Sleep

mrsmozak

LO wakes up from an afternoon nap at about 5:30pm and then will NOT go back to sleep until 10:30 or 11. We spend hours ever night rocking, nursing, etc. until he finally falls asleep. Any tips on getting him to sleep earlier? And if anyone says "Put him down when he shows signs of tiredness blah blah blah" I'm going to scream. If I lay him down in his bed he will not just go I sleep, he will cry. I don't get how people do this. Also will not take a paci so don't give me the 5 S's b.s. either.

juliane2004

When he wakes at 5:30 pm, when do you TRY to first get him to sleep again?

And how old is he?

mrsmozak

730 or so. 9 weeks.

juliane2004

I know you said not to mention putting him down awake or whatever but I am going to suggest it anyway, because I think his awake time is too long at that's making it difficult for him to fall asleep.

At 9 weeks, try 60 minutes of awake time. So from the time he wakes after nap (including feeding him, playing with him, etc) put him down 60 minutes later. Don't wait for yawns or anything, just look at the clock.

Also, I highly recommend swaddling. Even if you think he hates it (do you think that?), I urge you to try it. Really. This is the method we use. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5K4VdZxwsu4

You can gently rock him for a minute or so after swaddling till he calms down if he is fussy while you swaddle him. Also, we use a fan for white noise in the room, and we have a music thing that distracts her.

Let me know if he falls asleep better.

mrsmozak

He cries as soon as I lay him down no matter if I wait an hour or 3 this is what I don't understand. Your babies really just lay down and go to sleep?

mrsmozak

And I understand he is awake for too long. That is the problem. I cannot get him to sleep any sooner.

ThePinkSuperhero

Have you tried wearing him in a carrier or wrap?  You might try putting him in around 7:30 or so and walking around; it might lull him right to sleep!

twoitalians

Do you give him a bath at night? Even if my LO doesn't enjoy his bath it helps him to fall asleep. It might be the towel drying him or the lotion rub down but it always seems to work. Maybe you could give that a try?

juliane2004

mrsmozak:

He cries as soon as I lay him down no matter if I wait an hour or 3 this is what I don't understand. Your babies really just lay down and go to sleep?

Yes. If she is a little fussy, usually it means there's a lingering burp or she wants her paci. Otherwise, yup, as long as I watch the clock and have the right "awake time length", she falls asleep on her own while swaddled.

Do you swaddle?

Also, maybe his ideal awake time length is even shorter than 60 minutes. Here's a guideline I use. At 9 weeks, maybe his ideal is 45-50 minutes.

Guideline for Awake time for babies
0-4 weeks: 30-45 minutes
4-6 weeks: 40-60 minutes
6-8 weeks: 40-70 minutes
8-12 weeks: 50-80 minutes
3-4 months: 60-90 minutes
4-5 months: 1 hr to 1.5 hrs
5-6 months: 1.5 hours
6-9 months: 2 hours, give or take 15 minutes 

starbystar

at night when we start getting him his bed time bottle ready and winding him down we make sure pretty much all the lights are off expect ones like off to side so we can still see and it has been working cause he finishes and starting falling asleep, and sometimes he he just screams / cries because he needs to get his extra energy out and then goes to sleep

mine is about 11wks, and sleep from about 12am-7:30am hope it helps

(but we work retail so thats good bed time for us)

berickson

Like the guideline of awake time.  Now my question is about how long should they be sleeping between the awake times?  My baby is almost 6 weeks.  Just wondering how to get him on somewhat of a schedule/routine for feeding, eating and sleeping.  Thanks!