Help with 10 week old very unsettled at bedtime.

[roimata9]

hi everyone,
My 10 week old is a dream baby - except for bedtime! I try to put him down about 8pm, but he cries and fusses and isn't going to sleep until anywhere between 11 and 1am! One night he cried until 4am! He seems a bit uncomfortable then and will often squirm, grunt and fart a lot.
During the day he is amazing, he will wake up have a breastfeed and after an hour I will put him down on his tummy and he'll go to sleep within 20 minutes with no crying and sleep for 1.5 to 3 hours.
He sleeps on his tummy during the day, but I swaddle him at night and put him on his back in a hammock. Could that be the problem?
Any advice would be gratefully appreciated as I have a 3 year old so can't sleep in to catch up!

[newkidontheblock]

Hi hun. Do you think it might be discomfort? How long do you burp him after the feed? It might be that holding him upright for a while might help. During the day there seems to be a good gap with eating and sleeping, so maybe no discomfort as a result but here it is too close? Does he have an issue with reflux?

That being said, what's your routine looking like at the moment? Maybe something there could also be contributing

[roimata9]

We still don't have a good routine. But generally it goes something like this:
A: 6:30am (BF)
S: 7:45
A: 9:15 (gets woken at 8:50 to do school run but falls back to sleep in car)
9:30 BF
S:10am
A: 12:30 BF (usually I wake him at this time to feed him before doing preschool pickup)
S:1:45 (usually in front pack while we're at the park or on a play date)
A:3:30 BF
S: 4:30
A: 6pm BF
S: 7pm
A: 8pm BF
Then try to get him to sleep until he finally crashes usually around 11pm.
He'll generally wake at 4am for a feed then straight back to sleep.

He seems like there could be discomfort because he is farting, also when he feeds in the evening he often startles and jerks off the breast. But he doesn't seem uncomfortable any other times. My eldest had reflux, and he's nowhere close to that! I do wonder if maybe something I'm eating is affecting him - but sometimes in the evening he is just WIDE awake, but happy until we lay him in bed and then he cries and cries and cries.

[roimata9]

Today he went to sleep at midnight, woke at 5am for a feed, straight back to sleep was woken up by big brother at 7:30, BF then straight back to sleep 8-9:20. Then back to sleep 10:20 and I will wake him up at 12:30.
So the late nights are mucking us up! If he had slept those same times but 3 hours earlier, so 9pm-2am for the first sleep, that would have been great.

[newkidontheblock]

Okay, could you tell me what sort of a day you are aiming for. It is best to keep it to 12 -12.5 hours max, so 6.30am -6.30/7 pm? or is your day 6.30 - 8? Because that might be too long.

One point that stood out to me was that the last nap is from 4.30 - 6. (is that the last nap or are you doing another CN at 7?)  That is extremely restful and he definitely would not be ready for bed an hour later.  Taking into account the good naps through the day, and this last long nap, I feel that he is under tired for bed and that is why you are getting so much resistance. I think that all babies have a period of the day, generally the evening, where they are more awake & alert.
Typical Amounts of Day and Night Sleep
I understand that the 'usual' routine outlined by Tracy won't be suitable since you have another LO. She says to aim for 3 naps + a CN of 30/45 mins. How would you feel about capping that last nap at 45 minutes and then putting him to bed between 6.30 & 7?

I hope it is not a case of day sleep robbing from night sleep and these being UT wakings as he doesn't seem to have much A time through the day. What do you think?

[roimata9]

I guess he's even having four good naps and a cat nap a day rather than 3.
Last night we had amazing success! I set him up on a mattress on the floor so he could sleep on his tummy for the night like he does during the day. (With our angelcare movement pads under it) He went to sleep at 7:40! Hallelujah! I'll see how he goes the next few nights but it seems the problem was he didn't like sleeping on his back.
A 13 hour day would be best for us, I think.