Hi there, I am having some shh pat troubles with my 10 week old and I stress I am having the troubles not him!!!
In the mornings and up to past lunchtime he goes off to sleep for naps without any trouble. I put him on his side with the dummy and his muslin to hold and he's away but in the afternoon and evening it's a different story......
Basically I start off well shhing and patting as I put him down, (he usually starts to make little "araararararar" sort of I'm trying to sleep noises and has his eyes closed immediately) but I very quickly find that I drop the shhh as he seems to turn his head towards it open his eyes and start flailing limbs around whereas if I just pat he seems to keep calm so no shhing but all good as he calms with the pat and I carry on patting...so eyes then shut and he is sucking away on pacifier when the jolt comes, I am still patting but to no avail, he is now awake and seems to be cross that I am there patting him sort of starts grizzling at me so I start up the shhing he calms down and I am patting like a goodun and so we go on having a sort of "conversation" of intermittent crying, constant patting and intermittent shhing for probably 40 minutes or so. I don't pick up unless he won't be comforted by the patting and then I pick up and guess what he is asleep immediately with a pat or two so I put down but if I start patting he wakes up!!! If I don't start patting he wakes up five mins later anyways too....
Where am I going wrong? I will now come clean and fess up that he has been brought into my bed consistently these last few nights as after 4 hours (from 7-11pm) of failed sh-patting and no dinner eating or me time the whole day I just give in and bring the little guy into bed and we fall asleep almost immediately. I then return him to his moses basket after the 2 feed and then he sleeps til six and I bring him into bed after his short A time after that feed (I dress him and change him) and we all go back to sleep until nine (a huge luxury I know). He then sleeps really well for the next two naps.
He has been suffering with reflux off and on the last few weeks and I am raising his cot but he still seems to wake and only settle well in my arms. Is it likely that his reflux would be worse at nights?
I find his cries pretty easy to read normally and that is why this sleeping thing is so frustrating cos I can see he is trying his best to get off to sleep and really really wants to but something seems to block him from hitting the deep sleep.
I am on a 3 EASY (in theory). He is bottle fed. Day goes like this:
6.30 E
7.15 S
9.30 E
10.15 S
12pm wake up A time
12.30 E
2pm S
3pm E
and then the trouble starts...
from 4pm nap onwards we struggle with sleep.
6pm feed and then bath and then straight to bed for 6.30pm 7ish because he is exhausted usually.
then from 7pm through to next feed at 10 ish I am in and out settling him sometimes the first chunk he makes 45 mins to one hour but then it gets mors and more frantic with less and less sleeping until I have lost my nerve he is way overtired and I just cuddle him.
goodness me this is way too long.. thanks for reading!!!
