Hello,
A little back story: my Olivia was born 2.5 weeks early at 5 lb. 11 oz. losing down to 5 when we got home then gaining from there. She is EBF, 12 weeks now and currently around 10 lb (which her doctor is very happy with!).
From the very beginning she would not sleep anywhere but on my chest, even in the hospital. After about two weeks, the crying started and to this day we are not sure if it has been colic or silent reflux, the doctors tried her on different meds, but nothing really helped. I believe now, at just over 12 weeks she is starting to get better and grow out of whatever it is. She still has terrible gas most days (I have tried food elimination for me and otc remedies for her and nothing seems to help). She started fighting sleep early. Some of our worst nights have been up till 5 or 6 am before she would give up.
Currently during the day I try to put her down as soon as I see sleepy signs (yawn, puffy eyes, rubbing eyes, etc.) but no matter how early I think I catch it, she always ends up crying, kicking, fighting sleep. It is worse at night, sometimes taking anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 hours to get her to sleep. She now sleeps in a rock n play beside my bed at night, and usually in her swing during the day although I would like to soon transition both to her crib. I have tried everything including shh-pat and nothing seems to settle her. Rocking helps during the day, but almost as soon as you put her down she wakes. And at night the only thing that (sometimes) works is walking or bouncing on a yoga ball. It's very frustrating when I feel like she is fussing just as much while I hold her as she does when i try to put her down. I am not a fan of the cry it out method, I hate hearing her cry and feel like that is almost all I have heard the last 3 months. I just want my baby to enjoy her sleep and get the peaceful sleep she needs (and I would like to get some as well!). Once she is asleep at night, she usually goes 3-4 then wakes to eat, then wakes every 2-3 hours after that to eat, and goes right back to sleep just fine (unless the gas disturbs her). Our sleep routine usually starts about 8 pm (pjs, clean diaper, dark room, rocking and nursing), but she usually isn't asleep until anywhere between 10-12. I am a stay at home mom, so I let her sleep until she wakes, usually around 9-10 am. Daytime she is on a 2-2.5 hour eat cycle, usually wakes, plays, eats, sleep and naps are about 20-45 minutes unless you are rocking, then she will sleep for 1-2 hours. She also tends to cry when she wakes, until she gets awake then she is all smiles (until she gets tired again!).
Any help or suggestions would be appreciated!!! TIA!