noisy sleeper

[Anonymous]

My 9 week old has made grunting and throat clearing sounds in his sleep from Day One. It prevents him from sleeping soundly and as a result he is fussy much of the time and always, always tired. The doctor thinks it is reflux but meds haven't made a difference and I can't find anyone whose baby had relux and was also noisy like this. He also absolutely hates sleeping in his crib, even when it is elevated. Has anyone else experienced this? I am wondering whether it is sleep apnea/something other than reflux.

[Anonymous]

I think it's just being a baby. Newborns are notoriously loud sleepers, I don't know anyone's who wasn't. Fear not, it will pass soon enough.

[Anonymous]

Agreed, they are very restless/noisy sleepers. There are biological reasons for this. Something to do with shorter sleep cycles (in and out of REM sleep). Their sleep cycles become more adult-like by 12 weeks, I believe.

[Anonymous]

I am positive this is more than a normal baby. He wakes himself up so frequently that he tries to sleep all day because his sleep is never restful. He is also VERY gassy (no matter what I eat) and only has a bowel movement every other day. I am guesisng the extreme gassiness is related to the restless sleep.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like both my kids when they were that age...babies that age dream and grunt constantly and wake themselves up (I was afraid the first one would always sound like that!) and then pass out on the boob all day long. Don't worry, it'll pass in about another month or so!

[Anonymous]

If he doesn't do well in the crib, how about trying the car seat? My son was diagnosed w/GERD at birth and continues to see a gastro doctor at Children's Hospital for the reflux (he's on meds). He came home on an apnea monitor. He was a noisy sleeper too. One of our doctors recommended having him sleep in his car seat (we tried to make it as soft as possible and buckled him in as well). He definitely slept better in the upright position in his car seat. Might be worth a try......

[Anonymous]

Mine was a noisy sleeper too and had reflux. It took a long time for us to straighten out the reflux issues - we used zantac but he was growing so fast that it always seemed like the dosage would work for a couple of days and then need to be readjusted. If you suspect something more than reflux, check with your pediatrician. Otherwise, you can try car seat, swing, or inverted sleep positioner to keep him more upright - I read that helps (although it didn't work for us). Good luck. It's hard to believe, but this stage does pass. Our son outgrew the reflux at 6 months. Those 6 months were so very very hard, but every since he has been a delightful baby/toddler. Hang in there!