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Sleep

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Original poster

Baby refusing to nap

71 replies

kallia · 15/08/2021 12:51

My 10 week old DD has suddenly refused to sleep during the day.

She had her jabs about 10 days ago which messed up her sleep schedule a bit, and since then she has simply refused to nap. She won't sleep in a sling, cot, rocked, shushed, car seat, anything. I can see how exhausted she is - her eyes are purple - but she's consistently awake for 12+ hours. Eventually (around 9-10pm) she crashes, sleeps for a full night, wakes (seemingly happy) but then gets crankier throughout the day until by early afternoon she's screaming with tiredness again.

At the moment she is lying on my chest, in a quiet dark room, screaming her head off. Nothing is comforting her. She's been checked by the GP and she doesn't think anything is wrong because she can sleep at night and seems happy in the morning when she wakes. I'm at my wits end, can anyone offer a handhold/sympathy/advice?

OP posts:

AnxietyForever · 17/08/2021 08:00

Hi OP
Have you tried the huckleberry app? It's excellent, you put it babies awake time etc and then it tells you when you should aim for a nap
It saved my sanity with my baby

Original poster

kallia · 17/08/2021 08:38

Before the jabs she was napping just fine. Long sleep and wake windows but generally a cheery, happy, healthy baby. I figured she’d be cranky for a few days after the jabs but they were ten days ago now. She sleeps so well at night that I doubt it’s a medical issue

@Vicky1989x at night she takes a 150ml bottle. Usually has most of it but sometimes only half, when she starts spitting out the test I stop. I feed it to her in stages (otherwise she throws it all up) for about 30 mins and then hold her upright for another 30 mins so she keeps it down. Put down in her cot (awake), a few seconds of shushing snd she settles herself happily to sleep.

Some success - I’ve been trying to get her to sleep for over an hour and she’s finally started napping on my chest!!! Who knows how long this will last…I’m now afraid to move haha

OP posts:

LGBirmingham · 17/08/2021 09:06

Congratulations now don't move! How did you get her to sleep in the end? If you do that same thing each time it might get quicker over time.

Original poster

kallia · 17/08/2021 09:46

She had a good hours sleep! Hallelujah! It’s like she just suddenly remembered how to do it. Don’t think I did anything different. Really, really hope I’ve broken the cycle now!

OP posts:

Vicky1989x · 17/08/2021 09:50

@kallia she sounds very similar to my DD. She had awful reflux, refused to sleep during the day but would sleep fine at night because she was exhausted. I’ll tell you what helped my DD, all babies are different but it took me until she was 4 months before I figured it out.

I use Nuk bottles, they come with standard medium teats but I purchased slow flow because everyone said it was better for reflux babies but it was giving her trapped wind, so she’d not settle to sleep and would throw every bottle up because the milk was just sitting on top of trapped wind. I changed to the medium flow, instant change. No more trapped wind, took 6oz bottles, burped much better (made the milk warmer too which helped a bunch), she was still sicky but no longer in pain and she started sleeping during the day. She was also on infant gaviscon which helped the acid pain, not the sick but she wasn’t in pain.

LGBirmingham · 17/08/2021 09:56

Well done! For what it's worth my son does go through patches still where he's harder to get to sleep and/or only does short naps. It's usually when his sleeps needs are changing ie. sleep consolidating at night and wake windows getting longer. He's had a terrible phase of half hour naps, hence finding myself commenting on your thread, but I noticed he was now regularly sleeping ten and a half hours at night whereas before he was doing more like 9. I've tried starting the nap a little later and I'm getting some better results some of the time. Sometimes it's best just to persevere and remember it won't be for ever.

YoBeaches · 17/08/2021 10:44

Yaaay! Well done! Thats a great start to the day, sleep promotes sleep so keep an eye on time and try again in 2/3 hours, ideally directly after next big feed if you can get the timings right.

She had a 2 hour wake window that time. Right it down so you can keep track and look back in her progression each day.

CourtneyCox2021 · 17/08/2021 16:08

How's it going today?

Original poster

kallia · 17/08/2021 16:39

Thanks all for the support and suggestions :) it's kept me sane the last couple of days.

It's been a bit up and down today. She has still been awake a lot, but she has slept, so that's an improvement on the last week. Doesn't seem like there was any magic formula, she just suddenly seemed to remember how to do it. She has had 2 hour long naps today so far, and has just gone down for #3 - not as much as she has had, probably not as much as she needs, but so much better than she has been. Hopefully the 'sleep breeds sleep' saying will be true and she'll keep getting better.

