Home My baby is making me crazy!

[Dreamer_D]

My little angel baby is a real stinker these days

... he used to go down for naps no problem and wake once a night to nurse. Now he is four months old and he is possessed! Last week he learned how to roll over from back to front, and now he keeps rolling over when he is trying to go to sleep, or in the night, and waking himself up! It takes ages to get him down for a nap because he keeps getting stuck and screaming like a maniac, so I roll him over, stick the paci in, and we start all over again. In the middle of the night he rolls over too and wakes about 3 or more times screaming like the dickens. I try to wait it out but he gets more and more and more worked up!! So I go in

. The really ridiculous part of it is that is can roll front to back and has been doing so for a month. For some reason when he rolls back to front he fogets this "old" skill??

Please tell me your babies did this too and got past it quickly!

I fear I will go deaf from the screaming and insane from the lack of sleep !

 

[atroop711]

sorry to hear this

have you tried putting wedges on either side of him? I did this with my son (who''s 8mo today) esp. around 4mo since he was doing this. He knew how to roll on to his tummy but not back...so I worried he would suffocate. The wedges worked because he couldn''t roll. Now that he''s older he rolls onto his tummy but is able to roll back..but I still worry at times.

 

[TravelingGal]

We went through the same thing at 4 months DD. What''s worse is Amelia could roll back to front but did not know how to do front to back for AGES. So she would get stuck and we were afraid to leave her on her tummy.

However, she could only roll to her left, so we just edged her right over to the left side of the crib which helped stop rolling over all the way. I remember the phase lasting for a awhile though.

 

[lover in athens]

oh dreamer...i''m sorry!! sounds miserable.
i''m sure you''re doing this anyway, but what about leaving him on his belly a lot during the day so he can "remember" how to roll from front to back??

coby went through this a few months ago, but now has just decided that he''d rather sleep on his belly. i figure he''s old enough and strong enough now that it''s ok.

hang in there!!

 

[packrat]

Both my kids did the same thing DD. I used the wedge deals and that helped. I don''t recall it lasting very long. And even when they did figure out how to roll both ways, I still worried, and crept in at night to make sure they were ok.

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 6/29/2009 11:13:19 AM
Author: TravelingGal

We went through the same thing at 4 months DD. What''s worse is Amelia could roll back to front but did not know how to do front to back for AGES. So she would get stuck and we were afraid to leave her on her tummy.

However, she could only roll to her left, so we just edged her right over to the left side of the crib which helped stop rolling over all the way. I remember the phase lasting for a awhile though.

ETA, I should mean that ''awhile" was a couple of weeks, which felt like an eternity!

 

[MustangGal]

Kyle just went through the same phase. He can roll both ways, but for some reason would roll onto his tummy and get "stuck" and not roll back. It lasted about 2 weeks or so, and now even through he can roll over, he stopped doing it in the crib. At the time he was only able to roll to the right, so we stuck him closer to the bumper so he couldn''t roll that way. Wedges might be a good idea too.

I''m sorry he''s being s stinker!

 

[D&T]

My second one did this too, at around the four month mark only for a few weeks, I just rolled receiving blanket and tucked it under

 

[Dreamer_D]

I don''t know if this makes me a bad mommy, but I am not really worried about him suffocating

He is really strong and can lift his entire chest off the ground, swimming his legs and arms. I just can''t imagine that he would bury his face in the mattress and not move it? Is this really possible??

My concern is more that he won''t sleep and keeps waking up howling when he rolls over!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 6/29/2009 10:19:09 AM
Author: atroop711
sorry to hear this

have you tried putting wedges on either side of him? I did this with my son (who''s 8mo today) esp. around 4mo since he was doing this. He knew how to roll on to his tummy but not back...so I worried he would suffocate. The wedges worked because he couldn''t roll. Now that he''s older he rolls onto his tummy but is able to roll back..but I still worry at times.

My hunsband''s co worker is going to bring us some wedges. I am not sure they will work. As I said he is very strong and I suspect he will just try to roll over them and when it doesn''t work he will just scream!

Did I mention he is willful too? No idea where he got that from

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 6/29/2009 11:13:19 AM
Author: TravelingGal

We went through the same thing at 4 months DD. What''s worse is Amelia could roll back to front but did not know how to do front to back for AGES. So she would get stuck and we were afraid to leave her on her tummy.

