Help!! 7 week old doesn't sleep

[momtobe2007]

My almost 7 week old will not take naps if I put her down. She'll sleep in the car when we're out (sometimes). She'll fall asleep in her swing for a little while too, but not long. She'll sometimes fall asleep if I'm holding her but the minute I put her down she's awake and crying. Nothing works! We've been dealing with this since we brought her home.

Some background....she's solely breastfed and is definetly having some gas and tummy issues. Probably the cause of some of her sleep issues.

Oh and she doesn't sleep well at night either. So, it's not like she's making up for it. I'm at a loss. She should be sleeping like 15 hours a day and she baretly gets 8 good hours of sleep in 24. Would anyone reommend formula, especially for nighttime?

[Bean606]

I feel your pain. DS has never slept well - he is now 11 months old and takes a 1 hour nap during the day if I am lucky and sleeps from 8 p.m. -4 a.m., and sometimes will go back to sleep until 6, again if I am lucky. When he was your DD's age, he was also EB -- he took 20 minute cat naps during the day, and woke every 1 1/2- 2 hours at night to nurse. I don't have any answers, except to tell you that despite my worrying, DS is a happy child who appears to be meeting all his developmental milestones, so the lack of sleep hasn't been an issue on that front. One thing that helped a little was to start a regular bed time routine at about 3 months, which we have been doing ever since. It helps him go to sleep at night, but I can't say he will stay asleep. My mother tells me its payback - I never slept either, and didn't sleep through the night until I was 3. AACK! Good luck. BTW, I don't recommend formula. I think you'll hear that it might aggravate the tummy issues, and probably won't make a difference on the sleeping. Good luck!

[hellbennt]

have you tried a carrier of some sort? ring sling, pouch, etc?
any chance it's silent reflux?
www.infantreflux.org/forum
My welcome intro :-)
http://www.infantreflux.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=853&PN=1&TPN=1
~laura in miami~
ds1 7/03
ds2 7/06

[eliasmom]

Unfortunately, I don't think there is a way to make a nonsleeper into a sleeper until they are ready. DD was a terrible napper until about 4 months and became a pretty darn good napper at 9 months. One of the babies in our playgroup started sleeping well at 11 months.

I BF'd DD at that age and tried some formula on my mother's advice. I don't think it made a difference. If you want to try it and see, it probably won't be worse for her stomach if it already seems gassy. (FWIW I think Enfamil made DD gassier and we used Good Start when I went back to work- it made a big difference with the gas.) Does she like to be held face down (pressure on the tummy)?

My best advice is to try to do whatever works to get her to sleep and know that it might not work consistently at this young age. If she likes motion and to be close to you, try a carrier. If she loves to stroll, go for nice long walks. That used to be the only way DD would nap and it helped lose the baby weight.

One last thing: swaddling made a huge difference for DD and she HATED being put into it. But she needed it. I found that the Miracle Blanket helped her tummy a bit because you can wrap the long piece to put a little pressure there.

It will get better! Hang in there!

[jniter]

DS just started being a good napper at 4 months, and he didn't really have a solid napping pattern until about 5.5 months. Before then, I did long long walks, long long car rides, long swing sessions, or a "suck 'n snooze." We'd nap together while he was nursing.

Hang in there! It takes time for babies to get into a sleeping pattern. I was posting desperate messages around 7-8 weeks also, so it'll get better. :) And don't over worry about the sleep deprivation unless you see it develop into a chronic problem. I thought we were doomed, but DS is ok.

Oh, and don't forget that babies get fussier until 2 months and they settle down a little. I did notice DS's sleep improved around 8 weeks.

[Mom2Jackaroo]

You may want to look into the reflux issue. My ds had pyloric stenosis at 4wks, so wasn't diagnosed with reflux until his follow-up appts. He never napped during the day, and woke up every 20 minutes during the night seeking comfort or food. I gave up nursing him at 6 weeks of age, because I couldn't handle nursing him every 30 minutes for days on end. He slept upright on my chest for 11 weeks until we found the right dosage of Zantac that worked for him. The change was overnight..literally. He immediately TRIED to nap during day, and didn't scream the second we laid him down.

This may not be your issue, but it does bear looking into with your pediatrician. At the Dr's suggestion, we also switched formulas to one with added rice starch, which helped some. Good luck!

[maylips]

I noticed this original post is over 2 months old, so you may have discovered that she needed to grow out of that phase (sure hope she's sleeping better!), but I wanted to let you know you are NOT alone. I also have a few desperate postings about that age on sleeping. My sweet girl was not getting near the 15 hours of sleep they say babies need.

Unfortunately, what ended up working for us is not recommended by anyone, but really did work. My mom flew in to help take care of DD while I was at a conference. She stayed in the hotel room with her while I did my thing. Anyway, she basically ignored my "she must sleep on her back" rules and put her on her stomach to nap. It really chapped me, but it worked like a charm. DD slept 2 hours for naps and started sleeping 4-5 hours at night. I think it has to do with their tummy issues. I am not advocating this because I certainly know the SIDS information and it still makes me nervous. But it's the only way our daughter will sleep. Even now, she's learned to roll over onto her back and when she does, I have to go put her back on her stomach or she'll never go to sleep.

I hope you're having better luck now! Just know you're not alone.