Author Topic: 1 Wk Old- crying for hours @ night...help!  (Read 6238 times)

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Offline MicheleOH

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1 Wk Old- crying for hours @ night...help!
« on: May 25, 2006, 18:00:30 pm »
Background info to answer questions:

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My son is 9 days old, so we've just started the 2nd week. This is my second child...we have a 2 yr. old girl too.

His daily routine right now includes about eight feeds. His wake time is approximately 7:15am. His daytime naps are about 1-1/2 to 2 hrs. during a 2-1/2 hr. to 3 hour feed cycle. I try to keep him awake after each feed, but I've had great difficulty. We've tried cluster feeding in the evening (2 hrs. apart), keeping him awake the whole time, but he doesn't stay awake very well.

His bedtime has varied, as we've attempted to adjust his schedule to fit our needs better. For example, we tried cluster feeding him at 8pm and 10pm one night, forgetting the dream feed. (that was too late to dream feed). Last night we tried cluster feeding at 7pm & 9pm, but again didn't dream feed because it was already too late.

In the evening, he wakes three times. The first wake time, he feeds and usually falls back asleep right away. It's almost exclusively the 2nd wake time that is causing problems. The second wake time I feed him and we can never seem to get him to settle down after that. I put him down, and he's quiet for about five minutes. Then he cries for for at least an hour...sometimes two hours, and then a couple of times I gave in and fed him just to quiet him down (after 2 hrs. since last feed). The crying starts with a cough-like sounds and grunting noises (probably gas) and ends up in a full blown wailing cry that lasts endlessly.

The first few days, my husband would hold him to settle him. He even let him sleep on his chest for up to an hour and a half just to stop the crying. We kept that up for a while and then decided to let him "work it out on his own" and let him cry for a bit. The first night we tried that and I think he cried for like an hour straight and then finally fell asleep (this was without us intervening). Last night we burped and changed him, then let him cry for about 30 min. I checked on him and he had another wet diaper (I had just changed him!) I burped him & put him back down and then he cried for 10 min. and finally fell asleep. By the time all was said and done though, we'd lost quite a bit of sleep.

Activity time at this age is just letting his big sister play with him and talk to him. And my husband carries him around and bounces him to try and keep him awake. But we've really been pretty unsuccessful at this. I know he's still a newborn, but Tracy says newborns are supposed to sleep only 1 to 1-1/2 hrs. of a 2 1/2 hr. cycle. That's 1 to 1-1/2 hrs. wake time. That seems like an impossible task sometimes!

No solid foods or developmental issues that I know of, except he does have a small hole in his heart that we're checking on soon with a specialist. I don't know if that could effect his sleeping or not.

His prop might be his dad's chest and holding. Especially at night. He won't fall asleep unless he's absolutely out cold already, unless daddy holds him. Then the second you put him down he starts crying again.
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My real question is how to get him to fall asleep at night, especially that 2nd wake time. Would it somehow help to dream feed him vs. just the cluster feed and letting him wake on his own after that? Is it OK to let him "cry it out" a bit in the evening? I know we're supposed to take care of their needs if they're crying i.e. because of gas, but what if he continues to make noises and such that sound like gas & we can't seem to help him no matter what we do? Are we supposed to burp him all night long? When can we, guilt free, put him down and "let him work it out on his own"? Does he still have his days and nights mixed up? I really don't know what else I could do to keep him awake during the day? Any insights or ideas on this??

Any other tips or suggestions? Please help me!

Thank you so much for your time!

-Michele

Offline Colin Macs Mom

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Re: 1 Wk Old- crying for hours @ night...help!
« Reply #1 on: May 25, 2006, 18:40:41 pm »
Hi Michele, congratulations on your brand new DS!  ;D

A few things I see right away...

At only 9 days old, I would not be trying to keep him awake. If he wants and needs to sleep, let him. They need so much sleep at that point, and to try and keep him awake will only make him overtired and I bet that is contributing to the crying and waking. I would try and iron out the routine when he is a bit older and can handle being awake for a reasonable length of time.

Also, when you say that you have tried to adjust the routine to fit "our" needs better, do you mean literally yours or do you mean everyone? I personally believe that your routine/schedule should be adjusted to fit your son's needs first and foremost, not yours. I don't mean for that to sound harsh, but if you try and adjust it now to fit yours, you will probably set him up to fail. At 9 days, a lo can't handle much at all. If you design a routine that he can handle primarily and will also help you out as well, everyone will be happiest.

