Help me help my 4 week old....please!!!

[Northernbeachbum]

DS is a fab sleeper at night at the moment and in the middle of the day. However one feed in the morning and one in the evening he seems to find it impossible to sleep.

Things ive tried so far

• swaddling - hated it
• dummy -hated it
• rocking - eventually works but not before my arms fall off
• walking - works both with sling and pram but faaaar too hot for sling and i live down a valley so pram is also hard work in this heat 4 weeks post c section
• car - works like a dream, unfortunately we only have 1 so only an option when dp not working

So please please have a suggestion, its horrid seeing him majorly overtired and unhappy

If he will fall asleep in the car how about putting him in the car seat and rocking that?

Unfortunately he seems to know what im up to and that its not the car.

He does love white noise so once asleep that works usually

Have you a garden? Put him in the pram and walk him round the garden. My neighbour walks her baby up and down the pavement outside our houses until she falls asleep.

That worked perfectly this morning until i stopped. If it wasnt so bloody hot id happilt walk for 3 hours but i really struggled

GAH! These babies are too smart for their own good these days!

I’ve never used one but I’ve heard good things about those chairs that rock automatically. Might be worth trying.

Haha hes got one of those too and can't seem to fall asleep in that either. I keep reading he shouldn't be awake more than an hour but i dont think theyve met him, he fights it the whole way for these 2 feeds

Does he really need to sleep? Oris it that actually that this is a normal awake period.

Well i didnt think new borns are supposed to be awake up to 4 hours which he does sometimes? Hes quite cross and cries a lot after the first hour and a half

Yeah I'd say at 4 weeks he needs plenty of sleep. My little boy was rarely awake. White noise is the best thing! Have you tried putting something that smells of you next to him or getting a Ewan sheep that makes soothing sounds ?

He has white noise, cuddling him to sleep doesnt even work

Could he have wind?

Hmmmm 4 hours is a lot however if he is sleeping really well at other times it makes me wonder. My 3rd who is now a year was a very cling child so dhe wanted to be awake but categorically would not be put down except the evenings it was a killer. His sleeping/awake pattern will change so many times in the next few months dont get too worried he will eventually settle into something more fogiving for you.

Excuse the typos!!

Ive put him on dentinox in case but doesn't seem to have fixed it. We did give him cow and gate for the first two weeks, then have switched to aldi milk so we're wondering if its that. So its whether to switch back to cow and gate or try a comfort milk. Any ideas?

Hes not happy when hes awake after the first hour or so so i dont think its right for him. If he was happy i wouldnt worry about it at all.

Thank you for your replies. Hes screamed at me for 2 hours on and off today and its horrid not being able to help him

Have you tried a sling? Mine loved a sling at that age.

He loves the carrier but im overheating hugely wearing it and both of us are ending up insanely sweaty

Sorry it must seem like im being negative at all ideas they are very very much appreciated

I'd try switching back to cow and gate. See how he goes. Could be the milk upsetting him. Does he arch his back after a feed?

Also Ewan the dream sheep on the harp sound was an absolute god send for us.

Gripe water and infacol are worth a try for wind

Totally feel for you having just experienced this a few months ago. DS is now 5 months old and slightly better at sleeping during the day but will continue to fight it. Has also always slept very well at night and gone down with minimal fuss. He had colic so has had infacol, colief drops and now on gripe water. Also switched milks to HiPP organic from aptamil due to constipation early on. Maybe you could try switching milk but I know most formulas are made very similar, not sure on the comfort milks though? The biggest thing I found was the timing of his awake periods. If you google it I’m sure it will come up how long is an average awake time depending on age. For me I know my little one is ready to sleep anytime from 1hr 15mins to 1hr 45mins go awake time. Any less or any longer and he will fight the sleep. I didn’t know this early on and so he could end up having major meltdowns after going for hours with no sleep. Also the setting which you are getting him to sleep, in the early days I think he had sensory overload sometimes. I’m sure you are trying all the obvious things and it can be very frustrating. DS continues to fight naps up until now but I have found that putting him in the car seat rocking back and forth and playing hoover noise is the main thing which gets him off. Sometimes he will be cuddled but not often. I also found that one way of getting him to sleep could work for a week or two before he realises he doesn’t like the idea of it anymore. It is very hard in this weather so I feel for you. Sorry I haven’t really made any suggestions!

So based on you lovely people we have bought, infacol, normal cow and gate, rrady made cow and gate (as i read somewhere ita easier on their tummies so he can have a break) and comfort cow and gate just in case.

What i dont underatand is how many times can i switch milk until i find one that works?

Overnight he still likes a cuddle to sleep

Lots for us to try and lovely to have people reply