My baby is 10.5 weeks old. He has always slept less than all the books say he should. Currently, he is only taking two naps - one in the morning that is usually about 30-40 minutes long, and one in the afternoon for about 40 minutes. What can I do to make him nap longer? It takes him so long to go down for a nap, that he wakes up in about 30 minutes or so to eat. At night, he does have a 5ish hour stretch, but it's usually from about 7 pm to 12 am. How can I make him do this stretch of not eating during the night when I'm sleeping? I've tried waking him to eat before I go to bed, and he just woke 3 hours later to eat again. I've also tried doing a "dream feed" (feeding him while he's sleeping) and it hasn't seemed to help much either. Any suggestions on how to elongate his naps and time between eating at night? He hasn't dropped a night feeding yet either.
I think it pretty common for them to go through a cat nap stage. It is harder on the parent because just as you get ready to do something they are up. A book that woeked well for us and a lot of friend is The Baby Whisper by Linda Hoggs ( i think that is the author) Good luck mama!
Those first few months are tough on Mom! Don't get discouraged yet as he is only 10.5 weeks - he still has lots of time to learn his schedules. My son didn't take much in the way of naps either after the first month. He's getting better now. I never forced them on him either though I know sometimes you'd really like a break and a nap yourself! Also, have you ever tried the Baby Wise method? I don't agree with everything mentioned in these books but it's scheduling system based on getting babies/children the much needed sleep they (and you!) need. The basic steps: Feed/Wake/Sleep and get on a 3-4 hour feeding schedule depending upon how much food baby needs. During the daytime feedings, keep baby awake 10-15 minutes after feeding and keep awake during feeding. As a nursing mom this means I feed both sides, burping between then we play together for a bit and then put him in his crib. This also keeps from 'nursing to sleep' and tiptoeing around the house to avoid waking baby. This also makes sure he can put himself to sleep. There is no need for 'crying to sleep'. You also know if there is something else that might be wrong. Second step, try to get on a 3-4 hour feeding schedule. This is easy if you're giving full feedings. Third step: Nightime feedings, including that last one of the day when it's time for baby to go to sleep, feed baby and put right to bed. They begin to develop a schedule and before you know it they have night and day all figured out! We have been using this system for our 9.5-month old and he was sleeping five hours a night at 2 months. Now he sleeps from 10 at night to 7 in the morning give or take a half hour each way. And he is such an alert, happy guy during the day!! We get lots of comments about what a content, happy little man we have. We have also never had a 'cry to sleep' session nor have we ever used a pacifier. I know there's lots of controversy about this book but we followed the basic idea in the book and certainly didn't use it as a 'religion'. The scheduling idea has been a dream for us and our baby was 3 weeks premature. We also had a month and a half of nightmarish breastfeeding problems. He does occasionally still wake up periodically but overall the system has really worked well for us. Good luck!!
We did Babywise with both all our kids and they were all good sleepers. We had one kids who also needed the video "The Happiest Baby on the Block". He became a good sleeper with the techniques in there. The main thing with Babywise is full meals and a eat, wake, sleep schedule. You wake them during the day to eat and let them go at night, so you were right to wake him. You're also right that he is old enough to go through the night. All three of ours did by about this age. Our middle was a little older, but the Happiest Baby helped a lot! Hang in there. It gets better! Congratulations!
This is not that abnormal. Books are averages, there are extremes on both ends. If he's a happy kid when he's awake, I would think he's getting enough sleep. My oldest was like this, just never needed as much sleep as other babies. Read Dr. Sear's "Nighttime Parenting" or Dr. Brazleton's "Touchpoints." Two different takes, but both good.
Hi B.!
There are a few things thatI think can help...
1. Wear your baby during the day. I recommend a wrap, my personal favorite is the Moby Wrap. You rmovements and goings on in your day will help your baby sleep. It is best to wear your baby while they sleep, but you can also unwrap them and lay them down once they are sleeping. Every Mom that I have talked to about these wraps has said that this is what gave them their sanity back!
2. Read The No Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley. It gives great information about the sleep needs of babies and how best to help them get the appropriate amount of sleep.
3. it is my opinion that breastfed babies do need to eat thoughout the night as breastmilk is relatively low in protein- so keep up with the feedings!
