4 wk yawns straight after bf - just 25 - 35 mins... should A time be so short!

[annette.xx]

Hi all

Ds is 4 wks old and bf - he gets really sleepy when feeding normally starts closing his eyes after just 5 mins - then when he is finished he tries to sleep straight away - I always do nappy straight away and then take him up for sleep because he yawns after he stops feeding but by the time ive done his nappy hes in a right paddy so I think im missing the sleep window...he squirms when I swaddle him to put him to sleep after the first yawn but I do find that when I miss the sleep window say for example when I have visitors etc that she wont fight the swaddle and wants to sleep so that tells me maybe she wants to be awake longer??!!!

so my question really is should I always put him down after first yawn or should I wait for other tired signs as well...cos as you can imagine my EASY is pretty random and he seems to be awake squirming alot in the night!

Annette.xx

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

I would say that you should wait for another yawn or two, just based on my experience with Spencer, she was very clock oriented and although I had to start getting her ready for bed at the 45min mark, that was only so she could wind down to fall asleep at the 1h mark on the dot...I'm thinking if he is waking at night more than just to feed that he needs a wee bit more than 30ish mins of A time in the day.

When you do end up extending A for visitors, what is the longest he has handled and still had a decent nap?  I would think that would tell you what he is capable of and give a good starting point to shoot for.  I wonder if the fuss before naps when A time is short is because he is UT?

[annette.xx]

thanks for that...

yeah I think with a just turned 2 year old DD I need to maybe watch the clock a bit more cos I think im jumping in straight away to get him to bed cos I dont want to miss the window and get involved with something with DD so im feeling on edge to watch for signs...

the longest he has had for A time is 1 hour 30 and he did fine on it but I know that was probably just lucky so I will definately stick under the hour mark for now! I did 1 hour A time for all naps today so will see what tonight brings!! I took him in after 45/50 mins cos he takes a while to fall asleep...

is an hour A time still enough just before bedtime - just cos he seems so awake and really doesnt want to go down for bed - though he soon relaxes with ssh pat in cot...but I do hear him still awake and squirming for maybe 20 mins after I put him down with the odd mantra cry...

Annette.xx

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

Our before bed A time did end up being a bit wacky, sometimes shorter, sometimes longer, depending on whether or not she took a catnap and trying to do bedtime with two kids!  I remember at that time Masyn went to bed at 7/7:30, while Spence was on an 8-8 routine so that I was feeding her while reading Masyn stories and then working on getting her in bed.

[rachelusc]

Our DS (now 8 wks) has always yawned throughout his whole awake time!  He is a happy sort of guy too, so there is really no reading his signs!  I have found that holding him is the best way to tell - if he's tired, he will bury his head in my shoulder.  Good luck, hope you've got it straightened out!