I get the impression that you have been doing a CIO sort of thing. PLEASE correct me if I am wrong. As a mod I have an obligation to make it clear that this site does not support CIO in any way. Our purpose is to support Tracy's methods and establish trust between parent and child, and help the child achieve independence. CIO does not accomplish any of that as it is believed to break the trust between parent and child. So to directly answer your question, it is not ok to ever let you lo cry it out. At 9 days he is simply not capable of doing that. He needs to learn the skills first. To start working on the sleeping, I suggest trying pat/shhh - have you done that yet? It sounds like you are familiar with Tracy's techniques so I assume that you know what that is, but please let me know if not and I will explain. I would also stop the sleeping on a chest and holding, as that will become a habit and believe me, I can tell you from personal experience, you don't want to try and fix that later. The sooner you teach him to sleep in his own bed or bassinet or what not, the easier it will be and the smoother things will be down the road. The idea is to teach him to fall asleep on his own. It is a process and will take some time - there is no quick, immediate fix. Unfortunately with a 9 day old you will definitely be losing some sleep, but it does get better and all the hard work does pay off. Clusterfeeding is a great technique, it worked wonders for us. The problem though is that often the lo is so full from it that they won't take a dreamfeed, which sounds like what's happening with you. I would try the clusterfeed and then after a night or two try a dreamfeed without a clusterfeed first and see which works better.

My DS had terrible trouble with gas as well when he was a newborn. Some things that can help with it are to bicycle his legs, put a warm washcloth on his belly and/or lower back, and also the gas drops, like mylicon (generic works just as well and is less expensive).
Jessica
Mom to Colin Ronald, August 18, 2005
Spirited + Reflux =  :o


Offline jessica and emilys mummy

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Re: 1 Wk Old- crying for hours @ night...help!
« Reply #2 on: May 25, 2006, 18:54:48 pm »
Hi Congratulations :D :D

I would also say try not to keep lo awake.
With both of mine they fed,slept for 3/4 hours,woke,fed,slept etc

This is when their brains develop.Overtiredness is very exhausting for everyone.
I know exactly what it's like with an older toddler as well.You may think you're
neglecting her,but I promise you're not and she won't think you are (even if she
screams at you,like mine ::))

Have you checked out the EASY thread? I wasn't on here when I had mine,but
I wish I was.
I had the biggest shock with my 2nd as dd#1 was a breeze and I assumed (stupidly)
that it would be the same.

Try not to let him cry too long on his own because he can't really understand or calm
himself down at that age.
Mine never had colic or reflux,but straight from birth my HV told me to fold a blanket
and put it under the headend of the bassinet mattress and this would stop any
wind getting caught.

Don't think I've been much help,but I can offer my support with the shock :o of having
2 ;)

Take care  x
Sarah-aka Dorfus Rhinofanny
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Offline JennŠ

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Re: 1 Wk Old- crying for hours @ night...help!
« Reply #3 on: May 25, 2006, 19:35:03 pm »
Welcome!!  At that age, mine was awake long enough to have a diaper change and eat.  Then right back to sleep.  She repeated this every 2 hours for the first month or so.  (I think!)   With the hole in his heart, it might be that he needs the sleep, and that is why he is fussing.  Not knowing the size/ location of the hole, it's hard to say.  I would be more inclined to NOT let him fuss too much as it could be a strain on his system.   Also, at this age, the bladder is tiny.  Therefore, frequent wet diapers.  You've probably noticed the need to "duck" when the diaper comes off.    ;)  The EASY forum has a quiz to help you figure out his personality.  That info helps tailor the BW stuff to your babe.  Most newborns respond well to swaddling.  Some it helps if the blanket smells like a parent.  Yup, sleeping with a receiving blanket for a couple of nights is a bit odd, but it can help calm baby.  Is he breast or bottle fed?  Sorry for the flight of ideas.  Hope something in here makes sense to you. 
 When you're soaring through the air, I'll be your solid ground.  Take every chance you dare.  I'll still be there when you come back down.

Offline Erin M

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Re: 1 Wk Old- crying for hours @ night...help!
« Reply #4 on: May 25, 2006, 19:39:06 pm »
Hi and congrats on your son :)

Have you read this post?
https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=1993.0

It's about getting started with EASY in the early days (which you are most certainly in now).  At 9 days, you really don't want to worry so much about the strict 3 hour routine and focus more on the overall order of things.  If he's crying at this age, he's trying to communicate something to you, but wow is it hard to figure out sometime.  I echo Jenn's suggestion of swaddling if you haven't tried it already.  It worked really well for us in the beginning, couldn't have survived without it! 

