NW's following 2hrly feeds for weight gain

[becj86]

last night and tonight woke at 0220- having been down 6hrs almost to the minute- taken full feeds both nights but worried as time exactly same- should I try to push this out??

That's a pretty good stretch, I think that when he's waking after the same amount of time, that's just his limit and he's really hungry.

Bit worried will end up with 2 night feeds again as will wake again at 0530.

Its not unreasonable (quite normal in fact) to have two NFs at this age still but I'd try to resettle at 5:30 as its 3hr since the last night feed. You could also feed at that waking and limit it to a smaller feed and hope he takes a full feed at wakeup or give him a topup feed when he wakes up for the day if you give a full feed at the 5:30 NW. I think you still need to keep the nights long as he's only just scraping past 10hr nights - they should be closer to 12hr nights.

[katie80]

I hit reply to see that Bec has already posted, so I'll just add my 2 cents.

I agree to just feed him at that first waking.  If it becomes a habit over the next couple weeks or so, you can look at trying to extend it, but 6 hrs is definitely a reasonable stretch for his age.  I would also try to resettle at the 5:30 am time.  DS easily resettled in the wee hours without a feed until about 6 mo old.  If you choose to feed, Bec's given great suggestions. I always chose the small feed just to get through to wakeup.

[Fr00tbat]

After 4 nights with 1 feed- we had horrible day on Thursday and dreadful unsettled night which led to poor nap friday am- 45mins and crying at end but would not settle- managed to get him out in stroller twice yesterday but he only napped an hour each time- cat naps have been a humungous failure- can take an hour or so to settle if he does at all- usually just results in screaming. Settling for naps just gets worse as day progresses- and always seens to mess up his EASY timings!
Anyway- we are up and anticipate being up again in 2.5-3hrs. Is horrible.

[Fr00tbat]

Will see if can settle if less than 3.5 hrs from this feed- otherwise will see if can give him shorter feed to get us through to morning.
I know his naps get harder as he gets more tired and am trying to alter his A times accordingly but he just so much harder to settle and despirate not to get into bad habits.

[becj86]

Its quite early to drop the CN, but maybe he's wired for a long night? So I'm thinking 14hr night with two solid naps during the day. It may seem odd but it would get rid of the CN fighting and may help restore him better with a long night.

What do you think?

[Fr00tbat]

There is no way i can get him down before 8 - with best will in world- he needs bathing for his skin and i cant lift him in and out- he also awake and chirpy at 0700 when he wakes- he has been getting 11 hrs at night - he just does his big block at start Then wakes at intervals after this- on a good night he will do 2000-0300/0330 then 0330/0400-0700. He did that from 9 weeks to 15 weeks consistently- then regression hit- and was told to feed 2hrly for weight and all went pear shaped!!.
On ideal day he would sleep longer than 90 mins- if i try to push him out to 2hr a time and top up feed prenap we might make a 4hr EASY- will take a while to move him over though. At the moment he wakes 0700 and day looks like this:
E.      0700              
S.      0845-1015(1hr45)
E.      1030 
S.      1200-1330  (1hr45)
E.      1330             
S.      1515-1645(1hr 45)
E.      1700
E.      1830
Bath.  1900
E.       1930
The first 2 naps he does fine most days , the last one takes far longer to settle and sleeps for less time- maximum 1sleep cycle and cannot extend it.
Will persist in getting longer naps i guess- feel like am getting glued to house, am anxious looking at watch whole time and tired of being screamed at- it didnt used to be like this :-(

[becj86]

Ok, so how about relaxing about it for a few days?

Just follow EAS order and follow his cues. If he puts out tired cues, try shifting him to a new activity and if he's still grizzly, put him to bed. This will allow you to see what his natural rhythms are doing at the moment and may help you keep your sanity. I actually took my watch off for a few days and I had a much happier child because whilst I was winging it, I did have a routine - not a schedule - and that meant he knew what was coming next. When he woke, he got fed, then he played, then he slept.

Keep a nap in the pram or something if you have to but make sure you get out as you don't want to be getting cabin fever - not fun and can spiral downwards quite fast. Its a lot more important for you to be relaxed than most people give credit for. Babies pick up on your stress/anxiety and mirror it back to you.

Can you bath him in the morning? I had forgotten about your back issue, sorry.

[Fr00tbat]

Thanks. Apologies for radio silence.
Took advice- took watch off!!
He seems to have settled into a new pattern.
Daytime naps are a bit unpredictable but he has been getting 3.5 hrs or so in total. Have managed a couple of dats with later naps to 1700-1730.
Has also extended his A times some up to 2 hrs before tired!! They fet shorter as day progresses but seems to be ok!
Last 4 nights- sleep at 2000. Waking between 0120-0130- full feed- asleep until 0530- grumbles a bit- settles self ( can take a while - but never cries - is always cooing and grunting as he tries to roll over) then sleeps to 0700.
Is much better. Is there a reason for the early morning waking? Should I try to extend the 0130 - think will be difficult as he is genuinely hungry- or just accept that this is just normal for him??

[becj86]

I think its fine. It could be a spot of undertiredness but that'll iron itself out as his A's extend a bit more

You even sound more relaxed in your writing!