Author Topic: At a loss for what to do next - HELP!  (Read 856 times)

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Offline helenfinnandben

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At a loss for what to do next - HELP!
« on: August 19, 2008, 19:23:17 pm »
Hiya,
My DS2 is 13 weeks old. I can't get him to nap in the day or sleep for longer than 2 hours at night and it's just getting worse and worse and I'm exhuasted and feeling very depressed by the whole thing. I've tried shush pat the last few days but after an hour of shushing and patting today he still wasn't asleep. He had been ok at going down at bed time but tonight is not settling. Here's the last fwe days routine that I've been religiously writing down!
Monday
S From dream feed 10.30 – 2.15am
E 2.15am
S 3.00am – 5.45am
E 5.45am
S 6.00am – 7.30am
A Sat in Bumbo, sat in bouncy chair while we had breakfast
E 8.30am
A Nappy change. Get dressed. Wind down under cot mobile.
S 10.00am – 11.30am
E 11.30
A songs bouncy chair and play mat
S 1.15pm – 2.00pm
E 2.30pm
A weigh clinic and shopping
S 4.20-4.50 in car seat while out
E 5.20pm
A Watching us have dinner. Bouncy chair Bath
E 7.15pm
S 7.30pm – 10.30
E Dream feed 7oz
S 11.00 – 2.10am
E 2.10am
S 2.50am-4.50am
E 4.50am
S 5.15-6.15 then 6.30-7.45
E 8.10
A Getting dressed. Playing in travel cot
S 10.00 – (took from 9-10 to get him off to sleep!) 10.10am. 10.50 eventually cried self to sleep – 11.30
E 11.30
A Nappy change, bouncy chair songs.
S went down at 12.50 – wouldn’t settle after 40 mins of shushing and patting so gave up and put him in car seat in conservatory. Fell asleep 1.40pm – 2.20
E 2.30
A play on floor and on knee
S In pram when out 4.10-4.45 (woke when stopped moving)
E 5.15pm with infacol and colief
A Play and bath
S DH is still trying to settle him after 30 minutes

We swaddle him, we do shush pat, we've tried a mobile, we've tried leaving him to get himself to sleep, we've tried everything we can think of but he just can't stay asleep - it's like he enver gets into the deep sleep other than occassionally at night when he will do a 2 hour stetch. He's BF and gaining weight very well and has an expressed bottle at dream feed time. He had colic but that has eased up although we've started back on the infacol today and are trying colief tonight to see if that helps as maybe the restlessness is due to wind. My gut feeling is that overtiredness is the route of the problem but how the hell do you break the cycle if he never sleeps long enough to not be overtired?!!! I start the nap routine the minute I think he seems tired but i just can't get him to stay asleep. I'm at my wits end and starting to feel like I'm losing my bond with him. He was a smiley little chap but as the days go on he seems more and more grumpy, crys whenever I'm out of sight etc  (surely it's too early for seperation anxiety?!).

Please can anyone help?! I'm desperate!

Offline marensmama

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Re: At a loss for what to do next - HELP!
« Reply #1 on: August 20, 2008, 01:48:27 am »
Hi there!  It looks like he's OT from too much A time.  LOs his age can handle about 90 minutes max, including all eating and wind-down.  He's got 2.5 hours in that first block and that sets him up for a rotten day of OT.  Start fresh tomorrow, start the wind-down at 80 minutes at the latest and go from there.  Did you do the temperament quiz yet?  That will help to know what kind of wind-down to do and how to spend your A time.

Let me know what you think! :)
Nicole - Mom to My Lovely Girls