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Sleep concerns: The Perfect Storm

Jody - posted on 03/06/2009 ( 2 moms have responded )

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My DS is almost 3 months (born 12/14) and I think we are coming up on a number of sleep transitions/issues all at once. The Perfect Storm. I’m hoping for some advice, though I know I will have to ride the waves on some of it b/c he is too young for schedules or sleep training. I have a LOT of questions, but I feel like one thing is intertwined with another and I need to cover all of it to get the big picture. Please bear with me!!

#1. Swaddle: I did not swaddle with my first child, so I am new to this. It has worked so great for him since about 3 weeks old. But is it time to stop? How do you stop? Lately his sleep pattern has changed, don’t know if it is the swaddle or something else. He used to average 5-6 hours. Now it’s closer to 4 (which I know isn’t bad). He does suck his hands during the day, maybe this would be good at night? But I worry it’s the swaddle that keeps him asleep so well.

#2. Daylight savings: Coming up this weekend. What does this mean for going to bed and wake up in the morning. Again, our pattern is 9-9:30pm with 1-2 wake ups and then up for good anytime after 7am…but usually close to 8am.

#3. Bedtime: I struggled early on with his VERY late bedtime. He would sleep for long stretches but only starting at 11pm or midnight. Gradually we have scaled back to 9:30-10pm which works for all of us. Then I go to sleep with him and get the same amount of sleep as his long first stretch. Lately he has been fussing like he wants to go to bed at 8:30-9pm. If I put him down then, I’ll have to go to bed too…if I can even get to sleep that early. Really puts a crimp in our lifestyle…but maybe I have to suck it up? My 4 year old goes to bed btw 8-8:30 too. That would complicate things.

I recall the days with my first where she would go to bed at 7pm and wake at 7am. Obviously we’re not there yet with DS, but is this the progression? Eventually that first stretch will get longer but earlier so that I DON’T have to go to bed with him??

#4. Naps: DS naps exclusively in the baby swing. My daughter did the same until somewhere between 4-6 months. A long time…I can’t remember. It just works for us. When the number of naps starts to reduce, then I work on getting them to nap in the crib. I don’t think I want to change this…especially with other things going on that I mention above. But just wondering what our nap routine should be? 3-4 naps is what he does these days.

Thanks so much for any advice!!
Jody

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Jody - posted on 03/06/2009

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Quoting Lori:

Hi Jody!
I am beginning to feel like somewhat of an oddity here. My daughter sleeps through the night and has for a month now. She is 3 months. The only time she wakes is if she misses her night bottle. I'm not so concerned with a nap schedule because their patterns are really weird right. Some days she will sleep all day others she is awake quite a bit. I just she she is growing. What I did as far as getting her to sleep at nigh was really just work on her feeding schedule. I make sure she is satisfied with her feedings. She is up to 7 oz. every 4 hours starting with her 7:30am feeding. I wake her during the day to feed her because if she misses one, she will have me up in the wee hours and I need my sleep since going back to work last week.
I also have a 1 1/2 year old. At about 7 months, I started putting him to bed at 8 PM and from then, he sleeps through the night.


Forgot to mention in my post that I breastfeed so it is hard to tell how much he is getting. My kids have never been big eaters. He eats less, and more often I think. When he does get a bottle, it's usually only 4 oz. When I pump I get about 4.5 so that's about how much he gets from me. And he eats more like every 3 hours still.

Lori - posted on 03/06/2009

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Hi Jody!

I am beginning to feel like somewhat of an oddity here. My daughter sleeps through the night and has for a month now. She is 3 months. The only time she wakes is if she misses her night bottle. I'm not so concerned with a nap schedule because their patterns are really weird right. Some days she will sleep all day others she is awake quite a bit. I just she she is growing. What I did as far as getting her to sleep at nigh was really just work on her feeding schedule. I make sure she is satisfied with her feedings. She is up to 7 oz. every 4 hours starting with her 7:30am feeding. I wake her during the day to feed her because if she misses one, she will have me up in the wee hours and I need my sleep since going back to work last week.

I also have a 1 1/2 year old. At about 7 months, I started putting him to bed at 8 PM and from then, he sleeps through the night.

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