Flailing arms and legs...please help!

[Shining Star]

Hi,

Last night my LO wouldn't settle, I tried everything. I can get her to sleep either in my arms or lying on me with no problem but as soon as I put her down in the moses basket her arms and legs start to fly as though she feels like she is falling. We are careful in the way in which we put her down but it isn't helping. We have also tried gently holding her arms and legs to stop them flailing but as soon as we let go they do it again. She wakes up at this point and starts to scream.

I only got her off to sleep at 5am this morning and that was on my bed (I couldn't sleep then as I was too worried about rolling on her) with me DH in the other room as he had to go to work at 6am.

We have tried swaddling her but not matter how tight I try to do it she gets her arms out! We also have an ergobaby carrier in which she will fall asleep but wakes as soon as we try to transfer her into her moses basket.

It is killing me as she screams like it is the end of the world but this is the third night in the row and I am so exhausted!

Any advise will be greatly appreciated! Thanks.

 

[StarBlueUK]

You have my sympathies. I've had problems with my baby too. My baby also prefers to sleep anywhere but the moses basket. My suggestion would be (if you haven't already) get a proper cot set up and see how she gets on with it. It may be that she wants to see what's going on around her or just isn't as comfortable in the moses basket for some reason. If you don't want to get a cot yet, perhaps try putting something under the mattress at one end so that her head is elevated. They sometimes do that in the hospital for extra comfort for the baby. How is she sleeping during the day, as well?

 

[Shining Star]

We have a cot in the nursery, I mentioned this to my dh but her says she is too young and too little. Maybe we will try to prop up one end. Thanks. Sometimes she sleeps well in the day, sometimes not. Today she will only sleep on me or in the baby carrier (life saver - at least i can get off the sofa!).

We have days where she sleeps fine too, it's not all of the time - I have to keep reminding myself of this!

 

[StarBlueUK]

You need to do whatever you feel comfortable with but I know when I was a baby I was put into a cot at 4 weeks and know others who have put their babies into cots early on without any difficulties. Apparently when I was a baby I didn't much like the moses basket and didn't sleep well but was much better once I was in my cot. My daughter is 6 weeks old and I will be setting up her cot tomorrow.

 

[JenStar1976]

How about trying to get her to sleep on her side? For peace of mind, put a rolled up towel behind her back and loop it through her legs and round her tummy. Alex hates sleeping on his back for the same reason - arms flying about everywhere. As he's on his side, his arms rest naturally in front of his face and he is then able to snuggle with his muslin (which he really likes). If this does end up working, I'd recommend getting a side sleep positioner. Alex is 6.5 months old and he's still using it. x

 

[MrsGlitz]

We had this from birth which is why we ended up co-sleeping. We then moved Harry into his cot around 4 weeks and he is was fine. The Moses basket and stand was the biggest waste of money for us!

 

[Shining Star]

Mmm, think me and DH will be talking about this when he gets home from work. Seems to be quite common. I wondered whether it was also to do with the fact that when she flings her arms and legs they hit the sides of the moses basket?

Thanks, I feel reassured, I was starting to think that there was something really wrong becuase of her arms and legs flailing!

 

[littleone2010]

Hi darling, My baby gets startled very easily and I know exactly what you mean byt the motion they make..
Shes flailing around most of the time, but she wakes up at every movement she makes.. At 8 weeks she refused to sleep in her moses basket because of this. She was very small at birth 5lb 6oz so you can imagine she was still small compared to other babies at 8 weeks and we really didnt want to put her in her cot so she slept in her swing, or we lay her down with us in our bed and when she was in a deep sleep moved her to her moses basket.
She too finds it easy to get out of swaddling (but I do it every night or when she needs a nap!) i found swaddling blankets rubbish as it just unravelled again, the best thing I found was get a sheet and cut it into the right size for you LO make sure they are long enough so you can tuck ect around the body and it stays amazingly well, and doesnt become loose.
We did this and put her in her own cot now and she sleeps with out startling or her arms and legs moving around... worth a try! xxx

 

[DaisyBee]

Your lo is feeling like they are falling because they have the startle reflex. You can google startle reflex, moro reflex, baby reflexes. Its a very normal thing that not all babies get but a lot do. Megan had it really bad - it affected sleep, bathing, putting her down on the change mat, etc. I held her for the 1st 5 weeks because we couldnt even cosleep - as it wasnt enough to stop her from flailing. Her dr suggested we try swaddling again. Megan would always escape as well - I bought special swaddle blankets with velcro - and it helped a lot - she couldnt escape like she could when I just used a regular blanket -getting a sheet like suggested above would also be better than just a little blanket. We swaddled til 19 weeks when her startle reflex settled down & she could sleep without flailing arms. (& without being held!)

