Newborn help

[Happy]

Phoebe is now 9 days old and we are having some problems with her sleeping pattens during the night. For some reason she absolutely hates her Moses basket and lying flat on her back, the only thing she will sleep on is her doomoo (baby bean bag) because she is sat up slightly. We have had to resort to using this at night but I really want her to get into the habit of sleeping in her basket.

Phoebe has her last feed around 10.30 and will sleep until 2am fine, but from 3-5 she is up screaming and wont settle no matter what we do. From 5 she will then drop back off until 8am ish. We just dont know how to break the pattern of her staying awake during this time. She is FF and we had a few issues with her gulping her bottle down and causing loads of wind, we have started to use infacol which seems to be working a treat but we just dont know what to do with her in the middle of the night. We have tried everything.

She usually sleeps fine in the day but today she has done nothing but be completely restless and cry. The second night Phoebe was born she had to go to intensive care and spent a whole night away from me in another building, so I don't know if it is something to do with this.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated as we are desperate now.

 

[polo_princess]

The first couple of weeks are tough hun, it seems you just have to go with the flow and do what you can .. if she will only sleep raised perhaps tilt the angle of the moses basket by either raising one end of the stand, of putting some blankets under one end of the mattress.

Are you giving her infacol with every feed or just daytime feeds?

 

[Happy]

We tried raising the basket but it didn't seem to work, I think she has had one nap in it since she was born. We are giving her infacol with every feed as this is what the mw said to do.

I know i'm probably moaning but I am exhausted - I spent 5 weeks in and out of hospital every other day with high BP, had the worst labour possible then had the trauma of Phoebe been taken into intensive care. She is a good baby and think we are probably expecting too much.

 

[louise1302]

i had the same probs with archie he would think 3 am was a good time to yell the house down and want to stay awake...i think like him she has her days and nights mixed up..i kind iof solved this(as much as you can with a newborn)by playing as much as possible with him during daytime hours ...talking to him in silly voices etc anything to keep him awake(he was very cranky tho coz he was tired) then come the night time i did his feeds in darkness and didnt talk to him at all just did the necessary and put him back in his crib

with regards to the sleeping in the basket i found puitting archie on his side helped(with a blanket rolled up in front of him to stop him rolling) he still sleeps like this now and hates being on his back

hope this helps a bit the first few weeks are sooo hard xx

 

[Rachiebaby24]

Try propping a blanket under the moses basket mattress on the head end....and just try and persevere.....the more you allow her to sleep in her bean bag the more she will hate her moses basket.....i know its hard though especially when your tired...

Have you tried rocking her back to sleep at 3am?? I remember in the early days with Maley she did this and my Oh just walked up and down the hallway with her, rocking her (sometimes for up to an hour) then she would eventually go back to sleep..... after a few days the length of time he did it went down and down until he could gently nudge her back to sleep in the moses basket

 

[polo_princess]

maybe she doesnt like the moses basket because its not as snug as the beanbag? Havd you put some extra blankets in there with her so it isnt so big?

 

[Rachiebaby24]

with regards to the sleeping in the basket i found puitting archie on his side helped(with a blanket rolled up in front of him to stop him rolling)

we did this with Maley too.....espacially when we put her on the side she layed in my tummy she slept great (think back to what side you mostly laid on when you was pregnant)

good luck x

 

[Happy]

Yep she will fall asleep in my arms if I rock her but its only a light sleep, once I try and put ehr down again she goes mad!

We decided to try the moses basket downstairs today and she woke after 10 minutes sleep, had a play and then screamed! She does look tiny in it so maybe she doesn't feel safe.

 

[Rachiebaby24]

Try was Polo_princess said. I remember when Maley used to sometimes jump and scream if she was just laying down.....prop her with some blankets....

also, have you tried swaddling?? Maley loved that and made her feel secure

 

[rickster]

hi,Gabriel was a bit like that with his basket ,then we bought a sleeping bag and he settled as he felt all snug like in the tummy.We also put a hot waterbottle in the basket before we put him down and he was happy and went back to sleep.He was born 5 weeks too early and had his day and night mixed up but the above tricks worked.xxx

 

[mummymadness]

I have exact same problem..

Oscar loves to be on his tummy laid on me and will sleep like that all day long , He allso loves to lay on his changing mat and drop off to sleep.
But at night comes to the Moses basket and he hates it , Iv tried extra blankets tilting up with blanket underneath (That sometimes works) , I rekon he just likes fussing over so im trying to not pick him up all the time at night when he whinges , Just check hes ok change him feed him quick cuddle then straight back down.

Ohhh and the worse thing is he hates the bouncy chair he has (Cost a fortune too) , So realy just bearing with it, I think its quiet normal hun and something we just have to ride out .

Good luck . xx .

 

[taperjeangirl]

Have you tried swaddling? It makes them feel like they are still being cuddled and maybe try lying her on her side, Daisy never slept on her back.

Are you using Dr Browns Bottles? They really helped us with wind problems xxx

 

[AC81]

the 1st few weeks are a BIG adjustment for a little baby who's been snuggled up inside you for 9 cosy months. It will get better, just go with it. Erin used to be awake from 12-4am in those early weeks - they do grow out of it though! x

 

[coolmom]

yep.i also think swaddling will be a much more helpful answer.dont worry.tell us whether it worked.

 

[Happy]

Thanks for all the tips. We have tried swaddling and most of the time she loves it although sometimes she does get frustrated when she cant find her hands as she like to suck them. She does seem to prefer her side but I didn't think they were allowed to sleep like this?

We haven't tried doctor browns, we have mams at the moment. We did try nuk bottles as the nurse in intensive care recommended them but the same thing happened and she just gulped it down.

 

[lozzy21]

She does seem to prefer her side but I didn't think they were allowed to sleep like this?
.

They change their minds all the time about how they should sleep. When my mam had me the guidlines were to put babys on their sides, and then it was the front and then their back. What ever baby is beter with realy

 

[mommyof3co]

I think, unfortunately, it's very normal and is just a newborn thing. It takes a bit to get into a real routine and them even knowing they are actually supposed to sleep at night, they don't know the diff between night and day. Try keeping everything quiet and dark when she does wake up at night. You can swaddle her and maybe put her more on her side instead of flat on her back...all of my boys preferred to sleep that way. You can get a sleep positioner or just roll up some blankets to prop her more on her side. Good luck!

 

[carries]

Cant really add much to what has already been said other than forget the word routine for the first 6 weeks or so. It took Oscar this long to work out day and night and to be honest he still has nights where he wakes at 4 and wants to play. I generally bought him into bed with me when he was really bad and still do sometimes although I know this isnt for everyone. Good luck!

 

[lollylou1]

we had thesame problem when putting annabelle in her moses basket. she would scream we started swaddling her really tight and it worked wonders, also first few days from coming home from hospitl she gulped her milk, we changed to nuk cos a friend has a pack of new teats and couple of spare bottles, they worked for first bottle but next was back to the same, we changed to doctor brown and they have been excellent.
as for the day and night, like others said keep daytime very light, noisy and busy and night time, quiet, dark and very relaxed

Good luck hun, i hope she is settling better for you soon

Lou
xxx