Baby Whisperers, please

I need some help. Julian is wearing me out and we're only at 2.5 weeks down, 7 to go until Daddy comes home.

The boy will not sleep longer than one hour in his bassinette at night. We wake up to feed, I burp, I put him back in the bassinette. . .wait sometimes 5 minutes and sometimes 20 minutes and WAAH WAAH WAAH. I rock him back to sleep and we repeat the above. Then it's time for another feeding. We repeat this many times until around 4 and then he finally sleeps for about 2-3 hours. The girls are up at 6:30-7am and then we're all up for the rest of the day (he naps, of course, but not in his bassinette). He won't sleep for any sort of extended amount of time unless he is in your arms (or on the bed. . . I put him beside me early this morning out of sheer exhaustion and of course, he slept like a baby).

What do I do?? I'm sort of losing it. I bought a swing the other day. He hates it. Putting him in the swing is like putting him in his carseat. He hates both with a passion. What else can I do??? He is swaddled. We have white noise.

The only "issue" I notice is that when he is back in his bassinette after a feeding, he seems to gurgle some spit up. He doesn't actually spit up but makes a gurgling noise like stuff is coming up. He is very gassy.

Please have a helpful suggestion. Please. Oh, and here is the culprit himself:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/BrowsePhoto ... &ownerid=0

[Auspicious]

Re: Baby Whisperers, please

On my way out the door, but if I were in your shoes I would have him sleep in my bed with me (on his back with no pillows or blankets near him, and assuming you're the type of sleeper who wakes up if you roll too near the baby).

Re: Baby Whisperers, please

What about sleeping sitting up in a rocker/recliner? We bought an UGLY recliner (Lane brand) & have it in our bedroom. I've logged MANY hours w/the boys sleeping in there. I felt safer about the sleeping w/the kid thing (dh is a HEAVY sleeper and uses around 6 pillows), and manged to get rest for me, too. It actually started accidentally - I'd fall asleep while nursing him and wake up REFRESHED.

I only point out that the rocker is ugly b/c at that point we simply couldn't afford one of those pretty gliders. We just bought the least offensive of what we could get, and went with that.

[HouseofWool]

Re: Baby Whisperers, please

How long after a feeding is he going down during the day? I'm wondering if it is mild GERD... If he will sleep next to you, then go for it. Caleb hated sleeping in the pack and play because of the noise that the vinyl cover made. It could be something silly like that. He also hated sleeping on his back, so we would prop him so he was laying on his side. (Side bene is that he never got the flat spot on the back of his head.)

I like the rocker idea as well. Caleb would want to be up at all hours of the night and I was just too tired, so I would go to sleep on the couch, where I couldn't roll over and he would rest in the crook of my arm...

[peggyfromwastate]

Re: Baby Whisperers, please

The only way I ever got sleep with my singletons at this stage was with them next to me in the bed. :huh: I'm assuming you don't want that-- esp when your husband comes back, but this may be desperation time.

Hang in there! It's so frustrating, I know.

[spotty_dog]

Re: Baby Whisperers, please

Some babies just need to be that close to mama. I've heard that sometimes with a high-touch baby, you can "fill his cup" of contact with mommy during the day by keeping him close in a baby carrier. Then he might tolerate more separateness at night.

But, I'm also one who brought my babe to bed. I gave the bassinet the ol' college try, but we all slept best with him curled in the crook of my arm. For what it's worth, he's doing great in a crib now (which we didn't even buy until 7 months.)

Another consideration: if you think you can make time to watch a fairly short DVD, the Happiest Baby on the Block shows a pretty specific way to use the swing. If you can calm the baby and put him in the swing and immediately get it going fast, especially if he's swaddled while he's in there, you might get a better result.

You're doing awesome, mama, I hope you still have someone to lean on out there with you!

[Deebs]

Re: Baby Whisperers, please

We had a really tough time with DS - hang in there. We had success with a vibrating bouncy chair, and the swing going sideways, not front to back. Our pediatrician also recommended stomach sleeping at nap time in the same room as I was in (so I could keep an eye on him), and that worked really well. DS is 4 months old and still a crummy sleeper, but he has gotten progressively better. There are still nights he's in the swing all night, and I've really taken on the motto of "whatever works." I can't imagine going through that without my DH here to at least vent my frustration too, as well as give me a break. You're doing awesome! Hope you get some rest tonight.

[fluffhead]

Re: Baby Whisperers, please

don't tell the local child protective services, but we gave up on sleeping on the back with our last 3 babies.
The risk doesn't really seem that much significantly greater when you read the literature, and they've all slept SO much better on their tummies.
And they don't have weirdly shaped heads like our first did, sleeping on her back all the time. (she outgrew that...)

[Phoebe]

Re: Baby Whisperers, please

With my last two, I put them in bed with me when dh wasn't in there. We both slept.

[Sheherezade]

Re: Baby Whisperers, please

My kids also ended up in bed with me. If you want to avoid that, the only tricks or tips that haven't been suggested yet would be to put him down to sleep with his sling carrier or your shirt. I used to get a few extra hours of "alone time" by letting mine snuggle next to that familiar smell. Eventually, they'd miss the warmth and realize it wasn't mommy.

[peggyfromwastate]

Re: Baby Whisperers, please

don't tell the local child protective services, but we gave up on sleeping on the back with our last 3 babies.
The risk doesn't really seem that much significantly greater when you read the literature, and they've all slept SO much better on their tummies.
And they don't have weirdly shaped heads like our first did, sleeping on her back all the time. (she outgrew that...)

The NICU always has them sleeping on their stomachs. When I asked the NICU nurse about it, she said, "They sleep better that way." (With a "duh" expression on her face.) Another nurse standing there jumped in and said, "It's OK for us to do that because the babies are all hooked up to monitors."

I think they DO sleep a lot better on their tummies, as a rule. :huh:

[Meenah]

Re: Baby Whisperers, please

No advice, just a big hug. I would do whatever it takes to make things go as smoothly as possible for you.

[migirl]

Re: Baby Whisperers, please

My babies sleep with me too. I think it's fine if you do it right (e.g., no pillows or blankets near baby). But do whatever makes you most comfortable and is easiest for you. I also occasionally put my kids down to sleep on their tummies. Both of my kids hated the swing, but loved our vibrating bouncy seat. Like I said, do whatever you need to to get through these first few months...

[v-girl]

Re: Baby Whisperers, please

We co-sleep. But Kenny (who doesn't even have a crib) would also sleep in his bouncy seat. We had 2 (one for living room, one for our room). It was a lifesaver! I wish they made them with a higher weight limit!

[PrincessFiona]

Re: Baby Whisperers, please

Ugh. Co-sleepers here too. It is the only way that I survived the sleeplessness. I'm a light sleeper and so I didn't worry about the issue of rolling over, etc.

7 weeks to go though? :rah:

I'll be so happy for you when he is back!

Kris