Author Topic: not sleeping at night  (Read 1672 times)

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Offline gumby

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not sleeping at night
« on: November 22, 2005, 19:05:50 pm »
Hi.
I need help with getting my 3 week old baby to sleep at night.  She wakes frequently during the night and ends up crying hysterically and is very hard to calm down.
Last night we couldn't get her to sleep until 5:30am.  She slept for 2 hours and then woke again.  I fed her and she slept another 2 hours and then wanted to be fed.
Today she is very overtired and isn't napping. 
We are trying to follow the EASY routine.

Any help would be great,
Very tired parents!

Offline alex and danny

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« Reply #1 on: November 22, 2005, 22:41:24 pm »
Completely normal!  She may be going through a growth spurt - they usually happen the first week, third week and third month.  A baby that young usually does eat every two hours or so....  I breast fed and I also thought my baby was eating too often - every two hours- but that's what he needed, eventually he was able to go to 2.5 hours between feeds... She is also working on her night sleep - I remember it being very hard for mine to sleep at night... it does come around!  Give it a little time, she is only 3 weeks - don't expect too much - she is just learning how to be!  Do you breast feed or formula feed?  Remember that the times between feeds in the book are approximations based on an average.  I hope this helps...  Alex
Alex with fun and supportive husband Danny; proud parents of our Angel/Touchy Jacob

Offline gumby

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« Reply #2 on: November 23, 2005, 02:57:32 am »
I am breast feeding her. 

Any advice on how to get her to sleep?  I fed her at 8pm.  She fed for 40 minutes and fell asleep.  I brought her upstairs and put her in her bassinet...she started to fall asleep.  Then after about 10 minutes she was wide awake and crying, very upset.
I took her out of the bassinet and put some lullabies on and I read her a story.  She calmed down.

It's 10pm now and she still isn't asleep.  My husband is holding her and trying to calm her down.  She is crying again!

mommytsa

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« Reply #3 on: November 23, 2005, 03:07:23 am »
I don't know what you've tried already, but have you been swaddling her?  Does she take a pacifier?  Some babies really need to suck, especially at 3 weeks.  You should also try the pat/shh method that Tracy talks about in her books.  I think there's a decent description in the sleep interview posted on the general sleep issues board.  Basically you are calming the baby with a rhythmic pat on the back and a loud "shh" noise (as loud as teh crying--it's a constant shhh, almost like a faucet running).  I hope that helps, and she settles down quickly.

Offline gumby

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« Reply #4 on: November 23, 2005, 17:41:18 pm »
I tried swadling her but she doesn't seem to like it....she just screams more.  She kicks and kicks and the blankets come off.  She is nearly sucking her fingers and doesn't like her arms to be in the blanket.

I tried the pat/sh and it sometimes works and other times she doesn't seem to notice and just keeps screaming.  She's only happy and content when held...and we don't think that is a good habit to get into.  We would really like her to sleep in her bassinet on her own.

Offline gumby

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« Reply #5 on: November 23, 2005, 17:42:42 pm »
Oh..she does have a great need to suck!! We got her a pacifier and that seems to calm her when she is hysterical but then it falls out after 10-20 minutes and she cries again so it's not really a solution.

mommytsa

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« Reply #6 on: November 23, 2005, 17:55:24 pm »
Well, I dont' know what else I can offer to help.  It does take 20 min or so for babies to fall asleep, and I had to sit by the cirb and pat/shh and hold the pacifier in for my little guy in order to teach him to sleep while not being held.  It took what seemed like forever for mine to learn it, but I also didn't start until he was 2 months old, and he's spirited, which means he's very assertive about his preferences.  In all, to get him to go to sleep in his crib, it took about 20 min every nap and bedtime for a week, but since you don't have any "bad habits" to break, like nursing to sleep, it shouldn't take as long for you.

If you stick with it and are consistent now, you'll be saving yourself a lot of trouble and heartache in the future.  I know it's hard, but it sounds like you're doing everything right.

Offline GabrielleD

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« Reply #7 on: November 23, 2005, 19:58:12 pm »
Hi,

I am not sure if this is even a problem for you, but I had a similar problem with my son when he was younger. It turns out that I didn't have enough milk  due to being on thyroid medication, so when he was trying to breastfeed he didn't fill up and was still hungry. He ended up falling asleep due to exhaustion, and not due to being satisfied. He also kept waking up frequently and wanting to feed. I ended up switching to formula, since it took a while to adjust my meds to their proper level, and my LO had to eat! Hope this helped.

Offline gumby

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« Reply #8 on: November 23, 2005, 22:37:38 pm »
mommytsa,

Did your son spit the pacifier out once he fell asleep?  Because my daughter cries once it falls out so then she is awake again.

Offline gumby

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« Reply #9 on: November 23, 2005, 22:38:57 pm »
GabrielleD
I think I have enough milk because she is gaining weight.  She was 8 lbs 1 oz when she was born...3 weeks later she is 9lbs 6 oz.

mommytsa

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« Reply #10 on: November 24, 2005, 01:37:04 am »
Yep, he spit out the pacifier and either my husband or I would have to sit there with him, usually for about 20 min putting it back in until he was so deeply asleep that he didn't cry for it.  After that he'd sleep fine, until about the 45 min mark, when we'd have to go in once and put it back in.  We went on like that for a good long time, but right around 14 weeks, he started waking up for the pacifer every half hour through the night, so we weaned him from it.  If I were you, I would suggest holding the pacifier in for the immediate time being.  I would also read the "gradual weaning for babies under a year old" thread in the props forum, since that will give you some ideas to keep in the back of your head, and might help you prevent the pacifier from becoming a HUGE problem, like it was for me.

My other suggestion is to try using the "aussie swaddle".  You can get directions for it at the top of the general sleep issues board.  I also thought my son hated to be swaddled, but many of his wakings were from the jolts that babies go through as they sleep.  If he jolted himself awake after 10, 15 or 20 min, we had to start all over.  Once I started swaddling him this way, those jolts didnt' disturb him as much.  The other good thing about the aussie swaddle is that they can move their arms a bit, and my son sucks his fist through the blanket.  It seems to work a lot better than the traditional swaddle for keeping him contained too.  It's harder for him to kick out of it.  He never liked it, and still doesn't like the process of beign swaddled, but I have found that it is absolutely necessary for him to go to sleep and stay asleep.

I know this is a lot to take in, and some of it may not work, but I totally understand where you are coming from, and how difficult it can be.  I commend you for trying to do something about it now, though and I will tell you that it's easier to start them off right than to fix bad habits when they're older.  I hope today and tonight go better for you.  Good luck.

Offline Katet

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« Reply #11 on: November 24, 2005, 22:16:15 pm »
I'd have to agree with what Theresa is saying about 3wo having a strong need to suck & taking 20mins to get into a proper sleep.
Also there is a 3week growth spurt so you should try offering more feeds - particulaly in the early evening... for a 3 wo offering every 2 hours in the day is actually very reasonable.
I would have to say re the swaddling, that if your lo hates it... then it is needed even more so... the babies that benefit the most are ALWAYS those that HATE it... try the Aussie swaddle that is the one I have always used & it is easy to wean them off by just loosening it when they are about 4-5mo... my 6mo no longer uses his & I just gradually loosened it from 4mo
dc1 July 03, dc2 May 05