# No sleep! Baby thrashing and crying!



## HunnyBunnyMummy (Apr 23, 2005)

My 5 month old dd co-sleeps with us, but we're not getting any sleep! She thrashes throughout the whole night, but especially in the morning. I would just let her thrash, but she starts crying (while still asleep) and scratches at her face. It takes a lot to wake her up and calm her crying, and she often rejects a feeding (even when still asleep).

The thrashing started when she was about 2 and half months old, but its gotten worse lately. For about two weeks when she was 4 months, she slept peacefully--but then again, she was also sick...

I normally start her off in her crib at night since she goes down around 7, but she starts her thrashing at 8:30-9, and at that time I take into bed with us for the night. If I calm her or feed her and put her back into her crib, she'll start thrashing and crying within 15 minutes.

Any advice? I just can't tell why she is thrashing and crying. Her cry sounds like her frustrated/angry cry, not a scared cry. But I can't figure out what is frustrating her so in her sleep. She is such a dear, and it breaks my heart to see her cry, thrash, and scratch at her face at night. Plus, my dh and I don't get much sleep!


----------



## diamond lil (Oct 6, 2003)

I am sorry about your poor babe. You mentioned that she was sick recently. Is it possible that she may have an ear infection? Perhaps her ears are bothering her when she is in the prone position (may also explain why she is scratching at her face).


----------



## nicholas_mom (Apr 23, 2004)

It sounds like night terrors....IS she under stress like no routine, mama away too much??? do you work???

Also, maybe she has reflux??? Try an elimination diet.

That just does not sound right. Have you spoken to your ped about this?


----------



## Ruthla (Jun 2, 2004)

I wonder if she'd like to be swaddled at night? Generally, newborns like it and older babies don't, but it might be worth trying, if it would prevent her from thrashing so much.

I also wonder if a sidecar arrangement would let you all get more sleep- you'd be right there if she needed you to rub her back or something like that during the night, but you'd all have a little more space to sleep.

I've heard of (older) kids having disrupted sleep and "hyperactivity" from exposure to artificial food additives, yellow food dye being the most common. What's your diet like? Could she be reacting to something in your diet?


----------



## BathrobeGoddess (Nov 19, 2001)

Another idea...if she is clawing at her face she might be teething...sounds like what my ds does when teething!


----------



## HunnyBunnyMummy (Apr 23, 2005)

Thanks all for advice! When I stumbled into the Mothering forum a couple of months ago, I knew I found the perfect forum!









Grace Prevailed: I asked my pediatrician to check her ears, but she said that they look fine. But dd pulls at them so much that the backs of them are raw.









nicholas_mom: I wondered about night terrors. I don't work and we try to stick to a routine, but we normally have 1-2 days a week where we go out and the routine gets a bit muddled. I'll try to pay more attention to notice if the trashing gets worse after our out-days. How do you normally help night terrors?

Ruthla: Swaddling. Haven't tried that yet. Will let you know how that goes. We don't really have room for a side-car (small apartment). My diet, though, could also be a cause...lately it hasn't been as good as it should be. I'll try cutting out dyes and additives.

BathrobeGoddess: We've thought she's been teething since she was a month old since she never really sucks on things, just gnaws them. :LOL But still no sign of any teeth...

Thank you all again! Will keep you posted.


----------



## HunnyBunnyMummy (Apr 23, 2005)

Still no luck. (Well, I haven't really given the change in diet enough time, though.) And it still is as odd as ever. I don't think that it is night terrors, since they happen everywhere from an the minute she falls asleep to a couple of hours after she falls asleep (during naps and night time). The even odder thing is that she seems to know when an episode is going to happen immediately after falling asleep, because those are the times she fights sleep the most.

Just don't know what to do. I try to hold her when she is thrashing and screaming because I just can't stand to see her thrash about by herself on the bed. Although holding her or not holding her doesn't really seem to make a difference.

I've already talked to my ped, but will try another one at the office tomorrow.


----------



## jdlobe (Jan 13, 2005)

Hi!
My daughter doesn't thrash around that much, but from about 4 months until now she will wake up crying, and sometimes really wailing. In my opinion, she is just a huge sleep fighter! She goes down really tough sometimes, doesn't nurse to sleep (I was nursing with a SNS system, so that may be why) and usually cries - sometimes loudly- before she goes to sleep. At night she wakes up doing the same thing. Often I just have to cuddle her and she'll go back to sleep, but sometimes, if she wakes up to much, she is almost hysterical and I have to stand up and rock her down. She never completely wakes up and goes down quickly.

If it's any consolation, her sleep has deepened alot in the past few months, where she will go down for longer periods at a time, and she will move around and vocalize, but settle herself before I get there, or wake up.

I just thought I'd write so you know that it happens to other kids to.


----------

