Activity and for how long - 4 weeks!

[ShoeFairy]

Hi [big wave!]

I think I am OS my 4 week old son - I am trying to hard with him and am therefore OS him and he is over tired and struggles to get to sleep, and when he does sleep he moans, cries, flaps about and jolts himself awake..

Can anyone give me a few examples of what type of activity I should be doing with him and for how long?

For example, I do this with him during his first 'activity' of the daily routine:

1.  On the side of his changing table, I have a collage of black, white and red images...he stares at this when I am changing him, plus I talk to him about these images...
2.  I then put on a nursery rhyme dvd and I sing a few songs to him while he is on my lap looking up at me.
3.  He lies in his cot for a few minutes with his baby einstein music mobile on and looks and 'talks' to his teddy's which are on the side.
4.  He then gets a few minutes on his activity mat or he is on my lap again looking at me while I mimmick his sounds or facial expressions...

I AM doing far too much, arn't I? 

Thanks, C xx

[deckchariot]

When my dd was 4 weeks, her A time was so short...it was pretty much bf, sit in my lap and stare for a few minutes, diaper change, then start the wind down routine.  I found when I tried to do anything else, she just got OS sooooooo fast and then was OT.  Here's a link to activity times in general, so depending on how long your lo takes to eat, he may not have much A time at all (since eating is part of that A time):  https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=64158.msg476652#msg476652

HTH
michelle

[MJMom]

Yes.  It sounds like you are doing too much.  I would do what you just described over the course of a day!  Personally, I would leave the electronics out for now.  His A times are so short, I would spend the times with a few pictures and him on your lap looking at you. 

Of course, I used to make up stuff about the images and talk to my DD about them.  I suggested they were examples of Pointalism, cubism, etc.  But I'm weird like that.     Mostly because I was sooo not comfortable talking baby talk and I felt like I had to say something!

Check out the link Michelle posted and scale it waaaayyy back!

[*Nicola*]

When my dd was 4 weeks, her A time was so short...it was pretty much bf, sit in my lap and stare for a few minutes, diaper change, then start the wind down routine.

My DD was exactly the same ... until WAY past 4 weeks too. 

At that age one of the  important parts of A time is to use it to separate the feed from the sleep so that baby does not develop an association between the 2.

As Michelle says, having a nappy change, cuddle and then wind down works well and helps baby develop a positive association between wind down and sleep