Help! My Baby Won't Sleep at All During the Day.

I can soooo relate to what you're going through. My son didn't have reflux but was allergic to his crib. My advice to you is to get a sling such as a Maya wrap, lucky sling, etc.... These are much better than the baby bjorn for hit hips; however, that would do in a pinch too. You can put the baby in a position so he is sitting up and let him fall asleep if need be. This way, you can walk around and get things done.

The pediatrition in the hospital suggested this to me when my son was born. She said that some babies are just like this, they need to be held. Let me also say that this is OK, you are NOT spoiling your child if you do this. I should also note that my son will be 2 in a few weeks and he is very, very independent and not at all clingy so the idea that picking a child up or holding him all the time will make him clingy is not true.

The other thing I would do was to move my glider near the tv or a good book and just let him nap on the boppy and me. This was hard to do at first having been a workaholic, but I soon grew to enjoy it. I got to catch up on a lot of reruns, good books, phone calls, etc.. This may not work for you, but I thought I would just float it out there. :)

Enjoy the time that you have where you can hold him. Beleive me, it will be over before you know it. You'll always be able to catch up on housework later, but you will only have this one time while he's young.

This happened to a friend of mine. Hers had acid reflux and a milk allergy. Once she was on reflux medicine and cut dairy from her diet (she was nursing too) her baby got MUCH happier. And she slept in the bouncy seat exclusively until she learned to roll over (around 5 months). The crib wedge doesn't really work very well.

I'd talk with the pediatrician about it to make sure the reflux medicine is the right dose, and then talk about what you might want to eliminate from your diet. Milk is a very common problem, but peanut butter, eggs, strawberries, wheat and soy are others.

Are you sure he's getting a full feeding? I know that a lot of babies will fall asleep while nursing even though their tummies aren't full. Instead of putting him down, maybe wake him up and see if he'll eat a little more.

As far as sleeping, could he be staying awake too long before you try to put him down for a nap? You might try putting him down again about an hour after his first morning feeding. I noticed with my second child (who was a horrible napper as a young infant but, like yours, did ok at night) when I shifted my focus to pay attention to the time he spent awake, rather than the length of his naps, he started napping much better. I had unknowingly been letting him get over-tired by letting him stay awake too long. He didn't have any obvious signs of sleepiness until he got all the way to the all-out melt-down phase, and then it was too late to get good rest. However, if I put him down when he seemed perfectly happy and wide awake, but it was an hour (or an hour and a half, you'll have to figure out his own time frame) after waking, there was much less crying and much more napping!

The other thing I did (that is against all the rules) was to put him down for naps on his tummy. By the time he was 4 or 5 weeks old I had suffered through so much crying that I said a prayer and put the child in the bassinet on his tummy. Not only did he go right to sleep, but he STAYED asleep for more than an hour. That was the first hour of day-time peace I'd had since his birth. Of course I didn't get much rest that time for all the trips to check that he was breathing, but once I got over my fear, we had a much more peaceful household.
Hope you find some answers!

Hi A.
Our 4 month old was the same way. She sleeps REALLY great, in her room, at night but not so well in the afternoon. I moved her into the middle of our bed and she sleeps great. (I assumed that the sunlight was bothering her, our room is darker) Perhaps if you just try a change of location for his noon naps it will work. Good luck
T.

Hi A.,
L. the Lactation Consultant again. As a new mom you have lots of questions and I'm happy you're asking the advice of other mothers. That's what this group is for :)

A baby with reflux will generally cry when they're placed on their backs because stomach acid moves up into the esophagus and causes pain. That's the reason your pediatrician recommends sitting him up for 20 minutes after feedings, using the bouncy chair, etc.

The advice about using a sling like a Maya Wrap may help, and as someone else mentioned, babies go through growth spurts around this age, and don't sleep much during those few days. that may be one reason he's crying more tahn usual.

Since you are breastfeeding, you might really enjoy attending a LaLeche League group in your area, or at least contacting one of the Leaders. LaLeche League provides mother to mother support and sharing for breastfeeding moms. I think you'll find many new and experienced breastfeeding moms at LaLeche League that have had similar challenges and have overcome them in a variety of ways.
Plano has a group that meets on the second Tuesday of each month at Lord of Life Lutheran Church in Plano. For additional information, you can call a Leader - Emilie###-###-#### or
Beth###-###-####.

I'd encourage you to contact Laleche League, check out a good book on what's normal for breastfeeding mothers and their babies- maybe "The Breastfeeding Book" by William Sears or "So THAT"S what they're for!" by Janet Tamura.

