I'm desperate... how do I get my 3 week old to sleep at night?

Question

My three week old son is constantly up, day and night... he only sleeps an hour and a half at a time (and he's bottle fed). At night, he's only getting up to eat, and even though he's eating a lot (2-3 oz. per feeding every hour and a half to two hours), he never seems to get full enough to sleep long periods. I'm desperate! I'ver heard mixing cereal with a nighttime bottle helps, does anyone know of that or have any other suggestions? I haven't slept in three weeks, and I have another child at home to take care of!!!

Thanks!

Answer 1

Hang in there!!! things will get better in a couple weeks. at 2 weeks my daughter was getting up every 2 hours at night but by 6 weeks she was sleeping 5-6 hours at night.

I agree with other posters, a 3 week old should not have cereal. He's too young to digest it and it may cause him severe discomfort. Try giving him 4 oz per feeding. Maybe he' just hungry or you need to change formulas if it's making him gassy. I was just thinking back to my daughter when we first came home and it took us a while to get into a routine. Here's what worked for me. I had a checklist.

1. I switched my baby's formula to carnation goodstart Supreme ~ easy to digest formula. that made aworld of difference for us and gave her 4 oz.

2. swaddled the baby always.

3. used the sleep positioner~ inclined to sleep.

4. we used an air filter for white noise on medium.(and sometimes I would let the vacuum run in the next room for about 5 minutes or until she fell asleep. it worked like a charm EVERY time.

5. I also gave her the soothie pacifier.

6. I made sure her sleeping area was dark and comfortable and quiet(turned down the phones and no tv). especially in the first couple months.

7. Before I gave her bottle, made sure her diaper was changed and she was dressed comfortably and swaddled. I didn't want to jostle her after bottle.

8.. When my daughter was 3 weeks, I would rock her in my lap and then lay her down after she was asleep.

I know it's hard work. Good luck.

Answer 2

Sleeping for short periods of time is perfectly normal at this age. The tummy is small and will not hold much food so the baby needs to eat often. Putting cereal in a bottle, especially at this age, will not keep your baby sleeping for longer and may cause stomach upset that will actually keep your baby up and cranky. Have you tried swaddling the baby? I found that swaddling the baby and putting the baby in a rolling basinet next to a dryer with a wet towel inside really works. The warmth and the white noise from the dryer lulls the baby to sleep. Also, swaddle the baby in something you have worn like a t-shirt you have worn for a while. The smell of you comforts the baby.
Do you have a family member, friend or neighbor that will watch the children for you for a few hours so that you can get some rest? Maybe a teenage daughter of a friend that could watch the kids for a small fee? Now is the time to say yes to any help you can get!
I hope you get some rest soon!

Answer 3

At his young age, it's normal for a baby to wake up once or twice a night. I just hope it's not cramps from gas. Do you burp him well, to get rid of all the air he might have sucked in with his milk? Do you hold the bottle at an angle, to assure he's not taking in air with his milk?

As he gets older, he will sleep longer. No cereal yet, though. It will give him a tummy ache. Then you will really have problems. Wait until he's at least a couple of months old.

Try cuddling and rocking him a while when he wakes up. Put a mobile with soft music on his crib. Maybe he's not really hungry that soon.

It would be nice if you could get some help with him so you could get some rest and be more comfortable with him. He can sense it if you are tense and will cry more.

Answer 4

I have a 3 week old daughter right now as well (born Nov 3rd) and I am going thru the same situation. When my son & daughter (now 13 & 11) were about 4 weeks I put a teaspoon or two of rice cereal in the bottle to keep them fuller longer, but ONLY use it at night.....if you use too much cereal they can get SERIOUSLY CONSTIPATED....screaming in PAIN 'cuz they can't poop! (which I found out the hard way!)
although alot of people will ***** not to use cereal, SMALL amounts will not hurt them ( I asked my pediatriction), just be sure you watch to see that they're still pooping enough, and watch skin for any allergy reactions.
but there is a chance that even this won't work......I haven't tried with my 3 week old daughter now (was trying to hold out another week or so)
Right now I've been giving her a bath or a sponge bath just before I want to go to bed and a WARM bottle before bed. Oh and those "wave machines" the sound thingys?! work good too...my daughter likes the "ocean" sounds.
GOOD LUCK.....feel free to email or message me if you like!

Answer 5

I hear your painb. I remember those days, my son is just 3 and this sounds familir. I was exhausted too. Dad was no help, you don't say that here, I can only assume... As soon as the sunb comes up, wake the baby and try to get him active during the daylight hours more. In the next few weeks, he will start to sleep more at night and get to know the difference. My son didn't sleep through the night until about ayear. Your son is way to young for any kind of cereal. I didn't start that until about 4-5 months old. Hang in there.

Answer 6

Does he finish the bottle & want more than the 2-3 ounces? If so, give him more. My nephew drank 4-5 at a time from birth.

Cereal is NOT a good idea and may even make him uncomfortable.

Try a warm bath if his cord has fallen off.

Swaddle him (my son only slept swaddled for the first 2 months because he startled himself awake otherwise.)

Try a swing or vibrating chair.

Try white noise - fan, humidifier, vacuum (there is a white noise CD for babies called For Crying Out Loud.)

Try one of those heartbeat bears or other such device - ticking clock, etc.

Answer 7

He's actually perfectly normal for his age. Some babies need to eat more frequently than others. Just because you're last child wasnt like this doesnt mean that its not normal.

You dont give newborns cereal, you'll only end up with worse problems, like constipation and/or colic, since their sytsems simply arent ready for it.

Just keep feeding him, this will pass soon enough.

Get the sleep lady's book "good night, sleep tight" Its an excellent resource for how to teach a newborn, and any age child to sleep through the night.

Answer 8

Every baby is different. Is your baby colicky? At 3 weeks with him being up every so often could he drink more milk, maybe he is hungry? At 2 weeks my son was drinking 4oz royghly every 3 hours. Is there anyone else who can help you so that you can get some much needed rest?
Do not use cereal in milk it's definitley not a good idea from what I have heard especially for a newborn. Don't worry... since it;s your 2nd baby you know that this will not last too long and things will get better..

Answer 9

Your baby is THREE WEEKS OLD would you give them a chance to figure out everything first? It isn't a not full thing it's a he's three weeks old thing! Some babies sleep a lot and some don't really figure it out until week 6, just give it some time. Since you are bottle feeding someone else could take him for 4 hours and let you sleep.

I breastfed and had the same problem, but I muddled through until he figured it out. Just get someone to help you out and read some Dr Sears:

www.askdrsears.com

Answer 10

I know it's hard, my youngest was the same way...it seemed like he NEVER slept at all! Don't do the cereal thing...his stomach only holds as much as it will hold, and the cereal isn't going to stay in there any longer than just formula. Make sure he doesn't have a tummyache to make him cry. Try some baby gas drops, in case he has gas, but be sure to ask the baby's doctor first.

We used Hyland's colic remedies with some success with our baby. They are little tablets and I was like, "Whoa, give a pill to a baby?" But they are real tiny and you put it under the baby's tongue, and the pills dissolve in seconds. They have herbs or something in them, and once we finally found them, they seemed to calm our baby down enough so we could all get some sleep!