12 week old awake time

[RAMM]

Hi all,


DS will be 12 weeks old next week. He takes mostly just 4 catnaps in the day which makes me wonder if I am just taking him down for his nap way too early. Can someone tell me what a normal awake time is after feeds for a 12 week old. This morning I waited 1 hour and 20 minutes before I put him in the swing (have to do that with DD1 running around; I haven't had a chance to sleep train), but never saw him yawn. Then he started getting really fussy and the minute I put him in the swing and gave him his soother, he was out.

He is on a 3 hour easy, first feed at 7 and bedtime between 7 and 7:30.

Thanks!

[*Ali*]

A times include the feed time since some babies take 5 mins to eat and some an hour. So from eyes open to eyes shut at 12wks you can expect about 1hr20-30, perhaps a little less after a short nap of under an hour. Ideally he would be awake 1hr30 then asleep 1hr30 which would take him to his next feed. Of course not many babies will be on this exact timing. You may need to help him resettle when he wakes. Is the swing in his bedroom or the living space with DD running around? Now he's more aware of the world around him he may stuggle to sleep well around others.
Have a look at this link for typical A times.
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=64158.msg476652#msg476652

[RAMM]

Thanks Ali,

That's what I thought was happening. When I put him in the morning at 1 hr 20 min mark, he took a longer nap. He fed at 10 am and then got a massage and a bath and was fussy around 1 hr 15 min mark. So he is back in the swing now...we'll see how long he goes!!

He is in the swing in his room...so there is a little bit of quite...but we live in an apartment and I have to cook and all, so there is always a little bit of noise..not a whole lot though

[*Ali*]

LOL i know from experience it's impossible to keep a quiet house with a 2yo running around. As long as he's in his room that's good. Darken the room as much a you can too and that should help.

[RAMM]

So I am still working on getting my A times right to get my LO to sleep longer than 45 minutes. This morning his sister woke him up at 6:30 instead of his usual WU time at 7 am. By 7:30, he seemed sleepy...seven mile stare and 1 yawn. So I swaddled and put him in the swing in his room. Had to burp him and resettle him once, but he only slept for 45 minutes. So he was up by 8:30. I did not have time to settle him for sleep then as I was tending to my older one.  So I don't know if I should have kept him up for longer.

Since he is on a 3 hour easy, I fed him at 9:30. But he seemed so awake after that. Wasn't sure what to do. So I took him to his room anyway, rocked him in my arms for a bit and laid him in his crib instead of the swing 'coz he started sucking on his thumb right away (he is still learning but at BT he goes down on his own just by sucking at his hand, doesn't always get it right so I have to turn his head and help him find his hand sometimes). I am out of the room now and hopefully he is off to sleep, hopefully. But, my question is regarding A times. If he wakes up earlier from his nap, how do I adjust A times? Do I take him to his bed immediately after I feed him or do I wait for him to show sleepy signals again? I know he would be OT by then, but he seems so awake after a feed. 

[*Ali*]

I'd watch him for sleepy queues and past performance but otherwise I normally reduce the normal A time by 20-30mins so if his ideal A time after a good nap or night is 1hr30 I'd probably shoot for 1hr to 1hr10 or so after a 30min nap. That's my LO though so you may have to try a few different timings and see what works best for him.