In need of help with E.A.S.Y schedule

[Patrycja]

I put my 3.5 weeks old son on the EASY schedule but he is not taking good naps. He either cries or takes cat naps, which are not good for either him or me. I try Reading his cues in order to get him to sleep at the right time but I don't know if he is either not tired or overtired when I put him down to sleep. Please help!

[yaya]

what does your routine currently look like?

[Patrycja]

Here it is:
I use the 3hr feeding schedule and sometimes the 2.5 hr feeding if he seems to be hungry earlier
We usually start the day between 6:30 - 7 am
E: 7 am- (30 or 40 min.)
A: 7:30 till 8:00 or 8:10 (anywhere from 30 to 40 min)
S: 8:30 till 10, idyllically, but he cries a lot before finally going down shortening his nap to 30 -45 min, sometimes wakes up after 15 min. of napping and has a hard time going to back to sleep
The whole process repeats every 3 hours.
Night - last feeding at 7 pm, bedtime is between 8 and 9 pm, df at 10 pm, wakes up around 12:30 but if not crying I let him go till 1am - bf at 1am, wakes up at around 3am but if not crying I will leave him alone until 4 am and then bf, morning starts around 6 and 7 am.

Thank you for your help, I really appreciate it and need it as I am having hard time and the baby blues are not helpful either.

Patrycja

[*Nicola*]

Hello 

My first thought on seeing your day is that his awake times are too long.  Over the day he will get more and more tired meaning that by catnap/bedtime he is really really tired.

His awake time should really only be 1 hour MAX at this age.  So if he is up at 7am to feed you would aim for him to be back in bed pretty much asleep by 8am.  As he is taking 30-40 mins to feed you will probably be looking at feed, change, cuddle then wind down in room and right into bed for the hour mark.   

Do you have a wind down routine for him?  If not then it is a good idea to begin one now so that he can have a chance to relax before sleep and come to learn what is happening next.  Both good things to help with good sleep.

If he is waking after 15 mins of sleep then it is likely that the jolts are waking him up and he can't fall back over by himself.  You know the 'I'm falling off a cliff' feeling that jolts us awake?! To help with this you could swaddle him and use pat/shh to help him fall asleep.  It takes 20 mins for a baby to fall into a deep sleep so you might have to stay and help him stay sleeping until then.  After that point there is another jolt at 30 mins (hence some 30 min wake ups) and then at 45 mins babies come out of one sleep cycle and move into another.  They become restless and move towards wakefulness.  Most babies have a tough time getting into the next cycle without waking up, so you could help him again but using sh to stop him waking.

HTH a bit.  A 3 weeks he is doing great, and nights seem good too.  Hang in there!!

[*Nicola*]

Links to help ...

Pat/sh for babies

teaching sleep to newborns

 

[Patrycja]

Nicola,

Thank you so much for your help, I really appreciate it. It did hit me yesterday that maybe I do keep him up to long and today I started his wind down routine at 8 am. Do you think that this is still to long for him and I should try getting him for a nap even earlier, like you suggested in your posting? Thank you for explaining the waking up and jolts during the naps, it totally makes sense and now I know what to expect and how to deal with it. I'm allready more relaxed



Patrycja

[Amma]

Dear Patrycja, my concern is: is it necessary to keep him up at night when he wakes up hungry? I fed my baby immedaitely when i saw him "rooting" around looking for the breast to suck on. This way he would have a better night sleep. But maybe you guys are fine now and this is not necessary.

[Patrycja]

Amma,

Thanks for your response. I understand your concern, but what I noticed with my son, is that he is not actually awake or ready to eat many times during the night and starts making little noises (which I assume are due to the transition between the deep/light sleep) for a bit and then he quiets down . Also, if I feed him right away when he starts making noises he snacks instead of eating and keeps waking up more often during the night. He actually will never cry, but fusses around the feeding time. I guess I did not express myself correctly in my original post, sorry.
Please let me know if you have any suggestions as to the night feedings, I am a "brand new mom" and would welcome any help , thanks again.

[*Nicola*]

  Hello again

I think it sounds like you are doing great.  If my DD is restless but not awake during the night I also don't feed her until she fully wakes as sometimes she will resettle and go another hour or more.  If I am awake enough I give a quick sh!  You will know your own LO and can gauge what is best. 

Amma, I know what you mean.  If DD is hungry, awake and showing hunger signs I wouldn't delay in feeding her. I think it is that inbetween bit that is difficult.

How did it go with starting the wind down at 8am?  I think if you sit back and watch your LO's cues you will be able to suss out what works best for him.  The 1 hour awake time is a general rule that applies to most babies of this age but of course there are exceptions.  Some last less time and some longer.  DD1 would need to be sleeping by the hour mark but DD2 needs wind down to start on the hour mark!  See what works best.  If you try winding down on the hour but he seems OT and doesn't settle easily then maybe try winding down 5 mins earlier next time   

Things do become clearer as the days pass, honest!

[Patrycja]

Hi Nicola,

We started to put DS for naps much earlier and it seems to be working. He still has hard time going to sleep sometimes but it seems to be due to him having gas and wanting to lay on his belly instead of the back.
I have another questions for you, how about getting out and about while using E.A.S.Y routine? We had to go out couple of times today and he ended up sleeping in the car seat (1 hour first and then 40 min.), do you have any tips as to this topic? Thanks.