Need Advice on a Familiar Topic

[evanmattsmommy]

Ok, so apparently this is a 3 month thing huh? I thought I was so lucky b/c ds always took great 1.5-2 hour naps and I didn't have the 45 min. nap problem. Then all of a sudden last week it started. He is 11 weeks today and while it was only happening a nap here and there it is now full fledged every single nap... still sleeping good at night though thank goodness.  Now I have a couple of ideas for working on it... and would like advice on what you think.

First, here is his schedule right now and I see a few problems in it.

6:00 am eat then back to sleep (used to be until 9:00)
7:45 wakes screaming, been getting him and he will play and smile for a little while in my bed  :oops: Yes, I know this is a problem. He usually then goes back to sleep in my bed until about 9  :oops:  :oops:
9:00 wake, eat, play
9:45 to 10:00 start getting sleepy and fussy
10:00 take to bed goes to sleep with no problem
10:45- 11:00 wake up screaming, try to resettle but usually end up getting him up.
11:15/11:30- 12:00 sits in bouncy or swing grumpily with paci
12:00 eats, plays
12:45-1:00 starts getting sleepy and take to bed
1:45/ 2:00 wakes up screaming (see above)
3:00 eat, play
4:00-4:15 nap
5:00/5:30 wakes up screaming (see above)
6:00 eat then to swing while I make dinner and we eat. Usually catnaps during dinner and then often wakes and visits with dad or neighbors outside or whatever.
8:30 bath
9:00 dinner
9:30 bed

Now, obviously the sleeping in my bed thing is not a good idea and that is purely my laziness and I know how to fix that.

Also, I'm pretty sure he needs to stay awake longer at a time but he starts getting so fussy and then won't settle well. how do you balance this?

Also, what about after that 6 am feeding. Should I try to keep him awake for a while first and treat it as the first feed of the day. He is usually sound asleep after it.

The problem... if you count that sleep after the 6 am feeding as a nap then he is taking 4 naps a day plus a little catnap (not in his bed). How many naps should he be taking? Should he still be sleeping every feed cycle like that. I'm confused.  I had started trying to wean from swaddling and thought that was the problem but have found it doesn't really matter.. swaddle or not he is not napping well. Does anyone see how I should adjust his schedule to help besides all the techniques already being mentioned to try to extend his naps.  I just feel like maybe he is ready for his schedule to change a little and that may be the problem.

Amanda

[HeatherC]

Could you try putting him to bed earlier then offering a DF around 10 and see if that helps him during the day?

[lil'monkey]

I know that whenever dd wakes up crying, it is b/c she didn't get enough sleep.  Have you tried going in at 40-45min to extend the naps with either pat/sh or wake to sleep or a firm hand?  Is he falling asleep independently? 

As for the start of the day, it really is your call as to when you want to start the day as you know you lo best.  I tend to break the 24 hr day into 12 hrs for daytime and 12hrs for nighttime sleep.

[evanmattsmommy]

Thanks for the input. We were doing bedtime after the 6:00 feeding and doing a dreamfeed, but he wasn't going to sleep easily at 6 and we were fighting it until around 8:30 and then he would be so sound asleep for the dreamfeed it was hard to wake him. We kept missing dinner or dh was having to run out and get it so we didn't have any family time together. The later bedtime works better for us right now, I figure it will get earlier when he can drop another feeding or move to a 4 hour routine.

I have tried everything to extend the naps, but it just doesn't work. I just spend the rest of the time trying to get him back to sleep. He does go to sleep independently, just not going back to sleep independently.

I am beginning to think now it is due to a growth spurt b/c he has woken every morning this week at 4. I have not fed him, just gave paci and he went back to sleep but then I started thinking about the growth spurt. Yesterday when he woke early from morning nap I just went ahead and fed him 30 min. early. He then slept great for his next 2 naps and got himself right back on schedule by sleeping 30 min. longer at one nap.  So, at 4 this morning I offered a feeding too and he gulped for 25 min. He then went back to sleep until 7, ate and played for a while then slept until 9:30. I went ahead and offered a feeding at this point. He played and went down for nap around 10:30 and is still sleeping now at 12:30. I may have found the solution. I remembered Babywise that I read a long time ago mentioned the 45 min. intruder happening at 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months. That book reccommended treating it has a hunger issue first and then looking at it as a sleep issue if it is not a hunger issue.  Thanks for the help and we'll see how this works out.


Amanda