sleeping problems

My son has had sleeping problems since the day we brought him home from the hospital at 4 days old.  It began with not being able to sleep on a flat surface (his crib).  He would only sleep in a cradle swing (a baby swing that swings sideways instead of forward)until he was 4 1/2 months old.  Then he became too big for it and we had to start putting him in his crib whether he would go to sleep or not.  When I say he would not sleep in his crib, this is what happened for the first 4 1/2 months.  He would fall asleep while rocking him and drinking a bottle.  He would be fast asleep and we would think everything was ok, so we'd get up, walk into his room and lay him ever so gently in the crib, his eyes would pop open and he'd be awake, raring to go.  He has stayed awake for 26 hours staight on 2 separate occasions, with only maybe a 5 or 10 min. nap every few hours totally about 1 hour of sleep for the 26 hour period.  Now he is 6 1/2 months old and he portrays the strangest behavior while sleeping.  He will cry out in the middle of the night, when we go into his room he will still have his eyes closed, moaning, crying, tossing his head from side to side,  reaching for somethig in the air, and he will pick his legs up and slam them down on the mattress over and over again.  Sometimes without even knowing it he will roll himself over onto his stomach and then he will start crying because he's freaked out and don't know what's going on.  The whole time this is all happening he seems to still be asleep.  Sometimes giving him his pacifier helps but sometimes nothing seems to calm him down and he will keep doing this for 10 or 15 minutes staight.  This happens every night, usually every couple of hours.  Sometimes when he wakes up in the middle of the night and has a bottle he is really wired and won't go back to sleep, he'll stay awake for about an hour and a half, and then he will go into this trance like mode and stare off into space for about another hour and a half before finally closing his eyes.  His Pediatrician does not know why he does this, and he says he is too young to be having night terrors.  Sometimes this really freaks me out and upsets me when I see him doing this because I don't know if something is seriously wrong with him.  Please help!

[HVM M.D. - EV]

Dear Kandee Kane -
    Is it possible that your baby is having episodes of gastroesophagel reflux - i.e., heartburn - when he lies down?  I am impressed by the fact that he has never been a good sleeper - and that, perhaps, he has preferred an upright position to lying down all along.  Talk to your Pediatrician about this possibility. Maybe by offering your son some approved antacid (perhaps Zantac) - and increasing the angle of the head of his bed - and even alterring his diet to a more easily digestible formula - may make a difference.
   Finally - although I don't think this is likely - could some of this unusual posturing or behavior represent seizures?  I don't think so - but can be easily ruled out.
   Hope this helps - Dr. EV