EASY SCHEDULE AND NAP ISSUES - for 5 week old DD

[kin]

Me again (mother of very short - if at all - napper)...ok so this morning looked liked this:
i woke her at 7.30am...feel like i shoudl have let her sleep (she fed at 4.30am for 15 mins and was back out)
E: 7.30am - 6 oz
A: 8-9am (bath
S: 9.15am

woke her up at 10.45 am...again, feel like i shoudl have let her sleep as long as she wanted (because the day usually only gets worth nap-wise)

e: 10.45am - 4.5 oz
a: 11.20am - 11.50am
s: 11.50am
woke up by herself at 12.30pm - i left her in the crib until 1pm
a: until 1.30pm

e: 1.30pm - 4.5 oz
a: 2pm - 2.45pm
s: 2.45
woke up at 3.05pm...screamed and cried until 4pm (tried to see if she would soothe herself back to sleep - didnt happen)

e: 4pm (1/2 hour earlier but she was hysterical) - 4 oz
a: until 5.pm
s: attempted to put her down at 5.10pm...slept for 10 mins and then cried hysterically until 5.30pm...
i picked her up and managed to make her last until 6pm

e: 6pm
a: NONE
s: 6.30pm

WHAT TO DO??? do i feed her again at 8pm? do i dream feed her? she wakes up in the night around 1.30am and 4.30am but eats and goes back to sleep.

I'm getting really confused....

[Aiden'sMom]

Hi there

I know when my DD was 5 weeks old he could only really do about 30-45 minutes of awake time - if we pushed it longer than that, he battled to sleep and it all accumulated towards the evening and we had one big meltdown between 6-8pm.  I used to put him in his crib as soon as he yawned but kept a strict eye on the clock for 45 minutes max?  The entire time he was awake (E+A) was 1.15 hours maximum.

Not sure if that will help at all by shortening the A time a bit?

The two feeds at night sound about right for that age group. It may be worth trying a DF at 10-10.30pm and seeing if that regulates the other night feeds a bit more.

C

[chrissy5050]

 I am having the same issues.  My sons naps get worse and worse as the day goes on.  I only keep him up 1 hour max but is it possible that 1 hour is too long for him at 9 weeks old (2.5 weeks early but considered full term)?  I would also suggest shortening her awake times.  I just am confussed about how to keep feed 3.5-4 hours apart if they have short awake time and go back to sleep for only a max of two hours? That only allows a 2.5 - 3 hour schedule. 

[kin]

I am also currently dreamfeeding at 10pm - thats how i get her to do the 1.30am and 4.30am feeding schedule.
Today has been even worse nap wise.

7.30am (woke up herself)
E: 7.40am 5.0z
A: bath etc. until 8.50am
S: 8.50am - 9.40am (took another 1 oz before sleeping)
A: quiet activity until 10.30am feed

e: 10.30am 3 oz
a: diaper change and read a short book
s: 11.10am...last 10 mins and she started to cry
11.20am: i picked her up, she took another 1 oz, burped her 2X
11.30am: put her back down
11.30am: slept for 5 mins and then started crying...I let her cry. She cried for 15 mins and fell asleep
12.00pm: woke up after 10mins. Let her cry for 20 mins.
12.25: went into her room and swaddled her tigher and gave her the paci. She sucked on it and went to sleep.
12.35: just checked on her. still sleeping - occassionally sucking on her paci while she sleeps. Came back to my room and cried myself.
I am beginning to get really really stressed by daytime now. I've tried sh/pt. Doesnt work. W2S is impossible because she has NO set nap time - it all depends on that given day.

[Aiden'sMom]

Chrissy,

I would think it may be better to stick to a 3 hour feeding schedule rather than pushing to 3.5-4 hours as they can sometimes only manage that by 4 months of age. It may be that your LO is still hungry as the duration is too long between feeds hence is waking on napping?

Kin

The frustration of day naps is endless!!   It seems like you LO may be snacking and not taking the full feed at one time - this may also result in nap issues as the tummy is not full or too full just before going to sleep maybe? My heart goes out to you - I know the feeling of crying in the corner of the room.

Claire

[milaua]

Kin, I have similar problem 
I have  two weeks old one. She is constantly fighting her day sleep. I try to implement  2-3 hrs feeding schedule & it seems to be working so far. But her day sleep - HELP! I'm soooo exhausted trying to put her to sleep during a day. She might fall asleep for 15 min & then starts screaming.  I can't hold her 24/7. I'll appreciate any advice.

[kin]

here's what happened today...I changed her to a 2.5 easy (she cant stretch to 3 hours during the day...i think its too much for her).

She took 2 morning naps and not so much after 1pm but i'm trying to learn to be calmer about the more alertness in the afternoons (she is getting older so she shoudl be more alert right???).

In terms of some advice for you...this may sound bad, but the only way my daughter will sleep by herself is on her tummy. I monitor her obsessively during the day and i now have 2 monitors going at night to keep a 2X eye on her as she sleeps (my video monitor and an angel care one just so i can avoid checking the video every 15 mins).

Some kids just dont want to sleep on their back - i think the idea is that they feel vulnerable on their backs and more secure on their tummies.

In terms of the screaming - does she maybe have gas problems/reflux problems? Waking up screaming is usually related to "something" being wrong.

Let me know how it goes...
Kin