Recently our 4-week old son has started sleeping (or not sleeping) sporatically. He will sleep about an hour at a time and then awake for an hour or two. He did this all day long yesterday. He woke up when we were ready for bed last night then he was up until 2:00 am. Then awake again at 3:00 am, back to sleep at 4:00 am. Up at 5:00 am until 7:00 am then back to sleep. He just started doing this on Sunday. He was fussy most of the day Sunday and gassy. We treated it with an over the counter medicine for gas in babies and it helped but now he has adopted these weird sleep patterns.
Any suggestions about what might be causing this? Outside of the fact that we are exhausted and really want our baby to sleep, do we have reason to be concerned?
2007-10-23 02:24:35 · 14 answers · asked by c_crum 4 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Newborn & Baby
Congratulations on your new baby! I have a 10 month old, and she had a similar sleep pattern when she was around 4 weeks. Honestly, I don't think there is anything wrong with your baby. Right now, he's trying to adapt to his new environment, and he is not used to sleeping at night. Babies, when in utero, tend to be less active during the day when the mom is up and about - the mom's movement tends to lull the babies to sleep. At night, however, the babies tend to be more active in utero - I definitely experienced this when I was pregnant! So it's going to take your little guy some time to get used to sleeping at night.
As he gets older, you will find that he will go through various phases - sometimes he will sleep great and then two weeks later he'll be back to waking up multiple times a night. It doesn't mean that there is anything wrong with him other than the fact that he is growing, developing, and changing. I know how tired you must feel right now, and I can say that it gets better as they get older. The first three months are the hardest, and unfortunately, you're in the no-sleep-for-parents-stage right now. Good luck!
2007-10-23 05:37:25 · answer #1 · answered by Eponina 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
hang in there! babies change thier sleep patterns ALOT the first year or TWO! It is normal, if not easy to deal with, before you try ignoreing the baby at night,(a lot of people will reccomend it but it is'nt very effective and it can be too heart breaking to cope with) try keeping the baby awake more during the day, let him cat-nap for 10-15 minutes when the sun is up, and don't over stimulate him dureing the day either, (baby's tune out info when their nervous system is overwhelmed) this could be causeing him to shut down and get sleepy,, try a quieter environment at night and a busier one dureing the day. If you do get up with him at night,, talk as little as possible,,keep the house dark and only do what is nessasary to calm him, he doesn't need to be completly asleep before you leave the room, it is good practice if the baby can learn to fall asleep without your help. If the gas is an issue, you may want to mention it at his next check-up and take the doctors advise. Don't forget every baby is different, and he will teach you how to help him if you pay attention,, most babies don't sleep all night till3-6 month or even a year old,, it is normal, it just takes patience and practise. The best thing you can do if you are able in the fifst 6-12 weeks, is sleep when the baby does, so at least you get as much sleep as the baby, and the house is NOT going to be perfectly clean untill your kid is at least 10 anyway, take care of yourself first!!!
2007-10-23 02:45:42 · answer #2 · answered by lise z 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
4 Week Old Not Sleeping
2016-11-07 08:15:08 · answer #3 · answered by deshong 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your baby is perfectly normal. If he was doing this at 4 months old, you may have reason to start to worry. At 4 weeks your baby still has days and nights mixed up. Babies usually start to get things straight at around 3 months or later. This is just one of the joys of being a parent! Just a thought though, you may want to consider acid reflux if your baby seems unusually fussy. My pediatrician said to give 1/4 of a teaspoon of Mylanta when our baby was really fussy and gassy. It worked way better than baby gas drops and will not hurt him.
2007-10-23 03:00:23 · answer #4 · answered by howdesdoit 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I don't you need to be concerned. It sounds like your baby is just being a newborn baby. Her sleeping pattern should start to get into a pattern around 2-3 months old.
When she naps durning the day, keep the lights on and when you put her to bed at night, need it dark and quite. It will help her to go into a deeper sleep at night and possible sleep little longer for you.
2007-10-23 02:36:21 · answer #5 · answered by Kristy Lynn 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It may be his formula. It`s making him gassy and the cramps are waking him. Ask your doctor about a soy formula. Also, he may be hungry. The formula isn`t keeping him satisfied for longer than an hour. Doctors don`t recommend this but and couple bites of thin rice cereal before bedtime will help him to sleep at longer intervals. I did this with my kids and it helped. My youngest has reflux since birth and that may be something to look into also. Good Luck!!!
2007-10-23 02:34:23 · answer #6 · answered by MISTY 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
If he is having trouble with gas you may want to try a different formula they have one for gassy babies. If you are breast feeding him then you might want to examine your diet carefully cause what you eat effects him as well so you would need to limit caffeine and gassy foods. Try taking him for a stroll and give him a warm bath and try some infant massage then feed him in a quiet room with maybe some soft baby music in the back ground and put him to bed. Try that and see if it works if this fails and your worried about him take him to see his doctor for advice.
2007-10-23 02:35:08 · answer #7 · answered by Lori M 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
My daughter developed reflux around this age, at first we thought it was a sleeping problem, but when I looked into it further we discovered it was infant reflux. Does he have any other symptoms of this, fussy during feeding, crying when put down to sleep? See http://www.eBabyCentre.com/bdreflux.htm for a list of symptoms and how to comfort your baby with it.
2007-10-23 16:00:53 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
If he wakes up screaming it is possible it could be acid reflux. All three of my children had this and it made sleep difficult and they would try to eat every hour to make their tummy's feel better.
2007-10-23 02:30:52 · answer #9 · answered by colebomb23 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
3 Steps to Cure Insomnia Forever!
2016-07-23 13:00:26 · answer #10 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