Good luck :)

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Re: 1 Wk Old- crying for hours @ night...help!
« Reply #5 on: May 25, 2006, 20:16:05 pm »
Hi and congratulations from me too!  :)

You've received such wonderful advice already, I'm not sure what I can add at this point but an elevated crib or bassinet can definitely help while their digestive systems are still maturing. You can place books under the crib mattress or use the rolled blanket as Sarah suggested. Holding upright after feeds can help settle their tummy down too. Even with a refluxer we found a tight swaddle to be a Godsend. Also we found the massage and warm washcloth to help a great deal too. Hmmm I guess I'm just echoing the other advice now...  :-\

Good luck to you and {hugs}

Sharon
~Sharon~  proud Mummy to

Ella Rose November 20, 2004
Alexander James March 19, 2008

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Re: 1 Wk Old- crying for hours @ night...help!
« Reply #6 on: May 26, 2006, 00:28:27 am »
I think you have been given some great advice, but  I just wanted to add some info on the evening crying.

This is very common in newborn babies, of course that doesn't make it any easier for you! They are still adjusting from life in the womb to all the new things in their new world. One paediatrician describes newborns' evening crying as 'blowing off steam' - by the end of the day they are overwhelmed and need to cry to release their emotions. So I would let him cry, but be there to comfort him  - here's a link to 2 articles that talk about this 'crying in arms' and how it can beneficial. Of course, you would need to rule out any other needs or  medical problems first.

http://www.awareparenting.com/comfort.htm
http://www.awareparenting.com/article1.htm

The articles talk about cosleeping and attachment parenting, which is not really BW but it's up to parents what they choose.

The crying does get better around 12 weeks - which probably seems an eternity to you! So maybe you and your husband could take it turns to comfort him on alternate evenings because it is very stressful. Earplugs or a walkman playing soothing music can really help!

« Last Edit: May 26, 2006, 01:18:17 am by Lan »

Offline MicheleOH

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Re: 1 Wk Old- crying for hours @ night...help!
« Reply #7 on: May 26, 2006, 18:02:35 pm »
Thank you so much to everyone for your thoughtful responses!  I can't tell you how grateful I am to have responses that are so beautifully tailored to my situation.

I learned quite a bit from your answers. I do have a few more questions for clarification, if you all wouldn't mind helping me some more.  :)

I admit I guess I was trying to implement the Cry It Out method. I guess I understand Tracy's ideas, in theory, about meeting the baby's needs and attending to them vs. just letting them cry, but I honestly feel like either a) those ideas don't work when I've tried them or b) my husband & I are just too tired to try to implement them. We just want some sleep! (Last night we were awake for 5 hours straight! :()

Regarding the pat/shhh method...we tried that & ds actually seems to like it. The problem is that the second we stop, he cries again. How long am I supposed to pat/shhh for? What if he does cry as soon as I stop? Then what? And if my husband is not supposed to hold him on his chest (which I completely understand why that's not a good idea) and the pat/shhh doesn't seem to work, and he keeps crying, what do we do? How are we going to ever sleep again?? Please help! I need suggestions that work. For whatever it's worth, regarding one of the responses, attachment parenting & co-sleeping are not my thing. And I didn't think Tracy advocated either of those anyhow.

Many of you suggested that my efforts to keep him awake during the day are actually backfiring in the night and I might be causing ds to be overtired and unable to settle down in the evening. Boy, do I feel foolish if that's the case! I'm relieved too, because I felt like I was torturing him trying to keep him awake for the time that I thought Tracy suggested it, given the length of his sleep cycle. So, is it really OK to feed him, change his diaper, and if he falls asleep pretty much right away...let him? I'm still not convinced that he won't get his nights and days mixed up. How is that any different from the evening when I feed him, diaper him and put him right back to sleep? If he has a 3 hour feed cycle, is it OK, for example for me to feed him at 12 noon, diaper him, and then at 12:45 to put him right back to bed until 3pm? That would be 2hrs. and 15 min of sleep for one cycle. Is that too much? And at what age is it more appropriate to try to keep him more awake, if he's really too young right now?

If we cluster feed, say at 6pm and 8pm, with bedtime then being at 8pm, are we supposed to keep him awake for that 2 hour period? Is that implied in the idea of a cluster feed? If we don't keep him awake, do we just let him fall asleep for say 1 hour and then feed him again at 8pm and put him to bed for the night? I think I'm a little unclear on this concept for this age.

