Sleeping basics?

palmbreeze

I'm so confused about this sleeping thing, especially at night. LO eats around 8:30 and then will fall asleep and will wake up around 11:30 to eat again. During that time he is laying on my chest or hubby's chest, in our arms, or maybe in his cradle in the entertainment room with us. After 11:30 feeding he seems to be more ready to go and is hard to get put back to sleep. My husband likes to lay on the couch with him with LO on his chest to sleep for awhile. I just don't know what a good habit is? Making a bed time routine? Not allowing him to sleep on our chest every night for so long? Putting him to bed after his 8:30 feeding instead of wating until midnight? He will be three weeks old tomorrow, but I want to get this sleeping thing off to a good start now.

 These little critters need to come with a manual! lol

tryincloth

dont start what you dont want to continue long term.  It is tempting to let them stay where they fall asleep, but you'll pay for that later.

 I would feed him, gently pat his back, while he's on your chest until he falls asleep, then put him down in his bed (if that is where you prefer he be) still patting him until he settles back to sleep.  The patting is soothing and doesn't require anything except one hand.  If you reposition him from your chest to his bed, he will still receive the patting and that will put him to sleep.  When/if you later put him in a crib when he is older, you can use the same technique and all you have to do is remove your hand.

My DD still uses this to go to sleep at age 2 when she has done everything possible to avoid falling asleep-she gets a burst of energy and everything is hilarious to her.  I start patting her back and she dozes off instantly.  We co-sleep, so I just tell her to lay in her spot.

 

I would be leery of allowing baby to fall asleep on your chest if you are also going to be sleeping.  You may lose your grip and baby may fall-ask me how I know  

katea81

My LO is 2 weeks today and we have a similar issue. He eats about every 3hours or so and after his 8:00pm feeding, he is wide awake and alert. We lay him in his crib and within 15 minutes he is crying. Sometimes it seems he is only crying because he wants to be held, but some nights he appears to be hungry again. When that happens, we feed him again (even if only an hour or so has passed) and that will cause him to sleep. 

Last night he didn't seem hungry so I put on music and that made him fall asleep. I was thinking that because I have the TV on during the day, he doesn't like the extreme quiet that night brings??? Could something similar be happening with your LO? I think at this point it's all about trying different things to see what works. 

I should add that he is a great baby and is never fussy, except at 9ish at night. 

 

I agree with the PP and wouldn't start anything now that you won't want to continue. I would also try putting him right to bed after his 8:30 feeding. When he wakes up for the 11:30, I would be really quiet with him while feeding, keep the lights low and rock him while you feed him. 

Good luck. Hang in there!

wilburpup

How old is LO?  Our DD went through a phase of only wanting to be held. We would try the crib for a while then I would end up letting her snuggle with me on the couch while I bump, etc. we kept with the bedtime routine and the cri, and now she'll sleep from 7-11, eat, sleep from 11:30-;330, eat then sleep til 7 or 8. 

We put her Down when she's sleepy but awake and now she's really good at putting herself to sleep. We do have a little aquarium toy on her crib and if she fusses we turn that on and 90% of the Time she is out in 10 min or less. 

 

Start by findjng what they like then stick with a routine that works for you. Hope that helps.   

WildcatPrincess

The first month that sounds like what our routine was. She'd doze off and on from 7 or 8, then be up around 10 or 11 until midnight and that's when we'd get a 4-5 hour stretch out of her. As she started sleeping longer at night that sleep all kind of merged together. The first month or two was basically survival in our house since DD wouldn't sleep without being held. She outgrew it around 4-5 weeks.