The behavior you describe will not last forever, even though it may seem that way right now. In time, life will settle down. It just takes a few weeks/months to adjust to the changes having a precious new little one involves.
Keep in touch and let us know how you and your baby are doing.
Take good care!

My little guy is now six months old and he went through the same thing at about 5 weeks. For us, it was the growth spurt.

My best advice is to have patience. (I know, you just want to hit me for saying that!) But really, just take a deep breath and say to yourself "this too shall pass."

Also, if you aren't opposed to co-sleeping, try taking a nap with him. I wasn't sure how to get comfortable at first, but once I got it figured out, my son and I started getting some great, lengthy naps! I just lie down on my side and let him start nursing and we fall asleep together. It's win-win for both of us!

Good luck,
M.

Mine is a combo of Maggie and Alexandra. Know this:
SOME BABIES JUST AREN"T NAPPERS!! (it took me forever to accept this when my friends' babies slept in infant carriers, took 2-3 naps a day, etc.)
Get this...my son never napped until 4 months and even then, he took one nap a day for 1 hour 20 minutes and never napped more. Prior to that, if I could get him to sleep at all during the day it was a miracle.

My son has reflux (better now at 16 months) but was severe as an infant. The way I finally got him to nap at 4 mo was the swing, and like Alexandra said, the fisher price one that goes side to side. Sadly, my son napped in it until like 7 or 8 months when he hit the weight limit (and sometimes even past it after desperation). I too found the crib wedge useless unless you get a danny sling and your baby will actually sleep in it) since they just roll down. I got a the homedics soothing sound maker and use the white noise setting. I also got a video monitor so I could watch without actually disturbing him.

The meds being accurate are important. My son showed some (but not tons like a lot of people say) improvement once we got them right.

My son also has milk intolerance. I did no milk, no soy for 10.5 months while I nursed. I never noticed a huge difference, but when I weaned to formula I sure did. It is a very hard diet which basically requires you to eat at home all the time, but I hear it REALLY helps some babies.

Like Linda said, LLL REALLY helped me too (I love our group here). I am in Ft Worth, and if you need the contact info out here, here it is:
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/bffriendsftworth/

Good luck, and feel free to email if you need more support.

I have the same thing going on with my 3mth. old daughter. Maggie did the same thing as I do. I think my daughter has acid reflux, but every time I give her her med. she throws it all up. I am a breastfeeding mother, so you know how that makes you feel. First seeing her go through that then seeing all your milk on the floor. Anyway, I have started in the past couple of days putting my daughter down 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours after she feeds in the morning, then in the afternoon about the same, I also put her on her tummy and she seems to fall right to sleep. Now, today I waited too long, and she took her 1st nap at 2:00, but she is on her tummy and is still asleep at 4:30. If you don't like him being on his tummy, put him on his tummy at first, let him go to sleep then turn him over. I had to do this with my daughter at night a couple of times. Good luck.

A little about me:

Mother of 22month old boy/girl twins, and 3 month old girl.

Pick up the book, Secrets of the Baby Whisperer by Tracy Hogg. This is a must read and I give it as a baby gift to every friend. Our first was very fussy & I read her book and it transformed our child. She has the most balanced approach to raising a baby. Her approach is for the baby to Eat, Wake time, and then nap time. She gives a ton of practical tips such as watching for your child to yawn and by the 3rd yawn have them in bed. (This works & they usually fall straight asleep - this way they don't get over exhausted.) She has a ton of charts that I have all tabbed such as how to interpret their body language. We just had a new baby & I have read the book about 5 times again & following her principles again and she is becoming such an easy baby! Good Luck & I hope you enjoy the book!!!

A.,

Have you read Harvey Karp's book, "Happiest Baby on the Block?" My daughter had the same problems with being fussy, so I incorporated his recommendations and she immediately fell asleep!!

See link: http://www.thehappiestbaby.com/

Basically, he thinks that there is this "4th trimester" where baby is all freaked out b/c real life is so much different than the womb. The womb has the baby coddled real tight, the baby hears the loud sounds of our digesting stomachs...etc., etc. He highly recommends tight swaddling and putting white noise sounds in the baby room. This mimics the womb. There are other things, but these are the two that I implemented and my daughter fell asleep immediately!! You can make the white noise sound by putting a clock radio in the baby's room and set it in-between stations (the static sound). I know, it sounds horrible for us, but very soothing for baby!!

Try it and let me know how it goes.

God Bless,
A.

Hi A.. I'm sure you're very worried about him not sleeping during the day at this point. All I can really say is that when my son was an infant, it seemed like just as soon as I thought I'd gotten him all figured out...he started something totally new and foreign to me!!! It's a very difficult time when they're tiny babies and can't yet tell you what's wrong. All I can really say is to trust your instincts. Everyone will give you great advice...I always just tried everything, then figured out what worked for my son and me the best. Also, believe me when I say that all of this will pass very quickly...even if it seems an eternity at this time. Hang in there. Just know that you're doing a great job! Take care, M.

