Sleep Help - 1 month old
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Category: Have A Baby?
Forum Name: First baby? Second or more?
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Topic: Sleep Help - 1 month old
Posted By: KiwiL
Subject: Sleep Help - 1 month old
Date Posted: 07 December 2010 at 12:27pm
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Ollie sleeps well through the night time. He wakes at about 1am and 5am for feeds, and then up about 8am.
However, during the day it's a nightmare. He just won't sleep! I get him drifted off, put him down and then ten minutes later he is awake again. This cycles on and on all day, which is very difficult as I have a toddler too. I am swaddling him, shushing him, rocking him and bouncing him in his hammock, there's white noise and block out blinds in his room.... but nothing keeps him asleep. I have tried walking him around and letting him sleep in my arms, but said toddler is so noisy that doesn't work either. I have read and tried tips from the Sleep Store. He's clearly tired, all red around the eyes, but fights sleep totally. He doesn't want to feed any more regularly, and gets very upset if I offer, so don't think it is a growth spurt. It's very difficult to manage, and the worse he sleeps the worse he feeds. What am I doing wrong? Is this a stage babies go through or do I have a tricky one? Any ideas/experiences/help would be hugely appreciated! |
Replies:
Posted By: kebakat
Date Posted: 07 December 2010 at 12:42pm
| Don't worry you aren't alone. Alex does this alot too. I'll spend a good day fixing it when Daniel is at daycare so I can concentrate soley on Alex, we have brilliant days after that but then the weekend rolls around and it goes back to short sleeps and I start over. I'm hoping he grows out of it. |
Posted By: Mum2ET
Date Posted: 07 December 2010 at 1:57pm
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will he sleep in a wrap/sling? Tom spent most of his first 6 weeks asleep in the moby wrap- Ella's noise didn't seem to bother them at all as long as he was nice and close to me. ------------- Mum to Ella (5) and Tom (2) |
Posted By: KiwiL
Date Posted: 07 December 2010 at 2:22pm
| I need to keep trying with the slings. Both times I have tried he's completely let rip. |
Posted By: newme
Date Posted: 07 December 2010 at 2:39pm
| Does he appear to have an upset stomach or anything like that which is stopping him sleeping? |
Posted By: KiwiL
Date Posted: 07 December 2010 at 5:50pm
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I don't really know. He's windy, but I get so many burps out of him before I put him down. I can't help but wonder if he has a little cold or something as he is a bit snuffly when he sleeps.
But really, I am struggling a lot with the inability to keep him asleep. |
Posted By: crafty1
Date Posted: 07 December 2010 at 6:44pm
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Do they have those Plunket Family Centres in Welly? Lots of girls rave about them for help with this sort of thing.
My second was a total screamer and i had a 21 mo at the same time so honey i can totally empathise with your situation. Time helped us tbh, little else. Some days some things would work other days other things. I tried to get at least one good sleep a day just to keep us on an even keel. Actually side sleeping in a sleep wedge helped at about this time i think. That and white noise and bum patting. J would also sleep in frontpack so i went for lots of long walks. ------------- http://lilypie.com">  
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Posted By: Nutella
Date Posted: 07 December 2010 at 7:04pm
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Yeah DS was a terrible day sleeper but made up for it at night time. I tried lots of things and eventually just gave up, and once he got more active he would sleep during the day....but until he was probably 6 months old he just never slept during the day, maybe 1 hour nap if I was lucky.
So I have no advice just to let you know that there are other babies out there just as useless at sleeping...you are not alone! Oh and if he is not grizzly and cross etc then maybe just try going with the flow and let him stay awake? Or try letting him have 'quiet time' in his bed, put him down when he is awake and leave something for him to look at...this was the only thing that kept me sane haha! ------------- 
 Oct 11
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Posted By: myfullhouse
Date Posted: 07 December 2010 at 8:58pm
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Can you try putting him to sleep somewhere else? Bassinette? Cot? Pushchair? Ben was in the hammock and then his sleeps started getting shorter and shorter, down to about 10mins. Can't remember how old he was, couple month max. Anyway one day I decided to try putting him in the cot for his naps and his sleeps suddenly got longer. Maybe for some reason he has gone off the hammock??
