# Help with newborn nighttime grunting



## Talon's Mom

So the last few nights have been really tough. I have a 2 and 1/2 week old son who up until now was waking every three hours to breastfeed and going back to sleep in between. We are co-sleeping. For the last few nights the schedule has gone like this-

Nursing to sleep at 9-10pm and then waking 2-3 hours later to breastfeed again.

When he gets up that 1st time to feed the schedule then changes into 5 minutes of breastfeeding before falling asleep at the breast despite efforts to keep him awake. Then he sleeps soundly for about 1/2 hour. Then he starts grunting and wriggling and kicking legs and just generally seems uncomfortable until we breastfeed again and the pattern repeats itself for the rest of the night.

I have tried getting a burp and not getting a burp. Last night I bicycled his legs a bit. I have tried gas drops but that has resulted in him spitting up.

Any ideas on this nighttime grunting? For the last time he got up after he ate I tried propping him up on a firm pillow (which I'm aware is a no-no) and he slept for a whole hour before grunting himself awake.

Could this be because we're nursing lying down? Or a milk sensitivity? Or a growth spurt? Help!

TIA!


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## 2goingon2

My little guy did exactly what you described. I was certain he had some sort of reflux so I checked with his pediatrician. He told me it was all part of being a newborn...completely normal and it would pass. I told him in my gut I thought something was amiss and he said he understood and we could sit and discuss it for 30 minutes and his reply would be the same: normal. He was right. Around 6 -8 weeks my little guy "evened out" and stopped all the grunting and squirming. Hang in there!


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## Talon's Mom

Thank you so much, this makes me feel a lot better about it. He hasn't slept that much today so far so I'm hoping for a more restful night.


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## GoGoGirl

Yeah, it could just be normal baby stuff. When DD was that age, I thought all the grunting and squirming meant she was hungry, and I would wake her up to feed her. It turns out, she just grunts and squirms (even now, at almost 4 months) when she's in her active sleep cycles. Some babies grunt and squirm when they have to pee, that's another possibility. Or maybe it is a growth spurt, the timing seems about right.

It's so hard to figure out, isn't it? I remember at that age, I had to put so much effort into figuring out DD's cues. By now though, we have our rhythm together, I usually just know what she needs. You'll get there! And until then, I hope you get some sleep


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## IndianaMomToBe

My dd does this too, except she grunts ans squirms to pass poo or gas. It's usually during or after a feeding. She is 3 weeks 2 days.

I've taken dairy out of the diet thinking it was an allergy issue. Giving her a very small amount of digestive enzyme in some of my breast milk before feedings makes for restful long periods of sleep and little fussing/ crying.

Makes me think the reasion they grow out of it later is because their digestive systems aren't mature enough yet. Thoughts?


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## curious&eager

My 2.5 week old is doing the same exact thing. He sleeps with us and it seems like he grunts most of the night. Unfortunately, he does it when he's trying to poo, and he tries to poo when he eats, but he does not handle eating and grunting well at the same time, so our nighttime feedings have been much tougher the past few nights because he won't stop squirming. It's weird to me because he used to poo so easily before, but now it seems like a chore for the tiniest of poos. They're nice and soft, so I didn't worry about constipation, but I'm glad to hear from you guys that this is normal.


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## nalusj

Hmmm... my dd still does this and she is 14 weeks old! She'll sleep a good 3-4 hours and then squirm, grunt, and kick her legs to wake herself up every 1-2 hours for the rest of the night. I am going to try putting her on her tummy tonight and she if this helps. She holds her head up and rolls to her side/back (in co-sleeper) no problem so I'm not worried about breathing issues. I'm thinking she will feel more comforted and less exposed on her tummy?


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## IndianaMomToBe

Have you tried swaddling? It does wonders for my babe at night.


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## BirthKathy

Check into the forum about Elimination Communication. My son is 11 1/2 weeks, and he pops on and off the breast or squirms and grunts. At 7 weeks, we started offering him the potty when he would do that. Now he nurses for about 10 minutes, pulls off and we take him to the potty. After he poops and pees, he comes back and finishes feeding. We sometimes potty him again after he finishes up, and then put him to sleep. We aren't sleeping through the night or anything, but we are getting several stretches of 2 to 3 1/2 hrs each. The pottying does add extra time in between, but a new bonus is that the baby now burps on the potty too! So that almost makes up for it. A happy dry baby totally makes up for the extra time spent.

-Kathy


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## IndianaMomToBe

Quote:


Originally Posted by *BirthKathy* 
At 7 weeks, we started offering him the potty when he would do that. Now he nurses for about 10 minutes, pulls off and we take him to the potty. After he poops and pees, he comes back and finishes feeding. We sometimes potty him again after he finishes up, and then put him to sleep. We aren't sleeping through the night or anything, but we are getting several stretches of 2 to 3 1/2 hrs each.

Did that help stop the fussing and grunting?


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## Comtessa

My DD did the same thing for her first weeks, which constantly woke up both me and DH. I just steeled myself to put up with it, but then she stopped doing it around 6 weeks or so. I've found that swaddling makes an _enormous_ difference for us - she can't wake herself up with her flailing arms and legs, and she doesn't grunt in her sleep as much either. Most babies are calmer when sleeping on their tummies too (I won't do this unless she's supervised, though, until she's big enough to roll over).

We have a cosleeper next to the bed, and I keep her in that until she starts grunting a lot in the morning, then I bring her into bed with us, which calms her enough to sleep for another hour or so.

ETA: I just noticed in your post that you're also having trouble keeping him awake at the breast, which means he's probably hungry at night, which is probably contributing to him waking so often and sleeping restlessly. Try this: nurse him on one side until he falls asleep, then change his diaper (or if he's dry, just take the diaper off and wipe him - a wet wipe on the bottom will wake up _anybody_), then nurse him to sleep on the other side. This is what finally worked for us to get DD to sleep for more than an hour or so at a stretch.


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## BirthKathy

Hi IndianaMomtobe,

Yes, the fussing and grunting is his signal for needing to pee or poop. Once we respond to his needs with the potty, he goes and then he can focus on eating or sleeping again.

Kathy


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