How long are feeds supposed to be apart at this age? Is an average of 2:45 OK? Most of his feeds during the day have been about 2:45 or 3 hrs. Is that too long?

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all you wise mothers for your input. It's so nice to feel like I'm not alone.








Offline Colin Macs Mom

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Re: 1 Wk Old- crying for hours @ night...help!
« Reply #8 on: May 26, 2006, 19:52:41 pm »
I admit I guess I was trying to implement the Cry It Out method. I guess I understand Tracy's ideas, in theory, about meeting the baby's needs and attending to them vs. just letting them cry, but I honestly feel like either a) those ideas don't work when I've tried them or b) my husband & I are just too tired to try to implement them. We just want some sleep! (Last night we were awake for 5 hours straight! :()

Regarding the pat/shhh method...we tried that & ds actually seems to like it. The problem is that the second we stop, he cries again. How long am I supposed to pat/shhh for? What if he does cry as soon as I stop? Then what? And if my husband is not supposed to hold him on his chest (which I completely understand why that's not a good idea) and the pat/shhh doesn't seem to work, and he keeps crying, what do we do? How are we going to ever sleep again?? Please help! I need suggestions that work. For whatever it's worth, regarding one of the responses, attachment parenting & co-sleeping are not my thing. And I didn't think Tracy advocated either of those anyhow.

Oh man do I hear you.... it's so unfortunate that all the really hard work with a new lo has to be done when you are so tired you can't see straight. It takes a lot of effort and patience to get a lo on track, and EASY is not always easy! But we are all here to help you and support you.  :D  It sounds like you're committed to doing what's best for your lo and using BW. And like I said it is a lot of work but it pays off, and when it does, it's bliss! Keep up with the shhhh/pat, and if he cries when you stop, then start again. It will take a bit of time to get results, so be prepared for that. Once he starts to relax and get sleepy, you can slow the pats and quiet your volume until you've stopped and are silent - that might work better than stopping abruptly.

Many of you suggested that my efforts to keep him awake during the day are actually backfiring in the night and I might be causing ds to be overtired and unable to settle down in the evening. Boy, do I feel foolish if that's the case! I'm relieved too, because I felt like I was torturing him trying to keep him awake for the time that I thought Tracy suggested it, given the length of his sleep cycle. So, is it really OK to feed him, change his diaper, and if he falls asleep pretty much right away...let him? I'm still not convinced that he won't get his nights and days mixed up. How is that any different from the evening when I feed him, diaper him and put him right back to sleep? If he has a 3 hour feed cycle, is it OK, for example for me to feed him at 12 noon, diaper him, and then at 12:45 to put him right back to bed until 3pm? That would be 2hrs. and 15 min of sleep for one cycle. Is that too much? And at what age is it more appropriate to try to keep him more awake, if he's really too young right now?

You shouldn't feel foolish at all - when you're utterly exhaused and not thinking clearly, it's hard to analyze the situation. Yep, it's really ok to let him fall asleep right away if that's what he wants to do. Just watch his cues and that will also help you learn them and allow him to build trust with you when you recognize his cues and then get him what he needs. If you're worried about a night/day mix up, then make sure you're doing things to differentiate the two. Examples: darkness at night but not so much during the day, different clothes (pjs vs. regular clothes), telling him what's happening "Good night" vs. "See you in a bit when you wake from your nap" that sort of thing. He will get the hang of it. I really wouldn't worry about him being more awake until he's at least 6 weeks, maybe even older.

If we cluster feed, say at 6pm and 8pm, with bedtime then being at 8pm, are we supposed to keep him awake for that 2 hour period? Is that implied in the idea of a cluster feed? If we don't keep him awake, do we just let him fall asleep for say 1 hour and then feed him again at 8pm and put him to bed for the night? I think I'm a little unclear on this concept for this age.

How long are feeds supposed to be apart at this age? Is an average of 2:45 OK? Most of his feeds during the day have been about 2:45 or 3 hrs. Is that too long?

I would not try and keep him awake for that two hour period. Two hours is longer than he's capable of at this age. I'd think that letting him sleep that hour would be fine. I didn't cluster feed until my DS was older though so someone else can probably help you better with that.

An average of 2:45 is fine if that's what he needs. He will let you know, just follow his cues.  :)
Jessica
Mom to Colin Ronald, August 18, 2005
Spirited + Reflux =  :o


Offline Erin M

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Re: 1 Wk Old- crying for hours @ night...help!
« Reply #9 on: May 27, 2006, 00:41:46 am »
Keep up with the shhhh/pat, and if he cries when you stop, then start again. It will take a bit of time to get results, so be prepared for that. Once he starts to relax and get sleepy, you can slow the pats and quiet your volume until you've stopped and are silent - that might work better than stopping abruptly.

