Sleep and EASY support for spirited babies

[chauncycay]

Woo HOO!!!!
A 40 minute nap! Ridiculous, but that's progress!

DH took her on a 2 mile run before it   He's at least getting some use out of that new jogging stroller!
Maybe we'll do some yoga later!
She's super happy baby - yea!

Fingers crossed for a CN and a nice evening... will report back.

[newkidontheblock]

What a cutie pie! So how are things now?

[chauncycay]

We have I think figured out night sleep! 11-12 hours straight with the occasional one time help settle in crib in the middle. Miracle! :-) amazing and wonderful.
So now we're trying to figure out naps since we still get zero indicators for sleep until it's way too late... *sigh the spirited darlings. So much fun though. Wouldn't want her any other way :-)

She's almost 7 1/2 months and I know we need to extend A, but she gets OT soooooo quickly! And no warnings of sleepy, at all until way too late.

Currently
7 a.m. Wake up, sometimes she wakes 5 minutes before, sometimes we wake her ~15 minutes later.
7:15 diaper change/nurse for 45 minutes. She's a slow consistent chugger in the morning, then she takes breaks and cuddles/chats, diaper changes
8:30 solids with us for breakfast
9 a.m. Run in jogging stroller
9:30 or 10 a.m. Nap, 40 minutes. Sometimes can extend at wake up.
10:45 a.m. Reflux meds
11 a.m. Solids, then bottle bm
12:30 or 1:30 p.m. Start nap, 40 minutes maybe
3 p.m. Bottle bm
4:30 or 5 p.m. If super short naps, 3rd cat nap, 40 minutes
6:45 p.m. Bath (a little earlier 6:30 if no 3rd cat nap)
7 p.m. Bottle bm, story, bed
Usually STTN, or one wake up at first sleep cycle end, ~40 minutes later.

[newkidontheblock]

Sounds good. FX that you figure out naps soon:) It's all a work in progress, right?

[chauncycay]

We've had 4 successful nap days too (not consecutive but hey, getting there!)  1 hour + 20-40 mins. Whew!

So we're heading into month 8 next week... I'm scared! Was the 8 month sleep regression bad for anyone?  Our last one at ~5 months was HELL.  Not looking forward to this, but maybe positive thinking will steer us in the right direction.

We can handle anything for a few weeks, right? eek!

[newkidontheblock]

The 4 month regression was hell for me too. It literally broke me and I have yet to completely recover. Lol. But we barely even noticed the next one:) Of course, DD had given up on going to sleep independently at BT altogether but that's a different story

Have you visited the birth clubs, hun?

[Jouena]

Hello,
I'm a first time mom to a an amazing 8 WEEK old boy. According to  the Baby Test, my boy is Textbook with a touch of Spirited. But in reality he is Spirited with a touch of Textbook
   I'm here for support and practical advice. Primarily for support
   Thunder in our Heaven came a week ago, when Jude started taking 30 min naps. And it's getting worse...
   He used to nap in his crib, falling asleep with shush/pat or my breast, without much fuss. It was not a joyride, but it was predictable & manageable.
  A week ago his naps got short. The wind down and falling asleep gradually got ridiculously long and exhausting, to the point of missing a nap altogether.
   Before we had 2 tricks that worked like a charm to make him sleep in worst case - breast and swing. Couple days ago even that is not 100% guaranteed!
   Sucking, he falls asleep for 7-10 min, but not deep enough to transfer him to the crib. It takes 20 min on high speed to lull him to sleep in the swing, too!
   Another new feature of the situation is screaming his head off before every sleep.  Starts screaming when I swaddle him and no holding, shush/pat, lullaby calms him!
   This is unbearably frustrating, cuz he needs to sleep!! Cuz it screws his routine (we have just started establishing one). Without a routine, it's close to impossible to read his cues and  know why he is crying...
   I tried shush/pat before with some success,  but not enough to report consistent result. It does not work now. Shush irritates him, so does white noise. Patting on his bum/thigh is better than mid back. Pacifier annoys him greatly, too.
   I know he is OT & possibly OS. I'm trying to cut his A time to 1 hour, but the wind down to fall asleep takes about an hour itself these days! That is if I don't give in sooner and put him in the swing...
   Ah, he does not like the carrier either,  so not really an option. 
    If anyone has practical advice on what to try to help him sleep ,  I'd much appreciate!
   Hugs to you, all moms of Spirited Ones!
   

       

[Martini~]

Hi Honey, sorry your post was missed. Did you found other threads to talk to or would you like a little chat here:)?

[Jouena]

Marta,
I am completely discouraged, helpless and frustrated. It I did post in other threads, and received some feedback. I also read practically everything I could find regarding my situation around the forum. The most important thing that I got from it is that I'm not alone and there are hundreds of other babies who did not nap well at around the same age. But no real help
    Jude is 9 weeks old and he does not nap. 3 naps of 30 min is all I get. All in the swing. After 40 min to 1,5 h of winding down, holding, shush patting and A LOT of crying and screaming (I am trying to make him sleep in the crib, but give up every time).
  He can't easily fall asleep in the car nor in the stroller.  When he does, after 40 min of driving, it's only for 20-30 min.
I know 30 min nap is a sign of OT. Since today I decided to strictly keep his A time at 1h - 1h 10 min. And to cut winding down to 30 min max. If he does not sleep within the 30 min - swing it is. This should help "cure" OT and show him what I want from him in a week or two.
 Now my major concern is to make him sleep. The swing and other AP are secondary.
Any advice? Thanks!
 
