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51
General Sleep Issues / 5 month old - Dropping catnap?
« Last post by regina1987m on January 27, 2021, 22:59:46 pm »
Hello BW,

I am veteran to this forum and have read the book religiously for every pregnancy (currently on LO #3) and although I thought for the third time around I wouldn't be this anxious (this damn pandemic is not helping) I feel like it is now more than ever that I need this to work so that I can have a little bit of  quality time with my daughters!

My little guy is 5 months (23 weeks) and has been a pretty great sleeper from the get go. He did have some developmental 45min intruders but we past that at 3.5-4 months. I also weaned him from the pacifier because although he had eliminated his MOTN feedings, he started waking up 6-10 times a night for his Paci. We went through that great, actually I think that is what really helped him connect cycles during nap time too.

Over the past week, my LO has been waking earlier and earlier in the morning and not being able to go back to sleep as he used to just two weeks ago. He used to sleep for 12 hrs (sometimes even more) each night, and now we're a little shy of 11 (10.5-11 to be exact, never past 11). Although I try and leave him until his DWT of 8:00, he is suddenly waking 30-1 hour before this time. Today, for the first time, he even cried for a few minutes trying to resettle, with no luck. Also today, naps haven't been great either and have been going downhill for about a week. Usually he naps 1.5-2 hrs for the first nap and 1-1.5 for the second nap + a catnap of 30-45 min, but he has gotten older and since his awake times are increasing, I feel like the catnap is getting so close to bedtime that is disrupting his night sleep... could this be possible?
I am starting to think he needs more awake time throughout the day? Or maybe he needs longer A times? Should we drop the catnap?
I will post our schedule for the past few days (on a good day). Please help!


8:00  DWT/ Feeds 8oz expressed milk (lately he wakes up 30min-1 hour early, although I pick him up at 8. He does not cry just stays quietly and regularly fell back to sleep, although lately he doesn't.)
8:15 - 9:50 Activity Time 2 hrs
9:50 Wind down consists of diaper change, sleep sack, lights out, white noise and put down wide awake. Usually takes 1-5 min to fall asleep.
10:00 Sleep - he usually takes close to a 2hr nap. Never less than 1.5 (today 1.10 ???)
12:00 Wake up / Feeds 8oz of expressed milk
2:10 Wind down, same conditions as above.
2:50 Sleep - he usually takes close to 1 hr - 1.15 (today 40 min  ???)
4:00 Wake up/ Feeds 8oz of formula
6:00 Catnap 30-40 min, I tend to cap it at 6:40 if he is not awake by then. He doesn't fight the catnap because he never does it on his crib, it is usually outside with sisters, on stroller.
8:00 Feeds 9oz of formula
8:15 Bedtime, wide awake. He can take 5-20 min to fall asleep independently. Hoping that when I eliminate the catnap I can put him down at 8.
He regularly sleeps through 11.5-12 hrs, although lately he has been waking up earlier each day  ???


Do you see something I can tweak to make a difference?
Thank you so much for your help!!!!
52
General Sleep Issues / Re: Won’t calm down
« Last post by regina1987m on January 27, 2021, 22:36:15 pm »
Hi! I have not much expertise, but would you post your day? Maybe I can help, sounds like my baby!
53
General Sleep Issues / Won’t calm down
« Last post by AnaQ on January 27, 2021, 14:47:34 pm »
So ever since we started doing a wind down routine at about 5 weeks (DS is now 8.5 weeks) it has been a battle to get him to calm down! As soon as we start swaddling he starts getting worked up. Then we move onto the sitting portion and he will NOT relax. He works himself up into a frenzy and in my head I envision a baby who maybe fusses a little but soon calms and relaxes into you as you sit there calmly.. well not my son. He stiffens his whole body and cries and is the farthest thing from relaxed. I am concerned with accidental parenting and props and stuff so I really try not to give him props although I will say I have been experimenting with different things to help him calm down.. I’ve tried walking around the room in the dark with white noise and he calms and relaxes but as soon as I sit it’s into the frenzy. I have tried shush patting while we sit there but that rarely works to calm him but it does stop him from having a meltdown. The paci works if I pop that in and sit with him but I don’t love that.. I guess I’m looking for advice from anyone who has  a baby who didn’t enjoy the recommended wind down routine and what tweaks I could do to still promote prop-free sleep training (he has a paci so I guess not totally prop free). Is the paci my simple solution or is there any other tweaks? He seems to calm only with any sort of movement but that kind of defeats the purpose of the sitting still.. any thoughts?
His wake time is around 50 mins and I’m slowly extending it over the next few weeks. He doesn’t do anything overly stimulating in his life. The most stimulating activity is watching his sister and dogs run around playing or watching his mobile.
54
General Sleep Issues / Re: Graduating a baby from the swaddle
« Last post by AnaQ on January 26, 2021, 20:40:47 pm »
I don’t have much advice other than to stick with it! It gets tough mentally to go through that. Maybe get a halo sleep sack that binds the arms down and you can slowly loosen it for him to get used to it? And I don’t think you being in the room to sleep would be a hard thing to stop .. if it gets bad just slowly start leaving sooner or a fast approach would be once he’s used to sleeping without his swaddle you just lay him down and say have a good nap daring, mommy’s going now, see you when you wake up. And then leave. He might fuss for a while for a couple days even but he’ll get used to it.
55
General Sleep Issues / Re: Baby laying with eyes wide open
« Last post by AnaQ on January 26, 2021, 20:37:16 pm »
Thanks
I feel like I have been telling myself things like that but sometimes a third party is nice as in the moment it’s like what is wrong with this baby! I have been starting to extend his wake time by 5 mins to work up to maybe 1hr / 1:15 over the next few weeks and I think that will help. I know with my first we only had an audio monitor (which I much prefer... less to fret about and you learn to listen to their type of cry rather than watch them fuss or lay there wide awake) however they don’t make dual audio monitors so we had to get video to get them both on one monitor system. I think we are staring to figure it out tho... but once that happens I know things are about to change!
56
General Sleep Issues / Re: Baby laying with eyes wide open
« Last post by Katet on January 25, 2021, 10:05:46 am »
Honestly if you didn't have a monitor you wouldn't know...so of he's happy and not crying 'if it ain't broke don't fix it's
Many babies (like my youngest) do quite happily lie awake enjoying their own company
If you are really worried, try extending A time as if he's happy then he doesn't need as much sleep as you are giving him the chance to have.
57
General Sleep Issues / Baby laying with eyes wide open
« Last post by AnaQ on January 25, 2021, 03:41:01 am »
My 8 week old babe has a hard time falling asleep for bedtime. He naps relatively well (sometimes needs help with shush patting but can fall asleep on his own).