I used to start off pat/shhhing quite loudly when she was crying to stop the crying, then lessen as she calmed down, fading out as she fell asleep.  In the book, Tracy advocates staying with your LO until he completely falls asleep in the beginning.  And I totally echo the other ladies that it's a lot of work at first, but entirely worth it when your LO gets older and you can pop him in his crib and be confident that he'll fall asleep.  Anyway, back to the pat/shhh, I actually used to end up patting her super lightly, then I'd hold my hand right above her, almost pat/shhing until I knew she was asleep (you have to watch for those jolts they have when they're "almost" asleep when they're that little - I found swaddling to be quite useful in that case, but my LO had a really big startle reflex).  Since you're there, if he gets upset again, you can just start pat/shhing more loudly/forcefully. 

Oh, and I totally hear you about the difficulty of having a newborn.  (((HUGS))) to you and your sleep deprivation.  It DOES get better (I know you know that, but I think you need to hear it often at this age :) )

Offline MicheleOH

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Re: 1 Wk Old- crying for hours @ night...help!
« Reply #10 on: May 27, 2006, 13:39:09 pm »
Thank you again ladies for your insight and clarification. Stacy, if you were here I would  give you a hug for that play by play schedule you suggested to me.  :) I need that type of specific advice! Sometimes I feel like I just don't get it until someone explains it to me like that. Thank you!!

I tried being more patient last night, despite my utter exhaustion and my husband's desire to just let DS cry it out again, and I stuck to the pat/shhh method. I'd like to explain what happened last night, and ask if you all think I'm on track, or if I need to make some more adjustments.

We cluster fed him at 6pm and about 8:15 pm.
He slept from about 7pm to 8:15pm at which point I woke and fed him. He was so sleepy that he wouldn't feed on the 2nd side, so we did everything we could to wake him. I was worried that this might aggravate him, but I was more concerned that he wouldn't sleep very long if I didn't get a full feed in.
I think he fell asleep fine after that.

He woke at about 11:30pm and this is where the challenge began. He ended up being awake for 2 hours.
During that whole period, it was very obvious to me that he was struggling with gas. He kept of grunting and squirming and letting out short wails. I would usually give him a second to see if he would fall right back asleep, which he never did. So I went to him, made sure his diaper wasn't full, tried burping him and helping him with the gas (I never seem to get good burps out of him or to be able to relieve his gas). Then I put him back down and tried pat/shhh. This would usually calm him down. I tried fading out the pat/shhh like Colin Mac's Mom & Erin M suggested. He would appear to be asleep, I'd go back to bed and then about 5 min later, the squirming and wails started again. So, I'd go through the whole cycle again...and this lasted 2 hours!! Sigh. He ended up with another wet diaper, so I changed him again and finally he fell asleep and slept until 4am. (Thank goodness!)

Did I do it right? Am I missing something? Two hours seems like an awfully long time to be going back and forth (not to mention that I'm still recovering from an extremely large episiotomy and I'm very sore). Is there any alternative? We have those gas drops (Mylacon) that we used for our first DD but I hesitate to use those again. I know Tracy advocates pacifiers if they're not used as props. Would my situation be an appropriate use of a passy? I'm almost certain DS's problem is gas, not a need for sucking, so it doesn't seem like a passy would be meeting his need, just "plugging him up." If I am doing this right, someone please tell me that I won't have to do this for 2 hrs every night?  :(

As a side note, the next feed period went much better. He woke at 4am, i fed him and put him down patting him gently then fading out. He seemed to fall asleep, but 5 min later started fussing again. My husband just went over to pat/shh and then he turned on some "white noise" (we have this CD that mimics vacuum cleaner noise that we used for DD). And he fell asleep until 7:15 which is our exact morning wake time! Was that OK to use the white noise or are we starting another prop?

Is PU/PD part of pat/shhh or is that something different for a different situation? Is picking him up when he's gassy, burping him, and putting him back down PU/PD?? Is pat/shhh supposed to be used in conjunction with PU/PD like I did last night? When should I be picking him up vs. just leaving him in the bed to pat/shhh?

