Author Topic: Help with 13 week old serial catnapper  (Read 3287 times)

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Offline refluxcatnappermama

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Help with 13 week old serial catnapper
« on: June 01, 2018, 09:34:56 am »
Hey guys,

I’ve been loosely following EASY for my 13 week old since he was a newborn but have struggled with naps for him since he was about 3 weeks old!

He’s got silent reflux and was put on Losec about a week ago after 10 weeks on Zantac which did nothing for him.  No matter what A time I do he will always wake after 30-45 mins and can’t be resettled. (I’ve tried for up to half an hour before and the second I take my hands off him he starts wriggling again.

Our routine is roughly looking like this at the moment

E - 7am
A - 7:30am
S - 8:30am

A - 9/9:15am
E - 10am
A - 10:30am
S - 10:45am (even if he woke at 9am I try and do a little bit of activity before his next sleep)

A - 11:15/11:30am
S - 12:45pm

E - 1:15pm
A - 1:45pm
S - 2:45pm

A - 3:15pm
E - 4pm
A - 4:30pm
S - 4:45pm

A - 5:15pm (he doesn’t want to wake up here but I have to or bedtime goes to pot)
Bath - 6pm
E - 6:30pm
Bed - 7pm

DF - 10:30pm

Usually wakes for a feed about 2/2:30am then grumbles on and off to himself until 7am

I should add he’s a hefty 18lbs and drains 7oz every feed of hypoallergenic formula (including the night feed), I probably could up his bottles but I don’t want to overload his stomach!

Is there anything I can do to help his naps? He gets more and more tired as the day goes on and by his last nap he really wants to be done for the day!

Offline Cporter44

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Re: Help with 13 week old serial catnapper
« Reply #1 on: June 04, 2018, 21:56:47 pm »
No answers except that I came here with the same issue. 12 week old chronic 30
min catnapped. We are a mess over here! Hoping someone has some suggestions!

Offline becj86

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Re: Help with 13 week old serial catnapper
« Reply #2 on: June 08, 2018, 09:47:37 am »
Sorry I missed your post! Can you post a couple of days of actual times rather than the rough outline you have there. Its a great outline but doesn't tell me when he sleeps 30mins and when he sleeps 45min. I think he probably needs a tiny bit more A time from what you've written but I'm not sure.

He may just need resettling so he can learn how to get through those transitions on his own - ideally you would resettle using the same technique as you used to settle him at the beginning of the nap. I presume you don't have white noise turning off after 30mins?

Offline refluxcatnappermama

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Re: Help with 13 week old serial catnapper
« Reply #3 on: June 26, 2018, 09:35:56 am »
Sorry I gave up on checking this 🙈

Our routine for the past two days has been:

A - 6/6:30am (I try and resettle with his dummy but if this doesn’t work I leave him in his cot until 7am because I really don’t want to be getting up this early 😩)

Medicine at 7am (Omeprazole)

E - 7:30am
S - 9am

A - 9:45am
E - 11:30am
S - 11:45am

A - 12:30pm
Solids - 12:30pm (just started weaning on advice from his paediatrician so he’s having about 2-3 weaning spoons of veg purée

S - 2:30pm
A - 3:00pm (this is his shortest nap - he wakes because he’s hungry!)
E - 3:00pm

S - 4:15pm (this is a desperate attempt to get another nap in before bedtime - usually involves the pram or a LOT of rocking)

A - 5pm

Bath - 6pm
E - 6:30pm

Bed at 7pm

I don’t dreamfeed anymore because it just interferes with his sleep

During the night I just resettle with his dummy and a bit of shh pat if needed but I’ve never managed to resettle a nap!

Sorry I should say his white noise is on continuously for all naps and overnight and we have a blackout blind up!
« Last Edit: June 26, 2018, 09:38:38 am by refluxcatnappermama »

Offline becj86

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Re: Help with 13 week old serial catnapper
« Reply #4 on: June 27, 2018, 08:23:11 am »
Ok, so it looks like he's comfortable enough, generally if LO is in pain naps are much shorter than 45mins.

I take it he's now 4 months old. I'd probably suggest a touch more A time and see if that helps with nap lengths. You could certainly try wake to sleep at 20-25mins into the nap to see if that will help by resetting his sleep cycle.

A - 6/6:30am (I try and resettle with his dummy but if this doesn’t work I leave him in his cot until 7am because I really don’t want to be getting up this early 😩)
Fair enough, but you may have to move BT later if you want WU no earlier than 7am as a 12hr night is potentially unreaslitic by this age.

E - 11:30amS - 11:45amA - 12:30pmSolids - 12:30pm (just started weaning on advice from his paediatrician so he’s having about 2-3 weaning spoons of veg puréeS - 2:30pmA - 3:00pm (this is his shortest nap - he wakes because he’s hungry!)
Fair enough that he's hungry in there, hasn't had milk in 3.5hr... I'd probably try to squeeze in some milk somewhere there. I'd probably give milk when he wakes from the nap then solids an hour or so later rather than solids being the only thing he eats in that A time.

