10 Week Old Fights Sleep!

A 10 week old infant is still a very young baby. Going to sleep with a bottle is very common with young ones or holding them until they are asleep also frequently happens. Perhaps finding a safe way for her to sleep upright, as many have suggested, is the way to go. And babies don't always sleep throught the night for a very long time or may some nights and not others. One of the latest theories with colic is that the infant has a difficult time transitioning from wakefullness to sleep. This seems logical, as they get older they spend more time awake and their brains are like blank slates that are frantically learning as much as they can and it may be hard for their brains to calm down and relax for sleep.

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Buy some GRIPE Water at the health food store for the gas and get the book HEALHTY SLEEP HABITS, HAPPY CHILD. Not the best written, but excellent advise!

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Have you ever read the book, "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Marc Weisbluth? This is a fantastic book and I highly recommend it. This man is the children's sleep expert!! I have three children and have used this book with all three and they are great sleepers and I know it's because of what I learned from the book. Although, I haven't had issues with colicky babies etc.. like your situation, I know he wrote another book for children with these and similar issues (sorry I don't know the name of that one), but I'm sure you could google it and find out. Good Luck!!! Sleep is so vital for mommy's to be happy. I hope this helps.

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A.,
The only advice that I have is that when I had 2 or 3 young children and I needed the sleep and so did they that I would let them nurse to go to sleep or have a bottle (water preferably). In time, they went to sleep on their own without the bottle (since I ususally stopped the bottle at 12 months). I think that if it helps to fall asleep then the whole family can be happy and rested. I know some people think you need more of a "routine" and say that they shouldn't need that to fall asleep but sometimes you have to do what you have to do to get the sleep you all need. All kids are different and what works for one won't work for another and when your child is 5 years old you won't remember the fact that you let your 10week old go to sleep with a bottle. Man, I remember nursing everynight for months just to get my child to sleep so I could get some too, and no one is judging me for it now, that is for sure.

Hope that helps a little

K.

Dear A.,

PLEASE get a copy of Elizabeth Pantley's "The No-Cry Sleep Solution". She is mother of 4 and a child educator. Her website is www.pantley.com and her personal e-mail is ____@____.com She will write you back, with a help guide as well, if you e-mail her. You do not need to let your baby cry, it will get better, and there is a lot you can do to help her. It has worked for me.

Your baby sounds very normal for a baby her age. If you send me your e-mail, I can forward you the help e-mail I have from Elizabeth to get you going.

GOOD LUCK!!

L. M.
Novato

My baby doesnt have reflux, but I will tell you that she has always fought sleep, but for the most part only at night (not naptime). Some babies just do this. But since we co-sleep and I nurse here in bed it isnt usually too much of a problem. Also, not sleeping through the night is completely normal at this age and even into the toddler years for some. Some kids can do it easily, some parents have to spend a lot of time training thier babies to sleep through the night and some just dont do it until they are older toddlers.

It is totally normal for a baby to want to be held or nursed to fall asleep. It comforts them. Try to use you intution as much as possible. Mom knows. Do worry about spoiling the baby, just comfort her. She is too little to try to train her to act different than she already does. And you cant spoil a baby at this age. They usually know what they need.

do not keep everything quite as she is going to sleep. If there is noise and commotion going on she will sleep through it better.
Another decaf tea to try is mint, mint is known to settle upset stomachs and it sure worked with my son with his colic.
Try giving her naps earlier in the day, and keep her up a little later if possible. You need to get her adjusted to your schedule. If she thinks she needs a bottle in the middle of the night what about a little water?

I used to give a little bit of cereal to my son for him to go to sleep at night. It left him full and he did not get hungry as quickly. But to this day just so you know (he is 9) he still eats a fourth meal even after a big dinner. Sometimes they just eat alot. And he is only 55 lbs, so he is not at all close to being overweight. I end up giving him a P & J at night before he goes to bed because like the cereal the bread expands in his tummy and keeps him full.

M.

I can't say much about the sleep, but www.sagebugtea.com used to carry a baby blend of caffeine free tea that helped with colic and gas. I don't see it listed now, but it might be worth e-mailing the owner and seeing if she still has it. Hope it helps!

Yikes, I am sorry. ou must be exhausted. My daughter also had reflux and was on prevacid AND Zantac. You can ask about doing both at the same time, which is often a very good cocktail I learned about froma drug rep.

My daughter would NOT fall asleep either until I started using The Miracle Blanket. It worked so well that we used it until she was 6 months old. The only reason I stopped using it was that I wanted her to learn to self soothe and sleep through the night. She LOVED it!

hope that helps.

