first posting - my baby won't nap - how do you break a cycle of overtiredness?

[amandamillie]

Hi, this is the first time i've posted on here but have been reading other msgs since having my dd who was an angel baby.  My ds is a somewhere between grumpy and touchy and my dh and i are about ready to throw in the towel!  Ds is 8 weeks old and will not nap in the daytime.  We are in a horrid cycle in which we spend anywhere up to 2 hours trying to get him to sleep (having followed the cues for sleep from the first yawn) only to achieve about 2-3 minutes at a time before he is screaming again.  At night he has proved he can sleep ok and he can self soothe at times too but daytime is a complete nightmare and we have tried everything - we think?!?!  He gets so so overtired that by the time the next feed comes around (bottle fed) he's too tired and falls asleep after an oz or 2 but wakes again as soon as you try to put him down and so the cycle continues until he's so overtired he then spends the rest of the day crying inconsolably.  The only times he has slept in the day is when he's been laying on someone's chest.
If anyone out there can give any suggestions we'll take anything - currently living on about 2 hrs sleep at night, dh works shifts so is often not there to support and i'm on constant call between dd (2 and half yrs) and up and down stairs to ds trying to sleep.
would also like to hear from anyone with the same problem - sometimes it just helps to know you're not on your own

[becky1969]

Before we go further, have you had your child assessed for reflux?  Sounds kind of 'fluxy to me.  Reflux babies often sleep relatively well at night 'cuz they're exhausted.  Daytime is a struggle because they are in pain.  Silent reflux doesn't have any telltale spit-up so can be super hard to dx.  Took us to until 16 weeks to get my son dx, and that was even having an upper GI test done!

You might want to pop over to the reflux board and read the symptoms to see if anything sounds familiar

http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=654.0


If that's way off base, then we can talk more about routines etc!

[New Mum of 1]

Amandamillie - you are so NOT ALONE!!  I have a almost 10 week old, who like yours, is also bottle fed and sleeps okay during the night, but struggles to sleep during the day.  I'm not really convinced its helping but I am giving him colic powder before each day feed.  You can read my post "day time sleep troubles - 01 March" in this section and see if that sounds familiar.  In my case, I have discounted the idea of reflux as anytime he is on his back he is happy as, its only when he has to go to bed that he plays up. Sorry I can't help because I haven't found the solution for my wee man at the moment, but just wanted to let you know that there are others out there with a similar/same problem.  Keep smiling - for whatelse can we do?!?

[amandamillie]

thank you for your replies and suggestions.  we have been trying gavison baby powder but it has made no difference apart from him now not being keen to have more than a couple of ozs of bottle whereas before he was happily draining them.
He is happy on his back and will settle to sleep but fitfully and for these very short periods of time.  i have cut down his activity time as someone else suggested on the forums and this seems to have helped slightly over the past 2 days.
our health visitor assures us that the magical 12 week mark will change our lives and he'll become an angel we will see...

[saltyqueen]

I agree with the reflux idea mentioned by another poster. My daughter has reflux, but it's an atypical sort. She doesn't throw up but she is clearly uncomfortable when lying on her back shortly after eating. So here are a couple of suggestions. Don't lie your child down right after eating. Prop him up for 20 minutes or so after. Prop up one end of his crib mattresss. (The babywhisperer actually recommends this for all babies because she says that all babies have some reflux)

And my personal suggestion is to get the miracle blanket. It's the swaddling blanket of champions and has really made a difference for us.

Finally, hang in there. My daughter was in a really difficult phase for about a month early on and it was hellish. It will pass!! I just kept trying the shush pat routine and she just started to accept it little by little. But in the beginning, she put up quite a fight.

[becky1969]

I also think a visit to a pediatrician might be an order to assess for silent reflux, if you're not having fountain spit ups.

Also, if he's really turned off by the gaviscon and is only having 2 oz, then maybe he's hungry?

[amandamillie]

thank you, he has been seen by a doctor but they weren't sure and the health visitor thinks it may be a possibility so i will push it again.  He had some successful 40 minute naps this week so maybe it is beginning to come together for him a bit more

thanks for your replies ladies.
x

[becky1969]

Don't forget to check reflux boards for non-medicinal reflux solutions.  While they won't 'fix' reflux, they can make your child more comfortable and able to sleep longer.