DEFINE: 5-6 hours night sleep

[yogahoneybunny]

Please help me clarify.  Does 5-6 hours of sleeping:

a. start when I first put my son to sleep AND include the Dream Feed?
b. start only after the Dream Feed and go until 3-4 AM?

[Shiv52]

I'd have counted it from df!  So you are aiming for 5-6 hours of unbroken sleep at one time. 

HTH

[yogahoneybunny]

OK!  Thanks for the clarifications.

I'm still waiting for the miracle.  May be developmental?  May be that he's OT from too short naps (45 minute napper)?

If he's waking only for 5-10 minutes and then settles easily, what do you think might be the cause?


P.S. I'm crossing fingers for the next few months that the 5-6 hour sleep cycle will appear.  

[LovelyLilyandJack]

I saw your other post about your night wakings and just wanted to share that I find that Lily wakes in the night and resettles herself (or easily if I have to help her) when she's had too much sleep in the day - or not enough A time.  It might not be any help cos I'm sure there are lots of factors, but this started being an issue for us around the age your DS is too.  Afternoon sleep especially seemed to cause it so we moved to 2 long naps (approx 1.5 hrs each - one in the morning and one over lunch / early afternoon) and one catnap of 30 mins and that seemed to help. 

I hope it gets better soon for you though!  We had a few weeks of it cos Lily hadn't learnt to settle herself and we had boob-as-dummy complications too and I remember how awful those weeks were.  On the plus side, once we did sort it she started sleeping really well, so there is a light at the end of the tunnel!  I'm sure you'll get there soon.

[Shiv52]

The wakening and resettling could be OT/UT depending on the rest of your day.  although if he is doing 45 minute naps he may be OT and thats why he's resettling.  If my LO woke from UT there was no resettling her as she'd just had enough sleep at that point to do her IYKWIM. 

What age is your LO?  If you want to post your EASY or the link to your other thread i'll take a look. 

{{{hugs}}}  It does get better xx

[yogahoneybunny]

Thanks you both.  Theo is almost 4 months old.  I really think that he's learning how to "settle himself".  I noticed the past three nights, that he's having a 45-60 minute waking period at night, where he mantra cries and then can go back to sleep.  This is new.

I'm not sure about the UT or OT scenarios.  He wakes from most naps happy and smiling.  I feel that he's getting just the right amount of sleep during the day, actually, and have no problems getting him down, or extending the one big nap in the late AM.  He's on a 3 3/4 EASY right now.   I've experimented with extending the first morning nap...but he's just not tired enough...if I let him have +1 1/2 hours A time, he gets OT.  So, I'm OK with the first 45 minute nap.  The early PM nap I'm trying to extend at the moment.  He's showing signs of improvement in settling, but we'll see how it goes.  Going to try to go the full 4 hour EASY in 7-10 days (slowly by slowly).

E+A     7
S        8:30 - 9:45 (45 minute nap)
E+A   10:45
S      11:15 - 1:15 (2 hour nap)
E+A    2:30
S       3:30 - 4:30 (1 hour nap)
A     
S       5:30 (20-45 minute catnap)
E       6:00
bath   6:30
bed    7/7:30

PLEASE GOD!!!  Help my baby sleep at night!!!

 

P.S. What is IYKWIM?

[Shiv52]

IYKWIM...if you know what I mean!

I'm really sorry I missed your reply.  Headed to bed but i'll be on in the morning to go through your routine.  Things still roughly the same this week? 

[yogahoneybunny]

Thanks...much better.  I'm actually working with a sleep consultant who is helping me identify nap times and implement gradual self-soothing times...and it's working like a charm!  I'm extending his A time slowly to 2+ hours, and consolidating the naps (2-3 a day) by removing myself and allowing him to cry.  I know that this is very anti-BW, but it's what we needed.  She recommended the "one-hour rule"...have you heard of it?  I really love BW, but my son and I were both ready to remove myself and help him take responsibility for his own sleep. 

Another thing which was VERY helpful to learn is that once babies are +8 weeks, their circadian rhythms have been established, so they can sleep for 2+hours if they NEED it.  I had been following Tracy's advice and waking him after 2 hours, which was cutting into his natural rhythm and making him even more overtired.  Last night, he woke and put himself to sleep 3 times...I only needed to help him twice!  Here's the new routine:

E 7:00
S: 8:45-...
E: 11
S: 1 - ...
E: 2:30
S: catnap if needed 4-5
E: 6:00
Bed: 6:30-7:00