Also you could try a carrier such as a Manduca or Ergo instead of the hammock Good luck Oh and most importantly, you are doing nothing wrong!! Babies just like to drive us mad! ------------- Lindsey 
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Posted By: High9
Date Posted: 07 December 2010 at 9:22pm
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Re the slings, etc, it's normal for them to cry the first couple of times, they just have to get used to it, firm movements when putting them in are meant to be reassuring as is shushing and doing a lil jig until they calm down (patting their bum too)...
Unfortunately my lil one has always fought sleep at night and not during the day *sigh* can make as much noise as I want during the day but the slightest noise at night wakes her  ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: Raspberryjam
Date Posted: 07 December 2010 at 10:20pm
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My wee girl was exactly the same
How long are you keeping him up? the family centre told me 45 to 50 mins and be consistent, do the same thing everytime Does he swallow alot? I didnt notice til they told me, but she had heartburn, losec fixed it but also wind drops helped before that are you using a dummy? My babe is really sucky and would only fall asleep with a boob in her mouth, but a dummy fixed that, but it took a while for her to take it just a few ideas that worked for me, It hard with a noisy toddler around Best of luck x ------------- http://lilypie.com] 
http://lilypie.com] 
http://lilypie.com] 
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Posted By: Bizzy
Date Posted: 07 December 2010 at 10:58pm
| i was wondering about how long he is up for too... he might be over tired if awake too long. |
Posted By: KiwiL
Date Posted: 08 December 2010 at 8:31am
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I am getting him resettled within the hour.
I can't understand it. He settles fine during the night but JUST WON'T SLEEP during the day. It's utterly doing my head in. I feel like crying! |
Posted By: Danda08
Date Posted: 08 December 2010 at 9:06am
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Poor you. My girls also refused to sleep during the day (except on me) but were good night sleepers (clearly exhausted from their efforts during the day). The only thing that always worked for me was taking them out for long walks in the pram, but with a toddler that's not so easy for you.
We ended up getting hammocks which made things a bit easier but you're already trying that! Someone mentioned above wedges, have you tried those? Before we got the hammocks my girls did sleep a bit better on their side in wedges. What about having the hammock in the living areas so he can still hear everything going on around him? ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: newme
Date Posted: 08 December 2010 at 9:09am
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With DS1 I had a similar issue - hard to get to sleep and would only sleep for max 30 mins during the day. And he was snuffly.
I cut dairy out of my diet and that helped so much, he stopped being snuffly, and his tummy seemed better and was much more contented. It took about a week before I noticed a big improvement. Maybe something to try? |
Posted By: Shezamumof3
Date Posted: 08 December 2010 at 9:38am
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*hugs* laurie!!
does he use a dummy? I always found my kids slept miles better with a dummy . So I would have them up roughly an hour, fed changed swaddled tight and back to ebd with the dummy and some music, and left them awake to self settle. It seems your doing everything you can, so Im not really sure what else to suggest hun...maybe try some resue remedy(I used this with bella as she was a very unsettled baby). ------------- |
Posted By: Bizzy
Date Posted: 08 December 2010 at 9:38am
| maybe you could try putting him down still awake? wrap him up and put him down and walk away. |
Posted By: KiwiL
Date Posted: 09 December 2010 at 10:56am
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Have tried that too Bizzy, he just screams his way into a frenzy. Not keen on CIO at one month old, so am avoiding that.
Jackson was such a good sleeper, I haven't had much practice! Oh well, at least he sleeps at night. I should be thankful. I think it is wind waking him. I spend so much time getting burps up but it seems to all be in his lower gut and he's uncomfortable. Just hoping he grows out of that soon. |
Posted By: fire_engine
Date Posted: 09 December 2010 at 11:46am
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Yeah, my first response would be wind - it's a pretty classic reason for waking after 10 minutes. Doesn't mean I have a brilliant solution for fixing it though sorry
What kind of sling have you got? I'm finding Ben sleeps really well in the Moby and it keeps me handsfree for doing other things. Big hugs - Dan was a hopeless sleeper and Ben's not the flashest in the afternoon. I feel your pain. ------------- Mum to two wee boys |
Posted By: newme
Date Posted: 09 December 2010 at 3:50pm
| Have you tried something for wind - maybe infacol? |
Posted By: AuntieSarah
Date Posted: 09 December 2010 at 3:58pm
 babies can be hard work can't they! Mine was the same, all I can suggest is a moby wrap - ds slept in the moby on me every day from 6 weeks - 4 months when he started sleeping in the cot. God only knows why - I'd just try the cot every day where he'd have 20 minutes or so a few times in the morning, and then would put him in the moby every afternoon and he'd have a decent sleep in there.
