How much sleep?

[First Time Mom]

My 6 week old (8 pound) Milena sleeps well at night- falls into sleep at midnight and wakes at 5am followed by a feed and another 3-4 hour sleep. Problem is in the day and evening- she sleeps for 3 hours at a time or is up crying/screaming for hours at a time. I've tried to feed/activity/sleep in the 3 hour cycle but she yawns early and gets overtired. Should I try to wake her during her 3 hour sleeps? She seems to be awake for most of the evening times of 7pm - midnight with little sleep and lots of crying. During this time of crying/screaming I'll see a yawn so I will swaddle, give her a pacifyer to calm her down and lay her down but she starts up again. I feed her more often in the evening- 2 hour intervals as this calms her temporarily. Is she too young for the eat/activity/sleep cycle or should I try to push it- which would involve waking her during her long sleeps and getting her to sleep during her long evening cries?

[Aarismom]

You might want to consider trying to put her down earlier, say 8 pm. This will sort of change her day schedule, but she may be happier going down earlier rather than getting overtired and staying up late.

I know that age is rough, they're just learning how to fall asleep on their own, but it sounds as though she'll be a lot happier with an earlier bedtime. It won't be an easy transition though. Just religiously start her bedtime routine at like 7 or 7:30. There will be night wakings for feedings, but in time that will pass too and work itself out. If she's still drastically overtired by 8 pm, try even earlier, between 6 and 8. The more rested she is in the night, the better able she is to take naps during the day. Both affect each other indirectly, even though they are two totally different biological processes.

She's still developing night sleep at this point, but she sounds like she's ready for an earlier bedtime, at least much earlier than midnight

Also, at 6 weeks she should be up no longer than 1 hour, possibly less, before naps. That includes feeding. Easier said than done, I know, because they're still learning the skill of falling asleep independantly. But as soon as they're overtired, they get a sort of "second wind" and they can be up another hour or 2 before they're ready to go to sleep again. That makes for a grumpy lo, and a grumpy mom But it may be unavoidable until she learns to fall asleep independantly.

Hope something in here helps!! Keep your chin up, and trust in your instincts!

*HUGS*
Sonya =P

[First Time Mom]

Hope everyone had a nice Christmas!

I do try putting her to sleep earlier however she gets hungry/overtired/ or gas (can't tell which, maybe all of the above?!) and stays up until the bewitching hour screaming  :shock: . Midnight seems the magical hour that she falls asleep.

Last night she woke at 8:30 for a feed (was sleepy) and change then went berserk and stayed that way until 12. I tried PU/PD repeated, with swaddling and soother (ok, I'll admit, she's hooked on a prop), took her into the bathroom (dark) for running water (this calms her temporarily) but then she starts again. I BF her again at 10:30 and she fussed and didn't take much, only fed for about 7 minutes. I then gave her a bottle of formula at 11 and she took a good 3oz while continuing to scream. Tried to burb her without much success. She did sleep until 6am this morning.

My questions-
How long (and how many) should you try to burb a baby for? Book says 3 minutes- it takes 5 just to get one for her.
Will a baby drink 3oz of formula if they are not hungry? For her first 4 weeks of life I fed "on demand" so she is accustomed to feeding for comfort.
How can you tell if they are hungry when they suck their fingers (she just discovered her hand) or self-pacifying?

Sorry for so many questions  :lol:  and thanks for the advice in advance!

[Caroline-Charlies Mummy]

Hello, congratulations on your new lo

Do you have access to the first BW book (Secrets of the Baby Whisperer)? I ask b/c there is a section there that I think could really help you - p. 184, sleeping through the night.

I actually feel that you would really benefit from starting with the EASY routine now. This would also entail not letting your lo sleep for stretches that are too long in the day. Now, don't get me wrong, there are many of us who would love our lo's to sleep for better naps :wink: , but, in your case, Tracy called it the robbing-Peter-to-pay-Paul principle. This means not letting baby sleep for longer than a 'feed-cycle' (generally 3 hours), b/c it will rob his nighttime sleep. This is why I think you would benefit from EASY - you can keep track of sleep, and know that she is getting enough food so you know she is not hungry when you are trying to get her to sleep at nighttime. If you don't have access to the book, please let us know, and one of us will try to go into more detail with you.

