Help !!! With Sleeping at Night

Hi all.

Please help. I have a 8 week baby, who at night would wake up every hour crying. I would than pat him to sleep, howver after 10 minutes of patting his crying become louder and I then feed him. He would suck a few sucks and then drift off to sleep and waking up again in an hour time crying as if he is hungry. I then feed him again as I know his nappy is dry.

Waking up every hour can be tiring for myself because as I drift off into my deep sleep he would then wake up. I'm not getting any proper sleeps. Any suggestions from mothers out there.

Also during the day he doesn't sleep very long, only 30 minutes and wake up crying, I then rock him in the pram and he drift off to sleep. I have to do this every 30 minutes so he can get some decent sleep. Am I doing the right thing. Please HELP!!!!

hi mum in stress.

Does you baby often fall asleep on your breast.. I am no expert but it he may be waking all the time because he realises that he has nothing in his mouth and may be a comfort thing for bub.. have you tried maybe using a dummy and see how bub goes with that..

With my little man (10 weeks) i feed him every 4 hours except at night as he has put himself in a routine and sleeps through occasionally stirring.. i have been feeding him every 4 hours since i came home from hospital.. when i was in hosptial i was feeding him whenever he would cry thnking thats what he wanted.. and he was doing the same thing.. i was a mess by the time i got home.. but once he got in a routine and got use to it he was better than we found out he had reflux.. i had to put bub on the bottle as was not prducing enough and when we chnged formula he was like a new baby.. Does your bub cry alot and take abit to settle him after a feed.. mackenzie did and was diagnosed with reflux..

I am probably totally off but just thought i would tel you what happened with us.. If you would like to talk more you can email me on mmelby79@hotmail.com or if you msn if you have it..

good luck..

Hi,

You know so many mothers have sleep and settling issues and with all the help available I think there's a big taboo about seeking it! My baby was awful also when it came to sleep and settling and had no routine. There are sleep and settling clinics and I made an appointment (ask your health nurse). after a few weeks of hard work I thought it was getting better as I was then getting my girl to sleep by rocking and the dummy and so before I attended the clinic I was about to cancel the appointment as everyone kept on telling me that rocking your baby to sleep was normal and "the best its gonna get". Fortunately I didn't listen and attended. In my opinion everyone should attend even if it's just to get some tips you may not do everything they suggest but it teaches you quite alot and its a great service. You have nothing to loose and everyone gains something from it. Good Luck!!

Could your baby have wind?? It sounds as though you have the exact same problem as I did but it started when my son was days old... I now feel like a expert on the matter!! (he is 3mths old)
My son was only happy with something in his mouth as when they suck they don't feel pain (or so my child nurse told me) I was feeding him every hour, and spent the first 3 weeks sleeping on the sofa with him in my arms, because when I put him down he woke up... I completely understand what you are going through!! If you are breast feeding check out what you are eating as it may be upsetting his belly, for example chocolate, beans, cabbage, pineapple, the list is huge!!! Also there is drops for wind, infacol, or infants friend, or maybe your pharmacy may have their own? I hope this helps and that you get some sleep soon!! If this is the problem, you will discover a completely new baby!! I did! (check out the forums on here about wind and colic there is heaps of info) Again I hope this helps.

Hi,

My son who is now 19mths old screamed for the first mths of his life. I think my husband and I spend most of that time sleeping standing up so that we could continue to rock him so that he would be able to get some sleep, or continuing to feed him which in turn made him worse.

After seeing pedatricians who told me "babies cry" I saw my local GP who suggested that I try infant gavascon. This worked wonders. Ben had what is know as silent reflux. I then put him onto karecare AR formular - which is thicker and within 2 days we were able to put him on the floor without propping him up and he slept right thru the night from that day forward. Worth speaking to your baby nurse or a good GP.

If you want to chat my email address is fletcherturner@bigpond.com.

Good Luck

Thank You all for your advice.

I have attended the settling clinic at Vic. Although it is terrible to see your baby cry for hours but they do offer some help.

My baby still has not been able to sleep through the night. My guess is that b/c he is only feeding on one breast at each feed he is waking up more frequently. I can't get him to feed on both breast, because he would feed to sleep and if I wake him up to feed on the other breast and he is sleepy, he would cry intensively and it is not worth it especially during the night when I'm so tried. Any good suggestions from mothers out there?

Melissa, there had been suggestions that babies who sleep with a dummy in their mouth will wake up more often (b/c their dummy is dislodge), does your baby wake as sson as the dummy falls out?

I'm glad that you've had some help. Don't be afraid to go back and ask for me if you need it. If your baby is under 6 months then there is a good chance that it won't sleep through the night. My baby is 5.5 months and doesn't sleep through the night. The simple thing is that she still needs me nutritionally during the night.

To get my hannah to feed on both breasts, I would feed her and after she fell asleep I would change her. Then I would give her the otherside. Provided that she didn't have too much stimulation, which meant no talking, no music, no eye-contact, she was pretty happy to resettle.

I guess they probably told you this at the clinic, but it isn't a good idea to let your baby fall asleep on the breast because they develop a sleep association and want to be breastfed to sleep all the time. (this becomes a particular pain in the bot-bot when they get older) Babies who are breastfed to sleep wake up a certain time later and realise they don't have anything in their mouths and then start to cry for that thing to be replaced (the same things goes for dummies). So, (this is what I did) breastfeed until they're nearly asleep and then pat them in bed until they go to sleep. Eventually, you should be able to get to the point where you can just put your baby down and they'll sleep by themselves. (famous last words)

HI MUM IN STRESS,
I began breastfeeding my son from birth. My milk was not sufficent so he was topped up with the bottle. When I tried weaning him off the bottle and concentrate just on the breast, he would cry every hour for a feed and sleep unsettled. The bottle was reintroduced and he became settled and content. He is 10 weeks old. Breast and bottle is given to him, even though it is more work for me, but he is thriving. Your child may be putting on weight, which is a good sign of the strength of your milk, but perhaps he needs some sort of top up. Formula is more filling. Speak to your health nurse & good luck.