Help with EASY for 7 wk old!

[cathyp]

Hi!

I have a 7 wk old ds that has basically been on EASY since birth.  He fell into a 4 hour pattern almost immediately which was great at first, roughly 8, 12, 4 etc. even though the night.  Sometimes he goes longer (mostly at night) so it can be 5 hours between the start of feeds.  I have just let this carry on especially as I also have a nearly 3 yr old to deal with at the same time!

But now I'm thinking he should really be on a 3 hr EASY as he doesn't seem to be ready to drop a feed - which ds1 did automatically at about this time - and I'm worried that he is sleeping too much during the day (2.5/3 hours at a time) and so will not start going for longer stretches at night.  Does that make sense? 

I have actually tried to go for a 3 hr cycle today but it has been a dismal failure so far!  He would not take more than 3 oz (normally 5oz a feed) and then wanted topping up an hour later.  He has only just gone to sleep for the first time this morning and got really overtired.  Do I just keep going and wake him for the next feed or let him follow his natural pattern of 4 hours??

Help!  I would really value some advice from you expert babywhisperers!  I did do EASY with my first ds but don't remember alot of it now.

Thanks in advance
Cathy

ds1 born 7/8/03
ds2 born 21/4/06

[corrina01]

Could you post his routine please.

I'm worried that he is sleeping too much during the day (2.5/3 hours at a time) and so will not start going for longer stretches at night

What is his total daytime sleep?

[cathyp]

I'd say our 'routine' at the moment is something like this:

E  7/8am
E 12pm
E 3/4pm
E 7/8pm
E midnight
E 4am

During the day he has some activity after eating and will prob sleep 2 hours in every 4 so that prob makes for 6 hours or so.  Then he will go from about 9ish in the evening til his 4am feed with a midnight feed almost in his sleep (haven't been doing the DF as such).  But he will only catnap between 5 and 6am and then be ready to start the day.  I have been able to keep him from feeding til 7ish with his dummy and patting/shushing etc. 

How much sleep should a 7wk old have during the day at this stage? Occasionally we have days where he will catnap more between his daytime feeds, but he is happy just cooing to himself when he is awake so I don't tend to feed him until he starts routing - nearer the 4 hr mark. 

Today I have tried to feed him every 3 hours and it hasn't worked at all.  He has taken little and often and hardly slept.  Should I just keep trying until he gets used to 3 hour EASY?

I appreciate your help!
Cathyp

[HeatherC]

Cathy, I just wanted to pop in b/c some ideas came to mind.  I hope you don't mind, Corrina.
I believe Tracy recommended a limit of 5 hrs of day sleep.  I'll try to find that to double check.  I have a feeling he may still be on a 24 hr clock since he wakes that same in the night as he does the day.  My suggestion would be to try for a 3-3.5 hr feeding rountine b/c this would add an extra feeding in the day time.  Even though you say he takes less, he'll probably total out the same by having an extra feed.  He's taking larger feeds at 4 hrs b/c he's more hungry.  Secondly, I would limit his naps to 2 hrs, and his last nap of the evening being a catnap of 45 mins.  Then, I would aim for a bedtime 12 hrs from the morning wake time in hopes of resettin his internal clock to a 12 hr day/night pattern.  Of course, night wakings for feeds would still be common at his age.
Here's a link that might help to get you started.  As for total A time, including the time to feed, it would probably be up to 1 hr.
https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=62100.0

[corrina01]

I agree with Heather. 

Limit his daytime naps to about 5 hours, but do limit his naps to 2hrs each sleep.  I would aim to go for 3.5 hrs, even though he will be taking less, but throughout the 24 hr period he will probably take the same or slightly more.
 
HTH

[cathyp]

Thanks very much for the advice! 

I aimed for a 3.5hr cycle after reading your replies and have been waking him up from his naps after 2 hours, but the last couple of days he has gone to a 3hr cycle all by himself!  He takes slightly less now at each feed - about 4.5 oz -and is still pretty sleepy but has been waking up naturally for the next feed at 3 hours almost exactly.  We are down to 5 day feeds and just one night waking so I'm really pleased.  My only concern now is how long each feed is taking.  His whole activity time is taken up by feeding - nearly an hour sometimes. But I will post on the bottle-feeding board about that.

So thanks again - I don't know what I'd do without the BW boards!
Cathy

[HeatherC]

Cathy, I'm glad things are going well.  Please continue to update us.  I know you'll get some good advice on the Bottle-feeding board, but I just wanted to suggest a faster-flow nipple/teat.  He perhaps might like the suckling comfort, so you could still offer a paci/soother after a feed.  My dd was a comfort nurser and would nurse for 40 mins until I realized what was going on and began substituting the paci while holding her in the nursing position.  Just a thought.