Author Topic: 8 weeks old and sleep is getting worse not better!  (Read 1840 times)

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Offline Katiamay

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8 weeks old and sleep is getting worse not better!
« on: September 19, 2014, 12:59:49 pm »
Hello,
If anyone can help me, I'd really appreciate it - I honestly have no idea what I'm doing wrong and I'm about to become psychotic from lack of sleep. My son is 8 weeks old, born at 41 weeks, weighing 9lbs, 10 oz. he is fed breast milk in the bottle and eats between 3-5 oz per feeding. He's really good at falling asleep on his own with little interference on my end, the problem is staying asleep! During the day we often have 20, 30, or 40 minute naps (with one 1-2 hr nap in the afternoon). He'll wake up from his nap but still be yawning and rubbing his eyes so I know he's still tired. But if I leave him alone, he starts thrashing his head about and kicking his legs until he wakes himself up and then he'll start to cry. If I go in and give him his pacifier/shush him he may go back to sleep for another 40 minutes before he wakes again.

The other problem is after he goes to bed after his 7pm feeding. He'll sleep for 6-7 hours and if he takes a full bottle at his df, he will sleep until around 3 am, but once he wakes up, he's up every 20-40 minutes until he gets up for the day at 7 am.
He's a great eater during the day and doesn't seem to want to eat in the 3-7am wakefulness so I'm thinking he should be able to wait until breakfast if I could just get him to fall back asleep on his own.

These might be two separate issues, daytime short naps and evening waking but I'm wondering if my schedule is to blame.
His EASY yesterday was:
E -7:56 (4.5 oz)
A - 8:15-9:00
S - 9:00-9:35

E- 10:21 (3oz) fell asleep because he was up since 9:35
A - none
S - 10:38-1:20

E - 1:24 (5oz)
A - 1:39-2:00
S - 2:24-2:40, 3:27-3:44, 4:00-4:40 (wouldn't stay asleep)

E - 5:04 (5 oz)
A - 5:25-5:45
S - 5:45-6:20

E - 7:19 (3oz)
A - none
S - 7:30-12:54

E -12:55 (5oz)
S -1:40-3:40 (self soothed back to sleep until 4:26)
S - 4:29-5:20
S - 5:30-6:23
This whole time he would go back to sleep after you gave him his pacifier but then he'd wake up again in 20-50 minutes.
Any advice would be very much appreciated.
Jessica


Offline jessmum46

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Re: 8 weeks old and sleep is getting worse not better!
« Reply #1 on: September 20, 2014, 11:12:37 am »
Hi Jessica,

Where does he sleep?  Is he swaddled?  Does he use the paci at sleep times (and do waking coincide with it falling out)?

Does he have or could he have any issues with reflux or gassiness/intolerances?  The super-short naps and unsettledness overnight just made me wonder....

Feeds wise his DF is very late, Tracy recommended between 10-11pm as any later could well disturb sleep patterns.  Could you try moving it earlier?  I would also feed at the 3/4am waking.  He's so tiny at 8 weeks and the constant waking could actually be hunger.

What do you think?

Offline Katiamay

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Re: 8 weeks old and sleep is getting worse not better!
« Reply #2 on: September 20, 2014, 22:42:09 pm »
Hi, thanks for the quick response! For the most part he sleeps in his crib except around 5am I might move him to his car seat or swing out of desperation after an hour of shushing in crib. He is swaddled but escapes it and he does use a paci to fall asleep. However, neither the escape from the swaddle nor the paci falling out coincides with him waking up. The paci usually falls out within 10 minutes of him falling asleep but if he's truly out, he will stay asleep.
To address your other questions, usually we df him between 10 & 11, this was just and odd night when he wouldn't open his mouth. Also, he is gassy! I posted in the night waking board on this topic because his 4 am fussiness is almost a always associated with straining and pulling his legs up and usually resolves following a good fart. Is there anything to be done if that just happens to be his time to get gassy regardless of feeding times?
As to overnight feedings, he doesn't show much interest in a bottle at night like he does during the day. He's now 14.8 pounds so he's no tiny Tim! Do you think I should try feeding him at the 2 am fussy time to see if that prevents the 4 am wake up? I have to get up to pump anyway!
Any thoughts on the short naps? I've noticed in the last couple of days that if I don't wait for a yawn or signal and bring him to bed much sooner than I had been, he is sleeping longer, but he also has a cold so I'm not sure which is resulting in the longer naps.
Thanks again for the help!
Jessica

Offline jessmum46

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Re: 8 weeks old and sleep is getting worse not better!
« Reply #3 on: September 22, 2014, 07:13:35 am »
The early morning gassiness is very common in the first few weeks, you'll see lots of posts on the board about it if you look around.  Consensus seems to be that it's somethingt hey grow out of.

