Not sleeping at night have tried everything

My boy/girl twins are six weeks old. They were born at 34 weeks and spent a month at the hospital. When at the hospital they were very quite slept between feedings, perfect babies... but when we brought them home it was a different story. They are up all night and sleep all day. I've tried tummy time and doing their physical therapy plus other various tricks during the day but nothing keeps them awake. I thought they just needed to adjust to their new home but it's been over three weeks so I don't think that was the problem. My son suffers from reflux and constipation which contributes to his non-sleeping problem He was put on Prilosec yesterday for the reflux and pear juice for the constipation, pear juice didn't seem to help much. He will only sleep in his car seat because it's elevated, breaking that habit will probably be my next post. The only time my daughter screams is after her last feeding before we go to bed. She doesn't have any issues with reflux or constipation and generally doesn't wake up when her brother screams..... Please HELP!!!!!

 

at that age - have you tried swaddling? we followed the Happiest Baby on the Block theory...

Swaddling, Sushing - white noise, Sucking with pacis etc.

Ours would resist the swaddle at first, but if you kept their arms in and swaddled them tight they would calm down and they started missing night feedings and sleeping through them.

A few weeks after I started swaddling I remembered that my HBOTB set came with a cd, of white noises, and I started playing them... the first night it worked miracles... we've played it ever since... alllllll night long we hear the rain!

 

QUOTE(S.Martintwin @ Mar 12 2009, 02:34 AM) [snapback]1224476[/snapback]
My boy/girl twins are six weeks old. They were born at 34 weeks and spent a month at the hospital. When at the hospital they were very quite slept between feedings, perfect babies... but when we brought them home it was a different story. They are up all night and sleep all day. I've tried tummy time and doing their physical therapy plus other various tricks during the day but nothing keeps them awake. I thought they just needed to adjust to their new home but it's been over three weeks so I don't think that was the problem. My son suffers from reflux and constipation which contributes to his non-sleeping problem He was put on Prilosec yesterday for the reflux and pear juice for the constipation, pear juice didn't seem to help much. He will only sleep in his car seat because it's elevated, breaking that habit will probably be my next post. The only time my daughter screams is after her last feeding before we go to bed. She doesn't have any issues with reflux or constipation and generally doesn't wake up when her brother screams..... Please HELP!!!!!


Ugh, you have lots going on there. I would say you are about at the 6 week peak and they are probably going through a growth spurt. Mine were exactly like that when I brought them home from the NICU. They were on this glorious 3 hour feeding schedule and then went to you know what in a handbasket the second night home from the NICU.

I wouldnt worry about tummy time right now if it is stressing you out. It will aggravate the reflux as well. Pear juice did help us with constipation. We diluted it with water, 1/2 ounce to 1/2 ounce up to 3 times a day if necessary.

We had nasty reflux too and that just makes matters harder as if you didnt have enough to deal with right What worked for us for reflux was Prevacid, thickened feeds with rice cereal up to 2 tsps. per ounce of formula per the Ped GI, keeping them upright after feeding for at least 30 mins, and sleeping them on an incline either in a car seat, swing, or sleep positioner that was elevated for the crib. Mine slept in their swings, bouncys, carseats, and on me or DH for at least the first 3 months. We went into the crib cold turkey with out too much of an issue, so I wouldnt worry too much about creating bad habits right now. Just do what you can to keep everyone happy and trying to get some rest. :hug:

I second the Happiest Baby on the Block book. That will give you some great soothing tips. And a great read is Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. That will give you some more info on sleep milestones based on adjusted age and such.

Hang in there. There will be a light at the end of the tunnel.

 

QUOTE(DATJMom @ Mar 11 2009, 11:01 PM) [snapback]1224517[/snapback]
I second the Happiest Baby on the Block book. That will give you some great soothing tips. And a great read is Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. That will give you some more info on sleep milestones based on adjusted age and such.

Hang in there. There will be a light at the end of the tunnel.


Ditto. Hugs and I hope things start going more smoothly for you soon!

 

I second Happiest baby on the block .... a must for the first 3 months. Since you are awake anyways after you finish that book read Healthy sleep habits happy child --- a second must.

