Author Topic: help - 5 mo old can't sleep without soothing  (Read 1332 times)

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Offline amynorwood

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help - 5 mo old can't sleep without soothing
« on: September 01, 2005, 14:53:57 pm »
Hi!  I just read Tracy's book and am new to this website.  A little background on our sleep issues first:  I'm a first time mom, husband works from 7am-8:30pm 7 days a week on most weeks during football season (he's a coach at the university).  So, dad's not here to help out much.  My mother died a couple of years ago, so she's not around to help.  All other family members are either very hands-off, or not in the same state as we are.  Just moved to a new city, so haven't made close friends yet.

When we first had pete, i was all about the attachment parenting.  I did the on-demand feeding, and we co-slept for the first 6 weeks of his life.  By that time i was ready to pull out my hair and throw either him or his dad against the wall!!  So, i put him on a feeding schedule, and 5 days later he was sleeping 5 hour stretches (prior to that, we were lucky to get a 2 hour stretch, and that would only be on my chest -- was never able to put him down).  At 6 weeks, we moved him into his bassinet, and that was a big transition.  At around 2.5 months, i started trying to get him to take naps somewhere other than my chest -- his bassinet or crib, and that too was a big transition.  At 3 months, we moved him into his crib in his own room (not a big transition) for naps and bedtime.  Since then, he's been eating well, and sleeping well. 

Hoewver, the issue that i would like to fix at this point is this:  Before his naps or bedtime, i've got to rock him in a recliner for anywhere from 2 mins to 30 mins (bedtime is usually 30 mins) until he falls asleep on my chest.  Then i gently put him down in his crib and leave the room.  If i try to put him down before he's really asleep, he wakes fully up, and wants to play -- he doesn't cry, but wants to play, and won't nap.  I saw in tracy's book she said to pick him up and soothe him when he cries, and then put him back down once he's soothed, and do this over and over until he sleeps.  However, pete doesn't cry, he just plays.  Maybe if i let it go for 20 mins he'd start to cry, but if i did that over and over, after 3 tries, it would be time to eat again!  I have actually tried just leaving him, figuring that he would go to sleep eventually, but after 10 mins, he's still scooting around in his crib, talking to himself or sucking on his blanket.

Last question is: he sleeps fairly well at night -- goes down around 8:30-9pm, i'll go in and dreamfeed him at around 10-10:30, and then i dont' feed him again until at least 6am.  However, he usually wakes up at 5am, and plays in his crib.  I'll only go in if it's after 6am, or if he starts to cry, however i'd like to figure out a way to get him to sleep longer.  Everything i read says that a 5-6 month old should be able to sleep 10 hours at night.  With his waking up at 5am, that means that i'm listening to him through the baby monitor for an hour, thus not really sleeping.  Hence, i'm getting 6 hours of sleep every night (which isn't bad, but it's not great, especially every night).  I know i'd be a lot better off if i could get 7-8 hours of sleep in one stretch.

thanks for your help.

amy

Offline Isom'smom

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help - 5 mo old can't sleep without soothing
« Reply #1 on: September 02, 2005, 01:01:20 am »
Would you post your schedule in bullet form? Esp. eat and sleep times?  And how old is Pete?

Offline amynorwood

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help - 5 mo old can't sleep without soothing
« Reply #2 on: September 02, 2005, 02:52:42 am »
Pete is 5.5 months old, and his schedule (with some flexibility, of course) is generally:
-6-6:30am: eat, then activity & nap (nap is usually about 1.5 hrs)
-9:30-10am: eat, then activity & nap (nap ranges from 45-90 mins)
-12:30-1:00pm: eat, then activity & nap (nap ranges from 45-90 mins, depending on the last nap)
-4:00pm: eat, then activity & nap (this nap is short- usually only 15-30 mins)
-7:00pm: eat, then bath, then bed around 8:30-9pm
-10:00pm: dreamfeed

Offline Isom'smom

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help - 5 mo old can't sleep without soothing
« Reply #3 on: September 03, 2005, 00:26:05 am »
Sounds like he's getting plenty of sleep.  Maybe too much in naps, hence the less night sleep.  Have you started solids?  May as well give it a go.  Some say 4 months, some say 6 months.  That oughta extend his awake time a little more.  You've got a great napper (when you can get him to sleep reckon).  I would try cutting that last catnap and put to bed earlier.  That means bumping up dinner.....it's easier if I do this in bullet form, so let me give you a rough outline of what my boy was doing at that age.....

Eat cereal @ 7.00
Bottle at 8.15
Sleep @ 9/9.30 for roughly an hour and a half.
Eat lunch @ 11.00
Bottle at 12.00
Sleep @ 12.30 (about 45 min to an hour)
Bottle @ 3.00
Catnap of 45 min @3.30
Dinner @ 5.00
Bath immediately following (messy eater)
Bottle @ 6/6.30
Bed no later than 7.30

Now that's not a perfect schedule by any stretch of the imagination, but it worked for us.  I never really did a dream feed, but Isom set up his own cluster feed at three months.  If you keep him awake longer, he should pass out w/o playing in his crib.  That way you can play with him instead of worrying about him. 

As far as your early wake up call goes, turn down or off your monitor.  If you can hear him from your bedroom when he really cries, just shut it off.  You need more sleep, so take it.  If he needs you, and he's not across the house, believe me, you will hear him.  Especially if you're well rested.  Yes at 5 months they can go ten hours w/o food, which is why he's happy dinging around in his crib for an hour.  So no worries.  Just go ahead, get up, take a shower, and get dressed in that hour if you really can't sleep through it (I never could either).

Gosh, I hope that helps somewhat.  Good luck and good job mommy.