Advice please on 13 week old with fidgety legs

[anna*]

If it's every 45 minutes, it sounds like it's at those sleep cycle transitions. Yeh you're doing right. Hopefully tomorrow he'll get some better longer naps and the legs won't trouble him. Do the legs only fidget at nights? Is that what wakes him from his daytime naps too? One other thought, could it be tummy ache? Does he hold onto his wind?

[lobs]

Last night got lo over to sleep with not too much problem and used sh pat when he was kicking his legs sending him further into his sleep cycle which worked well.  Got to 10.30pm gave him dream feed he was sleeping soundly before giving this to him and the when I put him back down he woke up and I tried to sh pat him for over 3 hours but I was worn out and gave in giving him a bottle and him sleeping with me.  Going to try again today but can I miss dream feed as I think he would have slept well as he hadnt stirred prior to that with his legs for over an hour.

[anna*]

Of course, there's no need to do a dreamfeed if you think things will work better without.

[lobs]

Thanks Anna he has always kicked his legs when on his back but the sh pat did stop him last night so will try again tonight.  Just put him down for nap using sh pat and he has gone down without much problem.  So fingers crossed.

[anna*]

If you want you can also experiment with putting him on his side for naps, my LO slept much better that way.

[lobs]

Tried again today but cant seem to get him down for naps.  I manage the nap around 8.30am for 30 minutes but after that he just wont go down for a nap.  He will sleep if in the car seat but then wakes up as soon as the car stops.  It seems like catch 22 I know he needs sleep but cant get him to have any and the more I try the less he seems to have.

Also struggling to keep him on his side as he hates it so is there anyway I can do the sh pat with him on his back.  He is also a big baby and I cant swaddle him as he just fights out of it any advice.  Really dont know what to do

[lobs]

Well out of curiosity and staying awake all night with him to make sure he was OK my lo slept from 9.30pm to 4am when he woke for a bottle on his tummy not ideal I know but it is obvious that he likes to sleep this way as he has never slept this well before.  He then was still tired so got him back over to sleep at 6am when he slept until 8.15am could not believe it.  Not sure where to progress from here as it has obviously helped him get over being OT but doesnt like sleeping on his back as that is when he kicks his legs.

[anna*]

I don't know where in the world you are, but here in the UK the medical advice is definitely to have them sleep on their backs until 6 months old. However, if there are no other SIDS risks (ie no smokers in the house - do a Google search on risk factors), you might want to let him tummy sleep. If not, the Miracle Blanket or Mothercare Swaddle Blanket are amazing. My LO was always on the 98th centile, really big strong boy, and it kept him totally wrapped until 5 months.

What happened between 4am and 6am? Why awake so long, what was going on?

Re the naps, how long is he awake in the morning before you start getting him ready for his first nap?

[lobs]

I know its not great sleeping on his tummy but he needs to get some sleep as he just seems to be building on being overtired.  This morning he was awake for an hour and half before he went for a nap to 30 minutes the woke up tried again to get him to sleep for 40 minutes but no joy not sure what I should be doing in these circumstances do I try again after short break or bottle?

[anna*]

I think an hour and a half might be too long, and that's why he's giving you an overtired nap and won't go back down afterwards (it's really difficult to extend OT naps). Try 1hr 20 mins and see if that helps. Totally agree with you on the tummy thing, after about 3.5months I put my LO to sleep on his tummy, we had no others SIDS risks and we were all so much happier when he slept better.

[lobs]

Thanks Anna appreciate the practical support on the tummy thing believe me we have tried and tried putting him on his back but to no avail.  He can move his head easily and roll onto his side so quite active we also have an angelcare monitor to keep an eye on him.  I have just put him down again for a nap so hoping I have shortened his A time.  It was about an hour and 10 minutes I think.  Will his naps increase the more sleep he catches up on?

[lobs]

Sorry one more thing if he falls asleep in the pram does that count with naps cos thought I might take him out for a walk this afternoon around his nap time if it does count to get some fresh air and a sleep

[anna*]

I'm not going to lie to you, naps can be a right pain. An undertired baby will give you short naps. An overtired baby will give you short naps. Too young and they'll give you short naps. Some of them never get the hang of long naps, others wait til they're 6 months old. BUT it's worth doing what you can to get the longer naps, because they're better for them, and they give you more time to enjoy your baby (short nappers need shorter awake time so you're more tied down by naps). So do you what you can but don't get too hung up on it.

Yes, naps in prams count. I'd set off a bit before your nap time (and keep in mind you need to shorten your A times if they come after a short nap) (ie at this age 1hr20-30 after a long nap, 1hr after a short nap).

[lobs]

Went out in pram but he didnt sleep at all just my luck got back and it was time for a bottle so fed him and had A time for 30 minutes and just put him down for a nap.  He goes to sleep without too much problem but doesnt seem to like keeping asleep I am sure that if he was asleep in my arms it would be for longer!

[anna*]

Remember if he skips a nap, you need to keep the A time as short as possible, because the longer he's awake the more overtired he's going to be so the less likely he's going to do a nice long restful nap.