Sleep and routine - help seem to have gone backwards!

[Wren85]

Hi All

I'm desperately trying to follow the EASY routine but I'm struggling with the sleep bit.

My little boy is 8wks and up until last Thursdays he had a predictable bedtime of 9.30pm and would then sleep till about 3amish. However over the weekend he has developed a horrible overtired screaming which is difficult to calm down unless I hold him, but once I put him in his cot, he's off again screaming! He is now also waking through the night

Sleep in the day has always been a bit of an issue, napping is a struggle and he will only do 40mins at a push, however he will go for longer if he is cuddling mummy! I was planning to try and get the daytime routines put in but I now feel like I'm at the beginning!

I would like to know if anyone can offer any words of wisdom??? Should I let him cry it out? I'm not great at letting him fuss for to long....... As prior to this I could put him in his cot and with only a little fussing he would drop off. He did have his first vaccination last week so I'm wondering if that is something to do with it? He is also now not feeding very well, he is taking longer to finish a bottle.

Sorry for the long post but any advice would be great!!!

X

[*Ali*]

Hi and welcome to the forum. Have you read any of the BW books?

Here we are opposed to Leaving LOs to cry alone as Tracy Hogg felt it broke the bond of trust between baby and parent. Here is some info that explains further. Cry it out (CIO): 10 reasons why it is not for us
Research on why 'cry it out' and 'controlled crying' is NOT recommended!
Video on CIO/CC and its effect on brain development
Kara & Alexandra's Story

He is still so young so it is completely normal for him to need mama's help to get to sleep. Is he sleeping in his own bed? Do you swaddle? Are you doing a consistent wind down for naps and BT? Here is a link with some ideas What does a good wind down consist of (Includes 4S ritual)

How long is he awake before you try to put him to sleep? At this age they can generally only handle a max of 1hr20 before they need to sleep again and that includes eating and wind down. If he is awake longer than this he may be getting over tired. 9.30pm is quite late for BT so he may need to go down earlier. We tend to recommend trying for a 12hr day .

The jabs could definitely be contributing. I can't remember what is in the first lot but some can cause a fever up to a week after. Does he have a temperature? If so are you giving meds?

Have you tried shh pat? You can do it over your shoulder to start with. Shush-pat - How to

[Wren85]

HI Ali,

Thank you for this information and taking the time to reply.

I am reading the BW, I'm probably just over half way and I only wish I had read this while I was pregnant! Thankfully the NT sleeping has got back to normal I think the mix of the jab ( no temp but might have been feeling grotty?) and the fact I had started putting him in his cot unswaddled could have been the problem. LO currently sleeps in a cocoon baby nest in the cot and I think he like the security since I stopped swaddling last month.

I do a ritual for BT - bath, massage, feed, relax, bed. But I'm not really doing one for the naps but I will start introducing next week. I managed to get LO to bed at 8.30 last night and he slept till 4am feed and then up at 6.50am.

I'm glad about not letting him Cry it out, I wouldn't be very good at that anyway, however I do have to go into his room probably about 5+ times to help him to sleep once he is in bed, I use shhhhing with a tummy rub which seems to sooth him.

Also I'm currently aiming for his naps to last about 1hr? Really silly question but should I ever wake him from a nap for a feed, especially if he is gone longer than an hr?

Thank you again and sorry for the essay!

[*Ali*]

Ideally at his age he would be on a 3hr routine so awake about 1hr20 and then asleep for the next 1hr 40 until his next feed. Obviously that is just a guide/ideal and all babies will vary slightly. Ideally any naps will be at least two 45 min sleep cycles so 1.5hrs.  At the end of the day he would probably have a shorter nap and then a shorter A time before feeding again at BT.  I would only wake him if he had been asleep more than 2hrs or it was going to go over 3.5hrs or so since his last feed. That is in the day. At night I'd just let him sleep.

Glad to hear you are having more success. They often still need swaddling until 4mo or older. My DS2 was swaddled in a Woombie until 8mo!

As he gets more comfortable going to sleep independently and needing less help from you then the NWs should reduce too.

Are you feeding him for some of the NWs?

[Wren85]

Yes I'm still feeding when he wakes in the night, last night he did stir at 2am but then dropped back off till 3.30am, then up at 6am.(he did go to bed at 8pm so impressed he lasted till 3am!)

Ok maybe I should offer him to sleep slightly longer on his naps as currently when he stirs after 1hr I will go in and get him up but he is often then really upset.

He is currently on a 4hrs feed schedule (mainly guided by him), do you think I should try and pull him back to 3hrs?

I will look at a woombie as the swaddle pod I had only lasted till 2months.

Thanks!

[*Ali*]

I think some FF LOs can go to a 4hr routine earlier if they are taking 4 big bottles of say 6oz rather than 5 smaller bottles of 5oz. How much milk is he having in 24hrs? If he is getting enough and isn't hungry before 4hrs then he is probably fine. If he seems hungry before the 4hrs then I would definitely feed him.

[Wren85]

He is having just over 6oz each feed 6 bottles in 24hrs. We have been working on the naps and I can really see an improvement. He goes down with hardly any fussing and is such a happy boy when he wakes.

He is have about 1.5hrs In the morning, 2 x 45mins over lunch and a few little naps in the afternoon. And he is now in bed for 8pm.

Thank you so much for your advise, it's been a great help xx

[*Ali*]

Is he draining the day bottles or are you offering more and he is taking 6oz? If he is draining then I would offer another ounce.

[Wren85]

I will always make 180mls bottles and generally he will leave about 10mls, only at night he will sometimes take 200mls but that's probably because he as gone between 6-8hrs.

[*Ali*]

So he's having plenty if milk then.