3 week old sleep issue

[albers30]

My 3 week old little boy frequently wakes about 15 minutes into sleep and this happens more often at night time then with naps during the day.  Sometimes he'll wake around this time when put down for a nap during the day but I can usually resettle him by placing my hand on his chest and shushing him or picking up for for a few minutes if he's more upset to settle him then back down and from there he will generally sleep 1-2 more hours.  However, at night when he wakes he eats and goes back to sleep but within 5-15 minutes (generally 19-15 minutes) of being back in his bed he's crying and has to be picked up to settle.  Occasionally I can resettle with the hand on the chest but generally he's so upset he has to be picked up to calm down.  Initially I thought maybe he was still hungry as he generally drifts off to sleep while eating so I tried feeding him but it doesn't matter within 10-15 minutes of putting him back down he's back up crying again and this pattern can carry on for hours to the whole night.  Why does he have such a hard time settling in to sleep at night when its not as much of an issue during the day?  How can I help him change this?

[creations]

It sounds like he is jolting himself awake which is totally normal. It's also normal for new borns to sleep lightly and wake a lot, it's actually safer for them not to sleep so deeply. The things which got babies to sleep more deeply, methods used by previous generations are considered higher risk factors now.  Are you able to set up his cot by your bed so that you can sleep with a hand on him?  I used to do that with my DS, he was in a baby hammock by my bed andI could lay a hand on him so he felt close but was in his own bed learning to sleep there.

[albers30]

His bed is close enough I can put a hand in him from my bed. It’s nit the most comfortable position but doable and I’ve done it, sometimes it’s settles him but sometimes it’s not enough. Now that my oldest two have started back to school daytime naps are going to be more in the go and less often in his bed. Will napping in his car seat or wrapped to me derail our nighttime issues even more? How much sleep training should I be doing at this age?

[creations]

I started gentle sleep training (very gentle) from day 1 but I had only one child, no school run and all the time in the day to focus on my LO and help him sleep. Many people do not start ST this young but wait until LO is older. If you do want to start you could aim for one sleep in the cot per day (whilst the other kids are at school).  Keeping the sleep routine consistent is likely the most useful way forward. if you always have a car nap on the way to school for example LO will learn this and LO can learn that nap 1 is in the car but nap 2 is in the cot and will expect that to happen every day.  My LO was so used to the second nap being in the car that he was actually really hard to get down in the cot for nap 2 despite being perfect in the cot for nap 1.  Whilst it helped me in many ways his habit and need for consistency just meant I had to go out at the same time daily including the weekend...or he was harder to get to sleep.
I would say with 3 LOs having a routine which includes sling and car naps is probably ideal and unavoidable. You can't be at home all day and need to take everyone's needs into account.

[albers30]

Aside from my twins in kindergarten I’ve got a 3 year old at home so there is a lot of activity and not much time for consistent schedules or sitting around the house working on sleep routines for the baby. He does  get a nap around noon at home somewhat routinely and he does fairly well with this. I might need to resettle him once for this but often not at all. Any other naps at home are generally somewhat short, 20-30 minutes, or he has to be resettled multiple times which is the same issue at night and often he never stays re settled for more then 20-30 minutes.. If he’s strapped to me or being held he’ll sleep pretty good at any time no matter what craziness is going on around him. He also has a bad habit of falling asleep while nursing which I suspect might also be contributing. However all these variables are present at that noon nap and he does fine then and sometimes with the first nap of the day depending on how that nap starts.

[creations]

I think I'd probably use the sling lots if he is so comfortable there.  Plenty of time later on for sleep training, I'd probably wait until he is approaching being too heavy to be in the sling for a length of time.

[albers30]

Thanks, just wanted to make sure i wasn't creating major sleep issues. Suggestions for night?

[creations]

Is there any reflux causing him to wake frequently at night?
Are you able to set up a co-sleeper or a cot next your your bed so that you can keep a hand on him for much of the night? My DS found that comforting and it was a lot more relaxing for me to not have to get out of bed.