Hi
My baby boy Ayush is 16 weeks or 3.5 months.Sometimes he wakes up every hour and starts crying .MY MIL says its because sometimes babies get startled in his sleep.Sometimes he wakes up 5-6 times.Before he used to sleep longer ,noways he just wakes up and starts crying..I think he is getting spoilt of being in my MIL's lap the whole day.Anyone have any ideas? Radhika replied. Forgot to give main solution to startling..swaddling (wrapping baby in blanket if he allows ..) a baby prevents babies from startling and waking up..if they allow u to swaddle i.e..
all the best
Radhika Manisha replied. Hi Nick

Nitya wakes up every 2 to 3 hrs for feeding. or sometimes she wakes up just to burp or to throw up. I won't say she wakes up .. she just starting making some sounds, & keeps raising her head when she gets hungry. if I don't notice all that for few minutes then she starts crying. I am also waiting for the time when she will sleep during the night without feeding.
Just check Ayush is not hungry or over fed when she wakes up. Sometimes babies get used to lap all the time specially when they are with grand parents. Tell ur MIL to put her down & to keep him busy with toys, or talk to him by putting him down, not in lap. Startle reflex goes off by second month i guess. When he wakes up try to just pat him a little before taking him to lap. I'll suggest kepp checking your eating habits, may be you ate something which made him uncomfortable for a couple fo days. Radhika replied. Hi Nick

Can understand ur worry..since u r working next day..on weekends try to watch his sleep times..sometimes babies sleep well during the day so they are all alert at night. Startling was common with anushka too, first 2 months..would get up everytime she startled..but there was nothing we could do, cannot stop it.
I let her sleep with me for a month and half, she slept better with warmth of a person next to her..had a quilt seperating her and me, as long as the quilt was seen she knew i was there and slept 4 hours straight in the 2nd month..then whne she starting moving her legs and turning i shifted her to her crib..though it took time, kept her there in the mornings even if it was for 5 mins nap for a few days on weekends and had the same print quilt pillow that i wrapped on a towel and kept as padding around her. that worked. She now sleeps anywhere from 8pm -9:30 pm, gets up once to have her feeding and later morning at 6.
Ask ur MIL to let her play as much as she can in the morning, night time dim lights, humidifier (helped me a lot to muffle other sounds) and quiet atmosphere 3 things anu needs before sleep.
It takes a lot of patience, but once they get used to the routine, it will be relaxing for u too.
See what works for u..all babies will have different solutions. and yes difficult to tell MIL to keep baby away when they get up every other minute. that is something u will have to talk to if she understands or just deal with it atnight..
Take care..i assure u this time will pass soon..don't worry.
Radhika