Poor little one. Sounds like she is having a really hard time! My 2nd had colic until around 8 weeks, I think, and yes tit went away. But it sounds like she has a very sensitive system, and may need a bit more time to adjust. I don't blame her for wanting to be held -- don't we all just want to be cuddled when we don't feel good? She may be really uncomfortable, and as she relaxes it seems to trigger the reflux, so her body may be fighting sleep because it anticipates that 'drowning' feeling. Scary! That's will be hard on you (I have a 1yo and 4yo,and it s juggle!). Hang in there!

Have you ever used a sling? I tried a few (I have a bad back) and wish I had just got the Ergo. With my 2nd, I finally bought an Ergo and LOVE it! It would be easier to carry her so you can get things done while she sleeps. Also,check out different clothing. Sound nuts, but for instance, my second HATED the sleepers that were a nubby cloth (gerbers had them I think). She just didn't like them. Changed the sleepers to something softer -- she was happy.

Also, you may want to research and read up on overly sensitive children. There are some great books out there, and if she is you will be prepared as she develops. They just tend to need a little more understanding and compassion, and they react to things like itchy clothing, certain foods, bright lights or too many people around them. It can give them triggers, and they act out because they get overwhelmed with all the sensory input. Worth checking out.

Good luck, it may take some time but it will get better! Sending you some good sleeping vibes,

Ms Thistle

stop the soy! Soy is extremely hard to digest and causes a tremendous amount of gas. Goat milk or even cow milk supplemented with some omega-3 fish oil will be much healthier!
Soy is an excess estrogen anyway and can cause problems in the future. Babies are meant to have mama'a milk, but if this is not a possibility, Goats milk is the closest to our own.
Good luck.

I always gave my babies "Gripe Water". It is an herbal concoction that really helps when babies have colic or gassy tummies. It works instantly and helps them sleep comfortably. It doesn't make them sleep, it just helps them get rid of the gas so they can sleep. You can find it at health stores.

There is a marvelous book you should get. Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Weissbluth. It not only helps the parents understand the entire sleep process and will help your child learn to sleep better within days! It saved us.

Oh no! Poor you with the colic. I feel for you. Maybe you can try to be more consistent with the night time. i found that was a good move for us, around that age we started doing a bedtime routine roughly the same time every night. I don't think it's out of the ordinary for a 10 week old to want to eat every 2 hours. If you find this is mostly at night, maybe try "tanking her up" during the day?

Consider yourself very lucky. My son has fought sleep for 5 months. But unlike your daughter, he didn't sleep at night either. He just NEVER slept. My friends would laugh because you could tell that he was tired, but he didn't want to miss anything. He would shake his head to stay awake if he felt like he was falling asleep and didn't want to. By ten weeks we were finally up to the occasional 2 hour stretch at night. My best suggestion is give her a safe and comfortable environment for sleep to overtake her. Encourage her to fall asleep but don't force her. Eventually she will figure it out. Try a noise machine in her crib that you can either play continously or put on a timer. I know that my son loves the gentle ocean waves crashing and it helps cut down on the other household noises. Also, try putting her down around 8:30 every night. Even if she fights it, try dimming the lights and playing soft music so that she learns that nights are for sleeping and not for playing. Hope this helps.

My son had colic. He cried and screamed for about 16 hours of the day! They said he had reflux, but the medicine they gave him made him sick.

He is now 2 1/2 years old and I still do not really know why he got so mad all the time, but I do know that very young babies, like yours, are not consistent yet. Even though a lot fo people like to say that their baby is "on a schedule" or "sleeping through the night" at those young ages, I really do not trust it. Normally, a few weeks down the line, they have a different story about what is happening.

What I have learned from being a mom is that evrything is temporary...they go through so many different stages of development, that there is rarely a time when you can say "Oh we got that down." As soon as you do have some routine, usually something new comes around to change it (teething, rolling over, discovering their hands, etc.)

I would have LOVED to have gotten more than 2 hours of sleep in a row when my son was your baby's age. I think maybe we expect too much, too soon with our children.

Like someone below wrote, there are a lot of really good books about sleep. I liked "The No Cry Sleep Solution" when my son was around 1 and to help with the colic the video and book "Happiest Baby on the Block" was my only salvation until my son was about 4 months old.

Good luck!

