Our baby is 9 weeks old right now and does not sleep well yet. He certainly does not sleep through the night but that is not the worst of it. When we do finally get him to start falling asleep, (day or night) he will wake up startled about every 10 minutes like if we just had woke up from a nightmare or something. Then he will start crying a screaming and it takes a while just to get him calmed again.

Why does he do this and what can we do to help with that?

This is all perfectly normal. The old addage "he sleeps like a baby" is so far from the truth.

You may need to provide a perfectly dark and quiet place for the baby, if you do not already.

The baby is only 9 weeks old, he just came from a 9 month old place that was snug as a bug in a very tight rug. Now he has to deal with his own unintentionable movements. Legs and arms flying all over place. Noises to his new ears, lights to his new eyes. Imagine all the you can is new to him. Have you ever fallen asleep in chair by accident and found yourself being startled awake by the sensation of falling as you nodded off?? And that was startling as an adult, imagine what the baby feels like. The hospital usually bundles the newborns in a blanket quite snuggly if you notice. Never loosely bundled. The carriers you can purchase that tote the baby in front of you work very well for making the baby feel safe. A darkened room with a comfortable rocker chair helps greatly. Make sure the baby can hear the heartbeat of the mother and he'll be soothed right back to sleep. Ace

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Originally Posted by tmeyer01

Our baby is 9 weeks old right now and does not sleep well yet. He certainly does not sleep through the night but that is not the worst of it. When we do finally get him to start falling asleep, (day or night) he will wake up startled about every 10 minutes like if we just had woke up from a nightmare or something. Then he will start crying a screaming and it takes a while just to get him calmed again.

Why does he do this and what can we do to help with that?

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When my daughter was a baby she did the samething. Don't pick her up right away. The pediatrian told me that they have to learn to go back to sleep on there owns. You baby was probably having a bad dream. I know it's extremely hard to let them cry back to sleep but eventually it gets easier.

tmeyer01

How long did your baby get startled for?
My son I almost 3 months old and gets startled
A lot when he's trying to sleep.

Please help with any info.
I'm sure your son is like 3 now right?

Hope to hear from you.