Hello and welcome to BW forums
As it's been a few days now since you began the EASY routine and BW methods I would think that you have started to see a little improvement in your LOs sleep. How's it going?
The BW methods are not instant cures but they do work, long term, giving your baby the confidence to fall asleep alone is a lovely gift. Initially it takes lots of work from parents but it is really worth it, not only because you end up on a more stable and predictable routine, and get a little Y time for yourself, but because it is just so lovely to see your baby gaining that confidence and skill.
I'll see if I can answer a few questions for you.
If LO takes ages to go to sleep during naps, does this count as awake or sleep time?
It counts as A time because LO is awake/active. But you can't force LO to sleep at a particular time, you can only set the scene and do your wind down, help as much as needed and eventually the times will settle down more.
If LO wakes early from a nap you can try to re-settle, we usually say not more than 40 mins of trying because by then you'd be getting close to feed time and a LO who is awake might need a feed a bit earlier due to using more calories up.
Initially, and for a baby this young, you can count the A time from when he woke from the nap even though you spent some of the A time trying to resettle him. Sometimes it is suggested to count the A time from when the nap 'should' have ended and this can help with an older baby who has no routine, but I don't think that would be the route I'd take at this age as your LO will end up very over tired with such long A times.
I fed him from both breasts at each feed yesterday, whereas normally I'd only do one so he had more food than normal so I thought he wouldn't be hungry overnight but could he still be? He is consistently putting on 12oz a week so felt like he's eating plenty but maybe this is because he's been feeding overnight too.
Babies should eat to their fill. If he can take both sides then he needs both sides. Watch his cues, feeding should not be limited but neither should LO be forced to take lots more milk than they are ready to take. Your LO is going to be hungry over night for several months yet and this is totally normal. Doing a DF (dream feed) can help to shift the longer stretch of sleep to your bed time so that you get the best chance of a few hours yourself, but he'll still need at least 1 more night feed if not 2.
The number of night feeds can change too as LO will need additional feeds overnight during growth spurts, this is totally normal and it sends signals to your body of LOs increased need to help the right production.
His Dad has looked through book again this morning and wonders if he got bored of being in his cot? He normally only goes in at night but yesterday it feels like he spent most of his day there. Do we try putting him down somewhere else for some naps to reduce boredom? He loves sleeping in the sling.
Well, certainly you don't want him in the cot all day long or he won't feel like he had any play time (not that they do an awful lot at that age) but putting in the cot for every nap is fine. Many people with young babies prefer to do a number of cot naps and a number of sling naps (or pram/car) so that they can get out the house. If you decide to do this I suggest you try to keep the place of each nap consistent so that a habit is formed. So if nap 1 is in the cot try for it always to be in the cot, if nap 3 is in the sling going for a walk try to keep that consistent daily. This way LO learns where to expect to sleep and things run more smoothly.
His A time felt very short yesterday, usually only about 20 minutes after he finished feeding, is this normal for a 7 week old?
Here is a link to guidance A times:
https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=84884.0Count from when LO woke (either morning wake up or woke from previous nap) until LO is asleep. A times at this age is about 1hr 15 total, from eyes open to eyes closed and asleep. There is often not much opportunity for play, nappy changing and feeding takes up most of the A time. As LO gets a bit older he'll be able to enjoy a little more A time, a cuddle, song, toy, look at pictures etc.
What do we do when he misses a whole S? Do we try to add that 1.5 hours into other naps or just accept he missed that one and move on?
Just try to get him down for a sleep as soon as you can, often the feeding and nappy change takes up most of the time anyway but you can't miss out those things so just do your best - it's all any of us can do - try not to worry. Keep going through the EAS routine through the day until BT even if those times are not always consistent each day. It will become more consistent over time.
At night, his sleep seems more unsettled than during the day, he grumbles a lot. Could this be because he's going from feeding to lying down straight away whereas during the day he is upright for a while?
It could be. Or perhaps his cot cools down and he is going back into a cold bed which he doesn't like? When mine was very little I put a warm (not hot) water bottle into the cot whilst LO was out feeding. I removed it before putting LO back in and checked the temperature of the mattress to ensure it was just off-cool, not hot, before putting him back in. Never leave anything in the cot.
You could also try elevating the head end of the cot by using either a cot-safe wedge or cot blocks, some LOs who are a bit gassy or refluxy can find this more comfortable.
You can also keep him up right for a few mins before putting him down at night, some people do hold LO upright for 15-20 mins at night although even for refluxers they are often able to lay down after a feed at night which they cannot do during the day. A bit of experimentation may help.
What is the difference between second cluster feed and dream feed in environment/ how I act?
Cluster feeding is generally just feeding in the evening before it's been 3hrs, LO is usually awake but if you find LO can take a cluster and is asleep I wouldn't worry about it. The DF is usually after night sleep has started and just before your BT, around 10pm, in a dim room with quiet, like a night feed, LO is usually kept asleep. Not all LOs take a DF, mine wouldn't but I still fed him at 10pm so I still got his long stretch of sleep at the best time for me to get a few hours in.
Hope this helps
