Author Topic: is there such a thing as under-stimulation??!  (Read 4604 times)

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Offline mhovav

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is there such a thing as under-stimulation??!
« on: February 09, 2006, 19:03:19 pm »
Hi all - I need your advice here, my son (1st baby...) is 6 weeks old now, and he's been on 2.5-3 hour EASY since birth, and so far it is going fairly well (I think he is mostly a textbook baby). He still wakes up for feeds at nights every 3 hours, so no big improvement there, I have a feeling he is sleeping too much during the day - my problem is that he stats yawning 45min after he wakes up to feed - and since he feeds for ~30min, that means 15min into his A time he starts yawning several times and then I put him to bed (although it takes him some time to fall asleep) - so in order to maintain a 3 hour feeding routing he almost sleeps for 1.5 to 2 hours each nap - how can I extend his A time...it seems to be very short compared to Tracy's book schedule for his age....is it possible that yawning is not the sign i should be looking for for sleepiness and can go longer?
any advice?

Offline taylorbean

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Re: is there such a thing as under-stimulation??!
« Reply #1 on: February 09, 2006, 21:05:11 pm »
When my daughter was that young, her A time was not more than fifteen to twenty minutes long depending on the time of the day.  I used to think that too, I used to think I was imagining things when I saw my daughter yawn, then she would yawn again and again, if I ignored the yawns just because I thought her A time was too short then I would always pay for it later on because she would become overstimulated.  45 minutes of awake time including E and A and two hour nap is still on par for three hour EASY. Awake time will gradually increase to an hour and then to two hours once there around four months. Enjoy the time you have when your baby is napping because soon those naps will become shorter and shorter and it will be much harder to keep them entertained. At that age, A time was spent under her gymnini, a small amount of tummy time, a bath, reading picture books or just singing and rocking them. 


[Julie & Taylor (09/14/2005)

Nikki~Nathanamp;Danielle

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Re: is there such a thing as under-stimulation??!
« Reply #2 on: February 10, 2006, 07:43:05 am »
I agree with the PP, keep following your ds's tired signs and you will be keeping him on track with what he needs.  It will be soon enough that activity time with lengthen and as long as you follow his cues, you should find going with what he needs reasonably easy.

Even though he's feeding 3hrly at night, these should also soon lengthen (I take it that he's not getting stimulated and staying awake during the night, just feeding and going straight back to sleep?).  The only time I'd think he was sleeping too much at night was if he wasn't getting a good 11-12hrs of sleep (of course feeding within that time).

Offline mhovav

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Re: is there such a thing as under-stimulation??!
« Reply #3 on: February 10, 2006, 19:32:52 pm »
Thanks for both of your replies...it helps knowing that such a short A time is common - however, I was still expecting that with the 3Hr EASY during the day, he will be starting to extend his night sleep stretch to 4-5 hours which he still doesn't. Also, about your question on his night sleep - he does not always go directly to sleep after night feedings - many times it takes me 20-30min until he falls asleep AFTER the middle of the night feeds, although we keep the room pretty dark and no activity of course - this is why I was suspecting that maybe he's getting too much sleep during the day and possibly wanting to stay awake during the night after feeding (I bs and my dh gives a bottle at night after I pump). Did your babies fall asleep directly after feeding in the night? I wonder what is the reason he has trouble falling asleep at night with no stimulation from us.
any advice on stretching his night sleep in addition to sticking with EASY?

Offline taylorbean

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Re: is there such a thing as under-stimulation??!
« Reply #4 on: February 11, 2006, 05:41:00 am »
Hey there! Taylor at almost five months wakes once at night to feed and still takes a 1/2 or an hour to go to sleep. She sleeps in a co-sleeper beside our bed. Once we're done the feed, unless she's had a poo, I put her right back in her co-sleeper without changing her diaper without saying a peep, the room stays dark, the feed is done in our bed. Sometimes she just wants to just kind of entertain herself, babble, play with her hands. and when she ready to sleep, she whines a little for her soother. Once I give her a soother she goes straight to sleep.  That's our routine anyway.

For a breast feeding baby at six weeks old, it's quite normal to wake every two to three hours for feeds.  My girlfriends child is six months and still wakes at that schedule without fail. Some babies seem to be able to sleep longer than others, formula feeding can make a difference but in many cases it doesn't. I don't think your baby is getting too much sleep during the day. They say the more a baby sleeps, the more a baby wants to sleep.  However, if the nap stretches past the three hour mark during the day, I would gently wake your baby to feed as per schedule just so the baby is not confusing days for nights.

I know it's tough to get used to broken sleep. My best advice is keep up with the dream feed.  You might want to try to swaddle your baby.  I think there is a demo for it in the sleep categories.  A pacifier works wonders for my daughter, you just have to watch that it doesn't become a prop. Although it's definitely hard to part with it once you get started and you only want to use one if breast feeding is well established. A white noise machine and a comfortable temp. of 70 degrees. That's all my tricks anyway.  Follow EASY during the day. Do exactly what you're doing during the night. I don't think he's overstimulated, they don't always drift right off to sleep, mine certainly doesn't.  Sleep while your baby is napping during the day. Housework can wait, get help if you can and sleep in the afternoons to make up for lost sleep at night, drink lots of water, eat lots of protein, and relax, you're doing great! ;)



[Julie & Taylor (09/14/2005)

Offline The Vern

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Re: is there such a thing as under-stimulation??!
« Reply #5 on: February 12, 2006, 21:25:20 pm »
My lo is almost 6 weeks and she also tends to show tired signs shortly after finishing her feed (though, like your lo, she might take long to fall asleep).  I agree with previous posters that at this young age short A time is nothing to worry about - they need their sleep!

Offline Alibobs

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Re: is there such a thing as under-stimulation??!
« Reply #6 on: February 14, 2006, 18:54:01 pm »
My dd could have been a champion sleeper up until 9 months. She couldn't stay awake for very long at all and slept a lot. Even now, at 10 1/2 months, she only manages about an hour and a half after her first wake up in the morning. Later on, she's happy to stay awake for 3-4 hours, more sometimes. All babies sleep needs are different. And all that sleep means extra Y time which is never a bad thing!
Alison, mum to