Help!? My baby won't sleep...caffeine in breastmilk

MooCowSteph · #1 Feb 9, '06, 7:15 pm

Help! My 7 week old has barely slept 4 hours all day. She sleeps for a few minutes then wakes up. She's been very fussy. The only thing I can think of is that I drank a lot of iced tea yesterday. How long does it take to rid your milk of caffeine? How can I get this babe to sleep??

ConcernCatholic · #2 Feb 9, '06, 9:25 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by MooCowSteph

Help! My 7 week old has barely slept 4 hours all day. She sleeps for a few minutes then wakes up. She's been very fussy. The only thing I can think of is that I drank a lot of iced tea yesterday. How long does it take to rid your milk of caffeine? How can I get this babe to sleep??

Ooooops!!!! I have done this more times than I care to admit. I just forget and drink something that has caffeine in it. I was a lot better about avoiding caffeine and such with baby number 2. With my oldest, it seemed like too much sugar, caffeine, or anything that could make you the least bit excitable would have a negative impact on my little one's sleeping habits. I think it usually takes about 24-48 hours for it to take its course. After a couple of times with an excited little one, I finally remembered to avoid the chocolate, teas, sodas, sugar, and all of the other things that I tend to crave.

A warm bath with some lavendar sometimes helps my little ones relax.

Vicia · #3 Feb 9, '06, 9:35 pm

I did some research on the internet and here is a paragrapg from what I found:
http://www.drgreene.com/21_1915.html

To reduce crying in irritable babies and to prolong sleep in babies who seem to wake up all the time, parents in many parts of the world swaddle their babies when putting them down to sleep. This custom of wrapping babies snugly in light cloths or sheets has been used for centuries. Researchers at the Pediatric Sleep Unit of the University Children's Hospital in Brussels, Belgium decided to use their modern sleep lab to measure the effect of swaddling on sleep. They were particularly interested because swaddling while sleeping on the back has been said to reduce the risk of SIDS. Up to 30 percent of babies are still placed face down to sleep, despite a massive education campaign. One of the main reasons parents give for this dangerous choice is that their babies cry more on their backs and don't sleep as well. If swaddling babies sleeping on their backs reduces crying and improves sleep, it might help promote sleeping on the back, further reducing SIDS, while making life more pleasant for babies and their parents.

dragonfly · #4 Feb 9, '06, 10:05 pm

Hey, you are not alone!! It can be very frustrating when a baby does not sleep well and thus reaks havock on your sleep!!

Things that may help: Your baby may be colic. Nobody really knows why baby's get colic except maybe too much gas in their little tummy's. 1 formula saved my life!! Enfamil, Nutrimingen!! Some baby's get colic because they have a high sensitivity to either milk or soy proteins, found in all formula's. This, Nutrimingen really calmed my baby.

I then gave him a calming bath, put lotion on him, and swadled him! I would even let him rest on my chest! Worked wonders.

for your milk, he may just not be getting enough(you can buy a tea wich is caffeine free called Mother's Milk, it will help you to produce more of the "fatty" milk, making your baby more full. Also, make sure he is attatched correctly to reduce air intake. And always burp him real good. I would burp my son for 45min. He would usually burp once in the beginning, then 2 to 3 more times after 30min.

And alway Pray!! Nothing calms a baby better than Jesus!! I played soft music or soft gospel music, they like a little noise. It was very noisy in the womb, so it makes them feel more at "home"

Dragonfly

spanky · #5 Feb 10, '06, 5:57 am

I'd have to go with colic.

I would've bought the caffeine in breastmilk explanation prior to my experiences with my youngest. She was born 6 weeks early - had apnea and a couple of instances when her heart stopped for a brief period. She was actually prescribed pure caffeine to treat this! I was shocked, thinking of how too much coffee affects me. Docs assured me that it wouldn't affect her ability to sleep. THey were right. She was on it for almost four months and slept like a you-know-what

!

tuescat · #6 Feb 10, '06, 6:25 am

Was this just one day? I'd say don't sweat it. Whatever it was-caffeine, gas bubble, change in the tilt of the Earth-if she's over it today let it go.

This is your first precious little one and it is easy to beat yourself up over simple things. It's a good idea to avoid caffeine while nursing but if you slip and forget....you're still a good mommy! At seven weeks she growing so fast and changing overnight. Sometimes they just get worked up and can't sleep. Swaddling is great and so is resisting the urge to run to every whimper.

