Cant get 3wk old to stay asleep. HELP

[mumtosam]

Hi ya,
My ds is 3wk and 3 days old and we are having a nightmare time with him. He is ff, a bit refluxy, so is on Enfamil AR milk and Colief drops until his hospital referral.

Our big problem is that we cant get him to stay alseep once down. We feed him, normally 4oz, then he will sleep between 30mins and 1hr (if we are really lucky). Then wakes and we have no chance of getting him back to sleep. We have tried everything, cuddling, on tummy, ssh'ing, dummy. He gets so worked up, that he is beyond handling. WE end up having to feed him, to settle him which would be around 2.5hrs since his last feed. Thats after we have had screaming for an hr. He does take 3.5 -4oz then, but thats because he is hungry from all the crying.

I really need help, this is our 4th child, and i have 3 other young kiddies running around also. Yesterday was a particualy bad day, so i have had to get granny to take my other 2 sons as they are not getting the attention of me, as i am so tied up with the baby.

Help please
Nic

[*Liz*]

What sort of awake time are you offering?

Might be OT or might just be the age really. Some LOs this young haven't learnt how the sleep yet so wake after 10 mins.

[mumtosam]

He is roughly having 50mins awake time, which includes, his feed, nappy change etc. I have started putting him on his tummy as he seems to be more comfy there. He starts stirring after 30mins, and 45mins, which i am trying the ssh/patting, but yesterday evening it was a nightmare. He was so OT,and wouldnt settle all evening. We ended up trying to cuddle him to calm him down. He will take a dummy for so long and then gets so worked up that he can't suck it.

[*Liz*]

Just noticed the reflux issue - if it is pain then that will cause the frequent wake-ups as well.

My DD is the same age and we are having a lot of the same issues - I am finding her wind is inhibiting sleep and waking her up. But also that if her sleep window is missed she is VERY hard to get to sleep at all.

I wouldn't push too hard for independent cot sleep at this age - it really is just fine to help them to sleep sometimes when they really need it.

It also is reasonable that your LO is hungry after 2.5hrs at this age.

One of the things I have noticed with DD is that when she is OT it is the visual stimulation which is the issue - it is like she can't switch off. Sometimes putting her in a wrap so her face is covered will get her to sleep, and when she is rested I try a cot sleep again the next cycle.

The first 3 months are about survival and teaching sleep - but with other children running around it really is too much to teach sleep all the time as some LOs will need more help than others.

((hugs))

When is your hospital appointment?