9 weeks old, wakes up in 5, 10, 20, 30, 40 min....

[Liliya_s]

Hi everyone!
Now I guess it's my time to ask for some advise!

My daughter is 9 weeks old now and after her 6 week growth spurt we started to have problems with her day naps.
Our routine looks approximately like that:

E 8am (woke up at
A 820-9am (including diaper change, visual activities 80% and physical activities 20%.)
S 920am-11 (usually with out wakings)

E 11
A 1120-12
S 12-130 (she would wake up from 3 to 6 times!!) Then we have A 30 min before next E

E 2
A 220-3 (so, it's 1 hr plus 30 min before she ate)
S 3- if I am lucky she'll sleep either 40 min or 40 min, then I SP her again and she can sleep about 40 more minutes.

She is fine at night- she might go 5 to 7 hours between feeds. I do not do cluster feeds or a night feed, only if I can't put her down to sleep for about 30-40 min I would feed her again (breastfeeding). We usually take a bath around 8.30 and then our night starts. I just like it to be our ritual. Sophie relaxes after a warm bath and sleeps better.

Sleep: I swaddle her (she cries like crazy when I do that, is that ok? It seems to me that she hates being restricted...but otherwise her hands wake her up), then we always use white noise and I sometimes pat her as well. I give her a pacifier and she falls asleep with it.

Activity: it's hard to understand when she becomes sleepy. Before 6 weeks she would yawn after about 1-110 after she woke up and I will put her asleep using SP with out problems. Then she would sleep for 1.5 hours. Now she might yawn right after she ate (about 30 min after she woke up), should I skip A and go to S after she yawns? Sometimes she won't even yawn but would start screaming a bit, and I guess it means "I am tired".

Also, from 6 to 9 weeks she would wake up in 40 min, which indicates over stimulation, correct? So, I started to do less physical activity with her. It hasn't solved the problem and  it's not possible to do even less activity, Sophie is a strong girl- she is now 5.6 kg (3.7 kg birth weight=8.2 pounds). I am confused here.

At first I thought that she does not need to go back to sleep after she wakes up in 40 min. After not putting her back to sleep for a couple of days she was extremely tired and would not settle down for night for 2 hours!!

Please help

[ZacsMumme]

Am I right she is doing a good nap on a 1hr20min first A time?
Do you think that second A could be a touch longer as it is only 1hr? This may be why she is waking throughout the nap? What is she like when she wakes? It oculd be an UT/OT loop, so by that 3rd nap she is OT.

Also, from 6 to 9 weeks she would wake up in 40 min, which indicates over stimulation, correct?

Sometimes lol. 40 mins can also mean UT or OT. I found it best to work out based on how my LO woke at the 40min mark. Talking happy as a clam UT, crying OT, twitchy OS...All LOs are different though

[Liliya_s]

Am I right she is doing a good nap on a 1hr20min first A time?

Correct!

Do you think that second A could be a touch longer as it is only 1hr? This may be why she is waking throughout the nap? What is she like when she wakes? It could be an UT/OT loop, so by that 3rd nap she is OT.

I tried a 1.10 A today, will see what happens. She just opens her eyes and tries to get out of her swaddle (that's how it looks like . Then if no one comes she will cry.

Also, from 6 to 9 weeks she would wake up in 40 min, which indicates over stimulation, correct?

Sometimes lol. 40 mins can also mean UT or OT. I found it best to work out based on how my LO woke at the 40min mark. Talking happy as a clam UT, crying OT, twitchy OS...All LOs are different though

Thanks I'll try to keep her awake 10 min more every A time and then let you know what happens It's a rainy day in Toronto- such a perfect weather for good naps %)

[ZacsMumme]

I'll try to keep her awake 10 min more every A time

I would just try adding 10 mins to that second A first, she may take a few days to adjust. You can also try W2S on this nap if you think she is having problems transitioning into the next cycle. I would go in around the 30 min mark on a 40 min nap.

If you get a short 2nd nap again, try bringing forward the next A time, you may have to watch her cues but start watching her after 45 mins if you get a 30-40 min nap and you cant extend

Ick, we have rubbish weather too in NZ, rain, wind and snow!

[Liliya_s]

Ok, I got it
She did not have enough activity. Now we do 1.10-1.30 activity time until my daughter gets tired. She still has 45 min naps and one or two longer ones. It seems to work for her
Thanks for your help!!

[ZacsMumme]

No problem! Glad you got it sussed so quickly

[Liliya_s]

Now I thing I've got another issue- my DD is crying like crazy while being swaddled I've read some posts and I think she might now be a bit OT.

[ZacsMumme]

If yo uthink she is a touch OT pull in the As a teeny bit and see what happens

[Liliya_s]

Apparently she is not OT... she hates being swaddled. I tried doing A time 1.10 min and then as soon as I put her to on the bed to swaddle her she stared to cry as usual. If I pick her up or distract, she stops screaming. Then I put her on the bed again, she starts screaming again...lol (no reflux)

Sometimes when she is not tired she would scream (w/o tears) as soon as I swaddle her for about 5 min. Then calm down. If I put her into the crib like that half of the time she will fall asleep with S/P. Or she might start screaming again.

So, do you think it's OK when babies scream/cry when swaddled? Will she be better when she grows up a bit? She will be 3 months old this week.

[ZacsMumme]

So, do you think it's OK when babies scream/cry when swaddled? Will she be better when she grows up a bit? She will be 3 months old this week.

SOme LOs need a cry to block out stimulation before they settle off to sleep. This is okay as long as you are there with her reassuring her with shh/pat. DS still has a grizzle when I put him in his sleep sack sometimes! And yes, they do get better as they get older (usually)