9 week old 40 minutes sleep all day total!!!!

[feex198x]

ok so i feed, and then 1 hour after his eyes open i try to get him down to nap. he is in his room with relaxing music on, its dimmed. i shhh/pat and then put him down once the eyes flicker. he wakes up fully and then i pat/shh for at least 20 mins.If he does go its 20 minutes max. i then try and extend the nap to no avail and have to get him up.My 3 year old by then comes running in wondering where i have been the last hour, and usually she creates as i tell her to sssh.This is ruining our lives. He only sleeps 3-4 hour periods during the night and restless throughout those.Reflux has been ruled out as we considered that.He will not sleep in his bouncer,stroller, car or anything! He put himself on a 4 hour EASY and takes 5-6oz at each feed. He feeds at 7, 11 and 3, bedtime is 7pm.Do i need to get him to a doctor to look him over??Im so tired and depressed.

[Khalam's Mama]

What is he like when he is awake? Happy? Crying? Has he always been this way? 1Hr at 9 wk old may be a little short. B was doing more like 1hr 20 at that age. Have you tried keeping him up longer? On the birthclub thread many 9 wo are still waking every 4hrs in the night. Do you feed him at those times? Is he on a bottle?

[feex198x]

he has always been a bad napper. he is formula fed and always takes his full feed. i have tried keeping him up later but then he gets cranky.when he is awake he generally smiling and happy, but going over 1 hour awake time turns to grouching. i feed him at 11 and 3 at night. Inbetween those feeds he doesnt sleep well i have to get up regularly to replace the paci he wont sleep without. i total 3 hours sleep a night, every night since birth.

[Khalam's Mama]

That sounds really rough. Do you think the paci has become a prop? Does he have it for naps? What happens when he sleeps for the 20min? Does he drop it? Sometimes they get used to  certain a time and you have to increase it really slowly like 5mins at a time. He is likely ot from the lack of sleep but may need longer to get a decent nap in. Do you think he could be os too? Maybe keeping his a time really low key may help?

[feex198x]

Ok so i think the paci has become a prop but it was the only was i could get him asleep. On the rare occasions he sleeps longer he will sleep through it dropping out, and i do try and remove it as he is going off when it starts slipping. I want to take it away but its the only thing that gets him to sleep right now.He has it for naps too. I try and extend the naps by everyway possible, but he will not have it, hie starts kicking about even though he is swaddled and will not go back no matter what i do. He is definatly OT but he wont sleep anywhere to fix it. He is probably overstimulated as i have a 3 year old home whizzing around everywhere with the tv on, so i try and take him to his room as much as possible to settle him, but that can and usually does result in my daughter coming up tugging on me to play with her, and then she disturbs him and we start the wind down process over again. In his A time i change his diaper, i sing, pull funny faces, then he goes in his bouncer while i get 20 mins to be with my daughter, before the whole 3 hour process starts again. He wont fall asleep like that, even though it bounces. I cant see what i am doing wrong and im beginning to get really really down over it. I dont have family nearby so i dont get a break or anyone to take my daughter so i can work on it. Its the 3 of us, day in day out and our relationships are all under such strain.

[Love, laughter, & PJs]

So many hugs.  It sounds like things are really, really stressful for you. 

I agree with KM that I bet he needs more A time.  I think you're stuck in the dreaded UT/OT loop.  We've been there all this last week, too, and it s*cks!!    I agree with KM that I would try to push it out by 5-10 min.  Try to keep the activity in that time as low key as you can with your toddler about.  You could also just try pushing out the first A of the day and going from there. 

[feex198x]

Ok so today is a new day. He slept well all night and in fact fed at at 6.30pm then didnt wake up to feed until 1am, pure exhaustion i imagine. Then up again at 4am, he only took 1oz at this that feed and dozed on and off until 6am. Then i awoke to the biggest smiles. He had a full feed at 6.30am and fell asleep straight after in his bouncer. He had 30 minutes. Then he woke up and was happy and so i put him in his gym. He started yawning so i took him upstairs, i have found a channel on my tv that plays nature noises with soft music in the background. So i swaddled him up and sssh'd until his eyes were heavy. Then i put him down, he was awake so i continued to shhh. He went off to sleep easily and has now been asleep up there an hour!!!!!This is serious progress! He is due his next feed at 10.30am, fingers crossed for an afternoon nap!

[Khalam's Mama]

That is great. What did you do that has helped? I wouldn't wake to feed unless your worried about weight so he can get used to sleeping longer. Keep us up to date. X

[feex198x]

i have no idea, i did everything i normally do, the only difference was that i put the music on instead of the white noise that is usually on. I think he is probably just catching up from the last week of barely any sleep so im not getting too excited just yet! I dont wake for feeds at night, i never did with my daughter and she was sleeping 7 until 7 at 3 months old. I dont think we will be as lucky this time though. He weighs 12lb 13oz's so im not worried about his weight at all, he is gaining well.

[feex198x]

Just gone down within minutes, he had 2 hrs awake time but this time i didnt get sleep cues until now. He had 2 yawns and so i swaddled him up, put the music on and he went to sleep straight away on his own....but for how long....

[Khalam's Mama]

Maybe the extra sleep has allowed him to reach his A potential. Whe I said don't wake him I meant at 10.30am when you said his feed was due. I agree no need to wake them at night. Hope he slept well...

[feex198x]

he slept from 11.45 to 1.20!!!!! Im now thinking he is just a more awake baby and although he should in theory be having 1 hr 20 A time, he is better at 2 hrs being on the 4 hour EASY. Lets hope anyway!

[Khalam's Mama]

Maybe. Just keep an eye that OT doesn't set in after a while since it is a big jump from what he is used toand sometimes they handle it one or twice but not long term. That is a great sleep though. I hope you keep getting better and better.

[feex198x]

i will bare that in mind, he is up now but fallen back asleep on the floor on his tummy! Poor little thing i think its really caught up with him. But i feel a little more hopeful today, first day in weeks! Thanks for the advice, i may well be back tomorrow!

[Khalam's Mama]

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