Loud Grunting, Snorting While Asleep

Just wanted to let you know, my now 3 month old son did the same thing. We took him to ped for it and he was diagnosed with reflux. Reading your post, I can totally relate. His started right at a month old too and it was so so loud in the middle of the night that my husband and I would take turns sleeping out of the room bc it was impossible to sleep through! And he was extremely squirmy too! Once he was diagnosed, I did some research and found that there was an overwhelming amount of connection between newbees that grunted and squirmed at night and reflux. He has been on Zantac since he was one month old and he is doing much better. But I was such a zombie during the day trying to take care of him and my 2 yr old. You might want to check into that and see if maybe that's the cause. The way you describe it makes me relive it! It's sound identical to what happened to me. I hope you get some rest and are able to find out what's going on. :)P.S. You might want to ask your ped about putting baby to sleep on tummy or side. I know it's not recommended and you should do what you are comfortable with, but I will tell you that I tried it and it was the first night I got 6 hours of sleep. HTH! :)

Sure that is possible. Does she spit up alot? It could be reflux.I would make sure she burps really well before you lay her down after her bottle. Just in case she might be having some uncomfortability in her tummy when she lays down. I would also lay her on her side, I think its the left side? Im not sure. One side is preferred over the other for better digestion. You can swaddle her and do a rolled up blanket in front and back of her to keep her at the incline and on her side. (I finally figured my son was waking at night cuz he had to burp. As soon as I would pick him up and pat him, he would burp and then go back to sleep. And he was as old as 18months.) And also make sure there is enough humidity in the room. She might feel too dry to breathe comfortably. You can moisturize her nostrils w/ vaseline or a tiny drop of saline. And elevate her mattress at the head just slightly. Try 1 of these at a time to see which works best. If none work then ask your pediatrician what they think it could be.

Hi M.,
From what you describe it sounds like your little one may be having some problems with reflux. If she is fine when she is in a more upright position, try propping her up a little at night too. My youngest daughter was diagnosed with reflux at 3 weeks. We had to either keep her in her car seat, swing, or bouncy when we weren't holding her. The doctor told me to stick a pillow under her crib mattress to prop it up a little. This did wonders for her. I would speak to your pediatrician about it, but mean time, try propping her a little at night. It can mean the difference between you getting some rest and being up all night.

Congratulations and good luck! I hope this helps!

Hi M. -

I agree with Teresa that this sounds like reflux. My 3 1/2 month old has the same issue, and is just getting over a double ear infection that the pediatrician said was a result of congestion caused by reflux. This can be serious, so is definitely something you want to mention to the doctor. My son takes Prevacid twice a day, and it really seems to help. We also bought one of those wedges you can place under the crib sheet on the mattress and it helps also. You could also try the pillow under the mattress, or propping the end of the crib where her head will be by putting books under the legs on that side. The more elevated the head and chest the better. Hopefully this is something they will grow out of fast! Good luck!!

J.

M.,

Next week my son, almost 3, will be having a tonsilectomy due to obstructive sleep apnea. I do not recall him having signs of it when he was a newborn, but when he was a month old, he was sleeping through the night & so I had him sleeping in the other room. We noticed his breathing problems at night when he was about 1.5. Just to be on the safe side, I would have your pediatrician check to see if her tonsils may be enlarged. My son sleeps fine in the upright position, but when he lays on his back, he can barely breathe. It wouldn't hurt to check & make sure that nothing is wrong.

Good luck & God bless!

I am a postpartum doula and have a lot of experience seeing this in some of my client's babies. It truly could be reflux going on since during the day your baby is elevated and she does better then. Try elevating the head of the bed for nightime as well. If it continues, gets worse or if she is spitting up with this grunting-head right to the Dr.! She may need to be treated by another way.

It definitely sounds like a reflux symptom. Both my middle daughter who is 2 and my 5 month old son had/have it. My son is on Zantac for it and sleeps on a wedge that I got at BabiesRus. He was so loud at night too that we had to move him into his room even though I am still nursing. Good luck.