   
 
   
 

[newkidontheblock]

Hi hun. I'm another one with a spirited with a touch of textbook baby and how well I remember when these days of crap naps, which started when she was 8 weeks old. A few things that helped us to get through it - a dark room, a good swaddle, white noise & getting a good wind down routine in place. In the first months, her first A was only 1 hour and that worked great. Besides this, are you aware of the wonder weeks? These are developmental leaps which mess with sleep in a big way! Keeping a track of them really helps understand what's going on
http://www.thewonderweeks.com/

Things are just very sketchy in the first few months. How do you wind down at the moment?

[Jouena]

Hello!
 I was almost going to give up on the Forum and here you appear with a word of support and practical advice! Wonder weeks - thank you SO much for showing this to me!  We are smack in the middle of Mental Leap 3 - 12 weeks old!
   I am still experimenting with A time. Some days it's 1h15min, other days 1,30 works perfectly. Can't pin point exactly. Seems LO is not sure himself
To wind down I take him to the bedroom, talking softly, we say Good night to the Sun and close the shades. Then I walk around the room swaying or rocking and humming a lullaby a bit. At this point he usually starts crying So, I have to walk and shhh to calm him down. When he is calm, I put him in the swing and turn it on.  - Alternative suggestions are most welcome!
   All his naps are in the swing for the past 3 weeks. I know it's not by the book, but it has given me my sanity back and saves LO from crying loud and long. Most importantly - he SLEEPS after being OT for weeks. Note: I stop the swing as soon as he falls asleep!   
   I was planning to start doing 1 nap in the crib this week. But smth new came up.
He stays awake for 3-4 hours after his afternoon nap until bedtime! That is from 5-6pm to 9pm!!! There is no way to make him catnap in between! And of course, it takes an hour to make him fall asleep by 9pm, with a lot of crying, carrying and feeding.
   One good thing is that he sleeps well at night
Looking forward to your advice/suggestions! Thanks!     

[newkidontheblock]

 I am still experimenting with A time. Some days it's 1h15min, other days 1,30 works perfectly. Can't pin point exactly. Seems LO is not sure himself 

Absolutely normal. Infuriating but normal:) Those first few months are just all over the place. Even when you get the timing right, there are a million other things that can mess with the nap BUT it gets a lot better after 3/4 months. Everything settled down for us after that. So just ride it out:)

To wind down I take him to the bedroom, talking softly, we say Good night to the Sun and close the shades. Then I walk around the room swaying or rocking and humming a lullaby a bit. At this point he usually starts crying So, I have to walk and shhh to calm him down. When he is calm, I put him in the swing and turn it on.

Well, we never used a swing, so I can't really comment on that. With mine, the moment we shushed, she would start crying as she knew what was coming next. We actually had a shush ban for a while. Your wind down seems fine. With ours, we kept changing things up to overcome whatever new stuff came up. Finally what really worked was doing a kind of pre-wind down to the wind down. We still do this. 15 minutes before nap time, we walk around talking softly, humming or we read a book, and only then we proceed to her room for the nap wind down. Are you swaddling? it is magic!

   All his naps are in the swing for the past 3 weeks. I know it's not by the book, but it has given me my sanity back and saves LO from crying loud and long. Most importantly - he SLEEPS after being OT for weeks. Note: I stop the swing as soon as he falls asleep! 

You do what you gotta do, hun. These are early days and you can gradually transition to him napping in the crib.

He stays awake for 3-4 hours after his afternoon nap until bedtime! That is from 5-6pm to 9pm!!! There is no way to make him catnap in between! And of course, it takes an hour to make him fall asleep by 9pm, with a lot of crying, carrying and feeding.

Again, this is normal in the first few weeks. Till 8 weeks or so, there's the PURPLE crying period
http://purplecrying.info/what-is-the-period-of-purple-crying.php
Read up about the witching hours too http://www.babysleepsite.com/newborns/newborn-babies-fussiness-evening-why/

I had a tough time getting mine to take the evening catnap until I got a sling. You mentioned before that he doesn't sleep in one. What kind do you have? E would not sleep in the Boba but would conk out in the ring sling....but only a catnap. I would go for a walk every evening for that nap.

One good thing is that he sleeps well at night 

I think your bub is a lot like mine. We had tons of nap issues but thankfully nights were brilliant. She STTN from 5 or 8 weeks on:) Bliss.

Hope this helps in some way:)

[Jouena]

Thank you so much for your quick response!
   Jude turns 3 months this Saturday, so my hopes for structure are high
   Last night was really bad, after the nap-less day. He finally turned in at around 9.30pm and woke up at 2am. This has not happened in a loooong time. He continued to wake up every hour after that. I proclaim the past 24 hours the Most Difficult and Exhausting since LO was born! 
   Funny you mention your LO start crying when you start shushing as she knew what was coming - Same here! Often, he starts crying the moment we step into bedroom
   I have a BabyBjorn which is like Boba, I think. I'll give smth like a ring sling a try! Anything for a good nap, right?
 Until then - riding it out!

[newkidontheblock]

Sorry to hear about the night:( Anything in particular stand out about the day? And yes, ANYTHING for a good nap. Hugs

[Jouena]

Well, this was the routine yesterday - he did not sleep for 4 hours! Could not fall asleep at all. So of course the night was all screwed...
WU - 7.30
E - 7.45
A - 7.30 - 9.30 (in dark bedroom, on our bed)
S - 9.30 - 11.30
E - 11.35
E - 1.45
A - 11.30 - 3.15 !!! !!! !!! 
S - 3.15 - 4pm (could not resettle for longer sleep)
E - 4.08
E - 5.35
A - 4 - 5.55 !!! !!! !!! He was exhausted but still could not fall asleep no matter what I did ...
S - 5.55 - 8.15
E - 8.50
A - 8.15 - 9.30
S - 9.30 - 2am

Any ideas?
Thank you!