Still Not Sleeping!

Sadie - posted on 02/23/2009

I know you've heard it a billion times now, but my daughter is four months, and we just started swaddling her.  Swaddling is a God send, and I don't know why we didn't try it months ago!!!

Melissa - posted on 02/23/2009

Quoting Kellie:

MY HEALTH VISITOR TOLD ME IF BABY  WAKES UP IN THE NIGHT AFTER 2 MONTHS TO GIVE THEM COOLED BOILED WATER BOUT 3OZ COZ MILK CAN STIMULATE THEM. IT CUD BE COLIC ASWELL. MY SON SUFFERES TERRIBLE WITH IT BUT MY DOCTOR SUBSCRIBED ME WITH COLIC DROPS AND I BOUGHT THE DC BROWN BOTTLES AND THEY WORK WONDERS. I USUALLY GIV MY SON A NICE WARM BATH AND A LIL MESSAGE ALL OVA BODY AND LIL BIT WATER BEFORE BED AND A GOOD WIND AND HE SLEEPS FROM 11 TILL 8!! NEARLY EVERY NIGHT AND HE ONLY 2 MONTHS OLD.

Kellie,

I'm not sure if you are aware or not, but there is such a thing as water intoxification in infants.  A two month old is too young to have water.  They should only be eating breast milk or formula at this age.  If babe is hungry, feed them something of substance otherwise they could have issues with not getting enough nutrients they need to grow and thrive.

It amazes me the advice some doctors and "advisors" give.  That is heartbreaking and I pray that you stop giving your child water at this young age before it truly does damage.  We just had a lady on the news here that almost lost her 5 month old because of this.

Look up water intoxification in infants on the net... you'll come up with PLENTY of PROVEN advice that says this is not a good practice.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article...

http://www.stlouischildrens.org/content/...

http://www.babycenter.com/204_drinking-w...

Good luck to you.

Kellie - posted on 02/23/2009

MY HEALTH VISITOR TOLD ME IF BABY  WAKES UP IN THE NIGHT AFTER 2 MONTHS TO GIVE THEM COOLED BOILED WATER BOUT 3OZ COZ MILK CAN STIMULATE THEM. IT CUD BE COLIC ASWELL. MY SON SUFFERES TERRIBLE WITH IT BUT MY DOCTOR SUBSCRIBED ME WITH COLIC DROPS AND I BOUGHT THE DC BROWN BOTTLES AND THEY WORK WONDERS. I USUALLY GIV MY SON A NICE WARM BATH AND A LIL MESSAGE ALL OVA BODY AND LIL BIT WATER BEFORE BED AND A GOOD WIND AND HE SLEEPS FROM 11 TILL 8!! NEARLY EVERY NIGHT AND HE ONLY 2 MONTHS OLD.

Alysson - posted on 02/23/2009

Very interesting...thank you!

Andrea - posted on 02/16/2009

I agree with the swaddle me blanket and try white noise (like a humidifier, air purifier, fan or music player).

Wendy - posted on 02/10/2009

I had a problem with my son where he would wake up several times during the night and just be screaming and inconsolable and I knew that something was wrong so I finally took him to the doc, and after several visits discovered that he was having a problem digesting a protein in cow's milk. He was exclusively nursing at that time and so I had to completely go off cow's milk 100%. This actually seemed to help him alot. It was hard for me, but totally worth it. The doc said that this is something that with time he would outgrow. Doc told me that actually there are quite a few people who have this problem and some of the moms can't do the diet, so they have to put them on a special formula.

Marija - posted on 02/10/2009

Just noticed the post before me, my daughter had terrible trapped wind and it turned into colic, so I bought some Dr Brown bottles and it was gone in a week or two, I was told by many people that these bottles were fantastic, it took me a while to believe them and eventually got some (as they are quite expensive), but WOW they got rid of the colic/wind almost straight away!

Marija - posted on 02/10/2009

I have the same problem she wakes up and won't go back to sleep without me but have discovered that she understands only too well that as long as she cries mummy will come, they are not stupid, very quick at recognising a pattern. Anyway 2 nights ago I let her cry and cry, it really made me feel bad but last night when she woke she winged for about 2 minutes and then dropped off to sleep on her own, I think she got the message, well at least I hope so! Good luck!

Donna - posted on 02/10/2009

my daughter done this and i found the problem to be trapped wind she is one in march and some nights she still wakes with the pain throwing her arms about and kicking legs i changed her bottles and found this to work and aslo her last bottle at night was given 30 mins b4 she was put down so it had time to go down she is much better now but a good 20 mins of back rubbing b4 bed works

Melissa - posted on 02/10/2009

Crying it out is not a recommendation that should be given to anyone, especially after it has shown to actually harm babies.  http://www.askdrsears.com/html/10/handou...

