napping for a 5 week old

[gabrino]

hi there, please could you help, were on the 3 hr easy routine but our little one has trouble napping after his feeds e has some activity but i try not to give much but always put him down when he yawns or sometime he drifts off, he manages about 10 minutes before waking up, yesterday he never napped at all and went to sleep at 8.30 after the bath and botlle, i wouldnt mind but he was scrtreaming and crying most of the time, i spent most of the day trying to put him off feeding as he wanted the bottleevery 2 hours if that, i know it was because he was over tired and displaying mixed signals but what can you do? he seems as though he just doesnt want to sleep incase he misses something!! however last night we fed him at 11pm and he didnt wake till 4am then 8 am which normally its been 2-3am and then 5-6am? im so confused. any ideas?
thanks for reading xxxx

[albertasweetpea]

Hi there. Have you tried swaddling him? It worked wonders for our DD and in fact she is still swaddled.
Give it a go, it may calm him down enough to rest.

[vankaa]

Hi there,
I seem to have the same problem. My DD is awake for an hour, sleeps 45mins, then awake again and screaming for food, I guess. But when I feed her she doesn't take much. Have you tried taking a walk?
That is my next thing to try. I am so confused.
I swaddle my DD too and she wouldn't sleep well otherwise.

[GG]

Gabrino, definitely go by your lo's tired cues but, if you see that his total awake time is approaching an hour put him down for a nap.  Swaddling is a great idea as it helps calm the baby and prevents him from waking himself up again when he's drifting off.  Also, start to incorporate a short wind-down routine.  If he's crying by the time you take him to his crib, it means you've missed his sleep window.  No matter, he still needs his nap; it may just take longer to get him to fall asleep.  He should be getting 15-18 hours of sleep per day total.

Are you sure that he's crying for more food?  While it's definitely possible that the little guy is hungry, make sure that something isn't bothering him, like reflux, or just that he's very tired.  If he is hungry, just give him more formula at each feeding (I believe you are supposed to increase the amount as they grow).