Author Topic: 10 week old only sleeping for 20mins - using Shh/Pat  (Read 1443 times)

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Offline deborahchristine

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10 week old only sleeping for 20mins - using Shh/Pat
« on: November 05, 2017, 20:18:17 pm »
Hello! I haven't been on the boards for awhile, but just had my second baby and need more help! Our first child has been a terrific sleeper ever since we used PU/PD at 3.5months.

Our daughter is 10 weeks old and up until three days ago we were rocking her to sleep and either holding her while she slept or putting her in a rock n play. Three days ago we started putting her in the crib awake and doing Shh/Pat for naps. We try to stick to a three hour EASY routine but her short naps don't always allow us strict adherence. We are able to get her to fall asleep in the crib, but she becomes unsettled at the 20 minute mark. I know there is a jolt that occurs then and we try to settle her back down by patting her but we are not making any progress. Below is our routine from this morning

7am awake/feed
7:50am begin wind down routine (diaper change, swaddle, short song, place in crib on her back)
8:30am asleep
8:50am awake / attempt to resettle (we try to settle her before the jolt)
9:10am remove from crib and have awake time
9:30am feed
9:50am begin wind down routine
10:20am asleep
10:40am awake / attempt to resettle

After the second short nap we gave her 30 minutes of awake time and then had her sleep in the carrier for 30mins so she wouldn't get overtired. She falls asleep so easily in the carrier. Once she woke we fed and started the wind down routine 60 minutes after she woke. Again she only made it 20 minutes. We also use a pacifier in addition to Shh / Pat.

I think my questions are - what are we doing wrong or could be doing better to get her past the 20 minute mark? We only try resettling her for 20 minutes after she wakes because she is usually hysterical and I am not sure if I should let her continue to cry so much at 10 weeks. I also don't know if the pacifier is a bad idea. Both her arms are swaddled and I think she is too young to find her thumb but she needs something to suck on.

Any help is appreciated!! We haven't put her in the crib for nighttime because we are afraid of losing the 5-6 hour stretch of sleep we currently get while she is in the rock n play, but maybe we need to make that transition too?

Thanks,
Deb

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Re: 10 week old only sleeping for 20mins - using Shh/Pat
« Reply #1 on: November 06, 2017, 18:41:18 pm »
Hello and welcome back :)
Congratulations on your new LO.

I think changing where a LO sleeps is generally going to cause some disturbance so it isn't necessarily that you are doing anything wrong, it's just that she isn't used to napping in the crib and it's going to take time to teach her to sleep there.  3 days is not long at all.  It took that amount of time to settle my DS when he was moved from a hammock to cot in an adjoining room when he was 9 months old and he had been an independent sleeper since about 8 wks old. So 3 days is very short time wise taking into account your DD's age and that this is just the early stages of sleep training.

I do notice that she is going to sleep after quite a long A time, you could start your WD a bit earlier with the aim to get her asleep by 1hr 20 or even 1hr 10, obviously she's ending up with a longer A time because she isn't settling so just try to take this into account and start the routine earlier.  Being OT when she goes to sleep can increase those disturbing jolts.

Rather than waiting for the jolt to begin resettling or trying to shush/pat before the jolts you might have more success with HTTJ (holding through the jolts, or pressure through the jolts), scroll down on this link to remind yourself of the method:
https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=223809.0
Its not that you can't use shush/pat, you can, but firm pressure may be more successful... you need to stay there though until she reaches deep sleep and you see her melt into the mattress and her breathing change.

I am not sure if I should let her continue to cry so much at 10 weeks
Certainly you don't want her to be crying hysterically any longer than you can help as she will lose calories.  of course it's natural for babies to cry though so try not to worry too much. I would certainly be picking up if she is crying like that, remember with shush/pat at this age you begin in arms and shush/pat all the way to sleep if necessary (then put in crib and continue shush/pat for 20 mins to deep sleep), if possible put down calm and drowsy (and continue in cot) but always LO should be fully calm before putting down and you can pick up as many times and as often as needed to comfort her.

I also don't know if the pacifier is a bad idea. Both her arms are swaddled and I think she is too young to find her thumb but she needs something to suck on.
Tracy suggested not usign a paci throughout sleep but rather to let LO use the paci prior to sleep to reduce the desire for sucking and then to remove when the sucking decreases.
SIDS guidance suggests that using a paci can reduce the risk of SIDS and that a LO reliant on a paci for sleep should not have it removed cold turkey prior to 6 months.
It really is your decision.
As my LO refused a paci I can't really offer any experience, only the safety guidance.

Putting LO to sleep in the same place for day and night sleep is bound to help her adjust to her environment and feel secure there more quickly, but again it is your choice.  Again SIDS guidance is for LOs to sleep in the same room as parents/carers so maybe this helps to make your mind up?

Hope this helped some. Do let us know if you have more questions or how you get on.