Q. for Debinoz

[AngelFarrell]

Hi, I was reading your reply to Raquelita1 regarding spirited babies, and wondered if you could give me some advice. I have a spirited 13 week old boy, and am struggling with the whole short-nap wrecking routine thing. His nights are also sporadic, with early morning (between 5:30 - 6:30am wake up for the day and wont go back to sleep). Because of the short naps(45-60 mins, he is on a 2 1/4 - 2 1/2 hour EASY. He is usually hungry after each nap, so the 3 hour EASY not happening. He also cant manage very long wake times, often yawning irregularly the whole time. But we have taught him to go to sleep on his own, which he does really well after our short nap routine. A typical day goes like this:
6:30am Wake up & feed. Change nappy & activity time (we keep this      low-key) During the day feeds he feeds from just one breast per feed.
7:30am Nap routine (walk quietly, read story, then into cot)
7:50am Asleep
8:40am Awake, feed, nappy change, activity time
9:50am Nap Routine
10:05am Asleep
11am Awake, feed, nappy change, activity time
12:10pm Nap Routine
12:25pm Asleep
1:15pm Awake, feed, nappy change, activity time
2:25pm Nap Routine
2:40pm Asleep
3:30pm Awake, feed, activity time
4:30pm Walk in buggy (usually cat-naps for 20-30 mins during walk)
5:20pm Awake, give time on play-mat without nappy on to air bottom
5:45pm Bath
6pm Feeds from both breasts
6:20pm Story & cuddles
6:30pm Into cot awake. Falls asleep without fuss (we leave him to it & he usually coos & gurgles to the animals on his cot bumper) anytime between now and 7pm.
7pm Always asleep by now
He has two night wakings to feed, the first falling anywhere between 11:30pm and 1am, when he feeds for 15-20 mins from one breast and goes straight back to sleep. Then again anywhere between 2:30am & 4:30am depending on the time of his first wake. We tried the dream feed, but actually screwed things up as he used to sleep through from 7pm to about 2:30am. Since trying, then stopping the dream feed he's been waking up twice and dont know how to fix it. If his second night feed is around 4-4:30am he may sleep till after 7am, but this rarely happens. So I would really appreciate some advice and guidence to sort out the 3 hour EASY thing, and to cut down the night wakings and extend morning wake up to after 7am. Are these hopes realistic and do-able? Thanks. Ange

[Deb_in_oz]

hi - i only have a few minutes while Dh finishes bathtime as i have to get eldest to bed and then am actually off for my first alone Y time in months (out to dinner with girlfriends) so won't be nl again until tomorrow morning.

at first glance my thought is that he is now in a "routine" of short cyles.  he has a short A time, has a short sleep, then a short feed and so on in cycles through the day.

although you don't want to stretch his A time too far as it can backfire, what you can do is try to train him to extend the naps to push out the next feed to 3hours which will then hopefully translate into a better (maybe both breasts or more hindmilk) feed which will sustain him for longer A time KWIM.

so what i would do is when he wakes up from a nap anytime before 1hr 30 (don't shoot for 2hr naps which woudl be a huge jump for you) i woudl spend up to the remainder for the 1hr 30 in his darkened room doing shh/pat or any combo of shh'ing and patting deending on what works for him.  by getting him up after the short nap you are reinforcing that it is a long enlough nap... and perpetuating the cycle.  i would work on this consistently for the next 2 weeks and hope for at least 1-2 of his naps to lengthen to 1hr 30. while this is a work in progress and he might only sleep for 40min - 1hr you shloudl keep the next A time very low key to keep him going for the next cycle of EASY.

got to run - will try to jump back on when i get home tonight around 10-11pm my time (so you have a remainder of the reply waiting for you in the morning)

how does this sound so far?
what methods have you tried previously to extend naps?

what is his room like - dark curtains? white noise? do you use any props?

[AngelFarrell]

Thanks for your quick reply. I hope you had a great night out. In answer to your questions, Samuel's room is darkened, but light does seep throught above the curtains(am considering getting black-out curtains - would this help?). We use baby sleep cds playing quietly during all his sleeps. His cot is covered by a sheet to help eliminate distractions. Tried shh/pat for a few weeks without any success, he just wouldnt settle. Tried a paci, but he doesnt really like it now he has discovered his hands. Occassionally he will take a longer nap on his own a few times a week. Must add, he's now been asleep for 70 mins and counting for his first nap of the day!!!! He also did this on Monday 1st nap, and last Saturday's 1st nap. So, things may be sorting themselves out. This is a record for him. It's great because I'm not doing anything - he's re-settling himself. Usually the rest of the day's naps are 45-60mins, but since he's learning to re-settle maybe the other naps will improve also. Fingers crossed!!!

[Deb_in_oz]

sorry I have been MIA and did not reply again - the last 2 days my 10 mo old has not wanted toi nap... and i have not had enough brain power or time to be helpful - and she is crying now so must dash again - just want to find out how things are going last 2 days  and if you/he made any progress.  you are doing all the right things - be consistent and try to extend his awake times and naps and get good feeds in. HTH

[AngelFarrell]

Bummer, hope things get better for you! Samuel's been doing his normal thing, no more long naps. Has started waking 3 times a night now to feed. Usual times are: 10:30pm, 1:50am, 5:30am. But he will now go back to sleep after his 5:30 feed, and sleeps till after 7am. He hasnt been feeding much during his daytime feeds, and no matter how hard I try to encourage him to take more, he wont. I'm worried he's taking in too much at night, which is creating his wakings. He feeds for 15-20 mins at night feeds , but I struggle to get him to stay on the breast for 5 mins at his day feeds. Any suggestions? Cant get him to stay up for long during his A time, after 60 mins his ready to go down for a nap (with his short pre-nap routine & a few extra mins to settle to sleep he's only up for around 75-80 mins). Should I only feed him after every 2nd nap? He kind of expects a feed after each nap, but because he wont take much and his EASY is less than 2.5 hours I fear I'm creating a snacker. Thanks