Sleep Sense Support Group!

[polaris]

This whole napping business is wrecking my head. 5 minutes is not a nap! 10 minutes is not a nap! 20 minutes is not a nap either!

Why would he keep waking at these intervals when he's clean and dry, warm and fed and there's NOTHING else apparently disturbing his sleep?

He just gets more and more exhausted when he sleeps like this.

That is VERY frustrating. Is that a new thing waking after a very short period of sleep or has he always done it?

 

[hivechild]

I don't think that it's new but I didn't really pay attention to duration or frequency until just recently. I was so tired and just going with the flow of feeding him on demand and not caring if he fell asleep nursing or on me so he probably did wake like that and then settle quickly.

Ironically after my little rant, he woke up, did a poop, had a feed and then fell fast asleep for just shy of 4 hours in his car seat. I managed to go to the shops and buy myself some new nursing friendly tops, some blackout curtains for LO's room, come home and make lunch for hubby (worked from home today) and I, put on the dishwasher, clean the kitchen, do a load of laundry and ironing, clean the bathroom, tidy and dust and vacuum and finally caught a 20 minute cat nap before he woke bright eyed and smiley and oh so hungry!

 

[aimee-lou]

Hivechild - Earl would catnap until he was about 3 months. I think it's quite natural for them to just take the sleep they think they need at the time. Well done on all the stuff you got done though.....ahhhhh I miss the days of the 3 hour naps. They seem a long time ago now lol. Those days when he was newborn and we could do anything we needed to, aslong as we were back 2.5 hours later to feed him lol. Movies, food and sleep were not a problem then lol.

Well, I have a conundrum for you girls.

A few weeks ago this happened and I decided to continue with the dream feed. However, I'm really stumped now.

Yesterday what I thought was hayfever has developed into a bit of a niggly cold. A couple of anadin and I feel fine if not a little woozy, but I'm shattered. I went to bed at about 9.30 last night and was just sat up watching a DVD thinking I would stay awake. Hubby was already asleep and without realising I fell asleep.

I woke to Earl crying at 11.45, a whole hour after his dream feed time which I just thought, Oh Well, no harm done. I fed him, he took his normal 7oz, and went back down with no problems whatsoever. I was back in bed before midnight .

Next thing I know hubby's alarm is going off and Earl has not woken up AT ALL until that point. He got woken up by hubby's alarm and went back down for another hour until 6am when we were awake all smiles!!

So........could it be the dream feed that is making his night disturbed? He didn't need anything until 8am as normal when he took his normal bottle and actually ate more porridge than normal this morning which is good.

I'm contemplating trying him without the dream feed....I wasn't planning on dropping that feed until he started not to need it, but it has occurred to me that maybe it's more of a habit thing. I am contemplating stopping it as a dream feed, and seeing if he gradually drops that night bottle altogether - even if he doesn't, if it means he sleeps for 6 hours solid I would be so pleased!!

Just so everyone doesn't think I'm cruel, Earl is currently on 5 bottles a day, 4 8oz at 8am, 12, 4 and 11pm, and 9oz at bedtime around 7pm. Which is 41oz, plus 2 meals a day at breakfast and tea, and a lunchtime snack. He gets a lot more food than he should really and always has, but if that dream/night feed went he would still be on 34oz a day!

What do we think everyone? Ideas, thoughts and bets about the outcome welcome lol

 

[TennisGal]

Morning Aimee-Lou!

Well, sounds like a good night all round (except for the cold, hope you are feeling better!) I'd be inclined to take his steer. That's pretty much what I do with DD - some nights she doesn't want a feed...and just has something early in the morning, other nights (this growth spurt!) I've fed her four times!!

If he's sleeping, I'd probably be inclined to leave him until he wakes for a feed. They definitely let us know when they are hungry!

HiveChild - DD was catnapping using SS for weeks! The only way she'd sleep during the day was if she was on me (which I love!) Now we get two naps in the cot, and one on me...but it has taken sooooooo long. I think naps are much harder than bedtimes. We're still working on the length, too - as they can vary from 25 mins to 1.5 hrs!

Well, we had a better night! DD was still up for the night feeds - but she slept in until 7:20...

She's just demolished some pear - definitely a favourite!

