LittleRefluxers

Hi I really need some help!! My twelve week old daughter is really struggling with her sleep. We have done all the usual - raising the cot, swaddling. The first two weeks she slept great - went down in her cot at 10pm, fed at 3am straight down in her cot again and then woke at 7:30am (the last few days of this short period she wasn't waking till 4-5am). I really though I had a dream baby!! Then things started going downhill and she would only sleep being held and was taking ages to settle and waking more frequently. After we got her diagnosed with reflux and milk intolerance we got her on the meds and she seemed to be more settled. It has only been in the past week that we have finally been able to put her in her pram to sleep during the day and at 7pm (although she does wake after the dreaded 30-45 minute and take ages to settle back with lots of rocking and the invaluable white noise CD). I can just about tolerate this, but what is a problem is that she will go down in her cot well at 11pm and will sleep for 3-4 hours and then wake up for a feed at about 2-3am and then she is impossibble to settle back, she goes off and then wakes after a few minutes and then is squirming around and really unsettled. I try feeding her again but she doesn't seem interested and in the end the only way is to have her sleeping on top of me with her squirming in her sleep until 7am. Does anyone else experience this and have any suggestions. I can only presume it is the reflux making her uncomfortable - This is really taking its toll now.

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Comment by joanne on December 17, 2007 at 9:57
hi michelle,
Comment by joanne on December 17, 2007 at 10:04
sorry about that pushed the wrong button. my son was just like that a few weeks ago. what i used to do was wait untill he fell asleep on me after his bath at about 8pm. then id put him in his cot with a teddy bear just at the top of his head, i think it just makes him feel as if he has stil got someone there with him. i found this worked for me and him and he is now sleeping right through the night. it may not work for you but anything is worth a try. i do hope things get better for you. but dont worry i know how you feel, there is days were i just sit there and cry. best of luck.
Comment by Michelle on December 17, 2007 at 10:28
Thanks, anything is worth a try. Are you breastfeeding and when did he start sleeping through the night? My son didn't sleep through until he was 6 months so i am not expecting any miracles there and we didn't solve the same sleep issues with him until 6 months either but i determined we can do more to help my daughter and get her settled sooner - i hope!!!!!
Comment by Rachel Phillips on December 17, 2007 at 21:36
Hiya - reading your comments about sleeping I thought I'd quickly post some pointers for feeding and re-settling at night with reflux.

It's a tricky business and we still at 8.5months old find each night is different, despite our attempts at being consistent with the approach.

We decided not to let our daughter cry at night as the more agitated she got, the worse her hiccups and reflux got.

So, after a night-time feed, prop him upright on your chest/shoulder to help settle the feed in his tum. If you need to wind him, give gentle rubs, sway sideways if you want to move, but not up and down motion. Give it at least 45 mins before returning him to flat - in his cot. I would also consider elevating him slightly, the lift will help gravity keep everything down and reduce the heartburn sensation that reflux can produce.

HTH
Rachel
Comment by Lisa on December 18, 2007 at 16:38
Daisy generally wakes every hour after 11pm and as since she was born but at five months we are used to it and two out of seven nights she sleeps after her feeds (2).
She goes in her cot at 7pm, I have tried pushing this back but she gets very ratty and as she does not sleep well in the day. At first I suspected this was why she is restless at night but now realise it is the reflux causing her to be have sleeless nights.
We use a 'night show' to settle her when she wakes up and this generally does the trick but you have to keep turning it back on after 10 minutes.
Comment by Michelle on December 18, 2007 at 17:07
Thanks, poor Daisy (and poor you!!!), and thanks Rachel, I will certainly keep her up longer. In fact, this morning I realised that maybe it was caused by the fact that I was spending long enough burping her, so will be a little more patient tonight! I went to town on everything last night and she slept her longest stint - 11-4am. I swaddled her really tight, elevated the cot even more and also switched the losec round, so gave her 10mg at night and 5mg in morning instead of other way round. Who knows what it was which made her sleep longer or maybe a combination of all three? Anyway, sorry to moan as I am not having such a bad time as we are only up once in the night and having her sleep on me for a few hours is quite nice really as I know it won't last for long!!! Thanks again to everyone.
Comment by Michelle on February 6, 2008 at 21:01
Who knows as my friends with babies say that no babies sleep well in the night, However, I really think you should go with your instinct and to me it sounds like her reflux - all the squirming around to me is a sure sign. I was out most of the day today and Lauren has been so unsettled - usually she sleeps really well in her pram during the day but she has been squirming around all day and really struggled and then thhis evening has screamed for ages and really unsettled, so the reflux is obviously giving her a hard time today.

I spent a long time with my son questioning whether the reflux was upsetting him or whether it was just a new baby thing, but this time round I am going with the reflux every time!

Good luck
Comment by Lisa on February 8, 2008 at 16:58
Hi
Daisy is still requiring two night time feeds at seven months old!. She will not take more than 100ml milk from her four daytime feeds as her three solid meals are, I suspect, filling her up. I am going to put a rusk in her first night time bottle tonight and hope that this will make her sleep longer than three or four hours.
I am so tried!!!!.
Comment by Rachel Phillips on February 8, 2008 at 22:50
Just quick note....Night time squirming can be put down to reflux.

Lot's of things happen at night. Saliva production reduces because the mouth is not moving and being stimulated - this causes the neutralising effects of saliva to be reduced. Sleeping on a full bedtime milk is sometimes problematic. Medicines tend to 'run out' mid way through the night, temperature drops (at this time of year) and if baby is used to having a cuddle in the small hours...then so be it!! and finally distractions that would normally take baby's mind off reflux are not available....

Hope this helps...
Comment by Lisa on February 12, 2008 at 16:06
It didn't work, me putting a rusk in Daisy's bottle gave her a sugar rush and she hardly slept all night, it was actually one of the worst nights we have ever had.
I have started to give her a bottle after her bath in the evenings and thus just before bed, which I have never done before as I was advised that sending a baby with reflux to bed on a bottle would guarantee a restless night sleep. But she now goes four hours between her two night time feeds (11pm & 3am). She still wakes up every night between 4am and 5am, which I know is out of habit and she does have wind at this time too, but 70% of the time I manage to get her back off to sleep with her cot night show.
I did speak to her g.p yesterday who told me that she has so many mothers complaining that their babies do not sleep and they do not even have reflux.
I suppose we will get there in the end, hopefully before i have to return to work.

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