Hi - here we go...
How old is your child? 16 weeks today
What’s his/her daily routine? He is on a 4 hour easy since being started on formula at 12 weeks. He can easily go 4 hours between feeds (and even then rarely if ever yells for food). He has trouble staying awake for 2 hours though so first thing he usually has a longer nap and for the rest of the day I do EASA.
What’s nap routine? Naps well now that I have started to swaddle him again. I just swaddle him in his darkened nursery, hold him until he eyes are droopy and put him down and he drops off.
How long are naps? as long as 3 hours after his 7am feed (usually because he's been up a lot in the night so can't stay awake for very long!) although this morning he's only done 1 1/2 hours despite being awake since 5.45! otherwise naps are about 1 - 1 1/2 hours long with a catnap of 45 mins to an hour late afternoon.
What's bedtime routine? Time? Bath at 6.30, ready for bed, feed at 7pm and he's usually sound asleep by 7.30.
Do you bottle or breastfed?? Bottle
How much? or how long? I do a 6oz bottle but he doesn't always take it - he'll have 28 - 30oz in 24 hours. Recently it's become a real battle to feed him but I'll be posting on the feeding site for that issue!
How many wakes per night? Varies. sometimes one, sometimes 8! Times vary widely too. Sometimes he goes back down really easily only to wake 20 mins later, sometimes he'll go back to sleep for an hour or more. Other times he just won't go back to sleep at all - not crying just wide awake...
What’s your LO like when waking at night? How long is he/she up? Sometimes he screams but a lot of the time it's an initial cry followed by loads of chattering to himself. He's wide awake at this point.
When you go to him/her is she fussing or crying? Or is it a mantra cry? I try not to go in straight away but if he's crying I do. I must confess I'm not sure I could recognise his mantra cry if it hit me in the face! I've tried leaving him if he's not crying but just chattering to himself but that can go on for up to an hour and I'm just lying there awake knowing that if I go in I could settle him down to sleep in 20 minutes! If I do leave him to chatter then that quite often develops into crying eventually.
What have you tried to settle?? I usually just get him out of his cot and go through his wind down routine again. I've tried feeding him in case he was hungry and he will eat 4-5oz in the night but then he just adjusts all his following day feeds so that by his next dreamfeed he's back to 28-30oz again for the day!
What do you do for A time and how long is it? A time varies. First thing can sometimes be as short as 30 mins - particularly if he's been up and down since 4am! Otherwise he can stay up for about 1 1/2hr - 1 3/4 hr (including feed time). I play games with him, he lies on his mat and plays with his toys or out in the pushchair.
Are there developmental issues such as teething or milestones? He is currently trying to turn over and is possibly going through early teething.
Have you introduced cereal? Why, how much, and how many times a day? (for LO’s under 6 months). I haven't done yet and thought that this may be why he's waking up. His paediatrician has recommended weaning as he has reflux and i've bought some baby rice to start him off.
Do they have a prop? If so what is it? Dummy sometimes for calming prior to sleep but he usually spits it out before he goes into his cot.
Do they have a lovie? no
He did sleep through beautifully from 7.30 to 7am with just his dreamfeed at 11pm - he did that for about a week and then started his night waking.
He's Touchy I think but as he develops I'm thinking he has a good chunk of Spirited in there too. How you deal with a Touchy/Spirited baby with reflux is another matter altogether!!!
Please help!
Ruth xx
