Ugh! Another cry for help.

MWagner10

So DS is 7 1/2 weeks and somehow we made it through the 6 week growth spurt, but it seems to be continuing. Before the 6 week growth spurt he would conk out around 8-8:30 then sleep until 3-3:30. I know that things just change with babies and you just have to go with the flow but we have got to get this sleep thing figured out. He started by not sleeping well throughout the day and of course made him not sleep well at night, and I did the best I could and just kept in mind that he is growing. When he wakes up for the morning I try and keep his awake times to less than 90 minutes before I wind things down for him. He seems to do fine until around noon then this kid will not sleep. I have tried everything eat play me sleep, play me eat sleep, cuddling with him until he falls asleep, wearing him, using the swing, heck today I even tried swaddling him and keeping things quiet (usually reserved for night only). Nothing works! And his poor sleeping throughout the day has caused him to wake up every 1 1\2-2 hours at night. I need help! DH and I are both walking zombies. For some background he eats 3oz of expressed milk every 2-3 hours during the day then as needed at night, I give Simethicone as needed and gripe water as needed. He is just been a fussy cranky pants for the last 2 weeks. Advice? This will pass? TIA! And sorry for formatting stupid that the iPad does not format!

juliane2004

For a 7 week old, I think 90 minutes is too long. Try less, like 70? Even 5-10 minutes can make a baby overtired.

pb&jojo

Like PP said...When mine was 7 weeks old i wouldn't go more than 30 mins-1 hour awake. Now she typically goes 2 hours, and if you go much more, she can turn overtired at any given moment!

Also, try putting him down for "bedtime" early...like 6:30 or 7:00. I thought that was crazy and would make my DD wake up in the MOTN, but it did the opposite...she started by just waking once around 3:00am for a feed, and then back down until 7:00 or 8:00. Then a few weeks alter, she was sleeping through (7pm-5 or 6am. I have tried to keep her up later until 8:00 or 9:00 to see if she would sleep later in the AM, but I can't get her to stay awake without being a complete fussball after 7:00.

MWagner10

Thanks ladies:) tomorrow I will wind things down after 45 mins and see if that helps.

ranaverde

What PP said.  I've been reading Dr. Wessbluth's book, and he recommends both that babies shouldn't stay up more than 2 hours (and should be put down to sleep well in advance of when they seem sleepy), and that they should have an early bedtime. 

Our baby didn't settle into this routine until about week 7, but since then she's been pretty predictable - we put her "to bed" around 6-7 pm and she shifts into nighttime mode (only waking to eat and be changed, and then she goes right back to sleep) until 7am.  Then during the day she's awake 1-2 hours (usually 1), then sleeps 1-2 hours (usually 2). 

Be sure to count the time spent feeding your baby as part of the awake time, too.  Sometimes it ends up that right after I've fed and changed her it's already time to start winding her down for her nap!

MWagner10

I know it's still too early to tell but this morning we woke up, change, played for a bit, ate, then I put him down and he slept for an hour! Hopefully I can keep this up. Also I feel bad but I finally put 2 and 2 together and his fussy times between 2 am and 5 am was because his gas was really bothering him. So I am also keeping up on gas drops today.