At his age I would definitely feed at night if it has been more than 3-4h since the last feed.  Am I right in thinking you are mixed feeding?  Or are his bottles all EBM?  Definitely worth trying a feed at 2/3am as he may well be trying to send a signal to your body to make more milk.  There are loads of growth spurts in the early weeks too.

His short naps may well be developmental for now, it takes time for them to 'get it' with regards napping.  A times look about right, so it may well be a case of waiting it out for now.  Will he take a good nap in the sling/stroller towards the end of the afternoon to ward off too much OT?

Offline Katiamay

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Re: 8 weeks old and sleep is getting worse not better!
« Reply #4 on: September 22, 2014, 13:11:52 pm »
Hi Katherine,
Good to know that the gassiness is just something he has to grow out of. Even though there no "fix" it's helpful to have an answer! He is exclusively breast milk, but from a bottle because he was just to frustrated trying to breastfeed (couldn't get it out fast enough). I have been doing a feeding at 2:30 just to see and it does seem to help him stay asleep after that. I'll take that! Only getting up once and then he goes back down until wake up time!
The daytime naps, I'm not sure what to do there. For instance this morning, he woke up at 5:30 to eat (in going to try to bring he night feed back to 3:30 so he sleeps until 7) then was down at 6, up at 7, down at 8:20, and up 8:50 - and happy and playful.  I took off his swaddle because I think I'm using it too much and he's not getting enough time to discover his hands and legs which makes him startle awake when they move and he's trying to fall asleep.  I'm sitting in here with him in his crib and he's happily cooing away and munching on his hands. With day naps, do you keep trying to force him to go back to sleep or, if he's happy to play quietly in his crib do you let it go and try for a nap at his next EAS time?
P.S. He will sleep like the dead if I wear him but I try to only do this for emergencies - should I make it part of our routine? Maybe the nap that he does the worst?
Thanks!
Jessica

Offline jessmum46

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Re: 8 weeks old and sleep is getting worse not better!
« Reply #5 on: September 22, 2014, 13:44:01 pm »
It's kind of up to you about trying to resettle.  With DD I tried to a lot of naps and drove myself a bit mad.  This time with DS I've decided not to bother, if he's happy I just leave him for a few mins to see if he'll resettle himself, but if not we just get up and move on and do a bit shorter A time.  It means the EAS gets messy but I just can't sit in a dark room shh-patting all day!

I think using the sling is again up to you.  I think it can be handy to have something like that in reserve for times you have to be out or if the day has gone to pot.  The last nap of the day is a good one to AP as it's the one that disappears first :)

Offline Katiamay

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Re: 8 weeks old and sleep is getting worse not better!
« Reply #6 on: September 22, 2014, 15:09:45 pm »
Yeah, I'm kinda losing my patience with sitting in his room for the entire nap so that I can put his paci back in when he wakes up 30 minutes into the nap. But, I feel like if I don't, he won't get any sleep during the day. I'm going to pop over to the "props" board and see if anyone has any suggestions about getting rid of the paci - I know they say he still needs it at two months, but he's spitting it out and waking up over and over and over and he needs sleep more (and so do I)!
Thanks for the suggestions about wearing him for a nap though, Im going to start doing that for his morning naps to try to avoid this situation!
Jessica

Offline jessmum46

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Re: 8 weeks old and sleep is getting worse not better!
« Reply #7 on: September 22, 2014, 15:52:47 pm »
30 minute wakings are often OT, just something to consider.  Can you get him down for his naps a bit earlier?

Offline Katiamay

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Re: 8 weeks old and sleep is getting worse not better!
« Reply #8 on: September 24, 2014, 17:47:56 pm »
Katherine, I bring him into his bedroom after about 40 minutes of A - it takes this long just to feed change and play with him a little. As soon as he stops cooing and playing with me, I bring him into his bedroom. However, when I try to put him down he cries. He seems to be getting better though - I've started having active play time followed by quiet play time. After I change him, I put him in his crib and turn the mobile on and let him wind down a bit. He still cries but he is better able to soothe himself to sleep after a few rounds with the paci. In other news, he has broken the swaddle habit! I noticed he was t swaddled at daycare when I picked him up and seemed happy so when we got home I left it off and just put him in pajamas. All night and all of today no swaddle! It seems to be helping with allowing him to self soothe because he can suck his hands. So, yay for that!

Offline jessmum46

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Re: 8 weeks old and sleep is getting worse not better!
« Reply #9 on: September 25, 2014, 12:38:03 pm »
Great news on the swaddle!  At 8 weeks you're looking at about 1h-1h15 as an average A time so just something to keep in mid if LO starts resisting going to sleep x