A - 3:00pm (this is his shortest nap - he wakes because he’s hungry!)E - 3:00pmS - 4:15pm (this is a desperate attempt to get another nap in before bedtime - usually involves the pram or a LOT of rocking)A - 5pm
He's almost certainly not tired for a nap here after 1:15 A time - you could probably leave it a bit later and make BT later too or hopefully you'll have success with making the other naps longer and not need a fourth :)

I don’t dreamfeed anymore because it just interferes with his sleep
Totally reasonable. DF doesn't work for all babies, if it doesn't work for your family, you don't have to do it.

During the night I just resettle with his dummy and a bit of shh pat if needed but I’ve never managed to resettle a nap!
I presume he is feeding at some point during the night?

Offline refluxcatnappermama

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Re: Help with 13 week old serial catnapper
« Reply #5 on: July 01, 2018, 18:48:47 pm »

Fair enough, but you may have to move BT later if you want WU no earlier than 7am as a 12hr night is potentially unreaslitic by this age.

What time would you suggest? I’ve tried an 8pm bedtime before but he had an awful night on it!

Fair enough that he's hungry in there, hasn't had milk in 3.5hr... I'd probably try to squeeze in some milk somewhere there. I'd probably give milk when he wakes from the nap then solids an hour or so later rather than solids being the only thing he eats in that A time.

If he’s having milk at 11:30am he won’t drink again at 12:30, what do you suggest timings wise for this?

I presume he is feeding at some point during the night?

To be honest I haven’t been feeding him because he resettles quickly with his dummy, do you think this is why he’s waking again so soon after?  No matter what I do e always wakes up at half 1, should I try feeding him then?  How many feeds overnight are usual for this age?  He currently has 8oz bottles and now weighs 20lbs at 18 weeks old

Offline becj86

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Re: Help with 13 week old serial catnapper
« Reply #6 on: July 01, 2018, 21:13:29 pm »
If he’s having milk at 11:30am he won’t drink again at 12:30, what do you suggest timings wise for this?
Sorry, I meant feed at 9:45 when he wakes from his first nap rather than waiting til 11:30, then milk again at 12:30 when he wakes from the next nap, but I now realise you're bottle feeding, so that can change things a bit. I think getting those naps longer will help with these feeding dilemmas too. How are the increases in A time going?

What time would you suggest? I’ve tried an 8pm bedtime before but he had an awful night on it!
S - 4:15pm (this is a desperate attempt to get another nap in before bedtime - usually involves the pram or a LOT of rocking)A - 5pmBath - 6pmE - 6:30pmBed at 7pm
I would suggest if you're making the BT later, its because you're letting the A time before the last nap be longer (than 1:15) and he's then napping for longer rather than just giving him a longer A time to BT which will just result in him being OT. 8pm is probably a reasonable time but he still needs his day sleep to be appropriate to give him a better chance at sleeping well at night.

To be honest I haven’t been feeding him because he resettles quickly with his dummy, do you think this is why he’s waking again so soon after?  No matter what I do e always wakes up at half 1, should I try feeding him then?
Yes, its still normal for a baby this age to be feeding at least once if not twice overnight. I would try feeding at 1:30am when he wakes. I would also say that if he's waking frequently through the early hours of the morning, that's another clue that he needs more A time, especially first thing in the morning.

Offline refluxcatnappermama

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Re: Help with 13 week old serial catnapper
« Reply #7 on: July 03, 2018, 06:49:38 am »
I tried following a strict 4 hour EASY yesterday and he ended up with one 45 minute nap, 2 30 minute naps and an accidental 10 minute power nap in the car!  Slept 1hr 40 from bedtime, then 1 hour, then 2 hours, then 2 hours, then up every 45 mins after that 🤦🏼‍♀️

I tried the whole “stay in the room and try and resettle until the next feed time” thing but he just won’t resettle 😔

I’m just going to try and keep the A times to 2 hours today but just go by when he wakes up if I can’t resettle him.

Offline becj86

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Re: Help with 13 week old serial catnapper
« Reply #8 on: July 03, 2018, 08:33:42 am »
I tried the whole “stay in the room and try and resettle until the next feed time” thing but he just won’t resettle 😔
With a catnapper, this is a recipe for insanity. Did he not resettle after the 30min naps?

I’m just going to try and keep the A times to 2 hours today but just go by when he wakes up if I can’t resettle him.
This is more reasonable and I think should help. I'd give the resettle 5-10mins and if you think he'll go back to sleep, keep going but if he's up and not going back to sleep, just get him up.

Night sleep isn't going to be a whole lot better necessarily until your day is a bit better. Being consistent is the key here.