Please help 3 hr EASY

[stopjo]

I posted this in the EASY board and didn't get any reply.  So, I am reposting it here.  Sorry, I really need some help.

I started 3 hr EASY with my son who turned 6 wks yesterday. Yesterday day time went on kind of smooth. He had 3 oz every 3 hours. Had around 1-1.5 hours nap between feeds. I fed him 3 oz at 4:30 and then at 6:35 pm. We usually sleep between 9:30 and 4:30. So, I put him in the bassinet @ 7:30 and rocked him until 8:00. He woke up at 11:30 took one hour for feeding and putting him back to sleep and he woke up at 2:30 took one hour to feed and put him back to sleep and then at 5:30 he was up. It looks like he got into the 3 hour routine during the night too. He woke up at 5:30 am and had only 30 minutes nap here and there. He won't sleep, I rocked in the bassinet, swaddled, walked with him on the shoulder, sang to him. He won't take a pacifier. Finally the only thing helps is putting him down on his tummy with a pacifier kind of works. But I am scared of SIDS.

He is trying to put his thumb and sometimes gets frustrated. Is it too late for him to learn thumb suckling? Is there a way I can teach him?

He is a 9 pound baby. He got 21.5 oz between 3:00 AM and 6:35 PM yesterday. What am I doing wrong? Please help! I am really tired.

My husband is willing to help but I don't want to disturb him because he has to go to work and he has some interviews.

His total sleeping time adding 10 minutes here and there together in 24 hours is only 11-12 hours.
Also, to differentiate between daytime and night time, I switch on the TV during the day and he sleeps on a sheet on the floor. During night time, I put him in the bassinet with a night light and it's quite.

[SandyGal]

Hi! I moved your post back here so that the discussion will be in line with others who are trying to ease their babies onto a routine.

Okay, first congratulations on making the decision to put your baby on the E.A.S.Y routine. Second, relax... it is going to take a little time. Sounds like your little guy had a hungry night. That happens sometimes, so try not to be so discouraged about your first night.

His 30 minute naps following a night of being awake quite a bit are probably due to him being overtired. Take a deep breath and tell yourself that getting on a routine is going to take a bit of time. It won't happen overnight. It will probably take a couple of weeks. I started with my daughter at six weeks and by eight weeks we had it down. There were many times that first week of trying that I thought it would never work. By about the fourth or fifth day, we started to see a little progress.

Okay, you have quite a few questions so lets see what I can help with.

The thumbsucking... you can help him get his thumb in his mouth, but he will actually end up figuring it out on his own. That is what dd did and it happened right around the same age as where you are now. At first it was very frustrating for her, but eventually she figured out that she could get her thumb by sliding her hand across her cheek and catching her thumb in her mouth! Very cute.

I do not recommend you put him to sleep on his tummy. He is very young for that.

A couple of questions that might help me and the other women help you.

I'm assuming he is being formula fed since you are siting actual ounces he is taking in. When you give him three ounces, is that all he wants or will he take four?

You mentioned that you have the TV on during the day to differentiate day from night? That can be quite stimulating for a baby. You can differentiate day from night by having a different nap vs. bedtime routine. For instance... my dd gets a bath at night as part of her bed time routine. The other differentiation is that there are no activity time after feeds at night. What is your nap time and bed time routine?

You also mentioned that ds is sleeping on a sheet during the day? The bassinet is very cozy and secure. That is reassuring to a baby, so you may want to keep all of his sleeping in the bassinet.

Do you swaddle you baby when he is sleeping? Have you been doing the shhh/pat method to get ds to sleep?

Let us know the answer to these questions and we will see where to go from there.

[stopjo]

First of all, I would like to thank you very much for replying.

I hope there is light at the end of tunnel.

In answers to those questions,

At the beginning he had problems latching on and the hospital introduced a bottle during one of his visits to the New born club.  Since then he was comfortable with the bottle and won't bf for even 2 minutes.  So, I started pumping.  Now, I supplement bm with formula.

He was taking 4 oz in the beginning every 4 hours.  His birth weight was 6.14 pounds and today he weighs 9.9  pounds.  He was drinking 24-25 oz of milk at 2 weeks and weigh 7.14 pounds.  Doctor felt that he was over weight.  So, I have reduced his milk now.  When he was taking 4 oz he used to sleep 6 hours in the night.

I have a 5-1/2 year old daughter who is playing around and I cannot sush her every time.  And he wakes up for each and every noise.  Switching on the TV also helps him listening to some sound continuously and he doesn't get startled anymore. 

I used to put him in the bassinet both naptime and bedtime.  But he was waking up in 30- 40 minutes during daytime that's when I started putting him on his tummy on the floor for only 2-3 days now.   During nap time, I put him on my lap and rock him after he sleeps.   I usually give him bath in the mornings.  During the night, I keep it quite, I don't give any activity time, I put him straight in the bassinet, rock and sing.
 
Usually, if he wakes up in the middle of the night, after feeding, I use shhhh/pat method.

Yesterday night he slept continuously for 4 hours.

Thank you once again.
Jo

[thitz]

My advice is that you have to be consistent or your baby will be confused and not learn how to go to sleep on its own.  I decided to do the sh/pat with my lo and it took a lot of effort.  (she used to only sleep on dh in the papoose)  I put her in her crib for every nap and did 20 mins of sh/patting each time.  At about the 7 day mark I started to be able to put her in the crib with no sh/patting and was getting 2 hour naps with little help from me.  It was a HUGE amount of work but so worth it because now I have lots of ME time, and you could have lots of time with your older child.

Good luck, Tarri

[stopjo]

Yesterday night he slept from 8:20 to 2:30.  And when I put him back after feed at 3:00 he slept until 5:40.  I felt like a big success.  Number of hours he slept yesterday in 24 hours was 13.  I will try to be more consistent.  Sometimes, I loose it because I have another one.  She will be going back to school in 2 weeks and hope it gets better. 

Thank you for your support.
Jo

[cwolff]

StopJo, I can't believe your doctor said he was overweight.  My DD was  6.8lbs at birth and 7.14lbs at 2 weeks also.  Our doctor was very pleased.  I really think you should feed him more during the day so he wants to eat less at night.  And talk to another doctor.  I guess it's just my opinion, but there is no such thing as being an "overweight" infant.

Also, I agree that you should try putting him in one place for all sleeps for now.  And what helped my dd was first, swaddling!  Big #1.  Next was creating a nest in the bassinet.  We put a folded blanket that curved at the top of the bassinet, and when we layed her in it, we made sure the top of her head was touching in.  Next, we had a sleep positioner, that kept her in place and snug all night.  That helped a lot. 

And as for the day and night confusion, right now, your son doesn't care what time it is.  He's still young, and needs to eat often whether it is day or nighttime.  But, eventually, his biological clock will set itself.  I agree that you should start a bedtime routine asap.  Even if it seems like he doesn't notice now, it is very important to get into a good habit now.  And he will probably still wake up in the night for food after his "bedtime" but he will go longer, the bigger he gets.