsettled overnight, he has been like this since about 2 weeks old. He squirms, grunts and strains to pass wind and poo (mainly at night) , vomits and possets regularly (day and night) whenever I lie him on his back. I am trying infacol and am co sleeping a lot of the time but I worry as he's still so small to have in bed with me....
I'm keen to avoid gaviscon as he's not distressed (except when trying to fart!) and think gaviscon could make him constipated.
He loves sleeping on me,I use a sling too which he loves.
I have raised the end of his crib but he splutters and vomits regardless then strains and grunts.... I wondered if a sleepyhead would help with these symptoms? Or best just to ride it out knowing it'll get better as he gets older and his gastrointestinal system matures?
I'm just so tired....looking for a miracle cure!!!

I had one which did help a bit, she still ended up in my bed by 4am every night though! And came out of it by 4.5 months as she got very angry that she couldn't roll over in it
I figured it was worth the money as I was desperate for more sleep! Sold it on for £65 as well so got part of the money back

Hi, I have an 11 week old and until a few weeks ago he was very unsettled, he was screaming in the evenings, he seemed to be suffering from a lot of trapped wind. We tried infacol and gripe water and that didn't work so my health visitor suggested colief and it has worked and really settled him down.
With regards to the sleepyhead, I also have a 15 month old and we got one when he was 6 weeks because he would only sleep on me or my husband and it worked and he loved it, he now has the bigger version. I have used it from birth for my 11 week old and he settles down really well in it. For me it has been worth every penny.

Hi Magnolia, there seem to be a few separate issues here. Gaviscon would need to be prescribed by a GP, and works in a very different way to infacol. Gaviscon helps with heartburn, so treats reflux, whereas infacol joins little air bubbles into a big air bubble making it easier to pass. Have you taken the baby to the gp if you are concerned about reflux?
A sleepyhead provides a bumper round the baby, so it feels more secure and therefore baby can settle at night. It won't treat reflux.
We used a sleepyhead for DS when he was 5 weeks old as he only wanted to sleep next to me, and like you felt he was too small to be in my bed at the time. The sleepyhead worked for us (until 4m sleep regression!!!) however in our NCT group it prob only really helped about 60% of the babies. Some still ended up in bed with mum, or frequently waking anyway!
Good luck!

Hi thanks for the replies. I think he probably has mild reflux in that he gets a bit of waterbrash from time to time but he isn't distressed. He feeds well (is ebf) and doesn't arch his back etc. He is gaining weight well. He is a vomity baby and possets watery milk sometimes and other times is curdled...this happens when lying flat, sitting in chair, being winded over shoulder etc. Health visitor reassured me this is common and we discussed the trade off with gaviscon of constipation.... Which was felt might upset him more ( with the straining, grunting and wind). He farts like a man!!!
He does settle more easily at night cuddled into me, in crook of my arm with him more.on his side. So I was wondering about something like the sleepyhead.... But it's an expensive gamble isn't it?!

Have you tried a swaddle? A giant muslin or for sheet for swaddling cost a couple of pounds.

The sleepyhead taps into the same psychology as a swaddle. In the womb baby was cramped and curled up in a confined space. This gives baby a feeling of being safe, secure, protected.

Once born, babies will naturally favour environments that mimic the womb. Being held in your arms gives baby that confined-space feeling of being held securely. Likewise a swaddle recreates the right, secure, enclosed feeling. As does the sleepyhead mattress.

giant muslin or cot* sheet...

We had to use a light swaddle as well as Sleepyhead, as he still startled with his arms. Prob worth trying the swaddle first as Fate said.

Anyone used the sleepyhead for cosleeping?

I use it for co-sleeping (not all night - from about 5am when he gets unsettled) from 5 weeks to now (7 months). I love that it gives me that extra sense of security that I won't squash him in the night. It also works pretty well as a travel cot if you're somewhere he can sleep with you.

DS has reflux though and the only thing that stopped him wanting to sleep on me was treating it with ranitidine (gavison didn't help)

We used a poddlepod (like a sleepyhead butility cheaper!) for both dd1 and we're using it again with dd2. Both co slept, both had similar issues you described and neither could sleep comfortably without the poddlepod, for us is definitely reduced the grunting and cutting out lactose helped us too. We also use a Snuza hero apnea monitor for peace of mind. Both absolute godsends!

Have to say, I googled the poddlepod and it looks better to me!

The poddle pod is so much cheaper -can it be used for baby to sleep in overnight?

We've used it for 2 children overnight with no issues, Google tells me lots of others do too, the website mentions it not being used for unsupervised sleep but we've never ever had an issue as it's surprisingly firm and I can't see how it could be in anyway un safe. I'm the most anxious person going bit used with the snuza I've got no worries whatsoever about dd being in it.

Sleepyhead is much bigger and firmer than the poddlepod. The poddlepod isn't for overnight I don't think.

I can see the other plus side of the sleepyhead is it's sides are quite high which (when they get to it) helps restrict night time rolling

We started out with a cocoonababy which might help with the reflux - the head is slightly raised. It fits til about 4 months. DS slept through for a couple of months in this

We then switched to a sleepyhead which is also good but now he wakes once most nights. He's growing out of it so we're going to have to go cold turkey soon!

My health visitor seemed really against the sleepyhead for overnight sleeping due to sids risk/suffocation. I had read the material is breathable... Who is right? I'm confused!!

What does your health visitor think of co sleeping in general?

Material is breathabke and for a little one there is plenty of space anyway so Unless they ended up face down (unlikely) they'll be able to breathe easily anyway.

My health visitor seemed really against the sleepyhead for overnight sleeping due to sids

It doesn't comply with the basic SIDS requirement of a "firm and flat mattress". It's not flat.

It will also doubfully adhere to the "clear cot" requirement - that the cot should be free of anything that could obstruct the baby.

More info here

www.lullabytrust.org.uk/safer-sleep-advice/mattresses-and-bedding/