going insane...desperate 4 help...naps and bedtime problems!

[kirsty_167]

Please oh please can anyone help me form going insane? I had a wonderful 4 1/2 month old son up until 10 days ago.He was sleeping 2hours in the am and 2 hours after lunch and a catnap at 4pm.Now its all out the window!!

Each nap lasts only an hour and he can take up to 2 hours to go to sleep at bedtime!!!! He is so tired.

I have tried it all believe me.I have adjusted feeds,wind down time etc.He has blackout curtains even.

He may be teething but nothing thru as of yet.That is the only thing i can put it down to.He used to know how toself soothe and can do so in the night if left be.However days and bedtimes are now horrendous. I really am loosing my mind!

His routine is..(was)
7.am bottle
8.30-9am nap
11am bottle/solids
12pm nap (although with early wake ups this has been 11.30 of late)
2pm bottle
4pm catnap (usually refuses to)
5.30 solids
5.45 bath
6pm bottle
7pm bed

He is waking at at 9.45/10am from his first nap and its a battle to wait it out till 11am for his bottle etc as he is tired by then.
Lunch nap only lasts an hour too yet used to be 2hours!! Then again its a big wait until the 2pm bottle.

I am soo upset and lost.I honestly have tried everything i can think of to help him.Leaving him works only sometimes,othertimes like today it didnt!!

Please can anyone reassure me they will get back on track??
What do i do when he wakes after 1 hour? How then do i schedule the day??

Im a mess.And desperate. :cry:

[kirsty_167]

Hi....thanks for the reply.I dont think it is food upsetting him as this only started 10 days ago and he has been on food for a month.I havent introduced anything new he only has pumpkin and kumara as this is all he will take happily.

Can anyone help me i really am getting depressed.I can happily go with the flow however....my problem is he wakes after an hour and being on 4hour easy means he has 2hours awake time before bottle due!!! he cant do this.He gets ovetired waiting and too much activity time.

Please anyone can u help me?

[Caroline-Charlies Mummy]

Hello sweetie, {{{{{{hugs}}}}}} to you, believe me, I know how frustrating this is, but don't worry, I'm sure this is just a blip .

Just a couple of questions:

You say that this started 10 days ago. Was there anything that happened then that you could put it down to? It could be something really silly, like a slightly different wind down, your winter heating coming in, anything really. Can you have a good think?

Was there a reason that you started solids early? Does your lo have any medical issues?

It does sound to me like he has got himself into a bit of an overtired vicious circle. Have you tried to extend his naps at all, or do you get him up when he wakes straight away?

Please don't panic, let us know about these questions, and we'll put our thinking caps on and you'll have your champion sleeper back!

[kirsty_167]

Hi charlies mum

There wasnt anything major happen that i can think of.The only thing maybe is the muggy/warmer weather.I did put a fan in his room but didnt improve things.I think maybe he woke one day and night due to heat and this has upset everything since.??

I have tried putting him back to sleep but the pu/pd and pat/shush no longer work for him.I stopped doing this a few days ago as it only upset me as he wouldnt go back to sleep.I stayed in the room all of the nap times and i ended up a right mess at the weekend.I dont get him straight up at all.I leave him be in the hope he will go back to sleep.(unless he is really upset i dont go in)This worked for 2 days but then he has reverted back to refusing to go back to sleep.So after 30 mins i go in and get him up.Should i leave him longer? Am i giving in too early for him to learn to go back to sleep independently?

The chaos it has led to is unbelievable.Bad naps,bad bedtime and waking at 5am!!! I do not go to him at 5am as he lies and chats or grizzles but doesnt cry out as such.he then starts his day at 7am.

Today he slept 1 hour from 8.30 to 9.30 am then fell asleep in the car again at 10.50am.(for 30mins) I have now put him back down at 1.15pm as he was getting grizzly and stifled a yawn (but not quick enough so i didnt spot it!!!) I know he will either not sleep or only sleep for 45-1 hour.

