Hi everybody,
My baby is now 10and a half weeks old. i followd EASY from about week two, and he has been sleeping wonderfully at night - no problem for him to fall asleep after his bath, and he's recently been sleeping til 5:30.
But I let things slip, especially getting (accidentally) lazy with the routine during the day, and he has been having shorter and shorter naps, and also snacking in between feeds. So on Tuesday my husband and I decided to put him back on a 'strict' routine, especially not allowing him to snack in between feeds, and I've decided to create a sort-of journal of how it's going.
I'll appreciate all comments and especially words of support - it is hard going!
He is still on a 3 hour routine.
DAY 1 (Yesterday)
He ate at 7, and fell asleep in his crib with almost no crying. My husband fed him and cheated at 12 by tatking him for a stroll for the duration of his sleep - he slept 50 mins. In the afternoon he again went down without problems, but woke after 30 mins, and I had to go somewhere so I put him in the stroller and he slept for 40 more minutes. My sister-in-law took him for the afternoon shift, but he was up for 2 hours 20 mins before falling asleep without bottle. He went to bed at 8, soothing himself, had a dream feed and slept til 5:30, then back to sleep and up at 7 (I had to wake him, shame!)
Then I read Tracy's long interview on sleep and decided that I'll have to stop cutting corners for a few days, and focus on extending his naps in his crib...
DAY 2
Morning feed went well, he is all smiles, had 60ml (not much because he fed at 5:30). Put him in his cot at 8:50 (he was only sleepy then) and he went down with no problems. I stayed to watch him, and he awoke after 40mins. I pat-shh's, and he went down again for a few minutes. But here I made a mistake - my watch doens't have a light (the room is quite dark) and when he woke again at 10:10 I thought it was 9:10! My LO started screaming and it worked up to such a fever pitch that I had real doubts whether I could continue with this! And then I checked the watch, ready to do this for 40 mins before taking a break, and discovered my mistake! I felt like a witch and immediately took him out and fed him. He is ready for his next nap now, so here goes...
...we wound down as normal: nappy change, walking around a little bit while singing a song, making the room dark and sitting quietly for a few mintues. I put hom down at 11:45, and he moaned a little bit but fell asleep after a few pat-shh's. I kept going for 5 more minutes, and then left the room (after the 3rd jolt). And then he woke up at 12:00! Oops! I went it, had to pick him up once, pat-shh, which I kept going for 7 minutes after I've put him down, and stayed for 5 more. Now I'm waiting. If he wakes up again, I think I'll stay in for the duration of the nap, which is hard but hopefully it won't continue like this forever. Although my husband supports me and makes bottles and feed, he's working so can't helpme with shh-pat.
Thanks! So nice that people are reading this. I tell you, it's now 5:50 and I am beyond exhausted - emotionally, physically. EASY?!! HUH! I really hope it's going to become easier. Although, I suppose I can't complain?
To continue: he slept untlik 12:22 and then I managed to get him down - with some crying, to snatch about 10 mins more sleep, and when he woke up he gave his distinctive 'bark' that means: where are you? This was about 12:50 so I took him out and kept him busy until feeding time at one.
He fed, and wanted to fall asleep on the bottle but I kept him awake, and by then I was shaking from hunger. My hb came in (he works from home) and gave me a break and I went out to get pies. Ben had an a time until about 14:10, and then he yawned, so back to the room for some final quiet wind-down. By the second yan I changed the nappy, darkened the room, and had a quiet chat and song. he complained a bit while I quietly sat and held him, so I put him down. He started crying and I picked him up and sh-pat for a while, this we did twice more until he drifted off in is crib. I sh-pat for 10 more minytes, and held him down with the jolts, and then he slept - unaided, for ONE HOUR! Ladies, this feels fantastic! Because if we can get to one hour, we can get to 1,5? I really hope and pray so!
I tried to extend the hour but he drifted off for about 10 mins and then woke up again, this time lying in his crib, so I decided to pick him up and go outside. A bit of cheating ,I know, but I could seriously not sh-pat for 15 more minutes!
He ate at 4, my sister in law...oops, was inteerupted there, it is now almost 3 hours later, where was I? She and my nieces came and fed him and played with him, so by the time he went down at 5:25, he was crying more than usual - overtired/stimulated? He nevertheless went to sleep, and strange enough, this time he wanted to be put down? But he woke up at 6, having had only 20mins sleep - I think he wanted to lie on his back and the jolt woke him up.
I put him on the breast (I mix feed) and he kept wanting to fall asleep, but I kept taking the boob out of his mouth, which was really hard, I so badly wanted him to sleep there! He had a little catnap (off the boob) and the we had our evening bath ritual:
At 6:30 my husband takes him and plays with him, feeds him if he wants more, and I get in the bath and have a soak. depending onhow tired our LO is, he comes in for a bath with me after 15 or 20 mins. he LOVES his bath and it is so relaxing for him!
And then dress, a very short version of daytime quiet time, and wossh, he is asleep. And amazingly, tonight he fell asleep with no fuss whatsoever! Couldn't believe it! He usually cries a bit and we have to hold in the dummy till he drops off, but not tonight, dummy wasn't necessary. I have to add that he has discovered his fingers and likes to suck on them.
But this was day 1 and I want to summarise the positives before I go and have a good long cry, because, this is what I feel like after today!
1. He fell asleep with not much intervention four times already today.
2. He had an hour's sleep with no cheating (like putting him in his buggy, bottle, rocking) in the afternoon
3. He fell asleep like an angel tonight.
just a few more notes: he drinks between 90-120ml (I think 4-5oz) at each feed, and bf at night and late afternoon, and he is a textbook baby.
just realised this should have been under another heading: naps for newborns. How do I move this post?
Any case: a great night - he went to sleep, had a dream feed, and woke up at 4:40, slept again until 7, I had to wake him up/
DAY 2:
What I'm doing is basically the same as yesterday, so i won't be repeating that again. But I've been immersing myself with all the posts and info on this website, and realised I'm now working on his wake to sleep abilities. So today is change and experiments day, and as I sit here, he has been sleeping for almost 1.5 hours! RESULT!!!!! This is what I've done:
1. White noise in the form of radio static. Before, in the accidental parenting days I noticed that he really liked the sound of the tumbledryer, so I decided to give it a try.
2. I swaddled him completely again...he just woke up, I'll continue later! No decided to leave him babbling a bit...no he, s callingme, cheers!
.cont/ I swaddled both his arms today, although he's discovered his hands and likes to suck at night, he does not seem to self-sooth that way during the day, and I felt it was keeping him awake/making him more jolty.
3. I stayed in for more than necessary this morning, just to see if I could read his cues, etc, and I did it again this afternon. I helped him between sleep cycles by pushing down firmly on his torso and legs, and held it there for about 10 mins. This morning he cried a bit and I had to dhh/pat in the crib, and he slept for 1hour 20 mins. This afternoon, I stayed in up to 1hour and 20 mins, and as I'm typing this, he's still asleep! 1hour 40mns. If he doesn't wake before his next feed, I'll wake him at two hours.
Does anybody know: how long do I need to keep this up for? Today is obviously much better than yesterday, but on some posts I read cheerful advice that says: don't worry, it all gets better as 6 months. And I'm like *&*&%$& bloody hell, that's a long time to be doing this! obviously, I've given myself three days to investigate and spend a long time in there and to teach him the methods, and hopefull from day 4 I will start to stay in and go in only at certain times. Advice and experience, please! Like I say, he's almost 11 weeks
Oh, also: I've shortened his awake time to 1 hour 15 mins, and maybe even shorter as the day progresses.
