My child is trying to kill me and I don't know what to do! Okay, so maybe "kill" is a little exaggerated, but torture me, at least. Last night, Connor was up from 9pm until 4am...and at least half of that time was spent screaming. I tried everything to calm him down. He was fed 4 times during that period, changed, rocked, walked, put in his car seat, set on the dryer...nothing worked. At one point, Ian had to take over because I was at my wits end. Then, when I finally got him to sleep, he slept for 2 hours and started up again. Ian took him for a ride in the car...that put him to sleep, but that sleep lasted for about 5 minutes after they got home. We slept and cried (him, not me...though I was pretty close) on and off until 10am when finally sleep took over. The little man then slept until 2pm.
It seems that there is no advice out there on getting newborns to sleep. It all deals with babies that are 3 months plus. With all you mothers out there, I am hoping some of you can give me some advice. I just need to figure out how to get my baby to sleep...or at least keep him from screaming at the top of his lungs for hours on end!
On a different baby subject...has anyone dealt with their baby spitting up all over when they are still feeding? Connor seems to enjoy doing this...it goes all down me and wherever we are sitting at the moment. Is this normal? And if so (or even of not) why does he do it?
Okay people, this is it...I am begging for advice. I am willing to try anything at the moment!
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I've only done this one time so I don't know much but here's what I do now. the spitting up of milk while eating could be either overproduction on your end or reflux. It you think it's overproduction try pumping some milk first and then nursing him. However, if he spits up alot outside of nursing time it really might be reflux, which would explain the No sleeping as well.
ReplyDeleteThere are some home remedies for reflux that you could try - sleeping the baby on a slant (RJ and I put towels under Landon's mattress so one end was higher than the other) and then putting his head on the high end. Also, Landon had to be help upright for at least 20 minutes after each feeding (it was awful) to allow him to digest his food before spitting it all up.
My doctor also recommended chamomile tea to help Landon sleep. Just some cold tea fed in a bottle or you can drink a ton of it (and it will keep you nice and calm too) and then Conner will get some through your milk.
Sorry this post is ages long. We also did Babywise sleep technique with Landon and he slept through the night at 8 weeks. However, I didn't do the cry-it-out portion for more than 7-10 minutes. And he slept most of his naps in a swing (the swing is SUCH a worthwhile investment).
You might also want to look up what to do when a baby flips day and night. It sounds like your little man might be flipping on you.
And LOTS of PRAYER and hugs from Ian. If you want to chat more feel free to call me (I'll message you my number of facebook)
So sorry that Connor is being a screamer. Kyla was that way, and it does start to make you crazy. You love them, and just want them to be happy, but nothing that you do seems to help. We did Babywise with kyla, and still do a tiny bit of it, and I think it depends on your childs personality if it will work or not. What I have found though that works wonders, and I've never found a baby who didn't love it is baby wearing. Specifically wearing them in a woven wrap. It looks complicated... and it feels that way the first couple times. But let me tell you, I would never ever get anything done without it in my life. It makes them feel safe, and content, and leaves you hands free. Now there are limiatations.... I don't think you want to take a shower while babywearing, LOL. But still for dishes, and facebook, and all of the other parts of your life that seem to have dissapeared it's truly a wonderful thing. Here's a link for you with more info :D Oh and it will also help tons if he does have reflux.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sleepywrap.com/index.php?page=benefits-of-baby-wearing
I was thinking reflux too, I had to buy a sleep positioner for both kiddos to sleep them propped up, they could not sleep unless their heads were elevated... have you heard of the book Baby Wise? It works magic, Lair & I read it & followed it to a T & Reegs was sleeping through the night @ 3 weeks old.
ReplyDeleteYou are all wrong. . . he doesn't have his days and nights mixed up and while he may have a tummy problem the real reason that he is crying so much is that he misses his grandma holding him!!!!
ReplyDeletethis was what our peditrician and two different books that I read said...
ReplyDeleteat this age because he is still used to be in the a dark womb he does not know night and day (mentally or physically) so his melatonin and seratonin are at battle which causes an upset/gasy stomach - colic (which could be part of your spit up issue) and of course not knowing when to sleep or when to be awake.
So our doc (and the books) said to give gas drops at every feeding for two weeks, stick to your feeding schedule (do you have one?)and establish a nighttime/bedtime routine (bath, pjs, feeding, bed or whatever your routine will be) when he wakes during the night limit the talking and interacting and just change, feed and back to bed - help him learn "nighttime". He will cry and fuss as his stomach issue is working itself out but the gas drops will help that adjust (as long as it is just a little colic and not reflux).
The dryer, singing and rocking will still be a part of soothing him - but teach him what night is supposed to be, afterall your the mommy! :)
hope that helps!
Hey Jessica. My friend swears by swaddling her kids. They sleep very well and she props them up using a positioner. The swaddling is very comforting to the babies.
ReplyDeleteThe spitting up thing happened alot with Mason. The lactation consultant said it was mostly due to overproduction. She would have me lay on my side and nurse lying down to slow down the output. Sometimes, she would even tell me to physically hold back the milk flow using my hand (kind of like compression)...i know...kind of graphic for any guys out there, but it really did help.
Hope things go well! Take care!!!!
Brandi