Author Topic: Almost 3m old sleep training?  (Read 1678 times)

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Offline Vsta

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Almost 3m old sleep training?
« on: March 21, 2018, 07:19:47 am »
Hi!
I just wanted to confirm if what I'm currently doing is a kind of a sleep training  :)
My son is 2m3w old (but he was born 2w5d earlier - should I use his adjusted age for wake times? His weight and height are totally average as he would be a full term baby though)
His easy looks like that :
7am - wake up and bottle 120ml
8am -  I'm rocking him to be very drowsy and put to cot with shushing and patting (so I aim his activity time to be 1h15min)
He usually wakes up after 45mins and I try to do a nap extension by shh/pat if it doesn't work I pick him up and rocking to sleep. Then give another try to put to the cot if he wakes up I rock him again and holding in my arms till it's time for him to finish his nap and put to the cot again so it's fine if he wakes up.
11am - bottle 120ml
12pm - the same scenario as above
Around 3pm - bottle 120ml
4pm - I try really hard to repeat the steps but it's almost impossible, he may nap for 30 minutes only and it's very hard to make him sleep again. It has been 2 days in row when I'm rocking him to sleep (around 6pm) because he is extremely overtired and after 1h in my arms I move him to the cot.
His times are shifting of course, like today he woke up at 8.30am (I put him on my belly to sleep around 4.30am as he had gas/wind) and the whole morning he was fussing in sleep)
Luckily he usually sleeps very well during the night - wakes up after 4/5 or even 6h and then after 4h (though he isn't very hungry in the morning). It has even been a night with only one feed :)
He uses dummy to fall asleep especially when overtired but can sleep without it.

What can I do to encourage his independent sleep? Or just keep what I'm doing and to wait when his activity time increases so he won't be overstimulated so easily?
Thank you!

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Re: Almost 3m old sleep training?
« Reply #1 on: March 23, 2018, 09:57:15 am »
Hi there
Sorry you didn't get any replies yet.

should I use his adjusted age for wake times?
I would suggest you keep adjusted age in mind for a good while or until evidence that he is up to guidance times for his birth age.  Differences in adjusted ages tend to reduce over the first year from what I've seen on the boards.

In terms of sleep training, the continued help in extending the naps is fine and putting down in the cot when possible is good.  You could try a W2S where you start the shush/pat in the cot before the 45 min is up to help LO transition from one sleep cycle to another without fully waking.  This can sometimes mean you avoid picking up and the time spent re-settling is less, LO learns to transition between sleep cycles alone instead of needing to be picked up.
Here's a link:
https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=223809.0

I'm not totally sure about your routine as you've shown it though.
Is LO okay with the 4hrly feeds?  It is common to feed every 3hrs at this age.
There is a long time between nap 1 at 8am (ending at perhaps 9.30) and nap 2 not beginning until 12pm, this is a 2.5hr A time which is particularly long for a 2 month old.  I would suggest reducing this time to 1hr 15 so that nap 2 begins at 10.45am.

The later nap you have noticed he is very OT and can't settle well at all. I think you may see a difference in this when you reduce the A time across the day, keeping it no longer than 1hr 15 between each nap.  If you are unsuccessful in extending a nap and he only sleep 45 min you may need to reduce the following A time to 1hr.

I do think your methods for gentle sleep training are sound, it's just that you aren't having the best opportunity to see changes due to the routine being more appropriate for an older baby. Hopefully you will see some improvement with a more age appropriate routine and shorter A time.


Offline Vsta

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Re: Almost 3m old sleep training?
« Reply #2 on: March 24, 2018, 02:18:14 am »
Thank you for your reply!

Yes, I would say he is more on 3.5h easy rather than 4h, but probably it's because his naps are messy right now. He was fine on 4h even at younger age for several days.

Not sure about A time though... This morning he started crying at 1h15m mark and fall asleep at 1h30m or so (I put him in the cot very drowsy and he easily fell asleep )  but still woke up after 45 minutes without any crying. Yes, I tried today w2s but it didn't work. The fact he wakes up after 45 minutes with no cry and I couldn't make him asleep by rocking for several minutes, does it mean he needs more A time? This what I've read here. While 30 minutes with crying means OT. Am I wrong?

Yes, I try to reduce his A time if he didn't have a proper nap before but looks like he's getting stuck in  UT/OT loop.

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Re: Almost 3m old sleep training?
« Reply #3 on: March 24, 2018, 09:22:30 am »
but still woke up after 45 minutes without any crying. Yes, I tried today w2s but it didn't work. The fact he wakes up after 45 minutes with no cry and I couldn't make him asleep by rocking for several minutes, does it mean he needs more A time?
This does sound a little UT, yes, but it can also be that he has not learned to transition into the next sleep cycle and whilst he could well still be tired he is just making do with the 45 min nap. I'd be cautious about increasing the A time any because of his age and because he was also showing signs of being tired at 1hr 15.  Sometimes it is about habit forming rather than just being either OT or UT.
W2S can take several days and you'll probably learn over time just how to adapt it for your LO so that it "works". It can be about starting earlier or later or rocking rather than patting or a key phrase rather than shushing, it can be adapted to use your own methods of soothing and keeping him asleep.

Yes, I try to reduce his A time if he didn't have a proper nap before but looks like he's getting stuck in  UT/OT loop.
If you feel absolutely sure he is UT on 1hr 15 then, sure, increase to 1hr 20 or 1hr 30... but I would avoid those super long A times of 2.5hrs even if it means needing to spend a long time getting him to sleep. Sleep training and the routine work on consistency and LO learning good sleep habits which is less likely to happen (or take longer) on very long A times.  There is a balance between following LO's cues and "mummy knows best" sometimes LOs need to be told to sleep.


Offline Vsta

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Re: Almost 3m old sleep training?
« Reply #4 on: March 25, 2018, 00:35:43 am »
No no, I have never intentionally kept him awake for 2.5h. I do everything to make him sleep, luckily I have the possibility.

Today his first A time was 1h20m and he woke up after 45mins though I was patting in the same way as when he fell asleep. I picked him up instantly and rocked then put to the cot. So he had a 2h nap.
His second A time was 1h15m, he's sleeping now. I'll do the same.

Thank you!