 

[aimee-lou]

Morning Aimee-Lou!

Well, sounds like a good night all round (except for the cold, hope you are feeling better!) I'd be inclined to take his steer. That's pretty much what I do with DD - some nights she doesn't want a feed...and just has something early in the morning, other nights (this growth spurt!) I've fed her four times!!

If he's sleeping, I'd probably be inclined to leave him until he wakes for a feed. They definitely let us know when they are hungry!

HiveChild - DD was catnapping using SS for weeks! The only way she'd sleep during the day was if she was on me (which I love!) Now we get two naps in the cot, and one on me...but it has taken sooooooo long. I think naps are much harder than bedtimes. We're still working on the length, too - as they can vary from 25 mins to 1.5 hrs!

Well, we had a better night! DD was still up for the night feeds - but she slept in until 7:20...

She's just demolished some pear - definitely a favourite!

My thoughts exactly....just wanted to make sure I'm not an illness-addled idiot lol. Think I'll abandon the dreamfeed for now and see if this night feed becomes moveable lol.

Earl too would only sleep on me up until about 4 weeks ago. I decided wnough was enough as at 20lb he was starting to hurt my shoulder lol. So, I started off on our bed, or on the sofa, then into his cot. Now he will quite literally sleep anywhere! lol - I still like to have the odd nap on me as we both enjoy the cuddles but hubby fees very left out as Earl can't get comfy on him like he can on me....he uses my boobs as a pillow lol. He sleeps during the day in 45minute cycles, which seems to suit him. He has 3-4 naps a day (dependent on when he gets up) normally 3, 2 of 45mins, 1 of 1.5 hours. It takes them a while to get their own routine, and then to communicate it to us lol, but I think both Earl and I are working to a similar timetable now....only taken 5.5 months!

And what is it with babies and Pear......do you find it makes for some interesting experiences the next day when changing nappies Have you tried mixing it with Butternut squash. It's an AK concoction and Earl loves it! lol

 

[ms0206]

Morning all
Aimee Lou I agree with TG I would follow his lead and if he wakes needing fed the feed otherwise let him sleep.
Hivechild: our DD was exactly the same she would very rarely sleep for longer than 20mins until we were going somewhere or had people around to visit then she would sleep for 2-3hrs.
TG: well done 7:20 feels like a lie in now doesn't it?
I think our DD is having the 4 month growth spurt the last couple of days she has been feeding every 2.5-3hrs. Last night she woke at 4 was is unusual for her, I left her for 10mins she wasn't crying just babbling away. Then the crying started I went up to her and she grabbed my finger and stuck it in her mouth. So OH fed her and then tried to put her back down. She wasn't having any of it was babbling away, legs kicking. Then she started coughing as if she was choking OH jumped up to her, she responded by blowing raspberries at him and big smiles. This happened 3 times before she eventually went back to sleep for 1hr. She went down for first nap no problem though so fingers crossed

 

[polaris]

Morning everyone.

Aimee Lou - isn't that interesting about the dream-feed? Do you know, that is why I have always been too scared to try a dream-feed - to me it seems like it is messing with their natural sleep cycles - I think babies have their deepest sleep in the first half of the night so it could conceivably be that by disturbing him to dream-feed him he isn't able to settle properly for the second half of the night. I agree with the others, I would wait until he wakes up to feed him and hopefully he will soon drop that feed altogether. Also I have read that it is much harder to drop a night feed that is at the same time each night (like a dreamfeed) because the baby will often go on waking out of habit even when they don't actually need the feed anymore. Great news that you had such a good night - lets hope that is the start of a pattern! Thomas goes to bed at around 7.15 and I find that he will normally wake sometime between 2 and 4 for a night feed, but goes down like a dream afterwards and will sleep until morning.

TennisGal - I got a 'lie-in' till 7.20 this morning too! It's great!

ms0206 - we have had a few little growth spurts since starting sleep sense where Thomas was waking earlier for his feeds and for a few nights he went back to two night feeds instead of one - I was really worried about going backwards but after a couple of days/nights he went back to just the one feed with no problems. I'm sure it will be the same with your LO.

Hivechild - glad you got some time to get stuff done!

 

[hivechild]

Thanks for the encouragement on naps ladies.