 

[Shining Star]

Your lo is feeling like they are falling because they have the startle reflex. You can google startle reflex, moro reflex, baby reflexes. Its a very normal thing that not all babies get but a lot do. Megan had it really bad - it affected sleep, bathing, putting her down on the change mat, etc. I held her for the 1st 5 weeks because we couldnt even cosleep - as it wasnt enough to stop her from flailing. Her dr suggested we try swaddling again. Megan would always escape as well - I bought special swaddle blankets with velcro - and it helped a lot - she couldnt escape like she could when I just used a regular blanket -getting a sheet like suggested above would also be better than just a little blanket. We swaddled til 19 weeks when her startle reflex settled down & she could sleep without flailing arms. (& without being held!)

Thanks alot. Was thinking about taking her to see the doctors but might try swaddling again first! Glad it has settled with your LO. It sounds very similar with affecting sleep, bathing and putting her down on the changing mat. You ladies always make me feel better.

 

[LesleyP]

My LO does the exact same thing!! I was actually going to make a thread about this today!!

Looks like there's some good advice being given, I've tried swaddling but she escapes! Will definitely look into getting a proper swaddle blanket with the velcro on. xx

 

[Shining Star]

My LO does the exact same thing!! I was actually going to make a thread about this today!!

Looks like there's some good advice being given, I've tried swaddling but she escapes! Will definitely look into getting a proper swaddle blanket with the velcro on. xx

I also found this... maybe that's why we are both talking about lack of sleep in FB!!

https://pregnancyandbaby.sheknows.c...newborn--Coping-with-the-Moro-reflex-6286.htm

I thought it helped me make sense of it all. I sympathise with you.

 

[mikababy]

Our LO is difficult to lift or put down also and she also dislikes her moses basket, especially at night! We try to make sure she is is a 'deep' sleep rather than just snoozing and also put her bottom down first then head down last making sure her head never drops at all. we usually put her down in whatever position she fell asleep in - not tummy obviously! (this is often on her side in the 'recovery' position, as she dislikes laying on her back). We keep our hands on her for a minute or so afterwards just to 'fool' her into thinking she still on us!

We ended up co-sleeping and now we have put her regular cot by our bed as a 'co-sleeper' (it has one side removed and then the mattress pulled up tight against our mattress. We have put a piece of thick foam down the other side where the mattress has been pulled away and put a sheet over the whole lot).

Anyways, we had to lay her on a baby bed mat (ASDAs do them quite reasonably) to protect the mattress from me leaking milk and her being sick! But found this is excellent to SLIDE baby across from our bed to her cot and vice versa without disturbing her!

xx

 

[Bodie66]

I would echo the comments made about trying the move to a cot - our LO had the same problem when in his moses basket and also strongly resisted any attempts at swaddling! He's been in his cot bed from 6 weeks old and it really helped to stop the flailing arms/legs. We put him in a grobag which I think helped him to feel a bit contained still when his legs moved but didn't constrict him like the moses basket - perhaps that's something to try if your LO is big enough (think there's a minimum weight for sleeping bags?)

 

[veganmum2012]

Hi Shining Star

Not sure if you even still use this forum or will see this message, but we have a very similar problem to that which you describe, with our 13 week old baby and have done since birth. We have tried so many different things to try and help her, but the flailing limbs always wake her after not very long, whether she's on her back or front and it really concerns me as to what might be wrong with her, though I am hoping it's just a developmental quirk that she is going through, that only some other babies experience!

Now that your little one must be about 2 years old I wondered how they are doing now? Did you ever work out a.) what was causing the flailing limbs or b.) hear from a health professional what might be causing it? Were there any long-term problems for your little one? Any advice you can give having come out the other side?!

Many thanks in advance

 

[mrsf1234]

We put LO in her cot at 5 weeks old as she seemed happier with her arms out. We now tuck her in tight under her armpits (sheet tucked in v tight over her in her cot).
As for your DH saying she's too little....she will let u know if she doesn't like it that's for sure! Some babies prefer the coziness of a Moses basket whereas others like my LO prefer a cot.
Good luck!

 

[DaisyBee]

Hi Shining Star

Not sure if you even still use this forum or will see this message, but we have a very similar problem to that which you describe, with our 13 week old baby and have done since birth. We have tried so many different things to try and help her, but the flailing limbs always wake her after not very long, whether she's on her back or front and it really concerns me as to what might be wrong with her, though I am hoping it's just a developmental quirk that she is going through, that only some other babies experience!

Now that your little one must be about 2 years old I wondered how they are doing now? Did you ever work out a.) what was causing the flailing limbs or b.) hear from a health professional what might be causing it? Were there any long-term problems for your little one? Any advice you can give having come out the other side?!

Many thanks in advance

It is the startle reflex which you can google, there is nothing wrong with them it's just a reflex which they will grow out of. Megan had this when she was a baby but we were able to stop swaddling by 4 months. Most babies grow out of it completly by 6 months.