Please help - really worried I'm confusing my baby and making it worse

[effie]

I started EASY on Monday this week with my 6week old son. Our major issue with him is meltdown evenings, which have got better recently - he's a very windy baby and I'm pretty sure it's not colic but overtiredness so really wanetd to start a routine to help him sleep better in the evening.

We've been trying to stick to feeding every 3 hours and doing the sleep training, but I'm having a few issues. I don't want to sudenyl stop EASY because I'm worried I'm already confusing my son, his life seems to becoming more and more miserable.

Monday went well in terms of three hour feeding - was taking about 40mins to help him settle to sleep on average, I think I just miss all his tired signs (if he has any). He settled after we did our bath and bed routine at 8pm, did a dream feed at 11pm, he slept til 3am then til 7am - perfect!

Everything has gone wrong since Tuesday, I don't know what I'm doing right or wrong anymore - I know this is going to take time but am just worried that it's getting worse before getting better. His natural rhythm is more or less 3 hours, but in the last 48 hours he's barely slept more than an hour (we had screaming meltdown all Tuesday night and he was just wide awake all last night), I'm worried I've inadvertently made him start to switch night for day and whereas even though we would have screaming evenings til after the 11pm feed, he would then sleep happily til 2 or 3 then go back down quickly and easily til morning, now he's just awake constantly.

I'm worried I'm trying to do too much at once with him - maybe I should just be concentrating on his sleep training and beyond that continue to let him do what he needs and wants to do - if anyone has any advice I'd be so grateful

[* Paula *]

Hugs I am sorry you are going through a rough time.

Can you post what your day has looked like i.e.

E - what time BF or bottle (how much)
A - how long
S - How long including wind down routine.

Do you swaddle?

Do you have a good wind down routine

http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=64277.0

[home alone]

Someone correct me if I am wrong but night waking is either due to habits or hunger (or pain).  I wonder if your lo is getting enough to eat during the day + cluster feeding. 
My lo is also 5wks going on 6wks tomorrow and i think her A time is 1hr + she naps anywhere btwn 40min-1hr so sometimes EASY takes less than 3hrs so I feed her again when she wakes.  I think it's better for your lo to eat more during the day so that they won't wake more than couple of times during the night.

[effie]

it's not so much that he wakes in the night, just that he doesn't sleep in the first place...I do offer him food but often he doesn't want it til it's 3 hours later anyway. Last night was a triumph however, he went straight down after 7:30 feed, managed a DF, he woke at 2:45 then I had to wake him at 7:30....I think it's because I managed to get some better naps out of him (though mainly through APing as I had to leave the house so he was in a sling)

He's now been asleep for 1.5hours, having gone down 1.5 hours after waking - ought I wake him up to keep him on schedule, or just let him wake when he wants to?

[effie]

ok - will give it a go (just taken another hour to put him down for his nap!!)

[effie]

I'm trying the shush/pat, sometimes it works - going to look back over your link to check I'm doing it right...but am confused as to how that isn't just another prop or APing? When he starts crying meltdown I'm currently resorting to picking him up and rocking him til he's calm, then trying to put him down using shush/pat

tried to put him down this time after 45mins...took him into the quiet bedroom, had a calm cuddle, swaddled and held him upright against me a little bit cos I could feel the usual bubbles in his belly so wanetd to make sure he wouldn't wake up from wind, then popped in moses basket - he looked asleep 10mins later but obviously woke himself back up again!

[effie]

good link, the responses have made me feel better! will keep at it

he woke after 45mins...so feeding now seeing it's been 3 hours! am clueless and starting to feel like I'm completely losing trust in my own intuition

[* Paula *]

Hugs hun, you know your lo is capable of having good naps as you have had some good naps as well as a good night.

If you can post what your day has looked like it will give us a better idea of what has been happening during the day.

Things will get better I promise