I would say he is mostly textbook with a bit of touchy from what I can tell.

Every night he either has a hard time falling asleep fussing or he will just lay there with his eyes wide open. But just for bedtime! Usually lasts between 1.5-2 hours with or without going in and shush patting.

His schedule is (usually)
E/a 7:30
S 8:10
E/a 10
S 10:45
E/a 1
S 1:45
E/a 4
S 4:45
E/a 6
Bedtime between 6:15-7 depending on if he wakes up early from late afternoon nap or not (usually 45-50 mins after he wakes up)
Feeds at 8 & 11
And 1 or 2 motn feeds.

I am super conscious of overstimulation. Probably too conscious. My only theory is possibly undertired??? Could that be it? He seems so sleepy when I put him down and he goes to sleep for his naps within 10 mins. But it’s just bedtime that consistently takes sometimes past the 8pm feeding to fall asleep! (But once he’s out he’s out for the night; just waking to feed them going right back down). I have scoured the books and internet for a solution and I just can’t find out why he would 1. just lay there with his eyes open making no sounds for an hour (i only know he’s awake because of our video monitor otherwise I’d assume he’s sleeping). and 2. Why he consistently takes 1-2.5 hrs to fall asleep at night!

Can anyone help? I’m at wits end hah.
58
General Sleep Issues / Graduating a baby from the swaddle
« Last post by Batsheva on January 17, 2021, 16:56:23 pm »
How do you get the baby to sleep with out a swaddle once he's outgrown that stage?
My baby is almost 4 months old, has been sleeping in a swaddle for 2 months, and is definitely growing out of the swaddle. He started getting out of it before he falls asleep, and he can not fall asleep with out it. Before hand he would go to sleep on his own, in his rib, but when he gets out of the swaddle it'd as if he forgot he was tired. He gets full of energy and his hands start flying everywhere. He doesn't know what to do with them. Now it takes hours to put him to sleep, and I have to hold his arms down (not aggressively but so he doesn't fling them everywhere), and even when doing that it takes hours.
Help!!!
I don't know how to put him to sleep anymore.. during the day or the night. (other people that always put him to sleep with out it can still put him to sleep, but I don't know how to do it. It looks like he is trying to fall asleep but can't. I also don't want him to get used to me being in the room with him until he falls asleep..
59
Naps / Not crying, but not sleeping either
« Last post by shakhanova@gmail.com on January 12, 2021, 12:24:24 pm »
Hello everyone!
I would like to ask for your guys' advice.
My 4 month old is an  Angel/Textbook baby and is generally fine on the routine.
During her day naps, she often wakes up and just fusses or talks to herself (rarely does the mantra cry) for 30 minutes or even an hour, and then goes back to sleep. I do not enter her room, she normally self-soothes. We have recently switched to a 4-hour routine, but she did the same on a 3-hour one.
Should it concern me that in fact she only gets half the sleep time? She is always well-rested and happy when I come to get her, I am just wondering if I am not wasting so much of her time letting her just lay in the boring crib...
Please let me know your thoughts! Am I overreacting?
60
Naps / Re: 5 month old suddenly wont nap at Grandparents
« Last post by Katet on January 12, 2021, 03:29:11 am »
Sounds like your little one is not a little baby anymore & is taking an interest in her surroundings and noticing that the place she is having a nap is different and wants to take in all the new surroundings.

It may take more practice for her to get to the point she will sleep there & probably the more times she gets to observe the surroundings when she is awake might help.

It's important to note that they change and adjustment is needed. My eledest found it hard to sleep in places other than home from about the same age & learning to be flexible is an important skill as just when you think you have it all working they get older & things change.

You may actually find that it could be better for the grandparents to tweak the routine so that it is a bit different rather than the same as a home, so your Daughter has more experience with different situations, rather than trying to keep the routine identical everywhere.  The Grandparents might like to take her out for a walk and let her fall asleep in the stroller/pushchair,   

Also if she misses a nap & is happy, then don't worry too much, babies are resillient.
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