My baby isn't a sleeper...

katileigh87

My little guy is 16 weeks today. He is very inconsistent with sleeping - nap or night time. He doesn't nap well at all and I can tell that he is so tired. The only way I can for sure get him to have a good nap is if I hold him. I can get him to nap in a swing some times and if we go on a walk, but the minute we are done walking he wakes back up.

At night he will fall asleep and the first stint will be about 4 or 5 hours and then I can only get him to sleep by holding him again. If I try to lay him back down after several minutes of being crashed out, he instantly wakes back up. 

I'm not sleep deprived by any means, though he does wake up several times to eat.... I just don't feel like he's getting enough sleep total. I also see that a lot of babies are already sleeping fully through the night. We're not even close to that yet.

Any advice?

LisaLisa1980

My baby wakes up every 2 hrs to eat. Count your blessings. I'd love a 4 hour stretch. I'd say just hold him a bit longer

natalie115

LisaLisa1980 said:

My baby wakes up every 2 hrs to eat. Count your blessings. I'd love a 4 hour stretch. I'd say just hold him a bit longer

This....every 2 hours for the last 5 weeks. If DS wakes up when I put him down I just put extra pillows behind me and let him sleep on my chest. Good luck!

BigPoppa22

I recommend reading an overview of the different sleep training philosophies and buying a book.  Not just for right now, but for the future.  Our LO started sleeping pretty well at around 3.5 months and was mostly STTN, until almost 5 months.  We did not do a routine or anything, just counted the blessings.  Then he had a sleep regression and woke every 90 minutes and will not sleep unless we bring him into bed with us.  This has gone on for the past month, now.  Just bought the Ferber book, going to be training this coming week.

You do not need to accept his poor sleep (and your poor sleep) as the norm, and should not assume it will be something that passes.  A few days of tolerating whatever training you choose will be worth months/years of better sleep habits down the line.

Pitterpatter44

Have been going through this myself the last few weeks. I read a few sleep books (well,skimmed really) and liked the Happiest Baby one the best (Harvey Karp?). Had an overview of all the methods, including the cry it out ones too.

What I got out of them is 2 things I was doing very wrong. 1) waiting until LO was already sleepy and overtired. I needed to be putting her down BEFORE she got to the eye rubbing stage. 2) I needed a prenap routine just like I have one at night. For naps, ours is as simple as holding her at my shoulder, give her a paci and sing quietly for 2-3 mins. Then out she goes when I put her down.

I was completely at a loss in how to get Lo to nap. Tried these 2 things and she has taken 6 naps (1.5 hrs +) in the last 2 days. That's more than she was napping in 6 days before!!

As far as nighttime goes, maybe once he's napping better during the day, he'll sleep better at night? Seems like if you fix one, the other follows!

Good luck!!

singingmama13

My baby would wake often too at night, and she's always been a horrible napper. 

I was putting her to bed around 9 though.. because my logic was that the later I put her to bed, if i'm lucky to get a 4 or 5 hour stretch.. that means she'll wake later.

I did some reading and learned that that is a common misconception of new parents. I don't know if you're a FTM, I am.  

I decided to move my LO bedtime back a few hours.. and now I put her down at 7:30 and it's made a WORLD of difference. She only wakes once now and sometimes sleeps through the night.. and every now and then during growth spurts she'll wake more frequently to feed. 

Maybe try putting your LO to bed earlier? Especially if he isn't getting naps like my girl wasn't.. some babies just aren't good nappers.. but early bedtime can help them get the rest they need. 

That's just a suggestion. I'm sorry if you've already tried that Good luck! 

vvolek

 

singingmama13 said

I was putting her to bed around 9 though.. because my logic was that the later I put her to bed, if i'm lucky to get a 4 or 5 hour stretch.. that means she'll wake later.

 

I used to think that too! My daughter is 3 1/2 months and she is on a routine that does wonder for me and my husband and it actually starts with cereal at 6p, bath at 8p and sleep at 9. She now is sleeping for 7+ hours. The thing we DIDN'T do was force her on a schedule. we let her adjust to one herself and just went along with it until she started daycare. They actually got her on a day routine which helped us form a night routine.

Try different sleep methods. I'm a FTM and sleeping on her back was NOT happening. She will wake up instantly no matter how tired she was. She's a stomach sleeper which yes I KNOW you're not supposed to but that's the only way she will sleep and sleep well. She will sleep in the carseat/stroller/swing but as soon as it stops she's up.

I tried also putting a shirt of mine/soft blanket tightly like a sheet in her crib and it works to help her feel like mommy is right there. I think it gives her a sense of comfort being able to sleep on my shirt, and warmth too.

Babies are their own person. You just have to let them learn themselves. Hope it gets better