need advice, getting 2hour sleep at most :(

[MissSara]

HELP.
My little monster is the most unsettled baby ever, we have tried everything but he just wont sleep and to get him to sleep we have to rock him for at least 2hours, yesterday he was awake and whinging from 6pm till 2am, hes not hungry he just is very unsettled. We don't know what it is but this mite doesn't sleep at all.
I even put him in the car seat and drove up and down the road to get him to sleep at 10pm but the minute we got back in the house he was awake screaming again.

This is making me very weepy at nights and i can't stop myself form crying, OH overlaid for work this morning and bless him, he's scared stiff that i'm getting PND that he's staying awake with me rather than getting himself off to bed and sleeping. I simply have no time at all because he wants to be in my arms at all times, so theres no chance of me even catching up on my sleep in the daytime, so far today he has been asleep and put down in total 15 times and everytime i have had to pick him back up and rock him to sleep! I just cant do anything!

It's just the lack of sleep and time to do things thats making me upset and i only get weepy at night when i am really tierd and just want to close my eyes for half an hour and sleep.
Surely a newborn needs more sleep than he is getting, and should be a little bit more content than this, i can't help but think somethings wrong or i'm not doing something right.

 

[NICCI]

hey hun

i know people say it all the time but it does get easier!! jack was just like this at 3 weeks!!
i used to be in tears as well my OH would wake up 2 me sobbing because i couldnt soothe jack! jack is 6 weeks now and it is slowly getting better!
have u tried swaddling! this seemed to work with jack!
xxxxxx

 

[Gem & Leland]

buy yourself a swing !!!! settle leland no end as he hates being cuddled but loved movement , was also invaluable when he had colic !

 

[lauramumof2]

I know this is a daft question to ask but is he eating enough?
Joe was a nightmare at this age, I tried everything and he just grew out it I think.
He sounds like a sling contender.

 

[IsaB]

Don't feel as though you're doing something wrong - I really believe that some babies are sleepers and some aren't - just the luck (or not) of the draw. Sorry I can't offer any advice, as the others have suggested, a sling and swaddeling are the only things I can think of to try. Also, if you can get OH or someone to take him out of the house between feeds whenever they can so you can try and get some rest do so. Try to keep telling yourself it's just a stage that WILL pass - the early weeks really are the hardest

 

[jennifer1981]

Dylan was like your LO hun. I was at my wits end through the night and, like you, sobbed through the night while holding him through sheer exhaustion.

Midwife tried to console me once by telling me that a newborn who hardly slept was a sign of intelligence

Noww, through the day we have a routine of eat, play, sleep. His sleep only lasts 10 mins or so as he is a power napper! We have to have a bit more play and then back to eat, play, sleep again. I am fortunate though because of a night he goes to bed at 8pm and only wakes for feeds.

He has only been like this for the last couple of weeks. It was a lot harder in the first few weeks as i couldn't entertain him. He wasn't interested in toys, cried when i tried him on play mat etc and constantly wanted to be in my arms. But he seems to have settled into a better routine by himself.

Im sure you LO will settle himself soon xx

 

[ASD123456]

I was going to suggest some kind of sling too, Rudy was a bit like this, not as bad but he just wanted to be held constantly during the daytimes- I found my sling a massive help, I just stick him in it, he falls asleep and I go about my everyday tasks. Also have you tried napping with him on the bed during the day, like co-sleeping, that way you may manage to get a few hours.

Fwiw, Rudys sleeping improved massivly around 6 weeks, he still likes to be held to sleep during the day but if I put him down extra gently I hve a 50/ 50 chace of him staying asleep.

I hope it gets better for you soon

 

[Sherlock]

Erm could he have colic? Maybe not bad but mild. But still enough to cause him to be unsettled. Just you said he was unsettled from 6pm onwards and often babies suffer colic in the evening.

I'd maybe consider trying some form of colic relief? Esp if he is displaying other signs of it. Can't hurt to try.

 

[DebbieM]

HELP.
My little monster is the most unsettled baby ever,

I would like to challenge you on that statement hun.

 

[muppetmummy]

I would try co-sleeping if you haven't already. I co-slept with Logan for the first 3 months as he wouldn't settle in his moses basket, I also had to carry him in a sling during the day as he was very clingy and didn't want to be put down. I even had to take him to the loo with me in the early days!
It has got better as he's got older, he's a lot more indepent now and will spend time entertaining himself, I'm sure your LO will be the same

 

[Redshoes]

I wanted to send lots of
Sounds like you have great support from your OH which is wonderful, and I would look into colic too just to rule it out if nothing else, but I really can't suggest anything other than what's been said, using a sling should cut out a lot of the upset for LO, can you try that at all? Isaac was similar and he never slept unless he was on us or touching us, we just let him do that but he has had sleeping issues since so its not necessarily the best option. He is still little and he could very well change and you will be feeling more emotional than usual at the mo, as some women do after having a baby, I think its important for you to get frequent, small breaks from baby, even if its 2mins, just stand in the garden, breath deeply and remember things WILL get better with time and you are doing your very best, so very very best wishes, hope things calm down real soon, talk to your HV too, they can have lots of good avice sometimes or know where to send you for it

http://www.cry-sis.org.uk/
http://www.colichelp.com/
http://gettingbabytosleep.net/
http://www.bounty.com/Articles/Prima/Su ... sleep.aspx

 

[MissSara]

Thanks for the advice ladies,
Well last night we had an angel baby , he was much much more content and let mummy and daddy go to bed at 10.30pm he woke at 2am for a feed and went right back to sleep and then again at 5am but wouldnt settle so i put him in bed with me and he settled straight away
I have felt so much more happier and today he has been like a new baby, all smiles for mummy and with no fuss or screaming, he's been asleep now for an hour, although i do agree i think its the moses basket that he hates, he will sleep in his bouncer or on the settee and it seems he likes to have a pillow or his head raised......... do any of you know if you can buy special baby pillows for babies as young as him? or arn't they ment to have them yet?
It just seems when he is put to lay down flat, he hates it and thats what is causing him to be unsettled while he sleeps.

now that he keeps up this good routine he has and the smiles for mummy.

 

[DebbieM]

It's dangerous to use a pillow for a baby. They could suffocate.

 

[cherylcusack]

tom has a pillow and has done since birth as he doesnt like lay flat, think it makes his wind worse.

he also likes laying on his tummy.

bcause of these two reasons, i got one of them breathing sensor mats to put my mind at ease.

they do child pillows in mothercare from i think a year old, but they are quite hard, you could raise his cot by putting some books under the top legs......thats if he is in a cot, i do this when Tom is a bit sniffly helps him breathe better

 

[Sherlock]

Not supposed to use one. Better for their heads to be flat for the airway

My guess is its the moses basket mattress is too firm and he just likes something softer to lie on.