11 week old (14 lber) stuck on 2 hr feeding schedule???

[kellyanne]

Hello,

This is my first post so please forgive if it is in the wrong place.  I think this is a short-nap problem but I really can't be too sure.

Here goes:

My little boy is almost 11 weeks old (7.4 lbs at birth now 14 lbs).  I started BW from about day 5 (home from hospital).  It worked amazingly (solid 3 hr schedule) until about 3 weeks ago.  All of a sudden, he started only taking 30-45 min naps (used to be 1.5 hrs almost consistently).  He is probably a textbook baby.  He usually goes down really easy for his naps.  Sometimes takes a paci, sometimes doesn't need it.  Always swaddled.  We have a solid bedtime routine that I just got established (after much trial and error) and has been working for about two weeks. Here is a basic routine that explains our day:

If he wakes up after 5:30am, we stay up and start the day.  If he wakes befor 4:30 - 5am, I can put him back to sleep and the day will not usually start until 6 or 7 am (depends on how long he sleeps).

E:  7 am:  wake up and feed (up to 45 minutes)
A:  7:30am
S:  8:30am for maybe an hour in the morning
wake up:  9:30
E: 9:30am:  feed
A: 10:00am
S: 11:00am
E: 11:30am
A: 12:00pm
S: 1:00pm
E: 1:45pm (maybe)
A: 2:15pm
S: 3:00pm
E: 3:30pm
A: 4:00pm
S: 5:00pm
E: 6:00pm (maybe)
A: 6:30pm - a little play time with Dad when he gets home, bath time by 7:15, 7:30.
S: Feed to sleep by 7:30-7:45 - asleep by 8pm
doesn't wake again until around 2am, then sometimes around 4:30.  Usually lasts about 3.5 hours from the am feed.

I don't do a dreamfeed, as it doesn't seem to make a difference.

For the last 3 days he has also broke the schedule and gone down for his second nap of the day and slept 2.5 hours.  So essentially he misses a feed during the day (makes no difference to his night time sleep).  The problem is that when he wakes up after 30-45 minutes, he's not really hungry.  i.e., yesteryday he woke up at 3:40pm and I didn't feed him until 4:40pm.  It didn't make a difference to his A time, he still went to sleep about 5:10pm.  (and woke up about 6:10 and I fed him again).  Not feeding him for an hour is not the norm, either, he'll usually last maybe 15 minutes, maybe 30, before wanting to be fed again.

I also have stopped waking him when he does sleep for a long period (i.e., let him go 2.5 hours instead of only 2), as recommended in BW.  Whenever I did wake him, he was grumpier and didn't sleep as well the following night.

Sometimes he is tired after 1 hour of play time but still only sleeps for less than an hour - so I will hold him off until 2 hours.

I have tried for about a week to put him back to sleep when he wakes up - typically it doesn't work.  See, he usually wakes up happy.  When I come to get him from his crib he gives me a big smile and a goo.  Then I feel horrible when I try to force him back to sleep.  He'll cry and cry.  If he does go back to sleep, it usually takes me about 30-40 minutes to get him to sleep, and then he'll only sleep for about 30 minutes, because by then 3 hours will have passed and he will be hungry.  Usually he just works himself up so that he won't go to sleep and this is not the norm for him - he is a happy baby.  I use sh/pat in a rocking chair (not his crib) and usually a paci.  However, it seems more stressful for both me and babe to try and force him to sleep when he doesn't want to. 

I want desparately to get back on a 3 hour routine but he just doesn't seem to want to.  I'm not sure how we will ever transition to a 4 hour when when are stuck on 2!!  The nurse said it is likely a growth spurt, but, really, 3 weeks long???

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.  And maybe I'm not doing anything wrong and just have to wait it out.  It is really hard to get anything done, though, when babe only sleeps for 30 minutes at a time!!

Thanks!