Take a day if you can and just rest. You deserve it!

Seven weeks -oh what a joy! Snuggle her soft little head for me today!

My babies barely fit in my lap anymore!

St. Monica, pray for all mothers!

spacecadet · #7 Feb 10, '06, 7:08 am

i'd say it was the tea for sure.

**puzzleannie** · #8 Feb 10, '06, 7:11 am

DDs baby was very fussy 1st 3 months, Filipino nurse told her to try lavender lotion, a rub for both baby and mom, it was very effective in calming him. he ended up on baby zantac for a few weeks, cured the constant crying.

momstheword · #9 Feb 10, '06, 11:03 am

I drink lots of coffee and tea and my dd does not have a problem. Perhaps it is the water I drink. I try to get lots and lots of water in, so maybe it dilutes all of the other stuff! dd is number 6 and my habits have been the same throughout.

spacecadet · #10 Feb 10, '06, 11:40 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by momstheword

I drink lots of coffee and tea and my dd does not have a problem. Perhaps it is the water I drink. I try to get lots and lots of water in, so maybe it dilutes all of the other stuff! dd is number 6 and my habits have been the same throughout.

it totally depends on the baby. my husband can drink coffee and go to sleep. i drink one cup and am up for 8 hours. every person is different.

Consecrated · #11 Feb 10, '06, 12:20 pm

If there's anything I learned with my first, highly active, acid refluxive boy, it was eventually he will sleep. Someday, he will sleep. There were nights and days I'd just say that over and over again. And, eventually, he did! (He sleeps like a rock at 2 1/2, although for the first 18 months of his life he was waking up during the night.) It helped me get through the hard, highly frustrating, wakeful times. When you've done what you know how to do to calm him, that's all you can do.

You can try avoiding caffeine. It might make a difference for your baby. I know that doesn't help you right now, though!

Also, if you think it's tummy/colic related, you can try severely limiting your own milk-product intake, as well as working towards a really good latch while nursing. Sometimes that helps. It's all really a shot in the dark, esp for a first time mom.... I remember!

Although, there's not really a lot of caffeine in tea, so he (she?) would have to be pretty sensitive.

Red Meg · #12 Feb 10, '06, 12:55 pm

Every baby is different. Thankfully none of mine have ever objected to the large quantities of Diet Coke (with caffeine!) that I injest. But my first-born objected violently the few times I had Chinese-restaurant food while breastfeeding. I assume it was the MSG, which I don't recall ever seeing on any lists of "foods to avoid while nursing."

You may have to do some home experimentation to get to the bottom of this. It could be caffeine. It could be dairy. Could be... lots of things. I don't mean to discourage you, rather to think with an open mind, and to think like a scientist in terms of making observations and collecting data...

Good luck!

Margaret

MooCowSteph · #13 Feb 10, '06, 6:11 pm

Thanks for all the advice. This behavior was so out of the ordinary I think it was the tea and not colic. She finally went down about 1:00am and slept as usual. Thanks goodness she's been great today. Actually, she's slept much of the day thanks to only getting about 4 hours the whole day yesterday. I've had caffeine here and there, but never throughout the whole day like I did Wednesday. I'm a little ashamed to say I didn't forget about the caffeine, but since I'd had it other times I never expected it to have that reaction. I feel really bad..she was so clearly tired and just couldn't sleep. Thanks again all!

Toni · #14 Feb 10, '06, 6:13 pm

Try drinking chamomillia tea around 6:00 guessing on the time but I would experiment with that.

MooCowSteph · #15 Feb 11, '06, 9:57 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Red Meg

Every baby is different. Thankfully none of mine have ever objected to the large quantities of Diet Coke (with caffeine!) that I injest. But my first-born objected violently the few times I had Chinese-restaurant food while breastfeeding. I assume it was the MSG, which I don't recall ever seeing on any lists of "foods to avoid while nursing."

You may have to do some home experimentation to get to the bottom of this. It could be caffeine. It could be dairy. Could be... lots of things. I don't mean to discourage you, rather to think with an open mind, and to think like a scientist in terms of making observations and collecting data...

Good luck!

Margaret

Actually, I have given up milk because she was having reflux problems along with green poop. She's been much better since then. And the past two days she's been a perfect angel. We went to the grocery store, out to lunch, and to a clothing store yesterday. My mom held her while I was in the dressing room. She was just an angel! Woke to eat while we were at Panera, had a nice poopie, and enjoyed a little more shopping before going back to sleep.