From about 4-7 wks,my baby was having similar slepp difficulty during the day. He'd doze off while I nursed, and when I was certain he was asleep, I'd put him down only to hear him holler not even 5 min later. I discovered that the Flutterbye swing was a LIFESAVER. After nursing, I'd strap him in it and put it on the lowest speed. He would fuss for just a second and then I'd put the MAM newborn pacifier in his mouth and he'd fall into a DEEP sleep. His naps were 2 hrs long and this is when I'd either nap or do much needed laundry. At 5 wks old, your baby is still so very young and "stillness" is not as comfortable for him/her as it is for you. He is used to constant sound and movement. That is why babies love the swing so much. The side to side swing is much better than the front to back swing. I highly recommend the Flutterbye. Its about $80 but SUCH a great investment! The "sucking" is also very comforting for them so when combining a pacifier with the swing, your baby is in DREAMLAND. :) And no, I never found that a pacifier caused difficulty with breastfeeding. My baby always was and is still a good breastfeeder despte that I've given him bottles and pacifiers since his 3rd week. Good luck!!

Perhaps he is going through a growth spurt and is not getting a full feeding. Many babies go through a growth spurt around 6 weeks. Just a thought.

Yikes! At least he sleeps at night!!! :) My daughter won't sleep lying down during the day either (she's 2 months old). She will sleep in her swing, carseat, or vibrating/bouncy chair though as long as she falls asleep in my arms first. Also, I was determined not to give her a pacifier.....until I realized that she needs to suck to feel comforted. So maybe try that too. When you put him down in one of his seats, let him feel you near still by touching his cheek or holding his hand. You could also try to swaddle him. Good luck!

I have two suggestions, I know both may sound a little unconventional...but hey they worked for us! My son started doing this about the same time as your little one, and I rememberd my nurse told me that it could be that the crib is is cold rather than against your warm skin. So we would rub our hands to warm up the sheet and then lay him down. We also used a heating pad, to warm it up. Obviously on low and we NEVER laid him on it. That worked ... but when there were times that it didn't ... we laid him on his stomach. I know they tell you not to do it because of SIDS, but it worked with both of my kids with nothing else would. Obviously I watches them like a hawk during this time as well! Good luck!

My daughter has had reflux since she was 2 weeks old and had the same problem. (She is now 8 months old) We swaddled her really tight and she would fall asleep instantly and slept "like a baby". Babies love to be swaddled really tight it makes them feel safe and secure, not to mention they do not startle themselves with their involuntary hand and feet movements.

My DD also had the same problem, some days I thought I would lose my mind because she just would not sleep. She also has reflux, as I read below it seems that a lot of babies with reflux have this problem. I hate to say that I went against what most people say to do and I would hold her while she slept and also put her in the swing to sleep. Up until 3 months these are the only things that worked. Now she will sleep in her crib for naps, but only for 30 minutes at a time. But it is so much better than before that I am just thrilled that she is napping at all!
Just do what works best for you and your baby. You will not spoil him at this age! I was very stressed (and still am sometimes) about holding her to nap but I actually miss it sometimes because it was a special time for us to bond.
Good luck! This phase will pass :)

5 wks old is hard to start any real strategies. He probably has to go through what he's going through. Some of these are kind of bad habits, but hey, you have to do what you have to do... At times my little one slept on me during the day or I even spent up to 5 hrs in his glider holdign him. Crazy! We nursed and napped a lot, which means nursing and napping on and off all afternoon. A 2-3 hour session in bed, if you can spare the time, was a wonderful bonding session for us. As a mom, you give up a lot of time doing this, but it was so worth it to me!

At about 4-6 months I think you can start trying some things; coaching your baby if you will. I suggest buying, reading and studying Healthy Sleep habits, Happy Child by Marc Weisbluth. It has great suggestions on creating good habits and breaking bad ones (some of which I mentioned above). I was pulling my hair out at 6 months over his sleep, or lack thereof and now my son, who is 15 months, still sleeps 14-15 hrs a day and is SOOO happy. Subsequently, I am too! Good luck - it is a hard time, but better times are around the corner.

So sorry! My DD did something similar and I had to give up ALL nuts from MY diet. I also decreased my dairy, but I am positive it was peanut butter. Her pedi had never heard of such a thing, but all the breastfeeding resources know about this. Check out www.breastfeeding.com for more info on dietary changes and symptoms in your baby.

Best wishes, and I pray he will sleep soon.