Fitful Sleep in Newborn

My now 10 month old son was also very fond of kicking his legs and causing a commotion during the night. Although we never swaddled him (he's kind of a porky kid ;)) I found that using a humidifier or small house fan near his crib helped soothe him. Once my husband and I got used to the humming of the fans, it also helped to drown out the noises from the baby bed. Now, he settles down very quickly when the humidifier comes on although he has started sleeping in all kinds of positions so he rolls around all the time. The kicking early on I think was his way of trying to get comfortable and settle into his bed. Another idea is maybe he is startling in his light sleep due to dreaming, and because his upper body is swaddled, the only way for him to "jump" is by kicking. If the dreams are the case, he will eventually get used to them as he becomes more in tune with the outside world. Hope this helps.....J.

Our son, who is now 9 months old, was a very restless sleeper until about a month or two ago. It used to drive us crazy with all of his noises. We have twins and ended up hiring a night nurse for 3 nights when they were 12 weeks. She mentioned that he had a lot of gas during the night. We switched bottles and formula and that did help. He also had excema so he would wake up in the morning looking like he was in a cat fight. Even after addressing his excema and gas, he was still very restless at night. He now sleeps very soundly and peacefully most nights. It will pass. Good luck!

Hello L., Newborns do all sorts of amazing things in their sleep! You might be interested in reading, "Sleeping Like a Baby," by Pinky McKay or "The Baby Book," by Dr. William Sears. These are both very loving and informative books. Enjoy your journey! ~T.

the worst night of sleep my little one had when she was very new was a night when i ate some stupid chocolate pudding! she was awake all night long, and when she wasn't awake she was moving and wiggling and i felt so sad for her. I realized that if i was going to nurse, i had to give up a few things for a little while and chocolate just happened to be one of them. you might consider what's in your diet that could cause the sleep troubles and also try co sleeping instead of swaddling and putting him separate from you.

My nine week old does this too. She has been a fitful sleeper since day one. I can't believe the noises that she makes in her sleep! I have eliminated every suspicious food from my diet and haven't seen a difference. My midwife and doctor assure me that this is normal and she will outgrow it. For now, I just wear earplugs and am learning to ignore the unimportant sounds.

My daughter started doing this when she was just a few weeks old! She got much more sleep than we did so we moved her basinette right outside our door. My daughter was about 8 weeks before she topped being so noisy. Is your husband giving her formula or breast milk when he gets up for a feeding? If it's formula I would consider expressing breast milk for night feeding. We also tried Gripe Water and that seemed to help enough for her to be quiet enough for her to sleep outside the door. This too shall pass. If you are feeling too exausted let him sleep in the swing for a night so you can recharge your battery.

I was thinking about this the other night and my newborn stopped doing this about 1 week after I cut dairy out of my diet. Maybe try that cuz it could be gastro pain. I also can't eat onions, brocolli, chocolate, and peppers. Kinda sucks, but what does one do!!!

Here's some advice someone gave me recently. E.A.S.Y.! Eat, Activity, Sleep, Your time. When your baby wakes up in the morning,feed him. Then do some sort of activity. Being this young it can be as simple as opening and closing your hand in front of his face or holding up a toy of some sort. (Move his body, etc.) Then put him to sleep and enjoy your own time. Although babies sleep alot during the day you don't want them to get their best sleep during the day.
If you establish a familiar bedtime routine it can help too. A bath before bed can wipe them out and help them sleep better. It wears them out to be in a tub and if yours is anything like mine crying usually follows!!
This worked for me so I hope it works for you!! Good luck!

My little guy is almost 5 months old and he used to do that too. He was fine, just noisy and active (and still is!) We actually put the bassinet in the hall so we couldn't hear every little thing and then moved him to his crib at about 2 months. It made a big difference. You might want to also consider some white noise in your room like a fan or humidifier. It blocks out some of the gurgles and grunts, but if your son needs you - I promise he will let you know. We still use the monitor but on the lowest volume setting. Again - he will really let you know when he needs you and then you aren't waking up at every noise. Just a thought!

I remember those sometimes sleepless nights with the moaning and groaning. My husband and I finally put my son into his car seat. We put it in our bed in the middles and put a towel around it so it for sure would not tip over. For some reason being propped up allowed him to sleep comfortably (and us too). This did not happen to often, but it sure helped.

All 3 of my children did the exact same thing. My first daughter, I was just up most of the time, listening for her. My grandma said she was "grunting and growing". Finally, at 9 weeks I put her in her own room because then I could get some more sleep - at that point she only ate 2 or 3 times a night - in general I was able to sleep more.

However, with my twins, they did the same thing- and I could not put them in their own room because then my husband & I would be up every hour (or other) feeding them. Thus I put a pillow over my head, therefore I did not have to hear them moving and grooving - just heard them when they cried. Worked well for me. I would recommend the pillow or earplugs. I feel for you- I was not sure if she was half awake or what- but then finally realized it was totally normal and they are not awake. Good luck!

