8 week old doesn't sleep

[LeeCee]

Help!

My LO has never slept more than three hour stretches since she came home from hospital BUT in the last couple of weeks she's waking every 30mins to 1 hour at night and barely napping at all during the day.

She's not a crier and I know we're lucky there but she just won't settle. Grunting, groaning (but no more wind will come up, and we're using infacol to help) and fussing. She will feed every time she wakes but when I put her back down after winding she wakes again.

Yesterday she slept about 1 hour in the car in the afternoon and maybe 20 mins in the evening on me. She didn't go down for the night until 11.30 and has been awake at 1,2,3 and for an hour between 3.30 and 4.30.

She's BF and we top up with formula. She usually gets that formula around 9pm when I go to bed early and she stays in living room with her dad.

She won't take a dummy, just gags and spits it out.

She doesn't settle with a cuddle, so co-sleeping doesn't help. She's in a side sleeper now and has been happy enough there up until this.

I know she's still so small and I'm not looking for a miracle (or to try a strict routine or anything like CIO) but any advice at all would be very welcome! 😴

I used the little ones sleep programme that you can download online for DD (now 6 months). I personally find CIO barbaric and a great way to form a disorganised attachment and negative sleep associations. That said, we would often put her down awake but sleepy so she had the opportunity to self settle with us then rocking her if needed. She now reliably sleeps through the night.

It isn't reasonable to expect an 8 week old to sleep for more than 3 hour stretches as they'll need to feed but they should be napping well during the day. Will baby sleep in the buggy if you go out for a long walk? I would also check the feed times are right and that you're not missing hunger cues and that baby's sleep routine and environment are right. I appreciate that you don't want a strict routine but you will need a flexible one to get the results you want. Our days are now very flexible with DD but her evening routine is consistent and if that means we miss going out so she can sleep in her own cot then we do that happily.

Sounds like a growth spurt and normal newborn baby behaviour. Have you had face to face breastfeeding support re- the topping up?

Google wonderweeks is she going through a bad week

Our DS was very tricky with sleep... turned out he had silent reflux. GP prescribed infant gaviscon and it was a complete game changer for us. The reason I mention it is you say she is grunting and groaning, this is what DS did whenever we lay him down - of course there are other symptoms too, but google it and see if you recognise any other symptoms

Mine had a little regression at 8 weeks, lasted for about a week and then his sleep started improving again. I found he slept well in the sling so I would try and take him out for a walk at lunchtime so he’d at least get one decent nap a day.

Does sound like a growth spurt, but as your breastfeeding it's always a good idea to seek out feeding support. Even a slight adjustment in your latch can help them feed more effectively. See if you have any groups near you, they are often baised in local children centres or ask the HV if they know of any. Alternatively you can ring the national breastfeeding helpline for support.

Thanks all for the replies. I took her out for a long walk today and she got a good nap - even continuing to sleep for about an hour after we got home.

Also went to a breast feeding support group (which she slept through 🙄 so couldn't check my latch) but will go again next week now that I know where it is.

Have the wonder weeks app yes, it definitely could be a growth spurt - I suppose I'm just looking for coping mechanisms during a growth spurt or unsettled period like this.

Due at the GP next week so will ask about silent reflux then, thanks for the tip. She has some but not all of the signs

And I understand expecting more than 3 hours from an 8 week old would be unreasonable. I'm not doing that. I'm hoping for more than 1 hour at a time!