Sleep issues with our newborns

First of all, let me say how gad I am to have found you all. I am a first time mom to twins, and boy do I have a lot of questions. This is the first of what I am sure will be many posts.

My husband and I have a boy and a girl (Dathan and Daelyn). They are two months old, and I hate to say it, but they both have colic. They were born at thirty-six weeks, with low birth weights so we were overly concerned about them gaining weight. The doctor said to minimize any stressors b/c that would burn calories they needed. To keep them from crying we would hold them to our chest. This is now a habit- the only way they sleep. Now we are trying to break this before it turns into something really major.

We started by moving the babies to their cribs in the nursery from basinets in our room. Daughter is transitioning fairly well. Son is traumatized. He sleeps for no more than ten minutes once we put him down. As I said before, they are very colicky. He clearly has tummy aches, and is only happy on our chests. How can we soothe him, and get him to sleep in his own bed? With twins we are doubly sleep deprived and are just not confortable with them sleeping with us. When we do sleep it is a deep sleep. I am afraid of accidents.

Any advice, experience, tips would be helpful. We are desperate for some sleep.

 

Laying flat could be part of the problem. he is inclined when on your chest. Do you have a baby swing? Try seeing if he will sleep in that or per haps his car seat

 

big hugs to you and DH...I remember those days all too well. Our girls went through about 3 or 4 weeks of true colic. One thing that helped my girls was being on their tummies. Yes, I know, "back to sleep" but they slept on their tummies in the NICU and got accustomed to it. Also, do you have any friends or family close that could come help out with a night shift once a week or so? I know that it was easier for me to make it through the night if I knew I had reinforcements the next night.

At this point, you do whatever it takes to survive. Good luck momma!

 

:welcome: I'm glad you found us!

Do they have reflux?

Are you swaddling, have white noise, low light/no light?

As far as sleep goes, at this point you need to do what it takes so that you ALL get that much needed sleep! Emma slept in her swing(all night!) and Jake next to me in bed for the first 3 months. At that point I transitioned them to one crib.

Colic is no fun, and you are right in the thick of it!

:hug:

 

QUOTE(becky5 @ Jun 21 2009, 10:56 PM) [snapback]1363324[/snapback]
:welcome: I'm glad you found us!

Do they have reflux?

Are you swaddling, have white noise, low light/no light?

As far as sleep goes, at this point you need to do what it takes so that you ALL get that much needed sleep! Emma slept in her swing(all night!) and Jake next to me in bed for the first 3 months. At that point I transitioned them to one crib.

Colic is no fun, and you are right in the thick of it!

:hug:


What she said! The colic could be caused by or aggravated by underlying reflux! My dd was diagnosed after her 2 month dr appt with it! You can also try inclining the crib mattress by folding a blanket underneath the head of the mattress so it's raised up a bit. Not too high or baby will squirm down to the foot!

Hang in there, it does get easier, it started to turn around at about 3 months for us!! :hug:

 

I would also suggest swaddling and white noise... I had my girls sleep in their boppies for the first couple months. I swaddled them up, and laid them on their sides in the boppies so they were elevated somewhat. They slept right next to our bed so I could keep an eye on them and make sure they didn't slide down or anything.
While it feels like forever right now, it does get better!!

 

Hi,

I'm really sorry your going through this it's especially hard when your not getting any sleep! Our girls were colicky and a few weeks later diagnosed with reflux. Like everyone else has suggested.. sleeping inclined is a must if you find they do have reflux, so we had ours in carseats or swings. We swaddled them up so they were nice and snug and they slept so much better than just being under a blanket. I hope this passes soon for you x

 

:hug: Ours slept very well on our chests too. We also used a swing since they had to be upright for 30 minutes after each feeding due to reflux. But they transitioned cold turkey into their cribs at 4 months without issue. I would do whatever you can to get some sleep. If that means holding them here and there, I would do it.

I would definitely try a swaddle and some white noise or even putting them in the swing. GL!

:welcome: I am glad you found us :hug:

 

Like pp's said, white noise, reflux all that good stuff.

One other thing. Pro-biotics have beed shown to help babies with reflux, gas, and colic. You can order it http://www.swansonvitamins.com/LoginForm for a pretty good price. It has worked on all my little ones. Totally safe and out Dr is on board with it. For the reflux for Lia the meds the dr was trying her out just were not working. Only made it worse with the vomiting. I put her on the P.B. and within a couple days no more problems. Make sure you get the one for babies. Adult formulas are to much for them. Hope this helps

 

QUOTE(mollyjm+2 @ Jun 22 2009, 10:04 AM) [snapback]1363726[/snapback]
Like pp's said, white noise, reflux all that good stuff.

One other thing. Pro-biotics have beed shown to help babies with reflux, gas, and colic. You can order it http://www.swansonvitamins.com/LoginForm for a pretty good price. It has worked on all my little ones. Totally safe and out Dr is on board with it. For the reflux for Lia the meds the dr was trying her out just were not working. Only made it worse with the vomiting. I put her on the P.B. and within a couple days no more problems. Make sure you get the one for babies. Adult formulas are to much for them. Hope this helps


That's interesting Molly. I wish I would have thought to try that with my refluxers(all 5! :wacko: ). We have the probiotic powder which is safe for infants up to adults.

 

Would it help to know that the only time there has ever been cases of a parent harming a child who was sleeping with them, drugs or alcohol were found to be envolved? It is a myth that a parent will roll over on a sleeping child, and it is a fact that the sounds of an adult's sleep breathing sooths babies and teaches them how to sleep themselves.
And no you won't be sleeping with a couple of teenagers.