Dear L.,
I appreciate the other responses, but it is possible that he is having problems with digestion? - You said he is fine, but it sounds like he has abdominal discomfort. Have you looked closely at what you are eating/drinking? Are you eating any milk products, cabbage family foods? caffeine? Does he have a low grade fever? Any change in behaviors during the day- is he sleeping more, does he nurse well and is alert when awake?

You might try and gently rub his belly in the daytime. As he faces you lightly rub his stomach in a clockwise motion. You can use massage oils, olive oil works well too. Then rub his feet. If you can get on the net, look up a reflexology chart and rub the soles of his little feet also facing you in a clockwise motion.
Moving him out of the room may possibly help, but I suggest that you try some massage and monitor him for any more possible distress-like behaviors. His Pediatrician should be told the behavior has continued. Yes, it's probably a normal thing but if you are concerned and it continues, you need to ask your Ped again.
Best to you,
H. B.

He may be waking up due to hearing your or your husband. Though most people think it is great bonding having the baby close and it can be, we can bother them with our sleep sounds too. Move him into his own crib, you need sleep, if he isn't waking completely or crying then he will have the rest he needs and needs to. If he is using nursing to get back to sleep you are setting yourself up big time. He should only nurse when he is really hungry every two to four hours and it will stretch out more with every few months.
My son was a very light sleeper but once is his own crib slept great and still does.
Maybe try formula at night so he goes longer at night so you and your hubby can get the sleep you need too! HUGS!

I just had to laugh when I read your posting. We thought the same thing with my daughter (3-1/2 months) when we first brought her home. Unlike my older daughter who slept soundly, our 2nd daughter was always grunting & fidgeting in her sleep. I read somewhere that it's just their little bodies learning how to use their digestion system. I believe this is true since usually after some of these motions, she would either pass gas or have a bowel movement, sometimes not immediately. To this day, she still makes some grunting noises in her sleep. It's actually stepped up to 'talking' in her sleep (sighs, chuckles & singing noises). Enjoy your son & his baby noises, the time passes too quickly!

This is VERY normal! No worries. One thing you learn with newborns, is that when people say "I slept like a baby", they either didn't sleep well, or they don't know babies. :)
Usually, when they hit about 10lbs or so, and begin sleeping long stretches at night with fairly regular napping during the day, you'll see more sound sleep, but they still fidget, roll, move, sigh, whine, groan, tongue-thrust, and sometimes laugh or cry in their sleep. Some kids continue this all through life.

get some earplugs. you should be asleep. your baby is fine, but if you don't get some sleep, you won't be fine.

Our daughter starting doing this at less than a month old. We took it as a cue to start putting her in her own crib in her room. My husband was also giving her a bottle once a night. It help immediately and she learned to sleep well in her own crib very quickly. The quality of sleep we got was so much better that going into her room in the dark, quickly nursing her, and returning to bed was well worth it. It also allowed me to sleep better when my husband got up for his feeding. It might be a pain to go to his room at night, but as he starts feeding less it will be so much better and he will already be used to the crib.
BTW, she's almost 8 months and is still wriggling around, which I only noticed when I had to sleep with her on a recent trip and got NO sleep!

If he sleeps well during the day in a bouncer or swing it could be that he is having some indigestion (minor reflux), he might need to be put on a sleep wedge at night. The wedge helps the milk stay down and not come up all through the night. You could also tilt his mattress a little and see if that helps. Don't change the swaddle it is the best!!
Good luck!

L., It sounds like he may be growing. They make strange sounds all of the time. We just notice them more when we are trying to sleep. It is hard being a new parent and exciting. He will be ok. I remember having my new baby too. My first woke up every 3-4 hrs wanting to eat and I had to change the diaper everytime and usually the sheets. It will be ok. You may have to put him in his crib if it keeps yo awake. Do you have a baby monitor? If you do use it that is why they invented them. Good luck and God bless your little family.

My son was also a loud sleeper. We too had him sleeping in a bassinet in our room and finally my mom advised me to move him out b/c I wasn't getting any sleep. I would wake at every noise he made. So, I moved him across the hall to his room, still in the bassinet, and I did sleep better. The groaning did eventually go away, but I kept him in his room, which is where I would nurse him anyway. Best of luck with whatever you decide.

Congrats new mommy!
I remember with my first baby that he made a lot of noise at night. Being a first-time parent, it's easy to be ultra-sensitive and paranoid of every little sound. If he's not crying, he's probably okay. Also, it usually takes a few weeks for a baby to get used to sleeping more at night than day. (They're used to being rocked during the day in utero by mommy's movement and waking when she goes to sleep). If your husband is feeding the baby formula at night--you didn't say whether it was pumped milk or not, the baby could have lactose problems. Formula milk is hard on a baby's stomach because it's made of cows milk, so that could be causing cramping too.

Yep my baby's the same way! (6 weeks) he laughs and cries in his sleep, we should video tape it. :)

Very normal, my son would even laugh and cry in his sleep and sometimes with his eyes wide open. It'll pass, don't worry about it.

My little one will be 6 weeks on Sat. Mar.15 and she does the same thing. The only time she stays asleep is if she sleeps next to me. So yeah I thinks its normal.