Hi BW!
I am in need of some extra eyes. I have a 4 month Textbook DS who is EBF. He developed a feed/hold to sleep association that became more clear around 3 months. Because I knew the 4 month regression/Leap 4 was coming I started to change up his routine. He stopped wanting to sleep in the light downstairs and so at 13 weeks we started to put him down for naps in our darkened room with white noise and swaddle. I would bounce and shush him to sleep and transfer him in after he fell asleep. If this was not working after 15-20 minutes or so I would feed to sleep. I was trying to reduce the amount of time spent holding (around 5-7min) before putting him down or if fed to sleep I would do the Gentle Removal Plan. His awake time around 15 weeks was 1hr 20-30min. We went away at the start of week 15 and he was up hourly all night and was needing held for all naps.
At 16 weeks he started to roll (now in sleepsack). He was waking up as soon as he was put down asleep and so we were holding him for all naps. I have 2 other small children and so that wasn't going to be sustainable. I was trying to make a plan for sleep training (used PU/PD for DD successfully at 5.5 months) but thought I should hold off due to the regression/leap. I had read the book Bedtiming and so had waited with my DD to sleep train at that time. We had an appt with the ped at 16 weeks and she strongly encouraged me to sleep train. The most he could sleep by himself was 30 minutes after being put down asleep.
I started shush pat/PUPD at 17weeks. I have been doing it consistently for 11 days now and a feel like I am chasing my tail. His nights are much better, up 1-2 times. Around day 3 or so I thought he was getting it. He would be starting to SS as I was lying him down with PUPD. We have a 12 day/night routine. Naps are very hard to extend, if he does go back to sleep it is for 10 min tops. He was a good sleeper when he was around 2 months, up 1-2x a night and so to make up for that fed very frequently all day. At this point he does 3hr feeds which feels like a big space to me. I find I cannot APOP a nap with him unless he is in a stroller or car seat. If I hold him horizontally he expects to be able to suck. He is on a 4 nap schedule, he is generally held by DH for the CN and sleeps great this way!
He does not like shushing but I have the white noise on, he does not seem to care about patting. If I lay him on his side he arches his back and looks behind him and cries. I usually end up putting him down because he flops around, pushes his legs against me, pulls hair, roots around etc. Day 5 was terrible. He rolled front to back, naps 30 minutes. I was trying to increase his first A and was getting varied results. I was aiming for about 1 hr 40 minutes. 20 minutes naps started on Day 6 and are still going on day 11. I try to extend naps. He starts usually with eyes closed & crying and then it turns in to frustration that I am trying to still get him to sleep. He self soothes by sucking on his thumb, thumping his legs on the mattress, and mantra crying. He usually cries as I lay him down. Once on the change table he is happier, **he wakes from ALL naps crying**. He has put himself back to sleep a few times when waking in the evening after bedtime but never for naps. I do give him a chance for naps if he is doing a mantra cry. When he was doing 30 minute naps he would just start to stretch and slowly rouse. I tried holding pressure on his limbs with no success. I have tried W2S a bit with no success.
His WD is diaper, sleepsack, book and song. He is disinterested in the book and starts crying usually during the song. Average day sleep is about 3 hours. Yesterday and today I have been reducing his A time in an effort to catch him up on sleep. He is just getting these little fragments of sleep never a restorative nap. I do not know how to move forward and am at a loss because I cannot APOP naps with him as mentioned before. He does not sleep in a carrier or swing. I was trying to push through with A times but it seems as if it backfired. Because all naps are short I do not even know what his A time is. I feel like we won't get progress until this Leap is over but I am not sure of how to get through it. Here is the last 3 days. He is now 18 weeks.
Saturday
E -0415
WU 7am
E 725
A -2 hrs, did not seem tired in his room so took him out for quiet time
S 902-925, tried to resettle 20 min
E 1035
S 1107-1127, would not extend
S 1225-225, held by DH so he could get some sleep
E 240
S 418-454, held
E 510
E 640 Top up
Bed 655, wake up at 730, 745, 755, 810 & 9(put self back to sleep)
Sunday
E 0045
E 0350
WU 713
E 720
A 1hr 38 min, very tired
S 851-914, tried to resettle x 1/2 hour
E 955
A
S 1047-1113, up to room at 1030, tried x 15min to extend
A 1/2 hour, up to room, crying
S 1222-1245, sleep was light, lots of jolting, would not extend
E 115
A Up to his room around 145
S 213-240, 255-305
E 4pm
S 425-535
A
E 610
A
S Up to room at 630, likely too early, bed at 7. Woke 4x but resettled by himself.
Cried out at 1130 (usual feed time) but did not wake.
Monday
*Sad day, crying when put down at A time. Happy if held.
E 0400
WU 718
E 725
A 1hr 29 min
S 857-917 (school run, slept when we got home, falling asleep when we got home) Bounced back to sleep 922-934
A Up to room at 1040
S 1057-1121 back to sleep with resettling 1129-1150
E 1230
A Up to room at 1250 (1hr)
S 113-140
E 245
S 310-350 (in stroller, school run)
E 430, snack
S CN 455-535, held by DH (usually his best nap of the day)
A Grumpy, sad, not interested in feeding
E 6
A Up to room 630
E 650 top up
Bed 715, up 745, 805 (assisted back to sleep)
Any advice is greatly appreciated!
Robyn
