Why would he REFUSE to Nap...?

[mrsg5507]

Ok, so I know I have asked about trouble gettine my DS to nap on here before. Yesterday was not so bad..but today oh today is horrible.
He used to at least nap if you held him..not so today. He will drift off, and wake himself up shrieking and crying. Over and over. Even if my Dh or I am holding him. It's a nightmare. A complete nightmare.
I don't think he is sick, or hungry or anything like that. Now, twice he did fall asleep for 30 mins only to wake up to pooping and gas. And then it's downhill from there.
Is this something I need to just ride out? Or is there anything I can do?

[Shiv52]

Is he hungry? Do you think you've hit a growth spurt?  We's a few days at 4 weeks where DD2 wanted to do nothing but eat.

[mrsg5507]

It may be a growth spurt, but he isn't acting hungry.
He is nursing longer though...so maybe it's a growth spurt.. sigh..I'll never know 

[Shiv52]

If you think its a GS and he really is not settling and still crying I would feed and see does that help settle.  Are you bfing?  This will really help stimulate your supply. 

[mrsg5507]

Yes I am BFing. I was feeding him every 3 hours..so 8am, 11, 2, 5, 8, and then DF at 11 or 1130.
My intuituion says I should up it to every 2.5...so today I am going to try:
8, 1030, 1, 330, 6, and 830, then DF and whenever he wants overnight. 

is 4 naps plus a catnap too much sleep then..?

[Shiv52]

Folow your mummy instincts. We were not yet at 3 hourly feeds at 7weeks.  I think she did every 2.5/3 hours in the day and cluster feed in the evening.  i demand fed though but I think that was roughly it!

is 4 naps plus a catnap too much sleep then..?

When you are BFing sometimes your EAS will be more like EAS AEAS EAEAS if that makes sense!  So you can fit in the naps around it.

What A time is your LO doing?  My LO could only manage 45 minutes at that age and if I missed that sleep window she would scream blue murder and be really hard to settle. 

[mrsg5507]

I think he is a 45 minuter for A time. He started to get that glazed look around 845am. I swaddled him, he actually smiled as I did this, and I put him in his swing. He fell asleep about 9am. But he didn't fuss while in the swing, he just laid there. I sat near him a bit and stroked his head a tad, but sometimes I think I distract him. So I walked away, he it's now 940am and he is still asleep.

I think I have too high hopes for him and naps. I am gonna not worry about not using props etc right now and do some sleep training later. For now, I think it's more important for him to get sleep and not be OT.

I have just been focusing on making sure he is getting enough Es, keepings A's short, and working on getting in decent S's.

Im sorta confused by the pattern for a BF baby's EAS.. If the A window is 45 mins, do you E, then have a tad of A, the E again in less than an hour? Then not let them fall asleep at the breast and work on the S?


Since he hasn't been falling totally asleep until 930pm, and waking at 8 (sometimes sooner, like 630 and then is restless..although this morning he really didn't get restless until 730) to E..he gets 10.5 hours at night minus the night feed(s).  I feel like if I can get him to take 4 1.5 hour naps plus a catnap at 6 before getting ready for bed around 745 or 8..his bottle at 830 or sooner depending..he would get about 17 hours of sleep. Then once I can transition his BT to 8 or 730..he may be ready for 3 hour spacings between feedings, be able to take longer naps and thus shortening the amount.

[Shiv52]

I think I have too high hopes for him and naps. I am gonna not worry about not using props etc right now and do some sleep training later. For now, I think it's more important for him to get sleep and not be OT.

I think this is a wise plan x

Im sorta confused by the pattern for a BF baby's EAS.. If the A window is 45 mins, do you E, then have a tad of A, the E again in less than an hour? Then not let them fall asleep at the breast and work on the S?

My routine would have looked something like:

8am Wake up and BF
8.45am Nap
10.15am Wake up
10.45 BF
11/11.10 Winddown and nap
12.30 Wake up
12.45 BF

And so on.  Does that make more sense?  So try and keep the feeds spaced as much as possible while working with your LOs A time.

How have things been?

[mrsg5507]

Yesterday was better for naps. He even did longer A times and slept better naps.
Naps- 1@1.25hrs 2@2hrs (although one of those was fitful) 1@1.5hrs
Awake time was average of 1.25hrs

But then BT was a disaster. I'm not sure if it was DH's fault or a combo of things. DH was in with him for 2 hours  and I guess he did fall asleep after a bit and Dh said he was asleep for 45 mins and then woke up. I think Dh got up and tried to "help" him back to sleep but in actuality woke him up. DS is in general a squirmy guy, he likes to move and seems mad at his swaddle. I am truly contemplating removing swaddle, but I think that he would wake himself up.

Taking forever to get him to sleep has a lot to do with the paci..if he isn't past the sleep point of no return and it falls out and he wakes a tad, he will wake up crying for it. Is he too young to try to just remove it from the picture?

[mrsg5507]

oh and I have been trying to give him a 8 or 830 BT...but my Dh is having such a hard time with this..it makes him feel like he can't do anything. How do you deal with the fact that you can't go anywhere anymore? We have a church small group once a week and we normally didn't get home until 9pm. It really bothers DH.

Also, I tried just rocking him to sleep for a nap yesterday. He was asleep about an hour. I then placed him in his crib and he woke up 15 mins later. He wants his paci back....then went back to sleep. But as soon as it fell out, he cried for it again.