Confused mommy

[Kimberly®]

Our LO is 3 weeks old and we're having trouble with her sleeping.
Up till now she has had to wake periods during the day where she was up for 3 - 4 hours. We're trying to get her on the EASY routine but we're having trouble with it.
Last night she was up from 12am - 2am.. then she was up hourly from 4 am on. She's been the same all day. She'll be up any where from an hour to two hours after she was down, she'll eat one of two oz and then fall right back to sleep. This is very unusual for her.
I'm not sure if I should be worried about this sudden change of events or not but I can't help worry anyway.
I'm wondering if there is something wrong with her... or is this her growth spurt? She's bottle fed and I'm not sure how this works..

[GG]

Anything longer than 1.5 hours is a long time for a baby that young to be awake (with some exceptions, to be sure).  It's quite possible that this is what is changing her sleep habits.  Also, a growth spurt would make her want to eat more (and possibly sleep a little more), not the other way around.

Are you following EASY (in other words, feeding her after she wakes up, letting her have some activity and then putting her to sleep)?  You mentioned she ate and then fell asleep.  Is that the usual way you get her to sleep?  How much is she eating at every feed and in total every day?  Has she gotten any immunizations recently?

(By the way, I suggest keeping an eye on how much she's eating.  If she seems lethargic or won't eat, call her doctor.)

[Kimberly®]

Today was not the same as it usually is for my LO. It was very confusing.

Usually her day consists of waking at 8am being asleep by 8:30, then up at 11, Thats when she usually ends up awake for 3 hours the first time. Then she's asleep by 2, up by 5 and up for another 3 hours. Then asleep by about 8, up at 11pm asleep by 11:30 then awake for about 3 back to sleep by 3:30, up for 5:30..

then it repeats. while I realise that she was awake for a long time, her doctors said not to worry. Though if she doesn't do that during the day she usually does the 3 hours at night instead. She did this in the hospital too.

I want to follow the EASY routine but I don't really understand it. I don't have the books yet and I'm having trouble getting it.

Last night she changed her patern to what I mentioned in my last post.

she was eating 3-5 oz per feeding, depending on the time. Today she ate 1-2oz at most feeding, and a couple of the usual 3 oz feedings.
She acually slept well most of the day, after she went down at 9:30 she slept for an hour and a half and was up for half an hour, fed and had some activity time. She did this till 6 pm when she then woke up and was up till 8:30 and she's been asleep since (its 10 now) I'll give her a final feeding at 11 before I go to bed.

I'm not sure whats up and I'm kind of afread she's going to be up for 3 hours tonight at some point, probably at 3am

I'm at a complete loss. The more I try to set up a schedual for her the more fussy she is.
She's usually easy going, today she was actually pretty fussy when she was up.

[GG]

You should keep in mind that EASY isn't about a schedule, it's about a routine.  As long as you follow E(eat), then A(activity), then S(sleep), your baby will be happy.  She may not be able to stay awake for 1.5 hours (you mentioned that she stayed awake for 3 hours but I think it may be due to overstimulation rather than the fact that she's awake on her own).  You also may not need to wake her if she's sleeping more than 1.5 hours at a time, if she's tired (but don't let her sleep more than 3 hours at a time - she may end up confusing day with night).  I don't know if you have any other children, but babies are not like adults.  When they get tired, they get hyper instead of getting sleepy.  So it's probable that she is waking at night because she's overtired from not getting enough sleep in the day.

Try this for the next few days: Let her wake up her usual time.  Feed her.  Let her 'play' (at her age, just walking around the house and "introducing" her to her surroundings can be enough stimulation; also a little tummy time is good).  As soon as she starts to yawn and show signs of being tired, put her down for a nap (do not let her eat-to-sleep, however).  There should be about 4-5 cycles of this during the day.  About 30 min before her bedtime, give her another feed.  Then the dreamfeed as you do now (before you go to bed).  She may or may not wake up once or twice hungry before her normal wakeup time.  She may not be at a point where she can go through the night without waking up.

She shouldn't, however, wake up every couple of hours or so during the night.  If she does, do 'pat/shh' and get her back to sleep.  She should not be waking up for prolonged periods of time.  If she is, and she's quietly awake in her crib, leave her alone.  If she's crying and wants to be picked up, just pat/shh her back to sleep.  Skim through the sleep interview to find out the specifics of pat/shhh and about sleeping for babies her age.  I think that document is just as important to read as Tracy's books!!  Also read through the announcements in this forum.  They will really give you a better idea about helping babies sleep.

I hope this helps.  Let me know if you have any other questions.

[GG]

I almost forgot... here's an announcement on how to do pat/shush effectively:

Pat shush for babies under 3 months old

(By the way, I love your dd's name! )