WTF RE: Sleep

[luv2rn4fun]

The last 4 nights have been a nightmare (really the month of March has overall been a disaster as far as sleep). I've emailed his doctor but she's out until Monday. Each night seems to be getting worse, last night waking up every 2 hrs. He's eating a lot during the day, has a bedtime, swaddled/white noise/RNP/nurse to sleep, naps are crappy but haven't changed (he took 4 yesterday and probably got 3 hrs, maybe a little more, of daytime sleep). He seems extra gassy but nothing in my diet has changed (not sure if it's his reflux acting up). Some of the night wakings he's not even hungry, just wants to be held and will sleep on me but wake up as soon as I put him down. Really at a loss for what's going on...he has signs of teething (hands in mouth constantly, drool, cheeks are flushy (no fever), wants to chew on everything) but I don't see any teeth actually sprouting and he's only 14 wks on Sunday.

He's still in the swaddle. Had tried Merlin sleepsuit but it's too big. Not sure if I should try to transition him out of that now or just KOKO. Really would like to start sleeping again...I'm exhausted and not sure how many more nights of this I can take. I even had my mom come over yesterday to try to get him to nap so I could but he just fought it and cried the whole time. When I finally came to put him down it only took 2 minutes.

[Sloane]

How old is he? This sounds the like a four-month wakeful to me.

Ah sorry, I just re-read, 14 weeks. This is around the time that they start being more aware, sleep associations develop and they can't get back to sleep after a sleep cycle. It's great that you have a routine down for night time sleep. IMHO, you can either:

1) KOKO until he's old enough or you're comfortable sleep training
2) Do whatever it takes for everyone to get some sleep (bed-sharing, co-sleeping)

[Blue Moon]

Could it be possible he has an ear infection? B's sleep was even more horrific around that time, so I took her to the pedi to find she had an EI.

[mrssandro]

He has reflux right? Has his medicine been adjusted for weight gain.

[luv2rn4fun]

Blue Moon- possible but I'm not sure. I have contacted his pedi but she's out til Monday. Something is up and irritating him...he's not the best sleeper but has been capable of STTN and now he's regressed to his newborn days I'm hoping to hear back from someone in the office (other providers) and get seen if that's what they suggest...or I might be pushing to be seen if this continues.

mrssandro- Meds were increased about 1 week ago, maybe even longer. It doesn't seem to make a difference. They were working great until maybe 1 1/2 wks ago...reached out and she said that we would change meds again if the increased dosage doesn't work. I actually need to refill his current one and am afraid to because we might be switching and I don't want to waste money on something we will use for maybe 1-2 days. Also don't want to switch if something else is causing all these sleep issues.

[luv2rn4fun]

Mar 27, 2015 9:46:55 GMT -5 Sloane said:

How old is he? This sounds the like a four-month wakeful to me.

Ah sorry, I just re-read, 14 weeks. This is around the time that they start being more aware, sleep associations develop and they can't get back to sleep after a sleep cycle. It's great that you have a routine down for night time sleep. IMHO, you can either:

1) KOKO until he's old enough or you're comfortable sleep training
2) Do whatever it takes for everyone to get some sleep (bed-sharing, co-sleeping)

All of the bolded, especially waking after sleep cycles.  And he definitely knows the nap time routine and starts protesting as soon as we get close to his room.  He's never been able to transition for naps but was doing well for nighttime and now it seems like he's not doing that well at all. 

ETA:  It feels like what I imagine the 4 MW feels like but he's not wide awake and not willing to go back to sleep.  He'll either nurse back to sleep (sometimes quickly, sometimes not so quickly) or fall asleep when I rock him.  Sometimes he's waking up because he's hungry and other times he just wants to be held (I try rocking him back to sleep before offering the boob, unless it's been long enough and I know he's hungry).  Oh, and I make sure to nurse him quite a bit before bedtime...4:00, 5:30, 6:45, bedtime at 7:45.

[linz]

Mar 27, 2015 9:50:53 GMT -5 Blue Moon said:

Could it be possible he has an ear infection? B's sleep was even more horrific around that time, so I took her to the pedi to find she had an EI.

I was just going to suggest this too. Is there another pedi in the office you could see just for piece of mind?

[linz]

Also do you drink caffeine?  I cut caffeine while on leave and that helped. I've since been able to add it back in.

[luv2rn4fun]

Mar 27, 2015 11:45:35 GMT -5 linz said:

Also do you drink caffeine?  I cut caffeine while on leave and that helped. I've since been able to add it back in.

I typically have 1-2 cups of weak instant coffee.  I don't know if it's affecting things since I have done this since Day 1 (maybe it's why he sucks at naps though).  I have had more caffeine some days and he has had great nights of sleep.  It's worth a shot...I have been sure to decrease to only 1 cup/day the past couple days and no change...things are just getting worse by the day.

There are other pedi in the office but I'm sure I can't get in today since it's so late already.

Would he have other signs besides such a sleep regression?  He seemed like he wasn't feeling well last Fri and slept good Fri and Sat and then started sleeping horribly again.  So it's possible that something is going on but never a fever, ear tugging, etc.  The bad sleeping was also going on before last Fri and Sat, probably a good 5 days.  Maybe he's close to giving me a break again soon...I can only hope and pray!

[Deleted]

I am going through something similar with Baby J. I just assumed it is related to the 4 month sleep regression (I recently read that it happens around 3 or 4 months). 

