CASE STUDY: 8 week old won’t stop crying, poor napping

Ivy's sleep story...

Ivy had been born at full term and a good size, but she did unfortunately have a traumatic birth. From the outset she was a very unsettled baby, but being a first time mother Rebecca didn't know what was 'normal' or what to expect when it came to her baby's sleep, feeding or behaviour.

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Everyone told her the first 6 weeks were the hardest, so she assumed that Ivy's crying and catnapping would improve over time. Here's how their sleep journey went...

5 weeks old

Rebecca was doing her best to promote good sleep habits and had Ivy swaddled for naps and sleeping in a dark room with white noise playing. Despite this, she would only ever nap for 45 minutes at a time during the day.

Due to Ivy's traumatic birth and constant crying, it was recommended that Rebecca see an osteopath to correct any alignment issues. Fortunately, Ivy's head and neck were perfectly aligned, but the osteopath did mention that her gut was pretty windy and she had a lot of trapped air. So Rebecca started working on burping Ivy more thoroughly after her feeds and also started using Infacol wind drops.

6 weeks old

Ivy still seemed to be struggling a lot with trapped wind as she would frequently bring her knees up to her chest. She was still catnapping, still crying all afternoon and night and Rebecca couldn't get her to sleep in her bassinet at all.

8 weeks old

Rebecca has been holding out hope that things would somehow magically improve once they were past the 6 week mark but by 8 weeks, things were even worse! Ivy was still catnapping but now she was also screaming inconsolably during the day. She would feed, then cry, then want to feed more; this cycle could go on for hours!

Rebecca decided to start following our Sleep Program, to help figure out whether Ivy was actually over or under tired - as she has read that both could cause babies to catnap and cry. After 3 days though, Ivy was still catnapping and still very unsettled. At this point, Rebecca asked our sleep consultants for some advice.

Because Ivy was struggling to follow the rhythm of our Program, we suspected something was amiss. A baby this age should quite easily fall into this natural pattern to their day. The only reason they wouldn't, is if something was preventing them from settling and sleeping well. So we suggested that Rebecca talk to a medical professional about other possible reasons for Ivy's unsettled behaviour and difficulties feeding and sleeping.

This came as a bit of a shock to Rebecca at first, but after reading about Amanda's experience with reflux, she realised this sounded a lot like her experience with Ivy! Sure enough, their doctor diagnosed Ivy with reflux and colic and prescribed medication to help manage her symptoms.

9 weeks old

Once baby Ivy was medicated to treat her reflux and colic, Rebecca decided to try following our Sleep Program again. This time, Ivy actually wanted to sleep because there was nothing preventing her from doing so. She was a lot more comfortable, was no longer in pain and, therefore, able to naturally follow a more predictable nap schedule during the day.

Finally, Rebecca had a happy baby who was having great long naps and sleeping well at night. She wasn't overtired and exhausted during the day anymore and Rebecca was even able to get Ivy to sleep in her bassinet!

By following our Sleep Program, Rebecca was able to rule out more common factors like hunger and over or under tiredness causing Ivy's unsettled behaviour and poor sleep. This knowledge gave her the confidence to seek further medical advice from her doctor, which resulted in a happy, well-rested baby.

When it comes to your baby, knowledge is power. We’ve put all of our sleep knowledge and expertise into our Little Ones App so that you can respond confidently to your baby's needs. Our team of expert sleep consultants are also available day and night, if you need further guidance and support.