I’m worried there’s something wrong with my 10 week old

[CathyandHeathcliff]

He barely sleeps. He doesn’t sleep at night and he hardly ever naps during the day. When he is falling asleep, he’ll wake himself up. He seems to survive on 20 minute naps at various times of the day or night. He never seems to be in a very deep sleep and the slightest noise or movement will wake him up. I’m really worried there’s something wrong and he isn’t getting the sleep he needs to develop and grow (although he’s already almost grown out of his 0-3 clothes). He’s exclusively breastfed.

Any advice on this or what to do?

He hates being swaddled as he always has his arms above his head when he does sleep.
He uses a dummy which helps to settle him but as soon as it falls out of his mouth, he’s awake again!
We’ve tried white noise, giving him a bath, feeding in a dark room, singing to him, rocking, hand on his chest etc etc.

Apparently I was an awful sleeper as a baby & as a child so I wonder if there’s an element of genetics.

He sleeps in a sleeping bag in the next2me crib at night and in the Moses basket or Nuna leaf chair during the day.

Have you tried co sleeping?

There isn't anything wrong with him.

At that age though neither of mine would sleep unless they were lying in me so it may be that you are being a bit ambitious trying yo out him down in a rocker/crib. Some babies just want to be held constantly. It's annoying but they to grow out of it.

As a side point if his arms are raised when sleeping it usually indicates the baby is on the warm side. Not necessarily a problem but something to watch out for.

I would never advise anyone to do this but DC2 has only ever comfortably slept on her tummy since birth. It goes against all SIDS guidance but I got to breaking point about 10-12 weeks old of no more than 40 mins sleep at a time and now she's put down on her tummy every night which stretches her to about 3 hours between wake ups at 6mo. She's about 20cm away from me at all times (cosleeping) so I've made peace with the increased risk.

Ffs I hate autocorrect.

Hi. Not all babies follow the "typical" sleep pattern of a few naps during the day and then sleeping at night in between feeds. My eldest son napped 3 times a day and slept from 11pm to 5am from 2 weeks of age - I didn't know how lucky I was! I foolishly thought son 2 would do the same. He was like your child - had 20-30 minute long power naps and woke up as if he'd slept for 6 hours. I hate to tell you this but he didn't sleep through the night until he was 2.5 years old. I think sometimes you have to accept that not all children follow the patterns set by other children.

@pastabest He automatically turns on his side to sleep (has done since he was a newborn) and the arms over the head happens when the room is cold (I have a gro egg), I think he just finds it comfortable.

I’ve got him on my lap right now and he’s just had a feed, he fell asleep briefly and now he’s wide awake wriggling and making faces/noises again.

I’m worried my milk isn’t enough for him...maybe I need to introduce formula at night time.

When you say he wakes himself up do you mean he has like a really strong startle reflex?

Dd2 did that. She would just constantly startle herself awake.only thing that stopped it was to let her sleep on her tummy. Was instantly problem.solved.

I know that's not advisable however but the babies don't read the manual do they.

Yes he’s startles easily, but he also just seems to wake himself up, as though he’s fighting sleep!

I may try putting him on his tummy, but I feel a bit worried doing it. It feels wrong!

Maybe start small?

Maybe if you can get him having a decent nap it would improve his night-time sleep.

And he could nap on his tummy supervised downstairs with you?

Is he happy awake or sad? Dd2 had terrible silent reflux and was like this. Irritable little sod she was.

I was thinking silent reflux as well.

Does he sleep in the pram or sling? Pick a pleasant day and go for a long walk. Iylt might be that he is simply too tired and is now just over stimulated and restless. If you can get a few good sleeps anyway that works you might find it leads to easier sleeps once he is less tired.

Sleeping is something that has to be learned and it can be so frustrating when they don't!

I had to keep DD uptight for around 30-40 minutes after a feed plus make sure she had done a few good burps, otherwise she was very uncomfortable and would wake immediately. Reflux was never diagnosed but it turned out she has a cow’s milk allergy/intolerance, and was reacting through my breast milk and it used to make her very sicky (amongst other symptoms).
I’d make sure that, post feed, you hold him upright on your chest for a good while. Also, if your crib can be tilted, that used to help us too. Nothing about your post suggests that your milk isn’t enough for him. In the evenings he might want to cluster feed for a long time but that’s normal. Walks with a sling can really help too. If you don’t have one or don’t feel confident, then a sling library can be a wonderful resource.
Good luck, it sounds like you’re doing a grand job, it’s just hard figuring out these little people.