What happens is babies peak in fussiness at 6 weeks past their DUE DATE, so yes you have a bit more to go. Their brain just wakes up during this time and all you can do is try some of the suggestions in HBOTB like swaddling to see what will help. It really is just survival mode during this time. Remember if you need to eat, shower or bathroom, then the babies will just have to cry. After this 6 week peak it starts to improve. My dh would swaddle so well there was no way those babies could get out. Also my one daughter loved to be on our knees on her tummy and patting her bottom. There is the "witching hour" which is after supper and babies get fussy. My daughter cried for two hours straight and stopped almost right at 8 pm. During those times I just gave her to my dh and he put her over his shoulder and patted her bottom... she still cried but not as hard. Also, during the day don't keep them up more than 1-1.5 hours. If they get too stimulated they get overtired and it makes it worse at night for you. By the time you feed them, change a diaper it is often time to start to swaddle and try to get them back to sleep. This is were "company" can make this difficult.

The book Healthy sleep habits happy child will help explain some of what is going on now plus it will help you get them into a routine when they are 3-4 months of age. During this time there is no such thing as routine/schedule just survival. Try to get out of the house even for an hour or two to rejuvinate yourself.

We have all been there and we know it really is difficult. Hope our advice helps you

Heather

 

QUOTE(S.Martintwin @ Mar 12 2009, 02:34 AM) [snapback]1224476[/snapback]
My boy/girl twins are six weeks old. They were born at 34 weeks and spent a month at the hospital. When at the hospital they were very quite slept between feedings, perfect babies... but when we brought them home it was a different story. They are up all night and sleep all day. I've tried tummy time and doing their physical therapy plus other various tricks during the day but nothing keeps them awake. I thought they just needed to adjust to their new home but it's been over three weeks so I don't think that was the problem. My son suffers from reflux and constipation which contributes to his non-sleeping problem He was put on Prilosec yesterday for the reflux and pear juice for the constipation, pear juice didn't seem to help much. He will only sleep in his car seat because it's elevated, breaking that habit will probably be my next post. The only time my daughter screams is after her last feeding before we go to bed. She doesn't have any issues with reflux or constipation and generally doesn't wake up when her brother screams..... Please HELP!!!!!



Just wanted to come on and say hi :wavey:
I'm sorry your going through a tough time right now. I can relate to everything you have mentioned!!!! My girls are 10 wk (6wk adjusted) both suffering with rfelux and they are definately fussier babies to what they were a couple of wks back.
I hope the meds kick in for the reflux, i'm sure that will make dealing with everything else easier to bear. It seems we are at the hardest part right now and just have to ride the wave in which ever way works.
I have found that last wk was alot tougher in the screaming stakes than this wk so maybe we have reached the peak and things are calming down abit more now.. wishful thinking maybe lol
Sorry i can't solve your problem but just know that you are not alone in this and things have to get better in time!!
Take good care
Liz xxxx

 

:grouphug: I am sorry that you are having such a hard time right. Lack of sleep is difficult! Our babies did not have reflux but they both went through day/night confusion and the witching hour.
You are doing the right thing during the day and giving them the cues that this is the time they should be up. We would also keep our curtains open during the day to have a lot of light in the living room so they would eventually learn it's day time. At nap and night time, we would take them to their room with the curtains closed to try signal sleepy time. It took a while for them to learn the difference but they eventuall did.
As for the witching hour, it was brutal and for us it was something that they grew out of as they got older (probably around 8 weeks).
Hang in there, it will get better!

 

:hug: My girls were also born at 34 weeks and at 6 weeks old (0 adjusted) they started to 'wake up' and be more demanding. The one thing we did to help them differentiate day from night was to keep them out in the living room during the day. Its a very bright room and even though they did sleep after bottles, it was amidst the noise of the house. At night we were all business and they slept in our room in a pnp with their heads propped up (we had reflux too). We kept the lights dim while feeding, we changed diapers before the bottle, fed, burped, swaddled and then back to bed.

Don't worry about forming 'bad habits' right now- you can't since the babies have no concept of cause-and-effect. If your DS sleeps better in his carseat because he is upright just be happy for sleep. You are in the thick of it now and whatever you can do to get some rest (for you and the babies) its all good.

Oh and I also recommend Happiest Baby on the block. Get the DVD since you don't have time to read it. We followed the swaddling, shushing, and bouncing and it really worked well. :hug:

 

Thanks everyone. Last night was so much better. Gabe seems to be taking well to his medication and it has helped control some of his fussiness. I also love the Happiest Baby on the Block. We took a class about the book when I was pregnant and it seems to help with Sophie. I know this is just a phase we will have to endure for another couple weeks. Thank goodness it's not forever!

 

Agree completely with all the suggestions of the PP's. My daughter also suffered a lot from constipation when she was tiny, and we found the only thing that worked for us was prune jucie diluted 50/50 with water.

Good luck and hang in there