habitual waking & flailing arms & legs

[Susy]

please help me, as i am on the verge of goin mad.
my 19 week old son is wonderful, & he is a wee live wire, BUT he wakes regularly during sleep and naps with his arms and legs jerking and flailing about. we have spent a fortune on swaddling fleeces and the so-called wonder blanket, none of which work, as he struggles free several times. he now sleeps with socks on his arms (to stop all the scratching) in a sleeping bag, virtually pinned to the bed with a towel tucked into the matress.

i breastfeed him which means that i have cut so many things from my diet in case it is making him worse, including chocolate.

he now also habitually wakes at around 10pm and 2am. i have tried the wake to sleep for naps and these night wakings, but it only worked on the 3 or 4 nights when i did it, and the next nights he returned to form. he jerks awake at 5 & 6am also.
here is his routine:
7am eat
7:20 activity
8:45 wind down
9am - 11am sleep (which is very fitful)
11:20 activity
12:45 wind down
1pm- 2pm/ 2:30 sleep
2:30 activity
3pm eat
4:15 wind down
4:30- 5pm sleep (can't get this to last any longer...)
7pm bedtime routine (bath, feed sleep by 7:45)
dreamfeed at 11pm, still needs nighttime feed at 3am ish

i tried sh pat for three weeks and we nearly tore our hair out.

please help. i am going mad.

[linfran]

Big Hugs from the insane!!!

Is your lo in a crib, bassinet, or cot?  My lo is 5 mo today and we had this problem a couple of weeks ago.  He had been sleeping in a crib in our room and had become very unsettled and fidgety at night.  He is teething at the moment which doesn't help but we eventually worked out that the crib was too small and with both of us in the room he was quite warm.  At 19 weeks he weighed just over 20lbs and when I watched him sleep I realised that whilst he fitted length wise in the crib, he wld push his arms out through the bars and wake when he got stuck!

We moved him to his own cot in his own room last week and although he still wakes a couple of times a night (once for a feed and the other time either for nappy change or paci) he's a whole lot better.  He sleeps with a long sleeved vest and grobag and now has enough room to move about.

Just a thought!!

You say he's scratching - does he have eczema or could a change of soap powder help - if swaddling clothes are right next to him and it is the soap powder that could be bothering him.

[teezee]

it sounds to me as if your lo may be spirited (i have one of those too )

first if you are dfing and having one night feed that is great! good for you and lo!! how is the first morning feed? how is it compared to the rest of the feedings of the day?

do you swaddle lo now? have you heard of the aussie swaddle? i had to swaddle my lo til she was past seven months b/c of the same problems you are having..the aussie swaddle was heaven sent as my houdini constantly broke out of the swaddle and drove me and her nuts

here is the link:
https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=1439.0

oh and also - esp at this age + having a spirited lo (if lo in fact is..) shh/pat may be too stimulating. try just shhing very quietly or patting softly..or even just leaving your hand (some pressure) on lo's back. and i also remembering shielding lo's eyes to keep that visual stimulation away. good luck!
hth!

[Susy]

my lo is in his cot now as he outgrew the basket. he has been since about 10 weeks.

i have tried just stroking his head gently instead of sh patting and it seems to work a bit better.

[Susy]

it's funny you should ask about the morning feed, as he takes ages to feed due to his nosiness (looking around, taking breaks) and i wonder if he's that hungry. maybe he doesn't really need the nighttime feed?
anyway i tried the wake to sleep again last night, put in his dummy and gently stroked his head for a second, and he nearly slept through the 3 am slot- only reason he woke was a creaking floorboard when i looked in on him!!! he then slept until 7am on the dot! he must have taken pity on us!
how come he can do this occasionally but not most nights?!
the flailing legs are now more under control because of the towel pulled across his legs and tucked in at the mattress, now we have to try to stop him swiping at his face and eyes in his sleep!
thanks for the link about the aussie swaddle, i will check it out, but he's approaching 5 months- is he to old to swaddle now?
does anyone think he is napping too much?