I actually called my son grunty boy since he was so loud at night when he slept. I put him in the hall just outside my door so he wouldn't wake me up. Always safe to check but it could be just her sounds.

child might need to see an ENT dr. To make sure every thing is o.k.

My daughter did exactly the same thing. It was sort of disturbing. I did start propping her up because I thought the same thing about being too flat. I cant be sure that that helped right away. I know that eventually she stopped though! The other thing we did was to stop swaddling her. We did it really tightly for a while when she was really small and that worked great, but then I remember thinking that if I were wrapped up so tight I couldn't move that I would grunt too. I'd experiment a little with the propping & swaddling, but she may just hve to grow out of it.

I see that a number of people have responded to this already, but I also think this sounds like a classic symptom of reflux. Both of my children have it, and I have had to elevate their cribs. It's a very simple solution, and usually does wonders for them. You can buy a crib wedge from Babies R Us that you insert under the mattress pad/sheets. She may slide down in throughout the night, but that's pretty normal. Eventually she'll learn how to adjust herself in her sleep to stay on the wedge.

Also, talk to your pediatrician about it, to see if she needs medication. If she was colicky as an infant, it may have, in fact, been reflux instead of colic.

HTH!

A.

My first son had something like this. He had reflux, but he also had that piece of cartilidge in the back of the throat that was loose (or something like that?). He grew out of it. It is not harmful and happens with a lot of babies. At night we swaddled him and side slept him with a wedge and that really helped with the *snoring*. You could go to an ear, nose, throat specialist (we did) just to have it confirmed that it is nothing more serious.

Oh, and for the reflux we used Baby Bliss Gripe Water. Totally natural and worked like a charm! There is another brand but it did not work as well for us. We gave him a 1/2 dose (whatever was recommended on the label) after every nursing.

Good luck!

We raised the head of the bed a couple of inches and that seemed to help. Our little one didn't like sleeping on his back (he snorted, snored loudly and made grunting noices)and started turning over to his stomach, so we stopped fighting it and let him be how he wanted. All is well. I would suggest that you put the child in bed to sleep as to keep consistant with naps as she grows, that way you won't have a problem later trying to get her to take a nap. Best wishes!

There are sleeping wedges that go under your baby's crib sheet to keep her elevated safely. Target & Babies r us carry them.

I have the EXACT same issue with my one month old. She started doing it at bedtime around a week ago. I have no idea what it is, but I've attributed it to gas. I've tried burping her a little longer after nighttime feedings and I've been giving her those gas drops after every feeding after 5pm. It seems to have helped a little. We've also tilted her crib so that it's elevated a little on the end where she lays her head. I hope this helps.

It's probably nothing more than just drainage, like post-nasal drip, but I would just take her to her pediatrician to be sure.

hi! My daughter did the exact same thing- turned out she had reflux and when she laid on her back, it gathered in her throat and made snorting/gurgling noises, didn't seem to bother her but it drove me nuts. I had her sleep in a bouncy chair at night next to my bed for 2 months until it calmed down. Now she has no problems (she's 8 months). Babies tend to not really do well lying flat on their backs, it's not normal for them, and my ped said it was totally fine for her to sleep propped up on my arms or in a reclined chair.

my son did this as well...he is now almost 6 months old. we said he sounded like a farm animal!? and it was soo loud. he only did it at night as well...but he grew out of it. our pediatrician told us not to worry. maybe just try putting a pillow under her mattress to elevate her head a bit when she sleeps. but don't worry, if it is the same as our son, it is harmless. but it is always good to get a dr.'s opinion for peace of mind. the only thing i wish i would of done is tape it, bc it would be hilarious when he is older... ;-)

Hi M.,

Call your pediatrician/office nurse. See what is causing this loud noise.

Good luck. D.

Hi, don't know if this will help but if you place a wedge in her crib it might help. It sometimes helps the breathing process when you sleep on a slight incline.