5 mo restless sleep

[laohaire]

My 5 mo recently got into a habit that's been driving me bonkers.

She'll lay there... then lift her legs and tense her body.... then relax.... then do it again.... again.... again.... again.... hours on end. Asleep. Or at least with her eyes closed.

I love her to pieces and this is the first time I've ever felt annoyed with her. Not only can't I sleep, it's just annoying having someone next to you do that over and over.

Her signal to nurse at night is to roll to her side and sort of lunge with her mouth toward my nipple, and if my nipple isn't there, she'll roll back and try again. She does this with her eyes closed, so I assume she's somewhat asleep when she does this. I like this signal a lot; it wakes me up in a nice way, nobody gets upset, I can start nursing her quickly and we're all happy.

I wonder if her new habit is somewhat related to that signal since it has a similar timing and repetitiveness. But when I tried to feed her she didn't respond. Plus, if I don't start nursing her within, say, a minute or two of her giving me the "feed me" signal she ups the ante and cries. She isn't crying with her restless sleep even if I don't respond to her.

I've also tried cuddling her in case she was just searching me out (I sleep an inch away from her for my comfort, rather than pressed up against her like a lot of cosleeping moms seem to do ).

I think it's affecting her sleep as well, as I've noticed she seems more urgently tired for her naps lately and I think she's sleeping longer for her naps too (I never time them so I don't really know for sure).

Has anyone else seen this? Is there a need I'm not meeting?

[i*wish]

So sorry I can't help but to say that my 4.5month old has been doing that since she was very small! It's the weirdest thing I agree.... She doesn't do it for hours but for quite a bit of time. It seems like she is so restless and I too often wonder if there is something she needs. She's got thunder thighs and her when she drops her feet the whole bed shakes! Eventually she falls into a more peaceful sleep state. She's never been the best sleeper, unfortunately! Oh: she also does the same thing when she wants to nurse...so funny....

[LittleYellow]

One of my dd's does this and I'm pretty sure it's when there is a poop on the way because the nights that she does this there is inevitably a 5AM dirty diaper and then she goes back to sleep calmly.

I worry that this is poor sleep for her.

[smilla653]

DS did this starting at 3 months and I thought I was going crazy.. it was so weird!!! By the way, my DS had (and still has) the same nursing cues you describe of rolling over towards me open-mouthed, and I agree, it's cute.

Anyway, he was definitely extremely restless and was waking himself up, sometimes every hour! It may be a developmental thing, but I also think (in retrospect) he was teething. After about 2 months of this "issue" (on and off) his first tooth appeared and he stopped doing that. You might try a bit of tylenol or ibuprofin before bedtime as an experiement to see if it's something physiological.

[hollyhobbie]

i came to post the same thing! only my babe sleeps on his tummy so his bum goes up and down, up and down as he draws in his legs. i have oversupply issues and he has had alot of gas. i gave him rice cereal on the advice of a bfd'ing dr and that made the last two nights hell!!!!!! i am sure it is related to his gutts but i tell ya, i was on the floor in tears last night b/c he couldnt sleep and i am so damn frustrated and sleep deprived. i think it is worse b/c he is my second baby. i so wanted him to sleep. i found a link thru kellymom.com about restless babies and food additives being the culprit....i found this interesting as i have changed my diet to cut out/down on the sugar but have been eating some questionable things to get thru the cravings ie diet dr. pepper which i would never drink.
http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/
that's the main page but i'll see if i can link the restless babe info.
http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/information/breastfeeding.htm

this is the info from kellymom on food senitivities and bfd'ing

http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/food-sensitivity.html

hope this helps. i am considering doing the elimination diet to see if i get results then i wont make myself crazy. going to consult with a dietician soon i hope. called today.