sleep problems - napping, bedtime ahhhhh!

[jacksonbearsmommy]

So Jackson is 12 weeks old (this past thursday)  We have the BW book and have read pieces as needed (not the entire book, yet!)  I have read a lot of posts on here- expecially the really helpful post https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=52857.0

For a few weeks Jackson was sleeping 8-9pm until 4-5am -- mom was thrilled!!   Lately we have been trying to figure out his sleeping times because it seems to have shifted. It might be a growth spurt - or it  might just be out of wack.. this week he has been up 2-3 times a night, and his napping has been terrible.

he also just discovered his hands and wants to suck them but hasnt quite got the hang of it yet so its not a soothing method yet - I think a few times he has woken up in the middle of the night he was ed because he couldnt suck his hands swaddled in the Miracle Blanket.  I tried swaddling him with one arm out and then both arms out -- both attemps failed since he was awake the whole time!! He needs to be swaddled since he still startles himself and doens't have fluid control of his movements yet, but then gets mad if he can't get his hands!

We also just started trying to get him to nap in his bassinet..  not on mommy!  As much as I love it- I know he needs to nap not on me and get sound sleep!  I first tried him in the pack n' play where he slept for 30 minutes and then woke up screaming -- i put him in his bassinet and he slept for another 1.5 hours.  The next day he slept for 2 hours in his bassinet.  Every time he has been in his bassinet for a nap since, he will only sleep for 1 hour and wake up SCREAMING.  He wakes up from all his naps SCREAMING mad -- sometimes the only thing that can calm him is nursing, almost all of the time he isn't hungry but it calms him. (which i know i dont want to contiue that habit!) If he sleeps for 45 min-an hour in the bassinet (at most) if i pick him up and hold him, he will sleep for another hour or two even in my arms.  When I  hold him he sleeps for 2 hours or so sometimes! I know he is exhausted and I feel terrible he can't get the sleep he needs...Oh yeah, sometimes he would sleep in the swing for 40 minutes or so, now he wants NONE of that!!

I feel so all over the place and feel like its not fair for him to be getting such crazy sleep habits. 

Any help would be REALLY appreciated...
frustrated mommy...
~Keri

[Jaime]

hi,

well, there is another growth spurt at 12 weeks, so you may find yourself feeding a little more often than normal in order to increase your supply.

sounds like he is definitely interested in sucking his fingers.  here's a version of a swaddle you can use & get his hands by his face; he can suck them through the blanket.  if he's getting bigger, you may find it easier to use a folded twin sheet:
https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=1439.0

as far as the napping goes....  sounds like you are getting him to go to sleep on his own, now you just need to work on extending his naps.  i wonder if it would help if you could enclose him even more in the bassinet?  maybe he likes the snugness of your arms.  you could roll up a few receiving blankets & kind of wedge them around him.  i might be inclined to use a paci instead of nursing, but that could very easily become just a different prop.  you can also check out the nap board & nap FAQ for more ideas on extending naps.

good luck & HTH for a start.