A.,
I can't say enough good things about the book The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems. There are guidelines for getting your baby on a schedule and a huge section on sleep issues. The approach to sleep issues was similar to a lot of the other sleep books, but I thought it was more explanatory and more gentle while still being consistent. Both of my kids had reflux. I decided not to give the first one meds. He was an ok sleeper at night, but not during the day.
And he was very skinny, although he still is slim now. I put the 2nd on meds, and while she had some nice baby fat, she often woke up at 1 or 2 am crying for about 30 minutes (so I never called it colic). Nothing seemed to appease her other than holding her, swaying and waiting it out. Both my kids were sleeping through the night at 3 months though following this book's approach. I also found that baths before bedtime were often stimulating for my kids. And two things you mentioned are addressed in the book: if babies sleep more than 3 hours at a time during the day, it affects their sleep at night; and earlier bedtimes (7-7:30) actually promote more and better sleep. There is also what she calls a Dream Feed at around 10 pm where you feed the baby without waking them.
Hope that helps,
C.

Im not surprised she wants to be held and fed to sleep- shes only 10 wks old. Try sleeping with her- hearing your heartbeat and breath really soothes and comforts them. ANd yes a baby her age does need to eat every 2 hours probably til shes 6 mos or so. Try some Gripe Water or some homeopathic(1800HOMEOPATHY) rather than uping her meds. All babies are born with plumbing that takes awhile to get working right. I know its hard, hang in there.

Sounds pretty normal to me! You're lucky she's ever slept through the night. My kids always woke up at least 3 times a night at that age, and none of them were ever on a consistent schedule. I wonder if you were one of those incredibly lucky people whose first baby slept through the night very early on and so you have an unrealistic idea of a baby's sleep schedule.

Yes, of course it gets better!!

The tea may be keeping her up, since she does have a sensitive system, I had one child like her. Keep patience, while going through this rough time. Best of luck.

I have a five month old baby that was like yours and still is some times.But she is much better now. I just kept with the routines and now she got it.
I also have a two year old and I explained to him that he just have to wait until her sister is asleep or while I am putting her down to sleep and he helps to soothe her. He knows and sometimes he sings lullabies.
Chamomile helps alot I gave it to her during the day, also the night time soap just put it in the water

Hi A.,
My now 5 year old had pretty bad reflux. For several months we had him sleep in his car seat on the floor (strapped in). He seemed far more comfortable. I dislike the term colic because I think doctors hide behind it. Don't feel like you should just tough it out, especially when her crying is keeping up your son. My son didn't have colic. He had severe reflux and other motility issues in his digestive tract (not unusual w/ reflux). It seemed like he was pooping enough, but he wasn't (poops were absorbed almost completely into diaper because solid parts [not from solid food, btw]were not making it out and liquidy parts were going around big solid lump). Soy formula didn't help in the slightest; many kids are sensitive to soy. There are two formulas that worked, Alimentum and Nutramigen (sp?) -- in both, proteins are broken down already so that little tummies don't have to work so hard. Similac smelled and tasted (made my husband try it!) much better, so I definitely recommend that one. They are more expensive, but almost any ped or Ped GI office should be able to give you a sample canister to try. Just be sure to make the change slowly by blending current formula with the new formula, upping the amount of new formula every few days. A pediatric GI was the key to making our son more comfortable. His car seat kept him more upright (we put a few boards underneath the front so that it wasn't too upright) so that his reflux wasn't a problem. How much does your baby weigh? Babies under 13 lbs still need to eat at night. At 13 lbs (give or take a lb, I'm sure) should be able to go through the night (which technically isn't as many hours as one might think -- don't recall the #; just remember thinking, "That's not thru the nite!!!"). Be very careful of holding your child until she falls asleep. I have a friend who wasn't able to break her child of that habit for over a year. You might want to pick up the sleep bok that Weisbluth (sp?) has out -- it's a very well known book, so you should be able to find it despite my spelling difficulties! I did not follow everything to the letter, because, with a child with reflux, I needed to at least peek into his room to make sure he wasn't in massive pain, and if he was, we would soothe him and give him whatever we needed to to make him more comfortable). However, I followed the majority of his advice, even when it was tough, and it was very helpful. Have you tried Gripe water before bed? Also, laying her on her back and moving her legs in a bicycle motion can help her pass gas bubbles before she falls asleep. As for baths, docs do not actually recommend bathing your child every night at this age. A couple times a week is actually enough and easier on their delicate skin, so don't worry about that. As for the aquarium toy, our son wasn't a huge fan, but I know many kids are. Our son loved his Tiny Love Symphony in Motion mobile (lots of high contrast, etc.). When he was sleeping in his car seat, he just liked looking at his globe-like ceiling light. He was a May baby, so it was light out when he went to sleep. Just don't put the car seat in the crib w/ a mobile. Your child should never be able to reach a mobile (safety hazard). Again, please push your pediatrician to refer you to a pediatric GI. They deal with these issues every day and can help lessen your child's discomfort. Treating the acid with meds helps (and you do need to check w/ do re: when you need to up the dose), but reflux is often part of a larger motility issue, and pain and gas could be signs of this. There are other meds (and I hated giving do many meds, but, in retrospect, I'm so glad I did) that help with motility -- I think we used Reglan. Made a huuuuge difference over just acid blockers. Alimentum + acid blocker + reglan (which we eventually traded out for Miralax when he was older -- don't think we used Reglan and Miralax at same time but not sure) made a huge difference for us. Anyway, I hope some of this helps, and don't let the docs push you aside! Doctors do their best, but managed care provides way too many incentives for doctors to look for a quick answer and move on to the next patient. I actually look for docs who always run late. It's a pain having to wait, but what I almost always find is that these docs run late because they book the number of appointments per hour that the insurers require but then spend adequate time with each patient. They listen to what I say and take the time to do thorough exams, discuss options, and produce more results, imho. Sometimes getting the appointment right after the doc has lunch helps :)
K.