However, she could only roll to her left, so we just edged her right over to the left side of the crib which helped stop rolling over all the way. I remember the phase lasting for a awhile though.

"Unfortunately" he rolls both ways

Actually, he has fallen asleep on his tummy now for the past 3 sleep periods... I can''t bring myself to wake him up to roll him over when he just plain seems to want to be on his tummy for some unknown reason!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 6/29/2009 11:29:14 AM
Author: lover in athens
oh dreamer...i''m sorry!! sounds miserable.
i''m sure you''re doing this anyway, but what about leaving him on his belly a lot during the day so he can ''remember'' how to roll from front to back??

coby went through this a few months ago, but now has just decided that he''d rather sleep on his belly. i figure he''s old enough and strong enough now that it''s ok.

hang in there!!

Yeah, we are working on that. I''m going to spend lots of time each day helping him "remember". Its the trick of getting one arm under the body so he doesn''t get stuck, that''s what he can''t recall!!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 6/29/2009 11:46:25 AM
Author: packrat
Both my kids did the same thing DD. I used the wedge deals and that helped. I don''t recall it lasting very long. And even when they did figure out how to roll both ways, I still worried, and crept in at night to make sure they were ok.

My husband does this... we''ll see if the wedges work but if not, I just can''t bring myself to stress about it too much! I hope that isn''t bad...

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 6/29/2009 12:01:53 PM
Author: MustangGal
Kyle just went through the same phase. He can roll both ways, but for some reason would roll onto his tummy and get ''stuck'' and not roll back. It lasted about 2 weeks or so, and now even through he can roll over, he stopped doing it in the crib. At the time he was only able to roll to the right, so we stuck him closer to the bumper so he couldn''t roll that way. Wedges might be a good idea too.

I''m sorry he''s being s stinker!

I think I can handle it for a few weeks... already he seems to be getting used to being on his belly and is actually sleeping that way, which isn''t recommended but at least he isn''t screaming!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 6/29/2009 12:02:46 PM
Author: D&T
My second one did this too, at around the four month mark only for a few weeks, I just rolled receiving blanket and tucked it under

I think he would just grab the blanket and pull it all over and make a big tangled up mess! LOL! At least it was only a few weeks. One down, two to go

 

[TravelingGal]

Honestly, this stage drove me crazy too, so you have my sympathies.

I think most babies end up OK on their tummies. I still worried that, strong or not, Amelia might bury her face in the mattress and suffocate without knowing it. I just didn''t take the chance. It''s definitely not a fun stage, that is for sure. I thought I was going to go bonkarooney too, but somehow it sorted itself out.

 

[MustangGal]

As for just letting him sleep on his tummy, supposedly once they can roll over or lift their heads up, they should be OK. If you think about it, most of us were raised sleeping on our tummies and we all survived

I used to let Kyle nap on his tummy. He doesn''t seem interested in doing it now, unfortunatly, or I would be putting him down to sleep that way so that his wonky dented skull would pop out!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

T always rolled over on her belly during her sleep around 4 months too but I guess I was lucky b/c she LOVED sleeping on her belly so it was never an issue. I would try the wedges like the others have mentioned.

 

[purrfectpear]

Congratulations, you have a really smart baby. He''s already learned how to train a fully grown adult

You said you "tried" to wait him out. That means you caved. My ped told me you put them in the room and shut the door. No going back in even if they cry themselves into throwing up. Once they''re asleep you can go in and clean em up.

It only took two nights of crying before I trained HIM. No, he wasn''t "traumatized" but he did learn to go to sleep.

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 6/29/2009 3:55:29 PM
Author: purrfectpear
Congratulations, you have a really smart baby. He''s already learned how to train a fully grown adult

You said you ''tried'' to wait him out. That means you caved. My ped told me you put them in the room and shut the door. No going back in even if they cry themselves into throwing up. Once they''re asleep you can go in and clean em up.

It only took two nights of crying before I trained HIM. No, he wasn''t ''traumatized'' but he did learn to go to sleep.

Except they do wake up when you clean em up! Then back to square one.