I don't know what was up with the monkey but our night routine got shot to hell in spectacular style. He went down for a second nap at 5pm. We had a friend over for dinner so I was thinking we would be lucky if we got an hour or two before he woke again. He slept for 5 hours and 40 minutes! Guess who didn't get any sleep in that time because I kept expecting him to wake any time now!

It took him until 1am to settle back down to sleep, this time in his crib (he had been in his portacrib downstairs with us earlier). He woke just before 4 for another feed and it's now 5am and I'm sitting waiting for him to fall asleep again...so very tired.

Let's hope the new day will put us back on track and the night returning to some semblance of our routine!

 

[TennisGal]

Aimee - Lou - we tried the AK squash and pear - she LOVES it!! The pear certainly makes delightful nappies...and, on occasion, delightful whatever clothes she's wearing This morning she 'dunked' a chunk of pear into the pear puree - ate some, and then decided it was much more fun to rub it all over her hair, lol. After she'd established wearing pear was soooooo 2010, she wolfed it down. Tbh, I ate the leftover in the blender, too! I love pear puree!

MS - we've been having pretty much exactly the same from DD...six month growth spurt!

Polaris - DH and I were saying it feels like a lie-in til 11am, or suchlike! We were both full of beans! I saw the pic of Thomas in Baby Club (one week old) SOOOOOOO cute!

HiveChild - let us know how it all goes!

 

[New2Bumps]

Ladies you've inspired me to try this - I've sent off for the initial sleep assessment thing by email but heard nothing - how long did you girls have to wait?

 

[jacs]

Aimmee-lou - interesting because last night I interrupted Evan's sleep, and he woke for the first time through the night in 5 days. He felt hot when I put him to bed, so I kept checking on him every 15mins or so, for the next hour - he was asleep, but me touching his neck and chest kept disturbing him. Anyway, I said to DH that I reckoned he would be unsettled 'cos I kept going in, and lo and behold, he wriggled a lot through the night and woke screaming at 4am (for a few days now he has been sleeping right through).

Polaris & TG - congrats on your lie-in! Very jealous!


Well ladies, we had quite a day yesterday - lots of firsts. Went to the toilet for no more than 2mins, and came back to see Evan lying on his tummy! He's never rolled right over, and I can't believe I missed it!
Also, he started to shuffle forward when he's on his tummy - up until now he has been lifting his legs off the ground completely!
And drum roll please...I swear he said 'mummy'. He was mouthing it, so thought I'd get a video to show DH, then he just came out with it!

Have a look (press play then pause it until it's loaded up):
https://www.flickr.com/photos/49132996@N02/4504621267/

BTW - not being an 'isn't he the best' type of mum, just a bit shocked!

 

[polaris]

Wow jacs, that was some day! Could be another reason why his sleep was a bit disturbed! I love love love the video, me and Thomas just watched it three times - he is so adorable! And he definitely said mummy, he was so pleased with himself afterwards too! Totally gorgeous.

 

[TennisGal]

Awwwwwwwwww, Jacs!!! He's SO cute! DD and I also watched the video...what a lovely little boy!

He's definitely saying Mummy!

What a fabulous day - well done, Evan! (ps - his pics on Baby Club thread were also soooo cute)

 

[PieMistress]

Awwwww jacs - he is sooo adorable and he deffo said mummy (agree with what Polaris said BTW in that a lot of development can sometimes interrupt their sleep)

Not sure where to begin as i've not posted for a while but have been reading every morning whilst grabbing my breakfast, just not got round to posting anything!! <hangs head!>

Kyle's naps have been so much better since we started SS. We still have days when he won't go back to sleep after a sleep cycle (30 to 40 mins) but there are also days when he goes 2 hours and I have to go up and wake him (still undecided if I should be doing that but nevermind!). I always have at least one nap a day in the cot, if not two and I no longer dread nap time quite so much!!

However, putting Kyle down in a quiet darkened room for naps might be having a small negative effect in that he no longer naps so easily in the pram or car seat. This isn't a huge problem but there are times when I'd like him to nap when we are out and about or like today when it was a lovely day and we were out walking. He will still fall asleep but I find that if it's noisy then he will take longer to fall asleep (today there were birds singing everywhere, they were all happy in the sunshine and then I realised there are birds and trees everywhere in my village!!). I shouldn't complain really!!

