5 Week Old Won't Fall Asleep on His Own - at ALL - Help!

I just answered Kelly C., whom you commented on too wondering the same thing, so I wanted to copy you on what I wrote her. It might help you with the gassy tummy. My daughter acted the same way until her tummy felt better and this is what helped. (Sorry, I wrote a book :-) )

The biggest thing that CHANGED OUR LIVES! (And yes I capitalized that!) was probiotics. You can get the granuals over the counter at a pharmacy to mix into his bottles. You will need to ask the pharmacist for them since they are stored in the refrigerator but that's also a great time to ask any other questions you may have about how much to give. The product we bought had little packages (looked like sugar packs) that we would split into 4 doses each. We then put a little bit in each bottle. They are a safe and natural way to help regulate our little ones digestive tracts that may not have had a chance to do that on their own. It's a vicious cycle they are in. The irritable stomachs never allow the natural bacteria to form that keeps their stomachs happy. It's the equivalent of eating yogurt everyday for adults and is that safe. In my daughters case we were also going through the fussy, gassy, changing formulas, never sleeping, runny diapers one day, and then no poop for 3 days thing. After a week of giving her the probiotics she stopped fussing. I was able to switch her back to regular formula (not even the sensitive kind) and get her off the soy (which made her smell funny might I add). After about a month of that we were able to stop giving the probiotics to her because she was healthy and happy!

Now, at 18 months, we still feed her yogurt everyday since it is so good for her digestive tract. We've only given her the proboitics one other time and that was when she got the roto-virus (even though she was vaccinated ARRG) and we were told, finally good advice from her pediatrician, that it would also help her tummy get back to normal faster. And it did. About 3 days faster then her little friend that spread the bug to her. He was still have some "issues" and she was back to normal. So of course now my husband and I use them to whenever we have stomach illnesses to help our bodies recover faster too.

Amazing little buggers those proboitics are!

If you're concerned of course ask your doctor first but I wouldn't wait to do it. I have no idea why more pediatricians aren't recommending them yet but until I went to mine with the information I had found about them the thought had never occurred to her to recommend them to us. As soon as we asked she was all, YES!! Try them out and even gave us the names of the products. Like I said, it's as safe as yogurt so I'm not sure why they don't try that first instead of recommending all the switching formulas and such.

Again, can't hurt because they are natural and can only help. And for the other momma who responded who was having the same problems you can add them to breast milk bottles too. Or, if you're not using bottles, just mix them into a dropper with a small bit of milk and give them that way.

Hope this helps!
J.
http://www.mommysjoy.com

Snuggle spot...It is a baby bed/pillow that makes a baby feel like it is being held when you cant hold it. www.laneybug.net

I had a similar problem with my daughter. I breastfed and gave her formula too. She screamd at night for hours and couldn't fall asleep. I avoided gassy and spicy foods that could upset her and give her more gas and I also changed her formula to sensitive. It helped quite a bit. However, she still had trouble sleeping. What we did was to try to get her use to her swing and bouncer. The vibration of the bouncer helped soothe her and the music helped too.

I played soft music to her throughout the day. I would rotate her from bouncer to swing, because I didn't want her to get use to us holding her all the time. I also tried to keep her awake for most of the time during the day for she could be tired and sleepy at night.

I also gave her warm lavender & chamomile (Johnson's Bedtime Cream Wash) baths to soothe her at night, and applied the lavender & chamomile lotion (Johnson's Bedtime Lotion) afterwards, and followd by her feeding she would fall right to sleep.

When all else failed we would get her in the car and go for a drive.

I think even some of the hard core sleep trainers say we shouldn't expect this of (some) of our babes before 4 mos. If it's not a digestion issues, it's possible that your baby needs the "fourth" trimester and a lot of mommy-time in a womb-like state. I hear that it is impractical for your life . . . but, do you wear a wrap or sling at all? My first would not nap on her own until 3 mos. She took virtually all naps in the wrap. My second is 7 mos and I have prepared many a meal with that boy strapped to me. And, seeing as he hit 20 lbs before 6 mos, it wasn't easy. Good luck!

Newborns can't fall asleep on their own. They are in the fourth trimester, having gone from the warm comfort of mommy's belly, to the cold, harsh world outside.

They say it takes 20 minutes before they fall into a deep sleep, of the sort they won't wake up from when you put them down. I remember sitting with my daughter after breastfeeding her in the middle of the night and counting every second of those 20 minutes before I could go back to sleep.

It's hard. I'm due in 4 weeks and so not looking forward to not getting any sleep. I do plan on wearing my baby the bulk of the time. If you don't have one, get a sling. Baby is comforted and you have your arms/hands free to do things with the other kids.

I would try a sling for the day, they are wonderful. Not a pouch, but a real sling, with a ring for adjusting, so you can get your baby in there nice and snug. Take one day at a time.

You may have to feed your baby until he falls asleep and then put him down. Have you tried a swing or bouncy? Good luck!