[marensmama]

Hi kellyanne, and welcome to BW!   Thanks for all the helpful information.  I agree that this is likely not a growth spurt issue, those only usually last 3 days or so, not weeks on end.  30 minute naps indicate OT, and LOs his age can usually handle 1 hr and 20-30 minutes of A time, and that first A time of the day is usually the shortest.  Looking at your routine, I think maybe 90 minutes of A time is too much and that makes him OT for the rest of the day.  Definitely holding him off for 2 hours will make for an OT bub at this stage.

As far as the feeding schedule goes, he certainly doesn't sound like he's starving   It's possible that he's just snacking every 2 hours, not taking a full feed so he is hungry for the next one two hours later... I'd try to extend the feeds for as long as I could and hold off until the 3 hours unless he is obviously hungry.  I found with my LOs that hunger and sleepy cues were so similar that with DD1 I fed and fed her until I got her on a routine and realized she didn't need to eat that often, she just was because I was offering.  With DD2, her cues were identical but I relied on the three hour 'rule' and worked on her sleep instead (after her reflux was under control, before that, different story altogether but I digress).  With longer naps he may not 'need' to be fed so often, so certainly working on the naps and paying attention to how much time he spends on the breast (I presume he's BF?) will give you an idea what's going on.

Is there a reason you don't do pat/shh in the crib?  The rocking can become a prop even if it isn't yet, and pat/shh is generally done in the crib with independent sleep being the goal.  Also, if you remove him from the crib when he wakes up at the 30 minute mark, you may be sending him the message that nap time is over.

That's lots to think about and work on.  Let me know what you think and how things go, and if there's something I forgot, then let me know! 

[kellyanne]

Hi and thanks so much for the advice.  I've been reading up on the W2S method and I just tried it today for his 3:00 nap AND IT WORKED!!  He always has a little hiccup at about the 20-23 minute mark - then I know he'll be up within the next 10 minutes.  So this time I went in after I heard it and did the cheek rub thing... didn't really work but what did work was applying pressure to his legs and, weirdly enough, his forehead (because it makes him close his eyes).  So we are at the 1hr 15 min mark now.  I did have to sit with him for about 25 minutes (and keep the pressure on) to make sure he entered the next sleep cycle.  He jolted ALOT.

My DH (that's hubby, right?) and I had a big talk last night about what to do about LO's schedule.  Babe's major problem is that he likes to fall asleep at the breast, yes he's BF.  And, yes, I think he was snacking because I kept offering him my breast whenever he'd wake.  So as of last night, I pumped and he took a full 4 oz at the 2am feed and then slept until 7:30 - my goal time to start the day!  (He's never done that before)  He ate almost 5oz so I knew he was hungry.  Next feed only 3.5 oz (3 hr and 20 min later!!!) and then we almost didn't make 3 hr the next time.  He still only slept 30 min each time.  But at the latest feed, he took 4.5 oz.  It's a pain pumping all the time, but at least I can monitor what he's eating so I KNOW he's not going to be hungry at the 2 hour mark.  I am relying on the 3 hour feed rule now too.  (My biggest problem with BF is that one breast makes about 3 times as much as the other so I can't single side feed and it's really hard to judge how much he's eating)

The 1.5 hr A time also includes wind-down, about 10 minutes or so.  Weirdly enough, if he does wake up at the two hour mark, he can stay awake until the 3 hour mark, eat, and then still stay awake for another hour or so.  I try to keep that first hour really low key (or try to get him back to sleep).

I realized that taking him out of the crib wasn't working (he expected to be fed) but I didn't really know what else to do.  He's not a fan of laying on his side so I have been trying sh/pat in his crib, on his tummy, but, honestly, it makes my back sore!!   I don't actually rock him in the chair, we just sit there but obviously that was not working!

Anyways, I hope this is a sign of things to come!!  I'll keep you updated on what progress we are making.  Thanks again!  I hear him stirring... made it 1.5 hours!!!      

[marensmama]

Great news!! That's lots of progress!! 
Are you pumping just for the purpose of knowing what he eats?  You could just pay attention to how much time he spends on the breast.  Pumping is a pain IMHO, and it may cause a decrease in your supply because it doesn't stimulate the breast as much as baby does.  Just a thought!
Keep us updated!