Your story sounds very familiar. My daughter was diagnosed with acid reflux at 4 weeks old. My husband figured out that something wasn't right because she would scream mostly after she ate because the milk would come back up and burn her throat. The Dr. said that it is very very common and sometimes the sphincter muscle that closes off the stomach to the esophogus isn't completely formed and will allow stomach acid to come back up which can be very uncomfortable. My daughter was prescribed Zantac and that helped immensely. We also learned a few other tricks that helped. We started trying to feed her in a more upright position and would make sure she was in an upright position for at least 30 minutes after her feeding. We also bought a baby papasan chair and put it in her crib to sleep. This allowed her to sleep in a semi upright position. We found this helped a lot and kept her from waking up as much. At that age, she still needed regular feedings every 4 hours, but at least she wasn't screaming anymore. Once we figured out what was wrong and stopped attributing her cries to "colic", she and we were much happier. And now, she is 15 months old and doing great! Her reflux subsided around 5 month but can take up to a year for some kids. The only eating issues she has had since is that she has a uncanny ablility to gag herself on anything. Not sure if it has anything to do with the reflux, but even now, it seems as if she is outgrowing this ability as well. I've had to wait a little longer to introduce new foods to her because of her sensitive stomach, but she is healthy and happy and that is all that matters. I hope this information has helped. I know that when we were going through this, we felt alone and everyone kept telling us it was "colic". I'm so glad my husband was persistant and kept looking up symptoms on the internet. Our daughter was obviously in pain and it was up to us to do something about it. Good luck and kudos to you for listening to your gut. I've found it's usually always right.

Hi There,

My son, now 6 1/2 months also had/has reflux. It was definitely much worse around 3-4 months. Although it was very difficult, the thing that really helped him sleep was to hold him upright. Sometime I had to do this the whole night! Ugh! But even just burping thoroughly (up to several minutes) then holding him upright at least 20 minutes after eating helped immensely. Yes, it has made it difficult to get him to sleep not in arms, but he sleeps in a bed now too (without crying it out). We also found sleeping at an angle helps.

Also, have you ever tried bouncing on a big exercise ball- a lot of babies find that soothing, and sometimes it was the only thing that helped.

I wish I could tell you that the reflux will disappear, but in fact it is the thing that still often wakes him up. However, his colicky behavior and general sleep has improved greatly with age. Just like adults, some babies are better sleepers than other, and I've found that I really have to help "teach" my son how to sleep.
Good luck!

if she has severe acid reflux (GERD) it would be VERY painful...to eat, and esp lay down / sleep. our twins had it VERY bad and we had to have them propped up to sleep...in the 1st 3mos it was often sleeping in bouncies or carseat (on the floor) and i always held them upright after feedings for 15-30min. our pediatrition gave prevacid too, but it wasn't enough to get our girls to be comfortable eating or sleeping (VERY painful), so we took them to a pediatric GI specialist who increased the prevacid to a HIGH dose, far beyond what pediatrition would give...but finally it allowed the babies to be more comfortable. remember, prevacid doesnt' stop the reflux, it just prevents the stomach fm making the acid which burns the esophogeal tract. dont' know where u r located, but in the auburn/sac/folsom/lincoln area the BEST specialist is Dr Yinka Davies. pls go to a specialist if it doesn't improve...MD says it feels like a red-hot-chili pepper all the way down the tract w/out the meds. oh, sorry also about the colic..ours BOTH had it for 6mos (twins!) and crying also hurts when a child has acid reflux.

