Anyone else have a restless sleeper?

[newmommy]

My DS(5mo) tosses and turns all night. When people ask me if he sleeps through the night, I say no. He will go down for the night anywhere from 9:45-11:00pm and wake up around 7 or 8 the next morning. BUT he has tossed and turned and scoots around (his cradle).

When we first put him down, he is OUT, but no soon after that the tossing begins. He sleeps in his cradle in our bedroom. DH is a WOHD and I work full time, so needless to say I am exhausted because I wake at every toss and turn and DH is sleeping away!

DH always says, just leave him be and let him put himself back to sleep. Sometimes he does, sometimes he doesn't. I feel so bad for him, I guess he is getting enough rest because he always wakes up smiling and ready to play. But I am EXHAUSTED!

Any ideas?

[michaelsmama]

Newmommy-
in Dr Sears' The Baby Book there is a long list of reasons babies toss and turn and wake at night - including uncomfortable sleepwear, too hot/cold, practicing new tricks (sitting, standing, rolling), not enough space, medical problems (first link below), and a host of other common problems. also, when mama returns to work, babies often wake a lot (mine wakes to nurse 2-4 times a night, depending on how his day has been - he's almost one year. sleeps in our bed though). If you don't have the book, i'd borrow or buy it and check out the section on nightwaking. is the cradle big enough for baby? may also be overtired and need to go down earlier...good luck!


http://askdrsears.com/html/7/T070400.asp
http://askdrsears.com/html/7/T071100.asp

[Holland73]

My ds (6 months yesterday) has been absolutely horrible for the past 2 weeks. He is constantly moving, moaning, groaning and sometimes wakes up and will talk and play for 2 hours in the wee hours of the morning.

Last night I finally had to put him into his crib, which is right next to my bed, because he was making so much noise and movement. He never wakes up crying and when I put him into his crib last night he sat and kicked and played for 2 hours (from 12.30-2.30am) until finally fell asleep on his own (no crying involved).

I have tried to "parent" him back to sleep, but as soon as I put him down (after he is passed out cold in my arms), he is wide awake again.

I have looked through all of Dr. Sears potential problems (I have the book) and none of them seem to apply to us.

What is going on with my baby? Something else strikes me now that I think about it...I have read this same or similar complaint on other boards and all the babies have been between 5-7 months.

[harvestmoon]

I can definitely sympathize with you - and your lack of sleep! I have a 15 month old who has never had what I would call a sound night of sleep. He wakes up on average 5 times every night, sometimes more. It seems as if I have tried every suggestion, but nothing seems to help him sleep for longer periods of time at night. I wonder how it effects him - I know waking up every 2 - 3 hours every night for the past year has definitely taken its toll on me - both physically and emotionally.

[Viola]

Babies have different sleep cycles, so I think some restlessness is normal. Does he get restless when he wants to eat, or is he just constantly restless after the first period of sleep. My daughter has periods of restlessness that seem to last a long time after she has nursed. When it does go on for a long time, I try changing her position or even putting her in the cosleeper next to our bed so I don't feel all the thumps and kicks. The other night I turned her on her side and pulled her back up close to my front and she settled right down.

Maybe if you moved the cradle farther away from your bed, it might not wake you up? I dunno. Hope you can find something that works for you.

[CeraMae]

DS just started becoming restless at night also. He was between 6-7 mo at the time. He went from blissfully sleeping to waking suddenly, crying, fighting for space, etc. I definitely think it has to do with crawling for a number of reasons. DH has started sleeping on the couch to give us more room and it has helped tremendously. Now DS will wake up, roll all over the bed, find a comfortable position, and fall back to sleep without needing me as close or needing to nurse. HTH