I''m all for CIO, don''t get me wrong, but when this happened with Amelia, we didn''t need to. We went in, flipped her back over, and walked out. No talking, eye contact, anything. We were lucky...only happened 2 or 3 times before she conked out, so I think DD is having it a bit worse. In which case, CIO might be an option if she isn''t worried about the suffocation factor.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Well I went and bought the sleep positioner and although I thought that Hunter would hate it he went to sleep tonight the easiest he's gone down in a few days. I don't think he *liked* rolling all over the place, but he doesn't have good control yet. We shall see how the night goes.

PP Oh trust me, I know all about learning theory

I also know about infant cognitive, social, and physical development, so I am fairly certain he is not consciously manipulating me... yet

. So I don't plan on letting my 4 month old cry until he vomits. When he is 9 or 10 months old I might feel differently. For now, I am working on using other methods of shaping his behaviour. I'm a SAHM right now, this is my only job for another 6 months. ETA I always take my pediatrician's advice about medical issues... but NOT about parenting. They don't get any education in that at all! I might as well ask my neighbour, or other mothers, the advice is just as valid. If my doc is a parent then I will take it as I would take any other parents advice.

TGal I think the issue is that he doesn't just flip once, he sort of writhes all over the place like a possessed snake or something and ends up on his belly.

So if I flip him, he just flips right back over! I think the positioners will help, already he seems much calmer as he went to sleep.

MG and Tacori Today I noticed he was sleeping fine on his belly! Still, when he woke up I think he found it disconcerting and cried. I'm going to keep working with his in the day with lots of tummy time and see if he will learn how to roll front to back again. I also picked up some mesh bumpers because his arms and legs were getting stuck!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

The mesh bumpers are key! I still have them on T''s crib. She also would get her legs stuck and they do have slight padding to them.

 

[Jas12]

I think you have some good suggestions so you just have my empathy.

Co did this at 4 mos. too! It seems like every new developmental milestone will bring with it a sleep set-back. They do pass, but i makes you nutty when you are in the thick of it.
Making the switch from back to belly was key for us (around 5.5 months if my memory serves me correctly) . He made the switch himself so i didn't worry about SIDS.

ETA--4 mos is not, IMO, a reasonable time to do CIO. Still a tiny baby. I couldn't imagine letting a 4 mnth old puke in their sleep. Luckily i had a little dude that started STTN at 6 mos (with some other sleep training techniques) and we've never had to use CIO so i am biased but i think there are other options before it comes to that.

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 6/29/2009 10:02:00 PM
Author: Tacori E-ring
The mesh bumpers are key! I still have them on T''s crib. She also would get her legs stuck and they do have slight padding to them.

Agree. We still have them, as Amelia is a crazy sleeper...she is all over the place in that crib.

DD, yup, sounds like you got a real flipper there! Glad to hear the sleep positioners are working. I was going to get them myself but because of Amelia''s one way turning only, scooting her to the edge of the crib worked pretty well. I really hated the flipping stage because I had a good sleeper by that point and I was freaked out it was all going to hell!!

 

[LtlFirecracker]

Well parenting is a part of a pediatricians education, but we are not any better than a well read or experienced parent. For the parenting stuff, we are probably sharing the same resources.

As for the sleeping on the stomach thing, we tell parents not to stress about it if they are rolling on their own. Think about it this way, they now have enough strength to lift their head up if they are not getting enough oxygen. With the newborns, they can''t roll, or move things (like blankets) with their hands, so if their face gets covered, they have no way out of it. What we tell parents is to continue placing them on their backs, but not to stay up all night making sure they stay that way. I would make sure all stuff that could be a hazard such as crib bumpers, blankets, stuffed toys are out (sounds like your crib is pretty good though).

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 6/29/2009 10:15:21 PM
Author: LtlFirecracker
Well parenting is a part of a pediatricians education, but we are not any better than a well read or experienced parent. For the parenting stuff, we are probably sharing the same resources.

As for the sleeping on the stomach thing, we tell parents not to stress about it if they are rolling on their own. Think about it this way, they now have enough strength to lift their head up if they are not getting enough oxygen. With the newborns, they can't roll, or move things (like blankets) with their hands, so if their face gets covered, they have no way out of it. What we tell parents is to continue placing them on their backs, but not to stay up all night making sure they stay that way. I would make sure all stuff that could be a hazard such as crib bumpers, blankets, stuffed toys are out (sounds like your crib is pretty good though).

I guess I should remember there are some pediatricians around here before I go running my mouth off!

