i'm going round in circles...please help!!

[celia]

Hello There!!

I joined yesterday after reading the book and watching the Baby Whisperer on Discovery. I was very excited about the way Tracy used the EASY routie and i hope to put it to great use with my 9 1/2 week old baby girl called Lola-Mae.

So far she is sleeping about 1.5 hours all day long (unless we are in the car or pram) but is going to sleep at 11pm and waking up at 7am. I am breastfeeding and giving her formula as her last feed which is why i think she is managing to go through the night....is this right???

I am trying to spot her cues and recognise her cries but am finding it quite difficult and would really love some advice.....

I usually spot the first yawn and take her to our bedroom where her crib is, i swaddle her and put her down using the pat/sshh technique, this can take up to 20 minutes to work and then she usually sleeps for about 15 minutes and wakes up crying. She fights sleep so much i just give up sometimes and bring her back downstairs.  by the time she is due for a feed she is usually so tired she falls asleep all the time on the breast so then i worry she isn't eating enough!!!!! i feed 3 hourly.

I am getting very stressed out as i know how important sleep is to the little ones and i just want to help her. how much sleep should she be having everyday?

many thanks

celia and lola_mae xx

[chell]

Hi Celia, welcome to the boards! Sounds as though you've got the night time sleep sorted and that's great, you'll have a bit of energy to try to get your bubs daytime naps on track. Tracy says that between 1-3 months they should have 8 hours at night adn 3 naps of 1.5 hours during the day, so in total between 15-18 hours. Waking at around 20 mins is very common adn you will be training Lola-Mae to get past this by using hte techniques you have mentioned. Patience, persistence and consistency are the most important compnants of sleep training.

Good luck.

[celia]

many thanks for your advice chell, i will keep persevering and let you know how i go.

[Matthew's Mommy]

Hi there,

Sounds like she's waking up before the entering the deep sleep phase of sleep. Generally, the first phase of sleep is light, with partial awakenings at the first 10 mins. and then 20 mins. 

Could you describe how you do the pat-shush? And when you lie her down?  Is she drifting to sleep or asleep when you lie her down?

Also, there's a post under the Newborn Sleep thread.

[celia]

hi jane     

when i spot the first yawn i pick Lola-Mae up, take her to the bedroom, draw the curtains and lay her on the bed while i get the sheet ready to swaddle, she is still awake at his point.  Then i swaddle her and lay her in the crib and gently pat her just above the tummy area while making long shushing sounds, she will just look at me while i am doing this, sometimes making noises and sometimes quiet and staring at me, i try not to make eye contact with her though....is this the right way to do it or am i doing this wrong?

If she does go to sleep its not for very long and she will not go back to sleep once she has woken no matter how much i pat/shush her.  :cry:

In the morning after her 7am feed, she is still really tired so i put her back to bed and she goes to sleep for about 1.5 - 2 hours, should i be keeping her awake a bit longer at this point or let her go to sleep - i'm wondering if this is why she isn't sleeping well throughout the day??? i remember Tracy said that you shouldn't put them to sleep after feeding?

Many thanks
Celia and Lola-Mae  xxx

[Matthew's Mommy]

You might want to look at her room environment, some babies need a dark room or anything will catch their attention and they will focus on it. 
Shielding her eyes with your hand also helps with this.

I would pat and shush her on your shoulder first, to get her drowsy, and then lie her down, keeping with patting and shushing.  In Tracy's sleep interview, she talks about this. The sleep interview is attached to this board, as an announcement.

Definately keep her awake times short, especially for a newborn.  If her feed time is close to her sleep time, that's okay, just make sure that she isn't lying completley flat on her back-- Tracy has always recommended raising the crib mattress slightly at the end where her head would lie. This aids digestion.

Another thing you can do, is to stay with her for the first 20 mins. to make sure she enters deep sleep.  Keep your hand on her limbs and shield her eyes as well.  There's a post in the infant sleep thread regarding this.

Hang in there.. it does take time and patience.

[celia]

I tried to pat/shush her on my shoulder and this definitely worked, her eyes started to get heavy and when they closed i put her down like you said and kept pat/shushing her and she went to sleep but only for 45 mins!!!

should i be feeding her and putting her to sleep at the same times everyday?? some days she wakes at 7 and some days 8,we are in a 3 hourly feeding routine at he moment, also she fals asleep on the breast all the time.

[Matthew's Mommy]

I would keep following her cues, intead of following the clock. If you know she feeds every three hours, then use that as a guide. Each day will be different, as her body starts to set and regulate itself.

That's awesome about her sleep. Keep doing what you are doing!