Hello -- I'm new to the board. I've read BW and have tried applying the principles since day 1. My son is now 5.5 weeks old. I've read through the topics and haven't seen direct answers to these questions...or couldn't find them if they are there!
1. Maintaining E/A/S cycle -- I've repeatedly had trouble getting DS to stay in this order; sometimes he gets so sleepy when eating (currently 4 oz of formula, 6-7 times per day) and no matter what I do, he falls asleep. He then either sleeps continually until the next feed, which I think is making him fussy in the evenings (when he doesn't want to nap at all) or wakes up after an hour or so, even if he's not hungry. So he gets himself into a E/S/A cycle and I don't know how to fix it! At other times, he's so fussy he won't nap more than 30-40 minutes no matter what I do. Any suggestions??
2. How can I start getting him on a schedule? I try to stick to feeding about every 3 hours, but the hours he sleeps at night is erratic so he never starts the day at the same time. I've found that he does best when he has his last feeding of the evening at around 10:15/10:30, but sometimes that can fall right in the middle of a feeding cycle. And I sometimes let him go 3.5-4 hours until next feed if he's sleeping soundly...should I not? It always seems that if I wake him to feed him, he falls back to sleep during feeding...
3. As I said, he gets fussy in the evenings and refuses to nap, even though he seems tired. I just wonder if the morning sleep is affecting this. The last two nights I've given up on pu/pd and/or sh/pat after about an hour and just bring him into the family room with us until the next feeding.
4. I've considering starting cluster feeding, but again, can't seem to figure out how to get that on a regular schedule since the earlier part of the day varies so much. If it does happen to fall in schedule, do they nap at all during these times? Seems like by the time he eats and is up for a bit, it would be getting close to the next feeding...if he naps, would you wake him up?
5. Lastly, any tips on burping? I have the hardest time burping DS. I try sitting on the knee and over my shoulder but often can't get anything out of him and I wonder if this is leading to some of his gassiness later.
I've posted the last two days' schedules throught today so you can get an idea of the routine he's on (or lack thereof). The late evening feeding usually relaxes him enough to just put him down. Keep in mind that at night he'll sleep in stretches anywhere from 3 hours to 7 hours (rare as they are, I love those 6-7 hour nights!)Thanks in advance for any advice!!
Starting with late evening feed...
F - 10:45 pm
S - 11:10 pm
F - 2:30 am
S - 2:50 am
F - 6:30 am
S - 6:50 am (would consider making this morning wake time, but he falls asleep during feeding)
F - 9:45 am
A
S - 10:50 am -- only napped about 40 minutes and wouldn't go back to sleep; then was awake until next feed
F - 12:45 pm
A
S - 2:00 pm -- only slept about 30 minutes; finally picked him up and put him in infant seat where he fell asleep for another 30-40 minutes
F - 4:30 pm
A
S - 5:15 pm
F - 7:45 pm
A
S - 8:45 pm -- regularly fussy time of night; slept 30-40 minutes max
F - 10:10 pm
A
S - 10:30 pm (got drowsy during feeding)
F - 4:20 am
S - 4:45 am
F - 7:30 am
S - 8:00 am (I tried to keep him awake but he wouldn't)
F - 10:30 am
A
S - 11:45 am (spotty napping; maybe 1 hour total)
F - 1:30 pm
A
S - 2:15 pm (it was all I could do to keep him awake for that additional 15 min after feeding; then he woke up often so it was spotty napping until next feed)
F - 4:30 pm
A
S - 5:40 pm (napped for 1 hour then awake until next feeding)
F - 7:30 pm
A
S - 8:30 pm (catnapped only)
F - 10:30 pm
S - 11:00 pm
F - 5:30 am
S - 5:50 am
F - 8:50 am
A
S - 9:30 am (it was all I could do to keep him awake for 15 minutes after feeding)
F - 12:30 pm (I had to wake him for this feeding)
A
S - 1:10 pm (I just couldn't keep him awake no matter what I did...it has been over an hour and he's still sleeping. Basically, he has been asleep ALL DAY).