On a side note, my husband is very concerned that he wets way too many diapers (he added up the cost at the rate we're going at & he was very upset at how much money we're spending on diapers!). I feel like I have to change him twice most feed cycles and he wets his clothes at least once a day (sometimes 2-3 times). Someone alluded to the fact that babies' bladders are so small at this age that they do pee quite a bit. Anyone have any insight on this?

Thank you again! You all are my lifeline to sanity!

-Michele


Offline MicheleOH

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Re: 1 Wk Old- crying for hours @ night...help!
« Reply #11 on: May 28, 2006, 15:15:56 pm »
Hello again!

Good suggestions Stacy, thank you. We tried the "fart pump" last night, but I still couldn't get any gas out of him. He had another wake period of 2 hrs. where it seemed like we couldn't do anything for him. We're honestly at our wits end and my husband is becoming quite the doubter that any of this "stuff" (i.e. pat/shh) actually works. Last night we kept pat/shh-ing him, picking him up to try and burp him, etc. and it seemed to have absolutely no effect. After 2 hrs. we just collapsed in bed, turned the box fan on really loud, and DS coincidentally fell asleep. sigh.

More questions:
1) When exactly should we be intervening? I know Tracy doesn't want us to "rescue" them all the time. I felt like we might have been going to him too often. Is it ever OK to let them cry a little bit to see if they'll calm down on their own? How long do you let them cry if it is OK?

2) I feel like the pat/shh doesn't work anymore at all. When he's gassy and grunting and wailing, I feel like there's nothing we can do for him. We tried some gas drops last night & we felt like they worked for the first feed we gave them to him, but the very next feed (the one where he was awake for 2hrs.) we gave them to him again, and he was miserable.  >:( I'm at a loss! And I don't think I can persuade my husband to go along with this anymore.

Please help!!! Am I doing something wrong?

Thank you for your patience with all my questions.

P.S. I agree with you Stacy, that maybe I shouldn't cluster feed. He is pretty sound asleep at the end of that cluster feed time (i.e. 8pm) and it might be in our best interest to just let him sleep. I'll maybe try that this evening.

-Michele

Offline frankiesmom

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Re: 1 Wk Old- crying for hours @ night...help!
« Reply #12 on: May 31, 2006, 17:02:36 pm »
Can I pop in on this conversation please? You ladies have been so helpful with this post, I was hoping I could get some support and advice too. 
 I am in a similar situation with a 3 week old (and a 21 month old at home!).  My ds has reflux and is up very frequently at night.  I am not sure what to do about it.  I really need some sleep too and I am losing my mind!  He started on Zantac, so I am hoping for some relief but he is waking every 45 minutes to 1.5 hours at night and he is frantic until I feed him, then he eats for a short period, then he falls asleep. I don't think he is getting a full feed. 
So, what do you do when they wake frequently but it has not been 3 hours yet?  I try to pat/sh and use a paci, but he doesn;'t want the paci and he is frantic! I can't calm him down.  How long can I pat/ sh with him freaking out?  Nothing seems to work except to  bf him but I don't want to start having a snacker and habitual waking.  '

During the day he is great, usually goes 3 hours, sleeps pretty well, but night is different. I tried cluster feeding, but I couldn't wake him enough to get a good feed, tried a df, but he doesn 't even make it to 10 without waking (going to bed around 8).

Please help, I really need some sleep!

Thanks. Kim


Offline Colin Macs Mom

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Re: 1 Wk Old- crying for hours @ night...help!
« Reply #13 on: May 31, 2006, 19:06:44 pm »
Hi Kim,

How long has your DS been on the Zantac? It can take a week or so to kick in before you see results. Also with Zantac, the dosage is based on weight, and since your lo is so young, make sure that you are checking in with the doc to get him weighed and adjust the dosage regularly to prevent flare-ups. Have you got a wedge for him to sleep on, or elevated one end of the mattress? My DS also has reflux and takes Zantac, and once we got a wedge we saw huge improvement.

It sounds to me like your problem is the reflux. He's likely taking those snacking feeds to relieve the pain - refluxers often get relief from feeding (but it can go the other way too) and it sounds like you have one of those.
Jessica
Mom to Colin Ronald, August 18, 2005
Spirited + Reflux =  :o


Offline frankiesmom

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Re: 1 Wk Old- crying for hours @ night...help!
« Reply #14 on: May 31, 2006, 20:38:25 pm »
Thought so too.  He is in a wedge and elevated.  Hope these meds work soon.  Guess I have to do whatever he needs right now, huh?  Why do you think he is better during the day though?

Can't believe I have another one of these refluxers ::)  UGGGH!

Thanks, Kim