4 week old, trying to start E.A.S.Y. and having problems

[lindsp]

I need some help. I have a 4 week old baby boy and we just started the E.A.S.Y. program. The problem I am having is when he wakes up, I start with E., (which is not an issue) but he tends to fall back asleep right after the feed. Or if he does have activity time ( about 15 mins), I cannot get him to fall asleep afterwards. I think at this point he is too overtired and he thinks that he needs to feed again, which is the only way for him to fall back asleep. I have tried a soother but most of the time he will not take it and cry the whole time. Any suggestions out there please.

[cymonguk]

We are in a similar position with our 6 week old, and as you will have seen its not easy!

E - Let them eat for a bit then wind him (sit him up), try singing, playing with his hands anything to keep him awak.

A - Change his nappy, sit him up, as soon as he begins yawning he should be ready

S - Swaddle him nice and tight, if you think "he wont like it I have tried it", I would suggest trying another blanket, or a miracle blanket. I thought Phoebe would hate it, and yes she didnt like it much at first, but she soon calmed down.

Then sit down and place him into your shoulder or if necessary slightly away from you , patting his back (near the shoulder blades), and shh loud over his crying (the shh needs to be louder than the cry to work, and yes I know its scary how loud you have to shh). Make sure you have a drink handy as your shhh will cause your mouth to dry up.

Be prepared to shh for upto 15-20 minutes. Phoebe cried and fussed, rubbing her head on my shoulder, fidgeting, if you have a spirited/touchy baby they will really fight the blanket at this point! After 13 minutes she stopped almost completely and just lay there and went to sleepy mode.

You then put him down in his cot still patting and shhing. Then continue the shh and pat until the rem stops, it could be 20 minutes, he might wake up at first carry on shh/pat unless he screams for more than 10 seconds or so, sometimes they do cry out and stop quickly. If he screams for longer then pick up and start again, you should find it takes less time to get to sleepy mode again.

Now if I were you I would expect to be there for at least an hour trying to get this sorted at first, it will be worth it.

However I will say that I havent as yet done this to the end as I only tried yesterday and we were all too tired (phoebe hadnt slept in 10 hours), so I do know how you feel! But we got to the point of getting her to go down and asleep on her own in the cot (just getting this far seems like a breakthrough right now), so I know it can work.



Lots of hugs let us know how it goes,


Simon

[Deb_in_oz]

he tends to fall back asleep right after the feed. Or if he does have activity time ( about 15 mins), I cannot get him to fall asleep afterwards..

at 4 weeks you really don't even need that 15 min of activity time if it is too much for him.  when he falls asleep straight after the feed you have 2 options

 :arrow: if he did not take a full feed (only you will really be able to truly tell a good feed from a snack if BF) then sit him up on your lap like Simon mentioned - start with something simple like this as it is non-stimulating, it just causes a reflex of opening the eyes.... finish the feed andf then burp and to bed.

 :arrow: if he falls asleep after a full feed take him and change his nappy in his room in dim light as you are just trying to ensure he wakes up enough so he sees he is going into his cot/crib/bed and so you can say night, night (or whatever you want to say each time you put him to bed)  you are laying the foundation for independent sleeping by putting him in the cot awake (but can be drowsy) and using some clear sign (which can be part of your windown when he is more alert in a few weeks)

as you have already learned, at this age, if you wait even 15 min too long it causes overtiredness and makes them difficult to settle.  so don't feel you have to keep him "up" just ensure you try to put him in the cot awake as often as possible.