We have been back to 2 night feeds though for a good 10 days now but seeing as Kyle is only 15 weeks I don't really mind. The times tend to differ too so am guessing he's deffo hungry. Is it 6 months they say that they no longer need a night feed?

We are moving him into his own room tomorrow ....... watch this space!!

Must thank Polaris for pointing me in the SS direction though as we would never be where we are now without it. Thomas is doing amazingly well isn't he!!!

I bore all my other mum friends about sleep but their babies all sleep through the night and have done from a young age (but can't all nap in a cot!) so they aren't as obsessed as me!

to the new peeps!!

I always go to bed wondering what the night will bring though and am sure I won't sleep very well tomorrow night without him sleeping in his cot next to me!

Here's to a good weekend ! xx

 

[TennisGal]

Hi PM!

Great news on the nap front! Regarding the not needing a feed at six months, not sure DD got that bit of info, lol! She's been having a big growth spurt, though. I tend to just go by her steer.

Let us know how tomorrow goes

 

[PieMistress]

Hi TG

Did I read it on SS (about the night feeds at 6 months)? I can't remember TBH I plough my way through so many baby books! Hee Hee!

Can't believe I was asking about the 3 month growth spurt not that long ago and now we are approaching 4 months old!!

x

 

[TennisGal]

I know...where does time go?! Seriously???

 

[aimee-lou]

Morning all......

I think we can safely say that the DF was the culprit responsible for our lack of sleep.

Last night his teeth were playing up big time but I can't give calpol after 6pm because of the sugar rush so had to rely on bonjela so it took a bit of time, but we were down by 7.35.....not bad really, especially when he didn't wake at all until 10.15. He'd kicked his blanket off so I tucked him back in and took myself off to bed. Earl woke at 12.50, drank 7oz, back to bed by 1.05 and then..............

Not a peep until 6.15 and all smiles Didn't even wake to the alarm

 

[polaris]

Aimee Lou - Yay - that's brilliant news - what a simple change to make to your routine for such a big improvement!

PieMistress - brilliant news about the naps getting better. I wouldn't worry about the two night feeds, I'm sure he will move back to one again soon. Anyway I find it's really no hassle feeding them as long as they settle back down to sleep easily afterwards. Thomas is the same for not napping so easily in the pram recently - but I was saying it to another friend who has a baby the same age (who never naps in the cot) and she said she thought it was just an age thing as her baby is the same - with the result that she has almost given up on getting him to nap during the day. So it could be a lot worse!!

TennisGal - hopefully your LO will get through the growth spurt and then drop all her night feeds and sleep through!

Hope everyone else is doing well.

We had a few friends over for dinner last night and I had two glasses of wine and feel quite hungover/dehydrated this morning. I seriously don't miss drinking at all - and especially not hangovers! Luckily Thomas let me have a lie in till 7.30, yay!!

 

[jacs]

Morning, hope you've all got the sunny day we're having!

Thank you for being so nice about Evan's premiere - didn't want to be a gushy mummy, but I knew you are all baby obsessed like me, so it would be fine!

PM - I'm so pleased for you, you had a real rough time of it over the last few weeks, but it's paying off isn't it? I've read 6 months as well for stopping the feeds. Evan is only just doing it now (of his own accord), but he born a bit early, so I wasn't actually planning on stopping him yet! I agree, Kyle sounds like he's on the right tracks for his age. Good luck with the room change!!

Aimmee-lou - sounds like more progress! It's amazing how quickly they learn 'what to do'. We've got sugar-free calpol, would that help stop Earl bouncing off the walls?! Hope he's more settled with his teeth today, bless him.

Polaris - haha, shame on you, you drunkard! Yeah, it's amazing what a lightweight I am too, I actually dreaded my sister's wedding last month, because I was scared I would be ill (Evan stayed at his Grandma's).

Well, we had an early feed again at 5.30am, but then nothing until now! Evan's just waking up, and I can't believe he's slept 2 hours longer than normal. What do you think, later bedtime tonight, or normal bedtime, and see this lie-in as sleep he's catching up on?