Need help with 16 week old easy

[mom of two]

My LO is textbook, but is really hard to read if he is OT or UT...i can't believe I can't tell the difference but sometimes I just can't figure him out!  1 week ago I took away the swaddle because he was rolling all over the place and getting tangled up all night.  Then a few days later I took away the paci because he was addicted and woke several times a night for the paci.  Well he did rather well with both of those adjustments and by the end of last week I could walk in, lay him down, and he would suck on his fingers and put himself to sleep.  And sleep all night other than 1 feed and an occasional 1 extra wake up.  Well then he started rolling in his sleep and he kept waking because was stuck on his back (belly sleeper).  So two nights ago it took 1 hour to get him to sleep at night and woke a lot that night due to rolling over.  If I had to guess I would think OT because his evening catnap was in the car and not very long.  Well last night, napped well during the day but still took one hour to fall asleep last night.  This time he slept until his feed at 11 then woke at 4, and 5 and 6:15.  He put himself back to sleep the first two times but couldn't the last, so I fed him thinking he was hungry but he wouldnt go back to sleep!  So our day started at 6:15!  Here was his routine yesterday:

6:30- woke, ate but didn't go back to sleep
9:15- sleep (had a doctors appointment so this was as early as I could get him down)
10:45- wake and eat
12:35- sleep
2:25- wake and eat
4:00- sleep
4:30- wake
6:20- eat and straight to bed
7:15- finally asleep for the night!
11- eat
4-wake and put himself back to sleep
5-wake and put himself back to sleep
6:15- wake and eat

He was then ready for a nap by 8:05 this morning and it is 9:30 and he is still sleeping!

I guess I just can't figure him out on what is causing all of this waking and trouble falling asleep!  Any suggestions??

[deckchariot]

It sounds like the rolling is really disrupting his sleep.  Developmental milestones like that can really wreak havoc with sleeping.  I'd practice rolling with him as much as possible during the day so he can learn how to get himself back to where he wants to be.  Have you tried a sleep positioner?  Some mom's find that to be really helpful.  His routine actually looks pretty good during the day.

[meltown]

how is it going?  each milestone you will notice changes in their sleep for a few days until they get used to doing it.

[mom of two]

He is still rolling ALL the time!  It is very disrupting..he can put himself back to sleep but I have to keep going in to make sure he isn't stuck on his back.  However, why do you think he can sleep one night all night without getting stuck on his back until like 5:30 am and then some nights he will get stuck on his back 4 or 5 times??  Do you think he is more apt to do it if he is ut or ot?  Or is it just the luck of the draw??

I don't want to buy a sleep positioner, but I have a friend who said I could borrow theirs so hopefully I can get it from her real soon.  This has been going on for over a week now!

[deckchariot]

{{{{{{hugs}}}}} I"m sorry it's so frustrating!  You mentioned that he can put himself back to sleep - that's great!!!  But he won't do it if he's stuck on his back?  My personal guess is that it's harder for him to put himself back to sleep when he's OT.  In terms of why he rolls more some nights than others - no clue...have you noticed a pattern that he's slept better/worse during the day on the nights that are bad?  Hang in there!!

[mom of two]

Yeah, he can't fall back to sleep on his back.  Sometimes he is still asleep when he rolls over but as soon as he is on his back his eyes pop open and he starts cooing!

[deckchariot]

{{{{hugs}}}} I guess the silver lining is that he's initially cooing when he rolls over (not that that helps much in the middle of the night).  Keep practicing with him in the day, he'll get it.

[mom of two]

So he keeps waking (because of rolling) about 1 hour 20 minute into his nap.  Do you think he is just ready to get up or should I try to put him back to sleep?  He used to be able to put himself back to sleep but I have to keep going in and roll him back over which seems to wake him a bit more.  If his naps are only 1 hour 20 min what should the rest of his day look like?  I can't put him to bed early...he seems to have a 11 1/2 hour night no matter what time I put him down!  So we got stuck on a 6 to 6 routine and I have finally gotten him back to 6:30 and am aiming for 7 for a bedtime.  I just don't know what to do with the rest of the day if he doesn't nap close to 2 hours!

[deckchariot]

has he tended to be on the short end of sleep needs?  If so, I'm guessing that a nap of 1 hr 20 is a good nap for him.  When he wakes because he's rolled is he initially happy - I think you said he was cooing, right?  My guess then is that's he's ready to get up.  Can you offer an additional nap in the day to get him closer to bedtime or instead of the 2 long naps and 1 catnap, do 3 mid-length naps?

[clazzat]

Just saying hi, really, as my 2 are exactly the same age as yours (Nov '06 and Aug '08).  We have just had the week from hell with dd2 not sleeping at night (up for 5 hours one night, 4 the night after...) and, although it's slightly different, the reason that she could not go back to sleep (she self-settles with thumb as a general rule) was because she wouldn't stop moving her arms and legs long enough to fall asleep.  I think that the main reason was that she has had a cold and was therefore uncomfortable, but I did wonder if the constant movement was because she was overtired.  She had a couple of days when she slept really well during the day, and was really cheerful during her A times, and then we had a couple of pretty good nights - maybe supports my theory that OT = lots of movement?  Perhaps if you can persuade your lo to have a catnap towards the end of the day it would take the edge off his tiredness and he would sleep more peacefully.

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