This forum offers so many good ideas...hope you can help with this.
My son is now 6 weeks old...we've been doing easy since his first week. He is a spirited/touchy, and is easily over stimulated. We're on a flexible 3 or 2.5 hour schedule, starting at 6 or 7 in the morning, adjusting through the day to do our last cluster feed at 7 or 7:30 and a dream feed at 1030-1100pm. He is about 11 lbs and eats between 3 and 4 oz each feed, about 9 feeds a day (waking at about 130am and 430am). He generally sleeps pretty well between nighttime feeds, once we can get him to sleep. He often wakes shortly before nighttime feeds very gassy, in pain; we are working on that and I think we'll get better. Usually he sleeps about 8 hours between 8 pm and 8 am.
He has never slept more than 45 min during nap time. Activity time is short...diaper change, sometimes 5 min in the swing. We have a consistent naptime routine. I pick him up, go to his room, swaddle him, turn on the radio static/white noise, turn off the lamp and rock him to settle him down. Settling him down takes quite a while...minimum 5 minutes, and he ALWAYS cries, struggles and tries to spit out his paci. Once he is very drowsy, I put him in his crib and sit with him for at least 10-20 min, holding his paci and holding his legs down. He will generally fall asleep without too much trouble in the mornings, but as the day goes on this becomes harder and harder.
He wakes at exactly 40 minutes, and the only way I can get him back to sleep is to sit with him in the dark, with his paci in his mouth as he thrashes, trying to hold his legs down. If I can manage this, he doesn't cry hard, but he doesn't go to sleep 8 times out of 10. I tried this for 7 days straight, and didn't seem to make much progress. (sh/pat makes him scream...does NOT work). I have tried wake to sleep (touched his cheek, and he rolls over, opens eyes and closes them, or wiggle the paci back in) and that has worked once, but usually end up sitting there trying to sooth him back down. We try this until it is almost time for the next feed, and then start all over. The upshot is he gets beween 3-4 hours of sleep during the day, sometimes as much as 5 1/2, with a LOT of work. He starts the day pleasant and smiling, but by the time we hit the evening, he is crying constantly. I know this affects his bedtime, and suspect that it affects his nights.
This can't be enough sleep. He seems so overtired by the time we hit the evening, and then there's the gas, it is a wonder he gets to sleep at night.
What do I do? Do I just accept three 45 minute naps? Isn't this too little for a 6-week old? Can I really teach him to sleep longer than 45 minutes? We've tried the swing, and when he's beyond tired I've held him for a whole day of napping just so he can get back on track (I've done this twice in 4 weeks). Sometimes he'll nap in the baby bijorn.
Sorry this is so long. I've read Tracey's book...tabbed it and highlighted it...and been all around the website. I'm just not sure my LO is old enough to 'learn' to sleep. Am I wrong? Has anyone been successful with one this young? Can someone tell me a plan to fix this?
Thanks so much.
Elizabeth