I have got some Size 2 teats so will give them a go when she next needs a feed and see how she does. Watch this space!

OP posts:

CourtneyCox2021 · 17/08/2021 16:42

Yah that's great, keep going. Good luck 🤞

Vicky1989x · 17/08/2021 16:48

Great news! Let us know how she gets on

Original poster

kallia · 18/08/2021 17:38

So size 2 teats were a colossal failure! She has spewed up everything she has drunk from them. Oh well, back to size 0 for now.

She did well this morning but hasn't napped since lunchtime. Such an improvement on before though I feel I can't complain! Hopefully we're on a slow upward path though.

Thanks for all the support/ideas - I did try them all! Babies are so strange...

OP posts:

CourtneyCox2021 · 18/08/2021 18:47

Babies are strange. And what worked one week won't work the next. I found consistency works, I deviate occasionally (being out etc) and throws my LO out of sync. Nightmare. Keep doing what works, and keep trying xx

Original poster

kallia · 23/08/2021 17:55

Think I spoke too soon :( she had a few good days but is now back to her old tricks. Currently on her 18th hour awake. Been crying non-stop for 8. This is so tough.

OP posts:

CourtneyCox2021 · 23/08/2021 19:27

I can't member did anyone suggest infacol or gripe water?

Maybe try size 2 teats again, but when given it, only let LO suck 4/5 sucks then rest for a minute?

CourtneyCox2021 · 23/08/2021 19:32

Only suggesting as LO eating little and often... 🤔 Maybe LO has uncomfortable tummy

FATEdestiny · 24/08/2021 01:15

@kallia have you spoken to your GP about this?

You need to - both for your baby (who sounds like he could have reflux and need medication) and also for your own self care. How is your mental health? It's just that your posts come across as very anxie and stressed with some catastrophising.

Original poster

kallia · 24/08/2021 08:36

Thanks all. I think we have solved the mystery! - she just doesn't like me :)

DP came home yesterday from work, picked her up, and she fell straight asleep. Just like that, as though she'd been turned off. Slept happily through til supper, woke, ate, cuddled & played, then wouldn't sleep until he took her. Same gig this morning - cried when I tried to put her down for a nap, but DP is WFH today so he picked her up and cuddled her, she went straight to sleep!

I had the GP appointment booked this morning anyway so I went just in case there was something up. He couldn't see anything wrong other than her possibly being a little constipated so gave her something to help with that. He just said that she probably wants some daddy cuddles!

Will probably be mildly offended in a few hours, but now I'm just relieved :)

OP posts:

CourtneyCox2021 · 24/08/2021 08:58

My OH always said daddy means fun, mummy means business 😂

Glad LO is OK.

Newmum29 · 24/08/2021 10:28

Please don’t worry; they will sleep eventually. My LO was the same. First 5 weeks she slept easily and often. Basically went straight off in arms or in bassinet.

Something switched overnight and for 5 weeks I couldn’t get her to sleep in the day at all but she’d do 6-7 with 2/3 night feeds.

I tried EVERYTHING. Actually went to sleep school. Got told to rock her to sleep. Or try the pram / sling. All worked occasionally but nothing reliable.

Again she switched and was great for 6 weeks. Now we’re back again. I have so much sympathy for you, it’s a real nightmare because you can’t let go. Before she sleeps you’re stressed about the upcoming nap. If she does go down, you’re scared they’ll wake and once she’s up you panic about the next one.

LGBirmingham · 24/08/2021 13:08

@kallia

Thanks all. I think we have solved the mystery! - she just doesn't like me :)

Will probably be mildly offended in a few hours, but now I'm just relieved :)

It's definitely not that she doesn't like you! Please don't think that. It's probably just a change of person and your OH not being stressed out from trying to get her to nap all day. She 100% loves you to bits.

Something else that was a godsend in my son's bottles, we always combi-fed, for his reflux was Carobel. It thickens the milk, might be worth a try? But you will need a fast flowing teat for it.

We found doctors and health visitors pretty dismissive of our son's silent reflux because he was putting on weight and developing fine. But he wasn't sleeping and he was crying in pain for hours and that's not OK! We really had to push to get medication. It wasn't til a trip to A&E because he'd been crying all afternoon and awake for hours (at 8 weeks old) that he was proscribed Lansoprasole.

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