I truly am lost.Its so incredibly difficult when they dont nap as much or for as long as they actually need!

any ideas or reassurance greatly appreciated.Even just some support that it will get better!!!


thanks
kirsty

[kirsty_167]

oh and he was put on food early by the paedeatritian due to his severe silent reflux.He hoped it would help.He only started with a tiny amount once a day so really has only been having 2 tsp of food 2x daily for the last week.This is due to him not being able to have his milk increased as he throws it back up and then some!!! The drs idea was to line his tummy more with food to help keep the milk down and help stop the acid coming up and burning this throat.This has worked to some degree but not every day. :?

[Caroline-Charlies Mummy]

Hi, how are things now? How did that nap go? I hope it was better for you.

I think this is a case of him getting overtired, and then it affecting all sleeping, and I'll bet that it's also the reflux upsetting him. Now, I have no experience when it comes to reflux, so I'll ask the other Mods what they think, see if they can come up with any solutions for you. And if anyone else could help, that would be great.

Just another question (nosy, aren't I? :wink: ). Are you doing this on your own? It sounds to me as if you are stressed out by all this. Is there anyone who can help you/give you a break? If you can get a break, it may make things a little less stressful for you both.

Please don't worry too much, though, this will pass, and we'll do our best to help.

[Caroline-Charlies Mummy]

Sorry, forgot to mention, have you checked out the reflux board? A quick surf in there might give you some ideas:

http://www.babywhisperer.com/forum/colic-reflux-crying-vf13.html

HTH

[corrina01]

Have you tried putting him on a 3.5 EASY, as this has worked for my DD and she is still on it.  She can only stay awake for 1.40hr now (used to be 1.30hr). 

Does he have a dummy (paci)?

What does he do when he wakes?  Happy, or cries?

I will post my schedule if you want me to.

[bobby's mama]

The only thing I can think is that it still may be related to the foods.  My DS#2 had reflux and he still was really bad even when the doc put him on solids.  In fact he didn't really want to take the food at all.  The doc ended up adding rice cereal to the bottle which helped a little, but he really didn't get better until he was put on meds.  I would discuss this w/ you doc and until your appt. try to be as detailed as possible on his schedule.  Sorry if I haven't helped.  It's also been a while since I've dealt w/ it.

[Fiona (Leah & Kians Mom)]

Hi Kirsty,
is your little boy on meds? It's really important with reflux that they get some medication as the introduction of solids is not going to go away. I know you have an older child too to think about but as Charlies Mummy says it sounds like you are doing it all on your own and need a helping hand or some support. My dd was/ is a silent refluxer so I know how difficult it is, I am sure you have done the usual things like having the crib propped up? and I was still swaddling under the arms at this stage, was still also doing a dream feed and got rid of the soother at about 4 months which helped enormously though the main nap of the day took a little while.
Let me know if I can help you with anything,
Fiona/Mic

[Mum to Ella Rose]

I was just wondering if he's on any meds for his reflux? And if so which ones and have you had the dosage increased to be in line with his weight lately? It does sound to me too that it's reflux related. Also if he is teething, that can aggravate reflux too. I'm so sorry to hear you're having such a rough time!

Sharon

[kirsty_167]

Hi and thanks to all that have replied. jakob has been on meds since he was 7 weeks old.I think maybe he is struggling with it again however. I did have him assessed a month ago and is due again to be reviewed on the 13 th january.He is on the correct amount of zantac for his age and weight.

His naps again today have been only 1 hour in length.He is now on the 3.5 easy as this fits him better right now. he slept 8-9am and 11.30-12.30pm.He was put down again at 2pm as he was grizzly and tired but didnt sleep/Now it is near 4pm here in nz and he again is resting as he was grumpy and yawning.The avo is the hardest as he is then overtired.This is where it gets stressful for me.

Im not on my own but my partner is gone before jakob gets up and gets home when its bath time,bottle and bedtime. I live 45 mins away from my parents and most of friends as i moved. Most people i know work, so little help around.So its just me really most days!!!

I will look at the reflux posts too....see if i can find any tips.....it seems to be getting worse...........

kirsty