My son was born 2 months premature, but has not had any health issues. Hes never been a good sleeper, always restless, tosses and turns all night.It seems as though he has gotten progressivley worse. We have been to the doctor and all health issues seem to be fine, we were even told to use benadryl to help him develop a sleep pattern, some nights it works some it doesnt. He will nap at daycare twice a day for an hour with no problems. I need any and all suggestions to help with this problem. We have tried everything we have read about, letting him cry it out, sleeping with us, we even went thru a stage where the only way anyone got sleep was to hold him on our chest in the recliner. Does anyone know of REAL sleep disorders in infants or premature babies? He wakes about 3 to 6 times a night.
We are still struggling, he is too big to swaddle, we tried the tv in the background, a fan, a noise machine, but nothing. I honestly think he just hasnt learned how to comfort himself and go back to sleep. We tried lavender, baths, reading...I think he is just a busy body and restless and wont lay/sit still for a book. We can get him to sleep but he still wakes ALOT in the night. He naps by himself at daycare and will wake after an hour, so I know he can do it.
Have you heard about "Happiest Baby on the Block"? Mommy and Me at Shawnee Mission Medical sells the DVD's. It covers the 5 s's, swaddling, shushing, etc, that the baby was used to in the womb and helps with the calming reflex. We went to a class a couple weeks ago (1st baby due in a week) and found it very informative.
I wish you all the luck and hope this helps some.
I also had a second child born 2 months early who had trouble sleeping. What I finally figured out (for my son) was that during the day it was loud in the house and at night the house was too quiet. I put a fan on to help create some noise. Anytime he slept, day or night, I used the fan. You could also try a sound machine or a cd. Anything that is calm and relaxing. Once I created noise at night he started sleeping better. It still took some time to get him to sleep through the night because it had become a habit.
I am sorry that so far nothing has worked to help your child sleep through the night. I bought a book 'Solve your Child's sleep problem' by Richard Ferber, M.D. I haven't read the entire book but the parts I read were very useful. This book explains in detail the different phases of sleep and importance of each one. Plus it talks about many different sleep problems (medical, schedules, associations, disturbances, etc) then it gives you some solutions to each situation or problem. I hope this helps. Good luck.
have you tried letting him sleep in a battery operrated baby bouncer or baby swing our daughter had colic real bad abd she slept in one for a month next to me sleeping on floor ao couch anything to get sleep
was going to ask how old now then saw it, does he go to sleep on own for daytime naps? Is he woke or does he wake on his own for these? What hour does he get put to bed? Even at true age of 8 months, allowing for the prematurity, he should be sleeping through the night or able to put himself back to sleep. Have you looked at the environmental issues?......after the above, I reviewed other responses, the sound machine sounds like a good idea, as we all know daycare settings are never quiet, so maybe your house at night is too quiet. My kids are now 17 and almost 13, but I remember all too well the "cry it out" nights, and they were almost impossible.
My son wasn't a preemie however he also had a hard time sleeping until a friend of mine sent me a natural sound machice. It connects to the crib and it can provide a number of sound effects from a heart beat, to beach sounds. It worked really well for him but was terrible for us because my sons bed was in our room until he turned one. Try Babies R US or any place that might sale baby items.
S.
My son was the same way when he was a baby. He being my second child and totally different from my daughter we had to learn the hard way! What I realized sometimes what he ate or how close to bedtime he ate made a difference. I thought a full tummy would make him sleep but for him it was uncomfortable. I also learned that the only thing that was waking him up was wetting his diaper so I gave him liquids earlier in the evening which meant he stayed dry through the night. What ever you try give it time...consistency is what matters and bad habits are really hard to break.
What kind of sleep pattern are you on? Meaning, do you sleep with the TV on...do you have noise around while he is sleeping?
I would try a nice warm bath before bed, use a lavender baby wash. Try a nice CD of nature sounds...this always helped my daughter. She likes sound while she sleeps, so instead of creating a TV habit, I bought her a nature CD. You will see that it will relax you too.
I had trouble with my 9 month old sleeping at night about a week ago or so. I put it on here too. His nights and days were backwards sorta. I got him out during the day a little more than usual, after waking him up around 8 a.m., and tried to wear him out all day. Sure, he still needed 2 naps like most babies. I think only 1 or 2 is necessary. Well, maybe you can try this too. Plus at night, Holding him is better than him being awake through the night. For until he sleeps ok on his own. I held my baby in my recliner where I usually sleep too for a short time. Maybe some soft music could help your baby sleep better.
I don't agree with some, of letting him cry it out. I tried that and once I picked him up, he went to sleep. I just don't like to do that to him. I learned that you can never show too much love for a baby and that it's not possible for them to be spoiled, really. They depend on their parents all the way. Well, sorry that I'm going on too much. I'm known to do that. I wish you luck!
Sorry I don't have any suggestions to help but wanted to let you know that you aren't alone. My daughter woke 3 or more times a night till she was over a yr old. She is now 18 months and still does not always sleep thru the night. I also tried everything to get her to sleep I don't agree with giving benadryl to help sleep if he doesn't need it though. Good luck and hope it gets better soon.
