We are all getting to that point where sometimes changes need to be made, so I was just wondering how everyone was doing.
DD has sort of gone downhill at night. Her naps are still hit or miss, mostly miss. She naps in the swing, moving. Goes to bed early, like 7:30, but has been waking up a lot more at night.
I am thinking we need to start doing the drowsy but awake thing, though I don't have high hopes. Getting her to nap well in her crib would be stellar. Putting herself to sleep, even better. Maybe ditch the swaddle.
Or maybe she is hitting the 4 month wakeful BS. I would much prefer a growth spurt....
Re: How is sleep going for you?
Funny you mention this today.. I put DS in his crib for 2 naps earlier today (took a day off to be with him & take him to get his shots). He did better than I expected he would, as he usually naps in a swing. Both times he was drowsy, but not completely asleep. He did fight sleep a little, but some white noise and my pinkie to suck on (he prefers this to the paci when he's really cranky) and he was out in a few minutes. The first nap was 30 mins, the second was 50.
At night, he's been doing pretty well. Some nights he STTN without needing a feeding, but probably 4-5 times a week, he needs one feeding around 3:30 am. He goes down for the night between 8 and 9 depending on how tired/fussy he is.
I'm pretty much ready to have DD in her own crib and out of our bed. She is such a loud sleeper, tooting and grunting all night, nevermind that the all-you-can-eat boob buffet is way too tempting for her to resist snacking on all night. The 3 nights before last night, she was up to eat every 60-90 minutes. 12 week growth spurt, I think, because last night she was back to normal, waking every 3 hours to eat. I do love snuggling with her all night...but I think I'm ready to have my own bed back. Plus I think she'd sleep better in her crib without the scent of boob in her face all night.
Naps, she's great. I put on this one song that's on her swing, sway her back and forth for 2-3 minutes, put her in the swing awake, turn on the white noise, and she sacks out in a minute or less. The nap routine is actually so easy that I hate to mess with it, so for now, she'll keep napping in her swing.
We are still doing pretty good on sleep. At night she usually is down around 7ish and then up once for a feeding around 3:30am. Then up again for the day anywhere from 6-7ish.
Naps are still a little more challenging. But lately I've been able to do the drowsy but awake thing. Just started trying naps without the swaddle. They are shorter so far, but at least she'll take them (30 min-1 hr unswaddled; up to 3 hours swaddled) My new challenge is that I can put her down for sleep and she'll seem tired (and by the clock she needs a nap) but she'll stay awake in her RnP for a long time just complaining. I'll go in and soothe & rock every once in awhile and she'll be quiet for 5 minutes or so...then back to complaining (not really crying, just fussing). Not sure how long I should leave her in there before I just give up on the nap.
Sleep.. yeah.. not great, but not awful either. He sleeps in his swing exclusively because he has acid reflux. I tried propping his crib about a month ago and did naps in it for about 2 weeks.. mostly he'd stay asleep for his morning nap but afternoons, we were lucky to get 15-20 minutes in there. Tried transitioning him to the crib at night a couple of weeks ago and it was a disaster.. he would sleep in 10 minute intervals at best and then scrunch up and scream. We tried that for almost a week before I said okay he's just not ready. Back to the swing the first night and he slept from 9:30 pm to 4:30 am.. that had never happened so we are just going with what works.
He started sleeping from 9 or 9:30 pm until between 4 and 6 am, bottle, then back to bed until 8 or 9 am. The last couple of nights not so much.. he has been up every 2 hours to cry/fuss and after his bottle around 4 he's asleep but fusses/cries in his sleep pretty much constantly. We introduced formula as a supplement last Friday but he has really taken well to this one so maybe it's just an adjustment period.. who knows. I'm ready for that solid stretch between 9 or 10pm and 4 am again though.. lol
Blog: Being Dawson's Mom
I just posted above about how I got A to fall asleep on his own for his nap today.
He had been sleeping very well until a couple nights ago, but he started teething at the same time, so I'm suspecting that is the culprit. He has a late bedtime - 11:00 - and was sleeping until 8 and then going back down until 11. The key for us is actually to put him down when he is awake and still happy. If he is overtired, he won't sleep. He goes down an hour after his last bottle. We swaddle, put on his FP ocean projector, and leave the room. He's usually asleep within 10 minutes. Lately he's been waking anytime between 4:30 and 7:00, but again, I think it's the teething. I tried the bedtime routine today with his nap, minus the swaddle (though he was wrapped in a blanket) and it worked!
Good luck. I hate getting into a pattern of good sleep just to have it disturbed by teething, a growth spurt, etc.
DD WAS going down at 6-7 all last week for sleep, then sleeping til two, eat, sleep til 5, eat, 6, eat up.....
The past few nights tho were a battle until she went down at 8:30. I blame growth spurt being as she's just about 3 months. Tonight I was able to get her to sleep with the Moby, grab the swaddle and have it ready, unwrap her from the Moby, get her changed, in the swaddle, then fed before she was alert enough to wake up fully. She's still down so I think I have a winner!
Today was the day for her shots, too...so maybe I'm just hopeful.
My nap buddy! I saw your post about swaddling earlier and meant to add my 2 cents but I was at work it got crazy so I didn't get a chance. Anyway, DD is still doing pretty well at night and not so great with naps. She seems to have one good nap per day with the nanny, although it's not always at the same time and I can't seem to replicate it on the weekend. But last week was my first week back at work so maybe this weekend will be better.
As far as drowsy-but-awake, I haven't tried it in a while, but I think she might be a little more ready for it. Over the weekend, DH parked the car out front of SIL's apt to run in and grab something and as I sat in the backseat with DD, I watched her slowly fall asleep! It was her first time falling asleep while not being held or in motion.
BFP # 1 - 12/19/09 EDD 08/27/10 - D&C 1/26/10 @ 9w5d
BFP # 2 - 06/05/10 EDD 02/17/11, DS1 born on 2/14/11
BFP # 3 - 04/10/13 EDD 12/21/13 - D&C 05/15/13 @ 8w4d
BFP # 4 - 07/27/13 EDD 04/08/14 - CP 07/29/13
BFP # 5 - 09/14/13 EDD 05/28/14, DS2 born on 5/22/14
We have had DS sleeping well in his room from about 4 weeks old. The first 4 weeks of his life were a nightmare sleep-wise, he would not sleep well in our room! I was so sad to move him out of our room, I expected to keep him there for another few months, but it was for the best for all of us. The night after we put him in his own room he was a totally different baby, so happy and energetic and rested.
Our nightime routine is constant: bath/bottle/bed. Bathtime starting at 8:30, bottle at 9pm then swaddled and in his crib between 9:30-10pm with white noise sound machine. He sleeps till about 5-5:30 am, breastfeeds, then goes back down till about 9am.
We do an eat/play/sleep 3hr flexible pattern during the day, and he gets about four 1-1.5 hour naps per day if we're lucky. Naps are a struggle these days, and we're having to stretch out the play period until he gives us naptime cues. He will not sleep in his swing or bouncy seat for some reason.