My second daughter had acid reflux as well as constant ear infections. We found that having her sleep in a reclining seat kept her comfortable and able to sleep. At first we used the bouncy seat and then moved to the carseat as she got bigger. We placed it on the floor in our bedroom and supported all sides with pillows so that it could not tip over. The screaming stopped immediately. Since the acid reflux is extremely painful, this keeps it down. Sleeping flat is the worst position possible because the acid immediately travels up the esophagus out of the stomach.

I had severe acid reflux the last four months of my pregnancy and it ended up burning a hole in my esophageal lining thereby giving me an ulcer. I was not able to eat very much for three weeks after the birth. If the reflux could do that to me, imagine what it feels like to a newborn. I also wore her as much as possible in the Baby Bjorn carrier facing outward during the day in order to keep the acid reflux in her stomach. I also walked her in the afternoon in the stroller (back angled) in order to get her to take a nap or I would drive around in the car in bad weather. Do whatever you can to make it work for you. Other parents who don't have the problem cannot relate and doctors who have no children of their own can't either. The books by T. Berry Brazelton really helped me in understanding these sensitivities as well as Penelope Leach.

A babies digestive system is the last to develop. We learned that many children are born with very undeveloped digestive systems, thus the acid reflux. By three months most digestive systems become fully developed but not always. My friend's son had problems for a year and ended up being allergic to wheat, dairy. etc.

You can give her the diluted chamomile throughout the day to help with her sensitivity. My older daughter was very sensitive and yet the doctors pooh-poohed my observations until she went into anaphylactic shock at her 1 year bday party after ingesting a bite of a peanut butter cookie. This was 13 years ago. After that I kept her off of wheat, peanuts and dairy until she was 2. I think that the sensitivity early on can be a precursor of things to come.

I wouldn't worry about keeping things quiet all the time. Neither of my kids slept through the night ever and both slept with us as infants since I nursed on-demand. It was tough but worth the effort. As they get older and go to preschool and school, you can really tell the kids whose needs were ignored when you work in the classroom.

Good luck and remember that it goes by really fast except for when you are living it at the moment. Whatever you do, remember that they are not trying to manipulate you as some would assert. They are too young to know how to do that yet.

Since she is on soy formula you might try an enzyme supplement to help her with the digestion process. Babies don't have all that they need without nursing from their own mothers as they grew in their gestation with what came from her body that is why God gave mothers breasts so the tiny creatures could continue to recieve what they needed after birth. Please don't think this is in any way a reprimand. I didn't nurse my first 2 children and learned the hard way the truth in this matter. Blessings to you and your little ones.

Hi there, the only advice I can offer is to please, please take your baby off of soy formula. This could the biggest culprit of her problems! I know that by giving soy we think we are nourishing our children, but it is actually one of the worst things you can do, especially for an infant....soy is linked to many health problems.
Please vistit
http://www.nourishingourchildren.org/parents/soy.html
and read up on this. I really think this will help you understand. Also, I make my own formula. If you are interested I will give it to you. My baby thrives on it, and he is almost 5 months now.

J. B

If you have a sensitive baby, you should also check her on allergies, it could be that the soy you are giving her now is making things worse. With the sleeping you could try to swaddle her, infants and even toddlers like the tightness and their developing limbs and muscles cannot wake them if swaddled. Try it, it was a absolute relieve for my daughter C. S

My 5 month daughter has reflux as well, most nights we have her sleep in the bouncer, which helps. I have started giving her rice cereal in the morning and a veggie in the night and it has helped with the reflux. You might want try massaging her with baby oil before you give her a bath, that might relax her before her bath. My 1st daughter was colic and it went away after 4 months. We use hold her face out and walk up and down the stairs. Hang in there, it does get better.

HI,
MY DAUGHTER HIGHLY RECOMMENDS THE SLEEP LADY. SHE WORKED WITH GETTING MY GRANDAUGHTER AND SINCE THAT TIME MY DAUGHTER HAS GIVEN HER NAME TO ABOUT 20 OTHER MOMS IN YOUR SITUATION.
HER WEB SITE IS WWW.babies2sleep.com.
HOPE THIS WORKS FOR YOU.
WALNUT CREEK GRANDMA

Get more info about reflux at reflux.org; this is a nonprofit organization dedicated to information about kids w/ reflux.

Have you spoken to a lactation consultant about (1) angle when feeding and/or angle when sleeping? Our son had life-threatening reflux from 0-2; I had to feed him at an angle, he slept on his tummy at a 45-degree angle (courtesy of wedge + sling made by our fantastic lactation nurse). Even with this, the meds, and an apnea monitor, he was up for hours every night. My husband and I would bounce him gently until he fell back alseep.

If your insurance allows, see if your pediatrician will allow a consult w/a pediatric GI b/c they will have more info. about treating reflux.

My heart goes out to you,
S.