From weeks 6 to 11.5, he went to bed around 9pm, woke up to feed around 3am, and then up with us around 7am. I thought I had a perfect baby. Towards the end of week 11, he started waking up at 2am and again around 4am. Some nights, he even adds a 12am wake up just for fun. It's been brutal, especially since I'm working full time (pity party of one over here!). He's not much of a napper, and he's definitely getting enough to eat throughtout the day.

I am offering no advice, but just wanted to say hang in there. Hopefully it's a phase that our babies will grow out of.

[toutsuite]

We just went through something similar and I think our babies are close in age? It lasted about a week and now all seems to be back to normal sleep wise. There was one morning ds woke up and he was literally babbling nonstop (he babbled before but nothing like this) transitioned to sucking his thumb vice whole hand, and started consistantly rolling over. He started doing this all consistently the morning after his sleep went back to normal after that one week period. If your ds seems to be in pain definitely take him in otherwise it does sound like the 4 mw.

[luv2rn4fun]

Thanks ladies! So how long does this 4 MW last? Seems like I've only had two good nights of sleep in the past 3 weeks. I did take him into urgent care today and the doctor said he's nice and healthy. He recommended saline drops for his nose (C isn't any more congested now than since birth so I'm doubtful they will help) and I think we will try not having the ceiling fan on from now on.

sju1982- Hope this ends for you soon! Sounds like we are going through the exact same thing. ((hugs))

@mrsbecky- I would let him sleep on me (and have during some of the wakings) but am afraid that I'll literally fall asleep too hard and drop him. Lately my sleep is so deep that I wake up not knowing where I'm at or remembering that I put C back to sleep in his RNP. Probably not safe to co-sleep right now.

jjwritergirl- I do try to just enjoy the cuddles for now Thank you for your words of encouragement! So glad M is doing better...I still think of you every time I'm in the car with C and he's screaming.

toutsuite- C is 3 months, 1 week...I believe our babies are very close in age.

[luv2rn4fun]

Mar 27, 2015 9:50:53 GMT -5 Blue Moon said:

Could it be possible he has an ear infection? B's sleep was even more horrific around that time, so I took her to the pedi to find she had an EI.

linz- took C to urgent care and no EI or anything pinpointing to his new sleep patterns.

mrssandro- this pedi actually thinks he's taking too much reflux meds.  I will address this with his pedi when she returns on Monday.  I'm not sure his reflux meds are causing his new sleep issues but we have to rule it out.

[zarapipe]

So sorry. I think you've gotten good advice and can sympathize. A lot of what you wrote reminds me of dd1. Whatever we did, nothing helped. just when you thought you figured something out she would change. It sucks the life out of you when you have a bad sleeper and I hope you and him get a good night soon.

[ewall]

I don't have any advice, just hugs. We've been trying to ditch the swaddle and it's resulted in some rough nights. I feel so bad because I don't like my baby much when he's keeping me up at night. It's frustrating.

[luv2rn4fun]

Mar 27, 2015 19:40:12 GMT -5 ewall said:

I don't have any advice, just hugs. We've been trying to ditch the swaddle and it's resulted in some rough nights. I feel so bad because I don't like my baby much when he's keeping me up at night. It's frustrating.

Thanks!  Sorry you are having rough nights too.  We need to ditch the swaddle...I tried at a nap today and he totally work himself up.  Guess we will wake for Merlin to fit.  Are you doing cold turkey or how are you doing it?  Has DS been better at napping for you? 

((hugs)) to you too!  It is very frustrating.  I have cried most mornings this week...I'm so so tired and really don't know how I'm going to get through this if it lasts much longer.

[ewall]

luv2rn4fun we went cold turkey. From swaddled in RNP to footed sleeper in the flat PNP bassinet. Some nights are better than others. I feel like we are doing him a disservice when we switch back to the swaddle, but we also need sleep.

Naps...he naps in his car seat. He starts daycare on Monday so I guess I'm letting them figure it out.

[toutsuite]

I'm sorry it's been so hard. Ds was almost the same age as c when this happened....it lasted 8 nights I think though Ds wasn't really that bad (a little more fussy than usual with one wake up rather than sttn). A few thoughts though admittedly sometimes I feel like I am flying by the seat of my pants:

1. Has c been tested for dairy intolerance or sensitivities? The level of fussiness you are describing sounds like ds before we got the reflux AND dairy sensitivity under control.

2. Do you use probiotics? If not, I noticed a decrease in fussiness when we started ds on gerber probiotics and colic drops.

3. Have you tried a regular old sleep sack? Ds uses one at dc and actually loves it. At home we do use the magic Merlin which he just started fitting into. It is still a bit big on him (size small) but it does not cover his face so it's fine for night sleeping. Does c not have the length yet for it or does it generally just feel too lose? Did you try washing then drying it to shrink it a little?

I'm sorry it's been so stressful lately. I wish there was more I could do to help or at least advice I could give to make it easier for you.

[luv2rn4fun]

toutsuite- thanks! C was tested was dairy intolerance and it was negative. I still cut dairy out of my diet about 8 weeks ago...not sure if it's helping or not. I give him probiotics too and they seem to help. As for the sleep sack, I tried for a nap today and it failed (he woke himself up with his arms moving pretty quickly). Merlin is overall too big...I did wash and try to shrink and need to do this again. I do think that will eventually help because he seems to like it.

[gibbinator]

The 4mw with ds1 lasted 2 months, it was brutal and ruined his sleep for a year after.
Happily, with ds2, it was only a little over 2 weeks and he went back to doing decent 6-7 hr stretches most nights.