LOL! But see, that is the exact type of advice I would most definitely take from a ped! Thanks for sharing it, I never did ask my doc about it... I just read this to my Dh and he is very relieved. He also laughed at me for sticking my foot in my mouth. Again.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 6/29/2009 10:07:51 PM
Author: Jas12
I think you have some good suggestions so you just have my empathy.

Co did this at 4 mos. too! It seems like every new developmental milestone will bring with it a sleep set-back. They do pass, but i makes you nutty when you are in the thick of it.
Making the switch from back to belly was key for us (around 5.5 months if my memory serves me correctly) . He made the switch himself so i didn''t worry about SIDS.

ETA--4 mos is not, IMO, a reasonable time to do CIO. Still a tiny baby. I couldn''t imagine letting a 4 mnth old puke in their sleep. Luckily i had a little dude that started STTN at 6 mos (with some other sleep training techniques) and we''ve never had to use CIO so i am biased but i think there are other options before it comes to that.

I am hoping he will STTN when he is ready. Like Co he is a bigger boy and I think he needs lots of milk in the night right now and that''s why he wakes... most of the time

My mom friends have told me how each developmental phase brings new "fun". I can''t wait. Not.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 6/29/2009 10:12:33 PM
Author: TravelingGal

Date: 6/29/2009 10:02:00 PM
Author: Tacori E-ring
The mesh bumpers are key! I still have them on T''s crib. She also would get her legs stuck and they do have slight padding to them.

Agree. We still have them, as Amelia is a crazy sleeper...she is all over the place in that crib.

DD, yup, sounds like you got a real flipper there! Glad to hear the sleep positioners are working. I was going to get them myself but because of Amelia''s one way turning only, scooting her to the edge of the crib worked pretty well. I really hated the flipping stage because I had a good sleeper by that point and I was freaked out it was all going to hell!!

I know!!

I worry the same thing. But he has about 3-4 nights like this every 2 weeks then he is back on track again. Must e the moon.

 

[hlmr]

Date: 6/29/2009 7:47:20 PM
Author: dreamer_dachsie

I also know about infant cognitive, social, and physical development, so I am fairly certain he is not consciously manipulating me... yet

. So I don't plan on letting my 4 month old cry until he vomits.

eta: my son didn't sleep for the first six months. I know how hard it is, so hang in there dd!!

 

[LtlFirecracker]

Date: 6/29/2009 10:47:24 PM
Author: dreamer_dachsie

Date: 6/29/2009 10:15:21 PM

Author: LtlFirecracker

Well parenting is a part of a pediatricians education, but we are not any better than a well read or experienced parent. For the parenting stuff, we are probably sharing the same resources.


As for the sleeping on the stomach thing, we tell parents not to stress about it if they are rolling on their own. Think about it this way, they now have enough strength to lift their head up if they are not getting enough oxygen. With the newborns, they can''t roll, or move things (like blankets) with their hands, so if their face gets covered, they have no way out of it. What we tell parents is to continue placing them on their backs, but not to stay up all night making sure they stay that way. I would make sure all stuff that could be a hazard such as crib bumpers, blankets, stuffed toys are out (sounds like your crib is pretty good though).

I guess I should remember there are some pediatricians around here before I go running my mouth off!

LOL! But see, that is the exact type of advice I would most definitely take from a ped! Thanks for sharing it, I never did ask my doc about it... I just read this to my Dh and he is very relieved. He also laughed at me for sticking my foot in my mouth. Again.

HaHa that is nothing compaired to what some parents say to me in real life

. Like PP said, we tell parents they at some point need to let their kids "cry it out" but I would never tell a parent to let a kid cry to the point of vomiting. I also tell the parents they need to check on them, but on those couple nights, not to pick them up. We usually tell parents to do it over a weekend because it is an all night thing. I don''t think there is any set age to do this. What I say is that nutritionally, a baby who is growing NORMALLY, can go all night without eating at 4 mo. If at that age they are eating at night it is for confront and not nutrition. So I would not do it any earlier than that. I advise they do it before they can walk, because things get a whole lot harder after that. However, the neurologist at our program doesn''t believe in this at all (her kids are almost 2 and she never did it), she feels babies need to know they are cared for when they are distressed. I don''t fully agree, I think there is a delicate balance between learned helplessness and being spoiled, but you can see these are just different parenting techniques.