Didn't know whether to post in night wakings or naps so I'm doing both!
Okay here goes... Very long...
LO has always woken up lots during the night for feedings. He used to fall straight to sleep during/ after and I could lay him back in his cot no problem. At around 3 months old he was going through from bedtime (6.30/7) til 12 or 1 before his first waking but that only lasted about a month and now he wakes at 9.30pm for first night feed. He normally feeds 3-4 times a night but now also wakes up in between these feeds, so can be waking after 45mins to an hour. He has to be rocked back to sleep which can sometimes take over an hour as he might seem to be totally asleep but then wakes up when we try to put him back down. When he wakes he starts kicking his legs/ slamming them on the mattress and gets upset. He's not so much of a cryer but just really moans and this escalates if we leave him be.
I put him down for naps three times a day at regular times (approx 9, 12 and 3) but he will only sleep 30-45 minutes and again has to be rocked to sleep. Sometimes he will just not fall asleep at all no matter how hard I try (usually for 3rd nap) and ends up with only two short naps
Last night he randomly slept till 10.50pm, when I fed him and made the decision to not feed him again until 3am and 7am. It was clear he didn't need all the night feedings as he was not BF first thing in the morning and was waiting til nap time. So tonight am trying 11,3,7 again. He went down at 6.20pm and has already woken up 4 times and DH has had to rock him back to sleep (which has taken aaaages each time). He is currently attempting again but LO is crying
I have always BF on demand but he had started to always decide to do it when I was trying to put him down for a nap so today started him on an EASY routine, hoping it might help naps/ night sleep. Here's how it went:
6.30am - Woke up (this time varies depending on his NWs)
7am - BF
7.20 - Breakfast (doing BLW so solid intake is very minimal at the mo as he is just learning!)
8.45 - Fell asleep, woke first time I tried to put him down, rocked again and managed to get him in cot at 9.05 (do I count nap from 8.45 or 9.05?!)
9.35 - Woke up
11 - BF
11.30 - Lunch
12.25 - Sleep - 35 mins
2.50 - BF
3.30 - Nap 25 mins
4.45 - Tea
6pm - BF
6.20 - Sleep
My main questions are...
Am I doing the EASY routine correctly?
Why are his naps so short/ How can I lengthen them?!
How can I reduce his night wakings??
Basically what can I do to get more sleep?! DH and I are soooooooo sleep deprived and I feel it's really taking its toll