LO has to scream himself to sleep

[jessmum46]

Glad you are seeing some improvements with naps

However that night sleep screams discomfort to me, even a very OT LO will usually crash out for a few hours at some point if they are not in pain.  Teething can be really bad for some LOs, my DS is an AWFUL teether and will wake frequently despite meds when he is getting teeth. I think the meds help with the duration of wakings but not really the number.  The other thing to bear in mind is that teething can cause a big reflux flare so meds that may have been enough previously may not be at present.  I don't feel comfortable advising any kind of sleep training with wakings that frequent, I'm sorry to say   In my experience LOs only wake that often when in pain, even with bad prop issues LOs will only tend to wake every couple of hours.

[Atomic1010]

Thanks for your reply and advice. So it sounds like best bet is to leave as is until the teeth come through and then if we are still in this position to try some sleep training then.

What's puzzling me is that giving ibuprofen or calpol before bed isn't making a difference.

Some nights the wake ups are every half hour and sometimes every couple of hours but it's just getting worse rather than better over the weeks and it's been going on for 8 wks now.

I spoke to the doctor about it a couple of weeks ago as part of a check of his reflux and she seemed to think it was my LO getting into a bad habit of waking.

[becj86]

Teething commonly causes reflux flares - it gets worse so it may be worth reviewing the dosage. How much weight has he gained since the last review?

it sounds like best bet is to leave as is until the teeth come through and then if we are still in this position to try some sleep training then.

Yes, that would be my suggestion too.

Hugs xx you must be exhausted

[Atomic1010]

Thanks. I'm not sure he is in pain though. When he cries in the night, often all I have to do is pick him up and as soon as I have done that it's like a switch has been flicked and he is fast asleep. I then have trouble putting him back in the cot as he keeps waking.

Can teething really cause 2 months of hourly wake ups? Should I give him ibuprofen every night regardless in case?

I just want to get through this as soon as possible as its really getting to me having so little sleep.

I am having him weighed again on Thursday so we can check dosage of medication following that hopefully.

[becj86]

Sorry if you've already had this conversation - have you got the cot head raised at all?

[Atomic1010]

Thanks yes it's raised on some folded up towels 

[Buntybear]

Ok thanks I will bare that in mind. Generally LO does two short naps in the morning, a long nap early afternoon and a short nap late afternoon.  The first early morning nap I think should be longer. He always wakes after 30mins and cries. When I get him up he seems tired and struggles to last an hour, I seem to remember there was a technique where you go In 10mins before the end of their sleep cycle and pat them gently on the chest to get them through into the next sleep cycle -is this right? I want to try and see if it's possible to lengthen the first nap so he has a better A time in the morning. I think this would also set him up better for the day as a whole.

Thanks so much again.

Hi - sorry if this has been raised before but I was wondering if you have thought about whether he has an intolerance to milk? Is he bottle fed? Maybe try a different milk?

[Atomic1010]

Thanks for your post. He is ebf and I went non dairy for two weeks in case of a CMPA but it made no difference.

[Buntybear]

Do you think that he could be reacting to something else? You say he has wind at night - that was Olly's main symptom to his allergies. Well, that and eczema but that was nothing compared to the screaming NWs 

Could you share what dosage of meds he is on and when you give them?

[Atomic1010]

I don't think so. As LO had severe colic and reflux since birth I have had a very boring diet!

In July the paediatrician put him on 10mg omeprazole as he was 6kg. 3weeks after being on this med the NWs increased and the trapped wind in the early hours of the morning started, so the GP said to put him on ranitidine (0.8ml 3 times a day) to see if it improved the situation as wind and stomach cramps are a side affect of omeprazole. So he has been on ranitidine for 3 weeks. His weight when he started ranitidine was 6.4kg I think. I have put him back on omeprazole today as the ranitidine has made no difference and in light of the comment about reflux it seemed worth a try.

My gut feeling is that the issues are he is using me as a prop to get him through sleep cycles....it's almost a mirror image of what happened at the same age with DS1 but then the prop was being breastfed to sleep not being rocked to sleep.I ended up doing PUPD with him and it was the best thing I ever did!

I feel very frustrated that I don't know what is going on with my LOs sleep and I can't fix it 

[*Liz*]

So he is almost 5 months, right?

It can be a rotten age for everything really. Sleep, reflux, and props  . There is also a mega sleep regression at 4 months that doesn't help anything.

He is your 2nd LO right? Is he very different from your first in terms of wind and sickness? The omeprazole trial is a decent idea (unless he really is one of those bubs that does get SE's from it  ), but I think as a second time Mum you do have a bit more instinct on whether reflux is the major issue or not.

How often is he up at night now?

[Atomic1010]

Hi - yes he has just turned 5 mths and is my second one. Instinct is telling me he is using me as a prop to get back to sleep tonight although it is clear that towards the end of the night he is troubled by wind. My first was identical in terms of reflux and waking every hour at this age and after his first teeth came through at 6 mths we sleep trained. That's what I think I will do with LO now hence asking for others thoughts on how to sleep train at night.

Last night he woke at 10.30,11.30 then every 30mins til 2, then 4 and then 5.30.

So a slightly better night that the previous which was every hour.

The only thing I did differently was feed at 2 and 4. Normally I just rock him back to sleep. We have started him on a little baby rice this week to see if hunger is a factor although he is not particularly interested!
Thanks for your help all

[*Liz*]

When you lift him and hold him can you hear the gulping/ gagging etc? Or is he quiet and just drifts back off again? My boy can sometimes want lifting due to his reflux - its a simple gravity thing.

He is up an awful lot though isn't he?? I haven't seen your routine at all but was wondering if he is UT and needs to start ditching that CN??

Is he BF? A fair few BF babies start to need an extra feed or 2 at this age before they are properly established on solids. Heck, my bottle fed baby did as well, and I have him back down at one night feed again now which I will wean as soon as these wretched top teeth come in. But my boy is almost 10 months. He was almost STTN at 4 months, but got bigger and hungrier, but wasn't able to increase feed volumes due to reflux, so extra feeds ended up returning.

[Atomic1010]

Hi Liz I don't think he is gulping when I lift him up he just goes so still and seems to fall asleep instantly. Since going back on omeprazole 2 days ago we have had a couple of marginally better nights although last night he was awake for 2 hours farting as he had dreadful wind. Which is this side affect he seems to suffer more from on this med. I don't think he is UT.

From memory yesterday was as follows;
5.30am awake
8.20-8.50 nap in car on way to take DS1 to nursery as wouldn't nap in cot when put down at 7.15
10.20-11.20 Nap
1.30-3.30 Nap
6.45 Asleep for night

He woke at 8.20, 11.30, 1.30-3.30, 4.30, 5, 5.30 and 6 last night.

He is bf yes and I wondered if he was waking hungry so been feeding him every 2 hours when he wakes instead of every 3 which is what I was doing. It does seem to settle him quickly and he feeds each time. Going to see HV today to talk about it all and see how is weight is coming along as there has been some concern that his rate of weight gain has been slowing down over the past 1-2 months which is why I am trying to introduce solids this week albeit with little success so far!

[Atomic1010]

I was up every half an hour from 1a.m. again last night with LO who had dreadful wind. I just don't know what to do to make the nights better. I haven't had a night of less than 3 wake ups for 9 weeks and wish someone could tell me how to fix this and when we will be through it. My HV has been out and about today so haven't been able to speak to her and same for our GP. LO been so unsettled all day with tiredness and not managed an A time of more than 1.5 hrs without a meltdown  so fed up.