some EASY Qs

[carrie30]

Hi all

I've been trying to get my son onto a 3 hour EASY for about a week now (a few blibs including when we were away for the weekend at my parents).

Basically this is the schedule we are hoping for and sometimes achieving!!

E 7am
A 7.15
S 8-8.30 (1.5-2 hours, some mornings goes to sleep no problems, other mornings spend most of the time trying to shush pat him to sleep) I might also have to BF him again at some stage as he takes very little at 7am

E 10
A 10.20
S 11.00 (same as above but sometimes we go for a walk at this time and then he'll sleep the whole time)

E 1
A 1.20
S 2.30 (same as above )

E 4
A 4.30
S none unless he sleeps in my or my husbands arms (bad I know)

E 6.30
A 6.45 bath
S 7pm (disaster, it generally takes on average 2 hours to get him to sleep and he won't sleep unless I bf him again)

DF 10.30-11 (EBM in bottle about 3oz)
S 11.30
wakes at 2.30 and 5.00 for a feed, takes a good feed at 2.30 but very little at 5, have tried just shush/pat at 5 but he won't settle unless he feeds for 5 mins or so.

I feel like we're never going to get this right, my main concerns are

1) the evening time, he usually goes crazy at about 4pm, he won't catnap unless he is in someone's arms, will cry unless he is held

2) bedtime is a nightmare, he screams until he is purple for the best part of 2 hours, we try shushpatting him in his basket and when he gets really hysterical will pick him up for a few mins to soothe him and then put him in again. It takes him so long to go to sleep that he wants anothet feed at some point. Is that level of screaming bad for him physically/mentally (it's definitely bad for me and my husband)

3) nightime, I would love if I could cut the 5am feed as I'm shattered, but how can I settle him when he is acting like he is hungry (he makes all the sounds/actions)

I would appreciate any advice as at this point I kind of feel like giving up as it seems cruel to all of us to keep letting him scream all the time.

BTW I don't think the screaming is wind/colic as the instant you pick him up he's fine and will fall asleep on your shoulder if you let him.

Thanks

Carrie

[carrie30]

he's 7 weeks old

[* Paula *]

Hi Carrie,

Welcome to the BW Boards.

At this age, I would recommend an A time of only about an hour to an hour and 15 minutes from waking until you put down for the next sleep.  I think the first A time in the morning may be a bit too long.

When you lo does settle to sleep, how long does he usually nap for?

What do you do as a Wind down routine?  Is your lo swaddled?  Does he take a pacci?

I would probably start his wind down routine about 10 minutes before you actually put him in bed, take him into a dark room, and start getting him ready for bed, keeping the last part of the A time really low key and see if this helps settle him down for a nap.

It is very normal for your lo to be very fussy in the late afternoon / evening.  This is usually referred to as their social hour and is generally a combination of being tired from a long day etc.

I would not let your lo scream that hard.  If he is clearly distressed from being put down, I would pick him up, walk round the room and try to get him calm.  Once he has been calm in your arms, then try and put him down again.  If he starts crying you can try with the Pat / Shhh, but if he clearly does not want to settle then pick him up again. 

I think that the reason you are battling to get him to sleep in the evening is because he is so overtired - especially if he skips the cat nap.  Do you have a bouncy chair or something like that that he could sleep in for his cat nap?

Paula x

[carrie30]

hi paula

thanks for those suggestions, i'll try them today, he has a bouncy chair but he will rarely nap in it and generally will only spend about 15 mins there. when he does nap he will usually nap for 1.5-2hours. I don't swaddle him anymore as he didn't seem to like it but at nightime (7pm) I put him in a grobag/sleeping bag, he doesn't have a dummy.

any other comments welcome

[* Paula *]

Could it be possible to take him out in the pram for his cat nap?  Does he fall asleep in the pram?