I've read several baby sleep method books and done research and all that about getting babies to sleep. Our biggest problem is naptime. Blake spends about 40-50 minutes eating, then I have to burp him, then change his diaper, and swaddle him up for a nap. The whole process takes between an hour and a little more. Then when I lay him in his crib he kicks and plays and wiggles like crazy. I take him out, rock him, give him a binky and he gets totally drowsy. Then when I lay him down he wakes right up. If I leave him he can usually try to work things out for a few minutes, but then after 5-20 minutes he starts crying and screaming. We try to soothe him with a binky, rocking him, patting his back, etc. He gets drowsy, then wakes up and the whole process repeats. This goes on for awhile until he finally falls asleep. By the time he crashes he's been awake for around 2+ hours. Then he sleeps 40-60 minutes before waking up again. Sometimes he can fall asleep, most of the time he can't. But he doesn't seem really hungry, just still tired.
I don't know what to do! I know nap time is SO important during the day and it helps them sleep better at night. Yesterday he had a 2 hour morning nap in his car seat (after finally falling asleep on his own in the crib, and I had to move him 10 minutes later). Then I fed him and did the whole swaddle and try to get to sleep routine. Once again, after 2 hours of being awake, I finally resorted to putting him in the swing to sleep. He slept there for maybe an hour and then woke up to eat. Scott fed him a bottle so I could nap, then he was awake for 2 hours again before we tried to put him in the crib. Once again he kicked and played and didn't fall asleep. So Scott put him in the car seat and we ran some errands. He slept for almost an hour. Then he ate again. Then I did the whole swaddle routine. After he'd been up for 2 hours again, he finally fell asleep in his crib and slept for 5 1/2 hours. I fed him, he was up for 2 hours (shoot me) and then he slept for another 4 hours.
I feel like he gets so tired being up for 2 hours that he can't take a good nap. And obviously he can't take a good nap because he is only sleeping for 45 minutes. I don't know how to get him to nap longer. I don't know if it's because we've moved him into the crib to sleep. Or if he's so used to being rocked, swinged, or vibrated to sleep. Or if he's relying too much on the binky. Or if he is so over tired that he can't sleep well.
Is it okay or normal for him to be awake for 2 hours and then only take an hour nap? I feel like he needs more sleep than that in a day! That's only 3-4 hours of day time sleep with 9-10 hours of night time sleep. Is that bad? Good? Okay? I don't know. :-/
HELP!!!!
I joined a mothers group, and what we decided about the whole sleeping thing is that our babies did not like the crib during the day. I'll be honest the only time Landon will sleep in his crib is when it is dark outside and he knows it is night time. We also decided that it seems alright to let them sleep wherever they need to during the day so that they can get some sleep. It sounds like Blake loves sleeping in his car seat, use that to your advantage. Take him on walks, go run errands.
ReplyDeletePlus, if he is getting at least 45 minute naps you are doing great. From the research I read that is considered enough of a nap to re-energize them during the day. Landon went through a phase like that to. Now he only takes those short little naps right after he wakes up and before he goes to sleep. You are doing great! Keep up the awesome work! Good luck.
P.S. Have you tried a double swaddle to keep him from moving around? Double swaddles work wonders.
I went with the Baby Wise method. I would feed him and then let him play for 15-20 min and then it was time for his nap. He got used to the routine at about 2-3 weeks old. I did let him sleep in his swing if it worked, and I think that if he falls asleep in his car seat-so be it! Making the room dark that his crib is in has helped immensely as well. I highly recommend a lullaby cd or children's primary songs. This gets him used to knowing that now it is time to wind down after playing and sleep. It also conditions the baby to sleep through noise so he doesn't wake up at the drop of a hat. In the beginning, I also swaddled John. I used the summer swaddle blanket and LOVED IT!! He could still kick his feet but his arms usually stayed inside the swaddle because the material is a little stretchy and you could make it snug with velcro tabs. Another thing I did was let him sleep on his side occasionally. He would be swaddled so he couldn't really move and I would prop a folded up receiving blanket behind his back. He never rolled to him tummy and he fell asleep faster like this at about 1-2 months of age. Just watch him sleep to make sure that he doesn't turn over to his tummy. And I only did this with naps not over night.
ReplyDeleteWhen I got him on his 2 hour schedule -45 min to feed 15-20 min to play and then an hour or a little less nap after each day time feeding, he slept through the night 4-6 hours at a time. And then if you watch for cues such as not wanting to wake up from his nap, or not being hungry at the next feeding, you know that it is time to increase the wake time and nap time a little more. You can check out more info of chroniclesofababywisemom.com. It has discussions on how to implement the baby wise method. I would suggest reading the books too, but you can still find a lot of info about moms with the same issues you have on the website too. :)
It sounds like you are using your instincts and working as a team with your baby! You are doing great! Trust your instincts-one method doesn't necessarily work for all babies! Just keep bonding with him and you will begin to pick up on more and more subtle cues he gives you! Getting him on some sort of a schedule will help you and him immensely!
I used the baby wise method, and then kind of changed it so it worked for me. As soon as Emma woke up I fed her, then she played, and she went down after being up for about 3 hours. It worked well for me. Unfortunately, every baby is different! I took advantage of Emma sleeping in her car seat/stroller. We went out when Emma napped, and went shopping. I walked around the mall A LOT. The other thing that helped us with Emma sleeping is the atmosphere in her room... I bought curtains that blacked out her room, had white noise or music in her room, and I had a portable heater to keep her room at a toasty 70 degrees. These things worked wonders for getting her to sleep during the day and at night.
ReplyDeleteI know I commented on your other blog, but I've been thinking about you and when I saw this post I had some different thoughts. I thought for a while about what it is like when I have small babies. From birth up to 3-4 months old, I realized I don't really conform to any "schedule." (This really just applies to daytime.) It may sound hokey, but I guess I just kind of follow my babies' rhythms. When they're sleepy I let them sleep whenever and wherever. I like to have them sleep in bed, but if they're in a bouncer, swing, or carseat it is fine. I let them kind of control their own sleep patterns during the day.
ReplyDeleteNight time is a different story. Following a routine and encouraging them to sleep in the crib and get to sleep on their own is important at night. But I don't think my babies got very good at this until 3-4 months typically.
Anyway, I don't know if that helps, but my thoughts are to just go with the flow, especially during the day. Watch for signs of sleepiness and respond then. Allow him to set the schedule. Good luck Karissa! You're doing a great job and are a really great mom!
My doctor told me most babies won't nap regularly until about 4-6 months. Sometimes older. Nighttime, a schedule should start sooner though. BUT, with naps, just follow your baby's cues. I never had an issue with Emma napping or sleeping through the night. She loves her sleep. However, I found out that she slept better NOT being swaddled. NOT in a swing or car seat. Pretty much on the floor/mat/boppy. She likes her space I guess, so I would just dress her in an extra layer to keep her warm and let her go. Also, since she hated to be swaddled when it was really cold I did use a blanket. I was told to just tuck the edges of the blanket under the crib mattress so she couldn't move it but was still able to feel "free". Also, if you do that, make sure the blanket is under their arms (by the pits). If he likes to be swaddled though, I think someone else mentioned double swaddling..Just try anything you can! My mom used to have to put Michael in his car seat on the dryer. It gives them the same motion and white noise sound as driving in the car and that was the only way he'd sleep! LoL. Also, try vacuuming until he is out. Do you have mobil or a heartbeat animal? All worth a shot if it means you getting sleep or getting some free time!
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