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Posted By: Bizzy
Date Posted: 09 December 2010 at 4:59pm
| gabriel used to be a bugger for holding onto wind and the only thing that helped was a teaspoon or two of boiled cooled water... i would turn the kettle on and pour some water out ready for after his feed before i started it back in the early days with him - once we figured out thats what the problem was. |
Posted By: Raspberryjam
Date Posted: 09 December 2010 at 5:43pm
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my babe is older now, but this is what i do...
She is on her side in a wedge, with a dummy with a muslin threaded through it so I can tuck it in her blanket and it stays put til she spits it out once asleep At first I hold the dummy in, and with that same hand put weight on her upper body to stop her turning over and making a fuss, its not forceful unless she is overtired and grouchy, and she holds my hand while I rest it there, then I tap her bum with my free hand, once she settles or closes her eyes I slow it down, until she sighs (her sign to sleep) then I take it all away and she goes to sleep I resettle her the same way if she wakes too soon, if i know she hasnt got wind It took about a week for this to work 95% of the time, before that I couldnt even put her down without screaming Now more often than not she just closes her eyes once I put her down or put her dummy in I couldnt do the CIO either, but I agree with bizzy to put him down awake and calm him in his cot Someone said to me (or maybe i read it) how would you like it if you woke up in the bath - it needs to become familiar to him Once he has caught up on some sleep it will probably become easier too, once he isnt exhausted ------------- http://lilypie.com]
http://lilypie.com]
http://lilypie.com]
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Posted By: alexmum
Date Posted: 12 December 2010 at 7:25pm
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We went and watched the sleep video at the plunket family centre then talked with the plunket nurse there. My DD is 6 weeks old and we started put her in bed (using the bedroom instead of the lounge as have a toddler running round and trying to poke her). Let her cry 10 mins (am only leaving her 5 as heartbreaking to hear her cry) then go in, pick up and pat until calm and then back down. Before hand i was rocking her cot and feeding her (apparently feeding her way too often, when she wasn't hungry just tired). Now she is sleeping quite well, at that 45 min mark she needs a bit of a cry then either she goes back to sleep herself or i do one lot of patting and put her down and she goes back to sleep.
She is so much happier from finally getting some sleep. She was really overtired and that was why she wasn't sleeping. Now she is sleeping better she is going down easier. Hard for the first few days but seriously seems worth it as am getting to spend some quality time with my toddler again instead of feeding or rocking bubba to sleep. Good luck with what ever you choose to do 
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Posted By: thetravelbugtribe
Date Posted: 13 December 2010 at 6:11pm
| I know exactly what you are going through, our daughter is 12 weeks old and still we cant get her to sleep during the day. We get a reasonable sleep at night but we are all tired and cranky by evening. She will sleep in the buggy for a while if we go for a walk, or the car seat, or front wrap, but I dont want to have to always put her to sleep, it would be nice if she could self settle at some point. Even if we get her to sleep by rocking, cuddling, carrying or feeding, if we put her down she will wake up after 5-10 minutes. I really dont want to let her cry it out but I am approaching the end of my tether. |
Posted By: maya22
Date Posted: 13 December 2010 at 8:59pm
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6 week old here, and basically i am adjusting my mental attitude rather than trying to adjust the baby.
So much energy went into trying to get DS1 (a refluxer) to sleep during the day that it is just not worth it. This time I am going with the flow and finding that it is all a lot easier. My 5 week old is up for 3 hours in the morning, then sleeps, up for 2 hours in the middle of the day and 3-4 hours cluster feeding in the evening. So I am going with it, and enjoying not spending hours of my day shushing and patting. ------------- DS1 July 2007 DS2 Nov 2010 http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: Vanillabean
Date Posted: 14 December 2010 at 8:36pm
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Up until he was 3 months old Riley would only sleep during the day if someone was holding him. I imagine that might not have worked if there had been a toddler around though. He cried a lot during the day. We did have around a month during this time when he would nap with me in bed from about 3.30 - 6.30pm which was a real godsend for me. Once again, possibly not that practical with a toddler. ------------- 5x mc, Jan 08, June 08, Nov 08, May 09, April 11 http://lilypie.com"> 
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