Questions about Sleeping

giggler25 · July 2014

I'm a FTM swimming in so many books I can't make heads or tails out of what to listen to or follow, so pardon the super-noob questions...

DD is 6 weeks old and I've been BFing on demand (usually every 90-120 minutes during day; 2-3 hours overnight) and letting her fall asleep on demand, but most days she just won't stay asleep for naps unless I'm holding her. Since she screams bloody murder each time I put her into any of the 3 carriers I have, this makes things a bit tricky for me when I'm home alone.

(1) Can someone familiar with the E.A.S.Y. schedule explain why it's better for there to be an activity in between eating and sleeping, versus just sleeping after eating if they're that tired? My LO very often falls asleep while nursing, even during the day. Should I be waking her up if that happens to do an activity with her before letting her sleep? That seems a little counter-intuitive to me, so hoping for some advice from mamas who know.

(2) If babies this age generally sleep on and off all day, what defines putting them down for "bed time" versus just another nap? I know I probably sound like an idiot asking this, but I really don't understand it...

Thanks for the help -- I told you these were noob questions.

cnbean · July 2014

I will try and explain the reasoning behind the EASY schedule as I understand it. Part of it has to do with the fact that 'routine' is the way their days will be structured eventually. You get up and then have breakfast and so on. The other reason (at least according to the book I have) is that feeding right before naps can make baby dependent on the bottle/boob to fall asleep.

When I first started using EASY I would sometimes have to wake up DS to get a little activity time in before putting him down. I certainly didn't keep him up for a long time, especially if he was still acting sleepy. Now He is firmly into the routine and its no big deal. And on the plus side 90% of the time I can just lay him down while he is still awake and he goes to sleep on his own with no fuss.

I've used EASY with both my boys and I feel like it really saved my sanity, especially with my first

Honestly if you really want to understand EASY a bit better I'd find a copy of "Secrets of the Baby Whisperer". That's where the EASY routine comes from and the author does a much better job of explaining it than I can! There are other really useful bits of information in the book as well. Hope this helps explain it a bit more for you.

usernewname · July 2014

I Don't use easy but based on what I read and learned a routine is important whether it falls easy or in a different order. Predictability is important for little ones and if we keep it consistent then they begin to fall into routine with minimal cues from us.

What's your bedtime routine like? Is it different from nap? That may help differentiate the difference.

letal316 · July 2014

Has your LO always slept in this way or is this a recent development? The reason I ask is because my LO's nap schedule changed during her 6 week growth spurt. Prior to the 6 weeks she would go down really easy for naps, every few hours and then at 6wks she basically stopped napping. Now at 8wks she goes down for 2 or 3 naps a day. She sleeps 7 to 9 hours at night. But I EFF so that probably makes a difference. And I'm sure all babies are different so it could just be your LO's preference to not nap.

giggler25 · July 2014

@florassecret‌ - We don't have much of a bedtime routine as compared to many I've read on this board. The difference is mainly that she's in pajamas (which I assume she may not realize), that it's dark, and sometimes what room we are in I guess?.

@letal316‌ - She's pretty much always been like this, though I am realizing now that I may not have been paying close enough attention to sleep cues the first few days/week?

letal316 · July 2014

Sometimes my DD's sleep cue is that she's crying and fussing. This is usually the case when everything else has been tried and she's still fussing. I swaddle her and put her down in her crib (while she's fussing) and within a few minutes she's sound asleep. If she keeps crying and fussing after a few minutes than I know she doesn't actually want to sleep but I find that more often than not she'll succumb to sleep. It was strange at first to put her down while she was crying because for the first 4 to 5 weeks she basically only went down when she was already asleep or drowsy but now often it is that she's fussy. Maybe your LO is the same.

pistolpackinmomma · July 2014

Your bedtime routine doesn't need to be elaborate. Some people read before bed but we don't. With DS1 I would do bath, pjs, snuggles, bottle, bed. He is done with the bottle now and we do bath whenever I can fit it in since I now have 2 and am pretty well on my own. His bedtime is now just pjs, snuggle (which is sometimes just me holding him while we stand next to the crib for a few minutes) and bed. DS2 gets bath (because I can so it after DS1 is in bed or in the kitchen so that I can keep an eye on DS1) pjs, boob while rocking and then bed.

Even though she's always kinda been this way, I wouldn't worry too much until you get out of the 6 week growth spurt. I was dealing with the same thing as you even yesterday but last night my LO slept 6 hours, then 4 hours, and has been asleep for about a half an hour again with just eating in between each stretch of sleep. I'm hoping this means we're done with the growth spurt.

bumpuser10194737 · July 2014

My LO would sometimes just sleep after nursing during the day until about 8 weeks. Now he almost never does so we follow EASY after each feeding and it is working great. He slept a lot around six weeks when he was going through his growth spurt.

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