I've tried to feed/activity/sleep in the 3 hour cycle but she yawns early and gets overtired

As she is so little, it's best not to try to fit her into this sort of cycle just yet, I think, but, like the pp said, keep her A time quite short for now, no more than about an hour, including feeding. You are the best judge of your baby, if she seems to be getting tired, put her down for a nap, no matter what the clock says. Tracy developed the EASY routine as a routine, not a schedule b/c she knew that every baby was different, and had different needs. There is no one size fits all solution! (unfortunately :roll:  :lol: ).

If you can look at the book, look at p. 189, which gives a What they need/What you can expect chart in regards to sleep. This may also help:
http://www.babywhisperer.com/forum/teaching-sleep-to-newborns-and-young-infants-vt39164.html

It's also possible that she may be a little young for pu/pd yet, have you tried pat/sssh? This could be more effective with such a lo. Again, if you don't have access to the book, we could help you with this

[First Time Mom]

Thank you both for the advice.
You're right- one problem was that I was not counting her feed time as part of the activity time and keeping her up more than one hour.
I do have the book and I love it! We started implementing EASY (trying to) and the same day she went from being awake and crying until 4:30am to being awake and crying until 12:am and has been very consistently sleeping since.
I am trying to put her down prior to midnight but it seems it is only at midnight that she goes for her long sleep.
I do the pu/pd and the pat/ssh, why is she too young for pu/pd? I've also read this on other posts, not to use this for very young... what age should the pu/pd be for? It does work sometimes for her and I figured I'd start early. The pat/ssh is good as well but I have to use a "prop" sometimes of either the pacifier and/or running water in the bathroom.
Feeding is also better- she goes up to 3 hours in the day and 2 in the evenings. If only the daytime A and S would be more consistent!
I also realize I'm expecting too much from 6 weeks (I'm sooo used to structure and schedule in my life prior to baby!).

[Caroline-Charlies Mummy]

I'm sooo used to structure and schedule in my life prior to baby!

Oh, yes, I hear you on this one! It's a whole different mindset, isn't it, I too had trouble adjusting.

Congratulations on doing so well on EASY. I'm glad to hear it's working so well for you.

I am trying to put her down prior to midnight but it seems it is only at midnight that she goes for her long sleep

I think the best thing you can do here is be consistent. Just keep on trying, and it will eventually work. What you are aiming for is a good bedtime routine, eg story, bottle, bath, massage, anything that will relax both you and lo, then a bedtime of around 7.30pm (adjusted for your own particular lo's needs), a dreamfeed at around 10-10.30pm, then a sleepthrough until around 6-7am. That's the ideal, and it won't come overnight (excuse the pun ), but if you are consistent with your lo, and keep on teaching her, it will happen.

With regards to pu/pd, Tracy recommends using it on babies from 3 months-1 year, who have not learned the skills of sleep. Your lo is still young enough that you can help her learn without using pu/pd. In fact, I never had to use it on ds, b/c pat/ssssh was so successful in the first few months. I think she felt it was unsuitable before then b/c it could be confusing for the baby. Think of it as a great problem solver, rather than a sleep learning technique.

BTW, at this age, don't worry too much about using 'props'. My ds had to have an air conditioning unit on for all sleeps, for the white noise it gave him, and he didn't become too dependent on it. He dropped it when he was ready. You might feel more comfortable with something like this, rather than a dummy (which are harder to get rid of sometimes).

Let me say, though, that I think from your posts that you sound like you are doing a terrific job, much better than I was at 6 weeks :wink:  :lol: . Keep up the good work, and we're here to help when you need us

[julieb]

I just wanted to add, as everyone has already given some great tips, in Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, the author notes that typical newborn crying PEAKS at 6 weeks and then declines from there.  Their nervous system is still working the bugs out, so hang in there.  Despite your best efforts and all the books in the world, she may still have some crying spells.  Do what you can to get by during these spells (warm bath, long walk, drive around the block, using a sling, etc), they won't last forever.

My son had a hard time burping.  It was a real trick.  Mylicon drops helped some.  Try watching what you're eating in case some foods are upsetting her tummy.

I also recommend reading the sleep interview with Tracy at the top of this forum.  It explain a lot the first book didn't (like pat/shush and PU/PD).