Trouble with Sleeping & Feeding

[Jaden_s Parents]

Hi all,

I am writing on behalf of myself and my wife, and my little guy who is 5 and a half mos old.

We recently tried out P/U P/D since our son had been unable to fall asleep without our help, (or sleep in his crib - our bed was his) and it worked     -  he can now fall asleep on his own, but he won' t stay asleep long...generally the longest is 2.5 hrs., however more often than not it is  1 hour at a time.

SO, we decided to try out the 4 hour E.A.S.Y.

Last night I stayed with him, while my wife went downstairs to sleep - the little guy slept his usual hour at a time, had dream feed at 10:45 PM, and I did P/U P/D to keep him asleep, etc, etc, the night was not fun, but I took a day off, and since it's Friday we have the weekend to go at it.

Today was/is our first day, and our problems are this - he does not eat longer than 10 minutes, and he usually eats for 3 to 6 minutes.
(Breastfed) Whenever my wife tries to extend the feed, he spits up.  We recently started him on rice cereal as well, but not for full meals.
He refuses to take a bottle seriously - it's only a game to him.

Also, his naps last 30 to 45 minutes, and we will spend our entire time doing P/U P/D to get him back down to sleep longer,,,which of course never happens, since he either screams till the time is up, or fusses, or plays around in his crib.

I know that this is only our first day, but since our boy is not (and has never been) a big eater or a big sleeper, we need some encouragment, and some advice.

Thanks a lot,
Jadens_Dad

[* Paula *]

Hi Jadens_Dad,

Welcome to the BW Boards.

Firstly, that is fantastic news about your DS being able to fall asleep independantly.  You are doing great.

I think that the problems with your DS not sleeping well is due to the fact that he is overtired.  If he is only getting 30 - 45 minutes of sleep per nap during the day, it is definitely going to affect his night time sleep.  Unfortunately when our lo's are overtired, it does make their night time sleep worse 

Here is some info on why it is important for your lo to get more than 45 minutes at nap time during the day.

https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=64159.msg476653#msg476653

Have you tried the Wake 2 Sleep at nap times to try and extend them?  Here is some info on it, from the Naps Forum.

https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=64168.0

Here is also some info with regards to short naps

https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=64161.msg476655#msg476655

I would not worry about your DS only eating for 3-6 minutes, at this age, they do become very efficient eaters, and you will be surprised at how much they will take at a feeding.  Is your wife offering one or both breasts?

If possible, would you mind posting what a typical day looks like i.e E times, A - times, S - including windown routine as well as E during the night.

What time is bedtime?  Does your wife clusterfeed to help your lo tank up before bedtime?  You may want to try offering the dreamfeed closer to 10:00 as this does help your lo tank up a bit more.

One thing to watch out for if you are introducing rice cereal to your DS is to watch out for constipation, as the rice brand can be very constipating.

Hugs, I know that things can be hard, but can tell you that EASY is worth it, and things will start getting better. 

Good luck - keep us posted on how you get on.

Paula

[Jaden_s Parents]

Hi Paula,

Just a note: I had accidentally posted twice (lack of sleep I suppose)

In the other version of my post I received a reply suggesting the wake to sleep, and we will certainly try that; as far as our routine goes here is what we were aiming for, and here is what we have achieved so far; today being our first day:

We are trying straight out of the BW Solves your problems book - the one where you introduce a four old on to a routine...

What we tried for was (and this is our first day):

Wake : 7 AM  --  in reality: the alarm did not go off so we woke at 7:20 AM

Eat : Should have lasted until 7:20 (20 minutes) -- in reality: he was not hungry since he ate at 5 AM 

Activity: 1.5 hours until 9 AM -- in reality : he played a bit, sat with his DAD and went to his nap, after a mini story at 8:56 AM (1.10 hours) 

Sleep : Until 10:30 or 11 AM -- in reality : slept until 9:30, fussed in his crib until 10:30. Mom did Pu/Pd but he never fell asleep again.

Eat: Aimed at feeding at 11am--in reality it was 10:50. He ate for only 4 minutes.

Activity: Wanted him to play until 1pm. In reality he was SO tired Mom put him to bed at 12:30.

Sleep: Should have been 1pm but in reality it was 12:30. He fell asleep within 10 minutes, but only slept 30 minutes. Mom did Pu/Pd for another hour after which time his voice was so croaky from crying she stopped.

Eat: Tried to wait until 3pm. In reality fed him at 2:40. He fed for 6 minutes.

Activity: Should have been until 5 PM. In reality fed him some cereal at 3:30 (since he did not eat much today) until 4 PM, then dad sat with him for five minutes before putting him to bed at 4:09, he was asleep in one minute.

Sleep: He was supposed to sleep a catnap - he slept for 40 minutes

Eat - Ate for 3 minutes, spat up,

Activity fussed, then calmed down by 5:45, watched us eat, shouted and played and laughed

We usually give him his bath starting at 6:00 to 6:30 PM, then his story, then quiet time, maybe a last feed, and he's asleep by 7:15 to 7:30.

He is eating right now (BF), and it is 6:48 PM.  We then sit with him to wind down 5 to 10 minutes or so after the feed, and then it will be off to sleep.

That's it...

We are open to suggestions.

Thanks,
Jaden's Dad

[* Paula *]

Hi Jaden's Dad,

Thanks for posting your routine.  I would definitely try W2S to see if this will help extending the naps.

Has your DS always eaten for such short periods, or has this only just started recently?  Do you think that your DS may be teething, this could effect eating and sleeping?

Paula