What is so challenging about Night Time?

I am confused because I honestly can't figure out if I have the normal night time challenges of most parents, or if something is wrong with my son. I'm a first-time mom, so please excuse if this is totally normal... and I know I've posted about this dozens of times already, so again... thanks to all the awesome moms who posted their wonderfully supportive, sweet, and helpful suggestions. However, I still need some clarification.

I'm wondering why exactly parents need tools like CIO and other sleep training techniques. It's my guess that most parents would use CIO or the like to get their kids to sleep through, or to get "night owls" to learn to put themselves to sleep. Am I right?

My issue is this: BOTH of my boys go to sleep right away after their night feeding, with relatively little prompting. Jacob usually then sleeps for about 5-6 hours (please don't let that jinx me! hehe). Jackson wakes after about 30 minutes... fusses/passes gas/ drifts in and out of sleep (mostly awake thought) for a few hours off and on... then finally goes to sleep about 3-4 hours after he first went to sleep. Is that a normal challenge? I am really thinking that maybe his formula is causing him stomach issues (I BF most ofthe time except for his night bottle- he prefers the bottle... and I don't eat any dairy, soy, or wheat so he has no other dairy exposure except his night time bottle). But maybe he is just fighting sleep? I don't think so because he goes down well for naps (again... hoping that won't jinx me) and he even goes down well at night time except for the waking/fussing/insanity that ensues for hours after his inital jaunt into dreamland.

Any thoughts? Just knowing if this is some variation on normal would help me out a ton.


Thank you all again-- you are SO amazing-- every last one of you!!

 

Emma used to be the same way to a certain point. Do you go in there or just let him work it out for himself? Does he have reflux, could that be bothering him? My girls were bad refluxers and had a rough time getting to sleep some nights.

 

both of my girls do this. They never really cry out. it is mostly just a whimper and i will go in a pat or give a paci and they will go back to sleep for a while & then they will do it again. At some point I will probabley have to let them work it out on their own, but right now it just easier to give them their paci & a pat. good luck and maybe you will get some good suggestions because I need them too.

Missy

 

My DD used to cry for 2-3 hours straight at night time. I found something that works for us is that I take the johnsons massage gel and rub her back. She loves it and it relaxes her and calms her right down. I was going crazy for a while there though. I know it is very hard when they are crying nonstop like that at night when you are already tired enough.

 

QUOTE(CROSSTWINS @ Nov 8 2007, 07:47 AM) [snapback]486853[/snapback]
both of my girls do this. They never really cry out. it is mostly just a whimper and i will go in a pat or give a paci and they will go back to sleep for a while & then they will do it again. At some point I will probabley have to let them work it out on their own, but right now it just easier to give them their paci & a pat. good luck and maybe you will get some good suggestions because I need them too.

Missy


That doesn't sound much fun either... my problem though is that he doesn't go back to sleep even with a paci or soothing for the 3-4 hours. He just fusses (in my arms or not-- I usually do hold him though because he seems as frustrated by it as I am) and writhes but won't go back to sleep until I finally work out tons of burps/farts, and then feed him another small bottle (though if I try the bottle right away it does not work). He will sometimes drift off in my arms then wake up moments later wailing (again-- gas!). I think I am going to try changing his formula and see what happens.

Good luck to you... I hope you can get some good, solid rest at your house soon, too! :hug99:

 

My James does this many nights. It takes him ages to get into a deep sleep. I am in his room every thirty minutes doing bum pats and paci replacements. If you want to rule out a formula issue try giving him a bottle of expressed milk a couple of nights in a row to see if that helps. If not, he probably just needs more time to learn to transition from one phase of sleep to the next. Don't worry - you'll get there. Sounds like you're doing a great job.

 

Some thoughts- Does Jackson have reflux? Have you tried gas drops (mylicon)? Does he seem sleepy before you feed them? Can you feed him first and then Jacob because maybe you are missing your window of opportunity and he gets overtired and it becomes a vicious cycle and its that much harder for him to fall asleep.

 

QUOTE(twinboys07 @ Nov 8 2007, 12:27 AM) [snapback]486603[/snapback]
I.. and I don't eat any dairy, soy, or wheat so he has no other dairy exposure except his night time bottle).



If this is the only time he has these problems and this bottle is the only difference I would say that's probably the problem. I'm dairy/soy free and I've been thinking of doing a formula bottle at night but I'm worried about this same thing. My daughter grunts, wiggles, squirms, cries and slips in and out of sleep from about 10 pm until midnight each night...sounds similar.

On another note, why are you cutting all of that? Did you discover a wheat allergy this early? If so, what where symptoms. AND...what they heck do you eat girl?? I feel like I could starve just being off of dairy and soy.

 

QUOTE(girls! @ Nov 8 2007, 09:34 AM) [snapback]487021[/snapback]
If this is the only time he has these problems and this bottle is the only difference I would say that's probably the problem. I'm dairy/soy free and I've been thinking of doing a formula bottle at night but I'm worried about this same thing. My daughter grunts, wiggles, squirms, cries and slips in and out of sleep from about 10 pm until midnight each night...sounds similar.

On another note, why are you cutting all of that? Did you discover a wheat allergy this early? If so, what where symptoms. AND...what they heck do you eat girl?? I feel like I could starve just being off of dairy and soy.


I did an allergy elimination diet because my boys were both hysterical, extremely colicky, and then developed eczema. I used the Dr. Sears Elimination Diet (which is kind of like a bland version of Thanksgiving...!) then slowly added in new things. Within 24 hours of starting the diet, their eczema completely disappeared. In 3 days, they were like totally new babies! When I tried to add in dairy, Jacob developed green mucousy stools & a resurgence of reflux symptoms and worse colic. He also got worse with soy. Jackson *seemed* to be fine with those but developed eczema and ridiculously bad gas with the wheat. So, I just cut them all out. I basically eat chicken, brown rice, sweet potatoes, bananas, rice cakes w/ sunflower butter (my "treat"), green beans, grapes, and a couple other similar foods. I season it all with olive oil & sea salt. Lots of calcium supplementation... and counting down the days till I can feast on a Hot Chocolate Lava Cake!!! It may seem extreme, but it makes my babies happy and healthier, so it's worth it.

My family has a lot of major, severe allergy issues, so that's why I decided to take the leap and do something like this. Added bonus is that I am not gaining ANY weight... and I actually feel pretty good eating so healthily!

Here are photos of Jackson before & after the elimination diet (taken 24 hours apart!). I didn't believe how quickly the eczema cleared up until I experienced it with my own eyes, in my own kids:

http://s181.photobucket.com/albums/x204/jo...rent=eczema.jpg
http://s181.photobucket.com/albums/x204/jo...aftereczema.jpg

 

I would try breast feeding at night just before bed instead of a bottle. They should be able to sleep just as long and maybe go to sleep better. Why are you feeding a bottle then. My little ones go 7 and 9 hours at night with just bf. You don't need to give them a bottle to have them sleep longer.

 

I would also try breastfeeding him and seeing if it goes away. Or you can pump and put it in the bottle if you really think he needs the bottle. It's normal for a baby to wake up for a short time 30-60 min after breastfeeding but he probably should be settling back down to sleep. With all the burping you're experiencing, he may have a stomach issue with the formula. Since you have breastmilk, that would be best for him. Good luck!