Thanks, Paulsmom! My Lo is a terrible short napper (20 min, usually). There is an extense thread I started about it at naps and I got some precious help and psycological support there. Currently the situation has improved, and usually I can extend at least one of his naps, so I would say he has 2 to 3 naps every day (1 or 2 being catnaps). I cant do better, and honestly accomplishing this is such a struggle! Usually I need to extend using the stroller, but at least he sleeps a little.
My baby always sleep while nursing at his last feed of the day (after Bath). And last night he fell asleep as usual, but I was determined to put him awake in his crib to see if that would improve nw. So I gently woke him, but it took him 1 hr and several interventions (including picking up) while he was settling. Eventually he fell asleep alone. (During nws he often sleeps while nursing, but if he wakes up when i put him down, he always self soothes to sleep). By the time he slept, it was past 9pm, and he woke up at 12:30, 3:30 and 5:45. The last nw I tried not to nurse, at first he didnt seem hungry but in the end he was sucking on my shoulder so I nursed him at 6:30. I put him down awake, he fussed a bit and slept until 9:15.
So my schedule is a mess, and I am so tired. So tired. My God. So I have a few questions: first, would yoi agree that I need to wake him even if he falls asleep while nursing in the last Eof the day? Last night it didnt seem to help... And honestly there are eventual nights in which he wakes up while I am burping him, and in those nights he self soothes to sleep, even if it takes 30 to 45 min, but with no intervention from me. Or do you think that it is enough self soothing practice if I put him down awake during naps and whenever he wakes up alone after the last feed of the day? Do you see a straightforward connection between the way he sleeps and nws in a particular night?
wrt night wakings, I am almost convinced he IS hungry when he wakes,,, he eats pretty decently during the night, and for a while now he has been eating very little during the day. I came across this article at Kelly mom, that I find is so similar to my situation,,,
http://kellymom.com/parenting/nighttime/4mo-sleep/what is your opinion? Sorry to ask a lot, all my friends keep saying that their breastfed babies were sleeping through the night by the 3rd month and I dont have any relative close to me to help with experience. His ped tends to minimize the problem and say it is all because I am so stressed. I do agree with this, I am so stressed, but honestly this diagnosis isnt very helpful. So I am on my own. Glad I can count on people who are so great that take their time to read and help. Thank you so much.