Is your baby in your room (or in your bed?) This will help with getting him back to sleep more quickly as well as you getting more sleep. When parents share a bed with their children, their sleep cycles are in sync with one another- which means that good sleep is maximized with both baby and parent(s).
My last bit of advice is to follow your intuition. All the books in the world cannot tell you how to parent your unique child. I think that we, as Moms, rely too much on what everyone else has to say instead of trusting ourselves to do what's right for our children. It's one thing to get ideas and whatnot, but it's another to blindly trust others with the raising of our children. Follow your heart and don't worry about what others think or may say.
If you are interested in looking at/buying a wrap, I have them on sale right now, until the end of the month. You can go to www.naturalchoicesforliving.com and go to the "monthly sale" link. If you have any questions, please feel free to let me know!
B.,
Hi, I wanted to say that most of the books out there are a guide for us parents, we are all individuals and our bodies are all different. Have you tried giving him oatmeal or rice, I know he is still pretty young, but some babies just need more for their bodies to keep up with their metablism. He may just not be getting full or burning it off way too fast. I might try a bath before bed. gotgreennow.fourpointmoms.com
Are you breastfeeding or formula feeding. You may also want to feed right after he wakes up, then play for a little while, then put him down for a nap. Going a 5 hr strech is good. At night feed him and put him back to bed. If he wakes up a couple of hours later feed and put back to bed again. I didn't get a full nights sleep until my daughter was 14 months old. If you are breastfeeding it metabolizes much faster than formula and so breastfed babies need to be fed more often, even at night. Try to nap when he does. Good luck.
B., i believe you are the same one with the question about the nursing 10 week old in the beginning of today's requests, so i'm asssuming you're nursing him. have you considered bringing baby to bed with you? it is completely safe for breastfed babies as long as no fluffy pillows are nearby, no heavy blankets, etc. he can have access to nursing without waking you, your schedules will come more together, you will have the same wake/sleep cycles and everyone gets more sleep when baby comes to bed. there are no rules on what baby SHOULD be doing as far as sleep and for nursing babes it is NOT recommended to force them into a sleep/eating schedule. nursing on demand and letting them sleep when they sleep is recommended for nursing babies. some may say formula in a bottle will help longer stretches at night. . . but it may not, and then you've put your child at risk for allergy sensitizations with exposing him to formula, etc. It's just the "time of your life." My 2.5 year old has barely started sleeping more than 5 hours at a time without waking and that's only MOST of the time in the past 3 weeks :) good luck
As the mother of seven...PLEASE put away all those books that tell you what your baby SHOULD be doing. If he is tired or you are when you get him down...magic trick here...
lay him on your chest and nap together. You will both feel better and it will increase your milk supply. Love that baby and cuddle him all you can...soon he will be walking out that door to kindergarten.
You cannot make a infant do much of anything! Sorry.
At night, you will be lucky if he sleeps through the night before his first birthday. Him going 5 hours is great! Mine neither slept through the night until around 10 months of age.
I would put a bassinett in my living room so they would sleep with noise around. But laid them down after them eating, changing, snuggling and playing. Both of mine went back to sleep pretty soon after eating, I would say four naps a day was very easy for them as infants then it worked into two naps a day until they were 14 mos.
I just laid them down and they slept after a good burp and some snuggling.
I wouldn't feed him every hour, even if he seems hungry, I would walk with him, see if there is something else going on and try to keep him distracted for a little longer each time. He could also just need the extra nutrition, I would call your Dr. as he will know best.
At his age, he knows what he wants and it is kind of about that right now. I didn't do crying it out ever rarely and waited until after 6 mos. All I can say is don't jump to feed him necessarily if he just ate 60 minutes ago, maybe just try preoccupying him and help him go longer.
He could have reflux which is worse laying down and the eating soothes him, he could be a tad colicky, make sure he burps well and maybe even try mylicon before feedings. For reflux I suggest you see your Pediatrician about his lack of sleeping. At his age about 16 hours of sleep or more is very typical and necessary for his growth. If it is colic you just have ride that out!
B. - I also responded to your question about how much he's eating, but I just wanted to add one more thing. And a lot of moms have said it too. Please, stop worrying about what your child "should" be doing. The books go off of averages. I was so paranoid with my first that she wasn't eating like she "should" or sleeping like she "should." I got really stressed out, and since babies pick up on our stress it made it even harder for her to eat or sleep. So try to relax, he's doing OK.
