hi daniel's mom (also named rachel)
my son isn't a huge fan of tummy time either, but for sleep it has been fine. it was just easier for me to cover his eyes and pat him to help calm him down when he was on his stomach. on his back, he would just move his head around to avoid my hand. plus he is less squirmy on his stomach and can relax better i think. oh, and pacifier stays in better too. also, he seems to like brushing his face against the sheet to help settle himself. he will turn his head back and forth a little between sleep cycles sometimes.
have you tried white noise? i turn up the white noise machine loud to settle him if he is being fussy at nap/bed times. it helps him turn off his mind. it's like magic!
my son has way too many night awakenings too - like only sleeping 1-2 hours at a time...sometimes less. i had been thinking that it was cuz of him waking up and wanting his pacifier, but after talking to the dr. this morning, i think he could be in pain with gas. i so wanted him to sleep at night, that i wasn't making sure he burped after nursing during the night. his cries were like high pitched screams, and sometimes i could hear the farts. so, i'm going to try to give him mylecon drops before every meal today and tonight and see if that helps (and not put him down until i hear a burp!).
maybe your son could have gas or reflux...and in that case, feeding him more might be making it worse? i feed my son still every 3-4 hours during the night, but my husband thought that maybe i should be feeding him also in between when he woke up at night cuz maybe he just needed a snack, but the dr. disagreed (and so did i!). if he needs to be eating more, it should be during the day. at 2-3 months, i don't think they need to eat that often, assuming they are getting full meals when they do eat. and he can go stretches like that during the daytime. i go back to work in two weeks, and i can't be up that often feeding him!
my son has started not being so interested in his pacifier too. he spits it out and doesn't want it while he is falling asleep usually. i wonder if he gets fussy simply BECAUSE i keep trying to put it back in his mouth.
i hope you can find something to settle him besides your boob! shh/pat never really worked for me either - at least not in the crib when he is really crying. i absolutely have to pick him up to calm him. i do whatever it takes...jiggling, swaying, white noise, pacifier, shhing, patting.
i'll let you know if things improve with the gas. if that's not it, the dr. is going to check for reflux. she says that he shouldn't be waking up that often at night.