Melissa - posted on 02/10/2009

Crying it out is not a recommendation that should be given to anyone, especially after it has shown to actually harm babies.  http://www.askdrsears.com/html/10/handou...

Alysson - posted on 02/10/2009

Thank you everyone for all your helpful advice. I really appreciate it.

Krystle - posted on 02/10/2009

Did you try letting your little one cry it out? I had the same problem with my little guy. I went to the doctor and had him checked out, she said all was ok with him and that I should let him cry himself to sleep. I didn't want to do it until I had him checked though. How, he's been sleeping a full 12 hrs. Only a couple hrs during the day, but at least he sleeps his nights now!

April - posted on 02/10/2009

at 4 months it's still hard for you to determine what's going on, and whether or not it's serious or normal, rest assured that will pass...soon he'll be able to better convey how he's feeling, what's wrong, etc.  --

Do you have him on a schedule yet?  I found that we had a really hard time putting our 10 month on a routine until she was about 7 months... this is probably really hard when you're working full-time and you're on a schedule yourself but if you're trying to put him on a routine and he's not quite ready for that, he could be conveying that through his sleeping pattern.  

We have something called "the sleep sheep" which we set to the "whale" sound setting and that REALLY helped our little girl, but each baby is different... 

Here's the thing that I think is really important to remember... now that he's 4 months, you're probably starting (if you haven't already) to have him play with toys... an exersaucer or jumperoo... these activity toys will start to wear him out during the day and he'll probably begin to sleep more soundly... 

My guess though, is that he's teething... at night when all is quiet, it's probably easy for your baby to focus on the pain associated with teething, as opposed to the daytime, when he's likely just as uncomfortable, but has all sorts of visual and auditory stimuli to distract him... 

I'd probably not swaddle, at 4 months he's likely to not be as comforted or responsive to it... since he's been out and about for a couple of months....

and I don't think I'd be concerned about colic at 4 months, but if he's really gassy, perhaps you'll have to stick to a blander diet while you're breastfeeding... like you haven't been through enough already ;)

Jen - posted on 02/10/2009

Do you have a nightime ritual with him....like put on his pjs, he gets breastfed, you rock him a little and then put him in his crib with some music? Or do his bathtime at night....they need almost like a trigger where they know that means bedtime...hope that helps if you're not already doing that

Virginia - posted on 02/10/2009

I am interested to know also if the baby sitter lets the baby sleep most of the day! I had an issue with my daughter not sleeping during the night and I decided to take her to the baby doctor, it turned out that 1/2 of her brain never shut down to sleep which ended up she was awake all hours of the night! So it may be some thing that needs to be checked out in nore detail. I do not mean to worry you but is just my thought if it continues and nothing works for you. I was told the more you go to them the more they will continue to do this at night so my doctor advised me not to run to my daughter, make sure she was alright but then stay a safe distance or next they will want you beside them all night long!

Jana - posted on 02/10/2009

the swaddle me wrap worked very well with my son until he outgrew it!

Ani - posted on 02/10/2009

My 8 months old have the same problem.  Cry it out method did not work on her.  However, she is gotten better, instead of up every 30 minutes, she is now sleep for 1 hr durring the day and up every 2 hours at night.  It is frustrating, but I don't know what else to do.

Sarah - posted on 02/09/2009

Try the swaddle me blanket its amazingh., it velcros him into the swaddle so he cant loosen the swaddle and scare himself

Nicole - posted on 02/09/2009

Definately try swaddling him that will help with the wiggling. Try some soothing music or a soft steady noise like a fan. Make sure that his room isn't too hot or cold. You can also try propping him up in a boppy pillow this will give him the sensation that someone is holding him. Does he nap ok during the day?

Julie - posted on 02/09/2009

I know you have probably tried this but swaddling... i know he is probably getting bigger and bigger, but at about 4months I had to start swaddling my litte one to get him to sleep again.  If you think something is wrong, call the pediatrician, there are no stupid questions or concerns when it comes your baby.

Leaha - posted on 02/09/2009

Does whoever that watches him while you are at work just let him sleep all day long? If that's they case, he may have his nights and days mixed up. They should try and play with him and keep him awake during the day and try and let him have nap time at certain times so he's sleepy for you at bedtime. He could possibly have gas? Try talking to your pediatrician too, not to scare you but another thing I'm thinking of could be colic, if he's not sleeping too much durring the day.