Baby thrashing and straining all night

[PieMistress]

Hi,

We had exactly the same symptoms with Kyle. What REALLY REALLY helped was swaddling him nice and snugly. We used to swaddle him in the early days then moved to the sleeping bags and he used to make soooo much noise at night and flail his arms around and get really worked up. Since we've re-introduced swaddling it's been heaps better. Because he can't flail his arms he stays asleep longer and is much calmer (young babies don't know that their arms belong to them so all the movement distracts them and makes them over-stimulated and hard to settle).

He still grunts and groans at night if he's trying to poo but it's definitely decreased and only really noticable if he's wriggled out of his swaddle.

xx

 

[Elski]

Hi,

We had exactly the same symptoms with Kyle. What REALLY REALLY helped was swaddling him nice and snugly. We used to swaddle him in the early days then moved to the sleeping bags and he used to make soooo much noise at night and flail his arms around and get really worked up. Since we've re-introduced swaddling it's been heaps better. Because he can't flail his arms he stays asleep longer and is much calmer (young babies don't know that their arms belong to them so all the movement distracts them and makes them over-stimulated and hard to settle).

He still grunts and groans at night if he's trying to poo but it's definitely decreased and only really noticable if he's wriggled out of his swaddle.

xx

I was wondering about trying this as my LO's got even worse the last few nights and I'm getting zero sleep - she thrashes around and wakes herself up hitting herself in the head. I've been literally pinning her arms at her sides til she falls asleep... then she'll start doing it again an hour later. Is it safe to swaddle a 9wk old? She's never been swaddled before....

 

[PieMistress]

You can swaddle a 9 week old. Kyle is 7 weeks and we will probably continue to be swaddled till he's 3 months and then look to go back to sleeping bags. You can get a swaddle blanket for £5 if you have a big Tesco near you? They are better than the Grobag swaddle blankets as have a foot pocket which makes it easier.

Our daytime naps are also easier now - if i've missed his cues and he gets over-tired and is crying I swaddle him and give him a cuddle and he calms instantly and falls asleep - it's like swaddling him is his cue for sleeptime (she says hoping it continues!!) and it means his alarm reflex doesn't wake him up.

The swaddle does need to be pretty snug though otherwise they wriggle out of it (which he does once a night) I bought some velcro today and if I get time will make a wee velcro tab to try and hold it in place.

Kyle really thrashes in his bed so it deffo calms him down as it makes them feel as though they are back in the womb again.

This book really helped me understand getting babies to sleep:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Whisperer-Solves-Problems-Teaching-Questions/dp/0091902517

xx

 

[Elski]

You can swaddle a 9 week old. Kyle is 7 weeks and we will probably continue to be swaddled till he's 3 months and then look to go back to sleeping bags. You can get a swaddle blanket for £5 if you have a big Tesco near you? They are better than the Grobag swaddle blankets as have a foot pocket which makes it easier.

Our daytime naps are also easier now - if i've missed his cues and he gets over-tired and is crying I swaddle him and give him a cuddle and he calms instantly and falls asleep - it's like swaddling him is his cue for sleeptime (she says hoping it continues!!) and it means his alarm reflex doesn't wake him up.

The swaddle does need to be pretty snug though otherwise they wriggle out of it (which he does once a night) I bought some velcro today and if I get time will make a wee velcro tab to try and hold it in place.

Kyle really thrashes in his bed so it deffo calms him down as it makes them feel as though they are back in the womb again.

This book really helped me understand getting babies to sleep:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Whisperer-Solves-Problems-Teaching-Questions/dp/0091902517

xx

Funnily enough I bought a book of hers yesterday (The Secrets Of...)! I'm just starting to read it today as like you, I want to start getting the hang of nap cues during the day etc. Thanks for the advice, I'll get down to Tescos for one of those blankets - as we have a big one near us - and give it a go. I'm getting quite excited, this might be the solution I've been looking for (fingers crossed!).

Good luck making a Kyle-proof velcro tab

Els x

 

[Wise old nana]

Having survived premature twins, and now have 4 grandbabies, I thought I would pass something along. My Daughters three were no trouble, but I just babysat my Son's first boy, he is 4 months old, and straight away I noticed he has a lot of movement, constantly, after trying to feed him(bottle) and trying to burp him, I went back to my old Mum's advise. I swaddled him, MAJOR DIFFERENCE! He fed better, burping was a breeze, and he went to sleep almost straight away. My Son had warned me that all these were going to be problems, but I found the solution in the old ways. It calmed him down so that he could feed properly, and then drop off to sleep very quickly and stay asleep. I think it makes him calm down enough to just concentrate on the job at hand. Hope this helps