too long in am?

[OliverRowland]

I am trying to figure out why my 10 week old is having such a hard time with day naps.  I have posted my concerns in the past and am following everyone's recommendations without much success so far.  My LO is now sleeping up to 7 hours at night (yipee!).  He's usually asleep by 9pm and waking at 3-4pm.  He can be very difficult to get back to sleep ( I think he get's gassy).  When we do get him back to sleep he wakes 30 min later.  So my husband often has our LO on his chest and he falls asleep (lots of gas is expelled this way!) but can be very wiggly.  I then have to wake him at 7am for the day, ie feed (breast fed).  But he is usually still very sleepy afterwards and will often sleep until his next feeding at 10am.  The rest of the day is tough though.  He is sooooooo difficult to get to sleep for his rest of the day naps.  And if I am successfull with lots and lots of shhh/pat (45min) he will only sleep for 30min. He is generally in a good mood most of the day until after 5pm when he gets slowly more cranky until bed time.   Do you think that long nap in the am sets up for a bad day of naps?  Should I try and keep him awake after 7am?
thank you.

[Mom to M&M]

Might he be getting gassy from something you're eating and he's getting by BF? Have you tried the elimination diet to see if you can find a trigger food?

Yes, the long AM nap could definitely make it hard for him to sleep much rest of the day. I'd consider 7am as his wake time for the day, or you can wake him at 7:30 instead and start from there. Try to keep him awake for one hour and then let him sleep from say 8:30-10:30 and go from there. I'd also try to bring his bedtime forward - 9pm is quite late. Most babies do better with a bedtime between 7-8pm.

HTH.

[OliverRowland]

If he goes to bed earlier will his first wake up time also be earlier?
The reason I keep him up later is because I cluster feed (4pm, 6:30, and 8:30).  The dream feed has not been successful because of possible reflux and my overactive letdown.  He is not a calm eater despite being half asleep.  Do you have any recommendations?
I have eliminated dairy from my diet in the past but with no significant change.  I do not eat any of the gassy veggies nor fruit...any other suggestions?
I sat with him today during a nap and noticed that it seems like gas is waking him up.  It is better than it was 4 weeks ago when he was always distended and we spent alot of time trying to help him get it out.  Perhaps we need to go back to that?  ie more bicycle leg pumps, lying belly down on my lap,etc. 

[Mom to M&M]

Contrary to what many believe, an earlier bedtime often yields a LATER wake time. What is your current routine and feeding times?

If you suspect reflux, your LO may need some medicine - the reflux board here can be a GREAT help for determining the problem.

[OliverRowland]

we are trying him on Pepcid 2x/day....if he does have reflux it is mild.  We are also doing most of what is suggested on the reflux posts.

OUr schedule:
E: 7:00, 10:00, 1:00, 4:00, 6:30, 8:30.....this week again at 4am.  He usually sleeps after  7am feed and change and awake for 10am.  Otherwise I  try to start S after 60min of A.  But he is never consistant and if he does a short nap I cut my A time short to make up.
No nap between 6:30 and 8:30 (A includes bath).
oops gotta run it's LO dinner time!

[Mom to M&M]

Can you cluster feed instead at 6 and 7:30 and get him to bed after that? Cluster feeds aren't full feeds anyway...

[OliverRowland]

Should I keep am wake up time the same for now?  7am vs 7:30am? If 7:30, then my feeds would be: 10:30, 1:30, 4:30, ...?
How should I go about getting him to be earlier?  Get him to bed 15 min earlier at a time until i get to 7:30pm?  It seems like a big jump in one day.  And your sure he will not wake up earlier?....geez I am scared to ruin a good thing....but for a better thing I would do it!

[Mom to M&M]

I would bring awake time forward 15 minutes every 3 days. I can't guarantee that he won't wake earlier but would be surprised if he did, at least in the long run.

I think I'd keep 7am wake time then for now and do feeds at 7, 10, 1, 4, 5:45 and 7:30 - or something like that.

Re gassy - have you checked out the Dr. Sears elimination diet?

[OliverRowland]

thanks, will give it a try

[OliverRowland]

I have a couple of questions:
1. at what age do the jolts stop?
2. at what age do LO stop needing to be burped?
Thanks.

[OliverRowland]

also I have a question re the schedule....how would you fit in a nap between 4-5:45?

[Mom to M&M]

I can't remember exactly when the jolts stopped - maybe around 3-4 months? It's different for all babies. Are you swaddling to help with this? We stopped burping around 9 months I think.

What time are your naps currently and we'll have a look and tweak so you can fit in a short catnap.

[OliverRowland]

I was doing a shorter nap bewtween 4 and 6:30 feeds....tried for a 45min nap.

We are using the miracle blanket and like it very much....just wondering when jolts stop as the miracle blanket suggests stop use at 14 weeks.

Tried 15min earlier last night but did not go well....I hope just a coincidence?! But he woke at 12:30 and we got him back to sleep with shh/pat.  Then he was awake to feed 30 min earlier than has been for feeding (3:30 instead of after 4am).  Will keep trying to see what happens.

[Mom to M&M]

We didn't swaddle after 6 weeks. DD hated it and we weren't really fans anyway - just a personal preferece thing. Yes we had jolts for a while but it eventually evened out - I can't really remember but would guess it was around 3-4 months.

Yes, I would just keep trying. If you feed at 4 you can try for a catnap from 5-5:45 and see if that works.