We don't have daylight savings time here in AZ, and LO has done this a few nights recently. Been up for 2-3 hour stretches, kind of a combo of cluster feeding and just hanging out. He is 22 weeks and I've also been worried that he's not sleeping as much as "they" say he "should". Like last night he went down at 9:30 and was up 3x before waking up at 6:00a.m., just as happy and alert as can be. That's barely 8 hours, if nursing time is subtracted, though he does sometimes seem be dozing a little while nursing, so does that count? And we're lucky if we can get 1/2 hour naps. Getting him down in the first place is more difficult, and while he used to sleep through anything, he now wakes more easily to noise and movement.
So, he also hasn't really followed the timing for a 4-month sleep regression... there was a couple of bad weeks when I went back to work at 3 months, then through the rest of month 3 and 4 things got better, only waking twice, but now at 5 months he's getting all weird again.
And I can totally relate to being older and used to enjoying lots of sleep! DH especially is struggling - I think he's told me every week since LO was born that we're not doing this again ( though he's crazy in love with this little guy!)
Me-37, DH-38
Married in 2006, TTC #1 since Jan 2012
Baby Boy born June 1, 2015
He settles her in her home as a happy mother of children, praise the Lord! (Psalms 113:9)
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understand, will guard your heart and mind in Jesus Christ (Philippians 4:7)
@mindaa have you tried an earlier bedtime ?? I find that if she sleeps bad throughout the day it doesn't take a nap around 4/5 she has a harder time staying asleep
@mindaa have you tried an earlier bedtime ?? I find that if she sleeps bad throughout the day it doesn't take a nap around 4/5 she has a harder time staying asleep
Thanks! Yes, his bedtime has been more like 8-9, then I get him up at 7 for one last feed before I leave, then takes a late morning nap and a late afternoon nap. He was actually on a pretty good routine until recently.
Me-37, DH-38
Married in 2006, TTC #1 since Jan 2012
Baby Boy born June 1, 2015
He settles her in her home as a happy mother of children, praise the Lord! (Psalms 113:9)
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understand, will guard your heart and mind in Jesus Christ (Philippians 4:7)
Thanks @mindaa I don't feel so alone now! Praying for a good night because for some reason it's after midnight & I'm still awake. I guess I'll blame it on the caffeine I had at 3 pm. My body is so sensitive. I suppose right after I fall asleep LO will wake up for her nighttime wakefest. I hate insomnia & I am such a bad sleeper anyway. Guess this teaches me to limit my caffeine especially in the afternoon.
I hope this is a one time thing..LO has been awake since 12! Either way, she's probably not having peas again for a while, that's the only thing we did differently yesterday... I've tried everything....... She has taken a few cat naps since 12, but has mostly screamed and fought sleep... So now she's just playing because that's better than her screaming. [-O<
I didn't want to say anything yesterday and jinx it...but since it's 5am I'm calling it...LO has now set a new record and STTN 4 nights in a row! Her previous record of 3 nights occurred around the 15 week mark, so pre-regression. Though to be fair, our regression was not bad at all thankfully, just a handful of nights where she woke up to eat and then wanted to play instead of going back to sleep.
I think her learning to sleep on her belly was a major contributor...last night she had flipped within 15 minutes of me putting her down, and she's stayed that way all night. Yay!
@virginiaunicorn11 gah! This makes me sad. What makes it worse is its coinciding with a brutal cold! So I don't know if it's the congestion that's waking her up or the sleep regression. - gonna go with the regression, it's basically like clock work. Thanks for the vote of confidence!
My trial balloon without the merlin I definitely saw him moving around a lot more. Turning onto his side and then back to his back. He woke up much more often, too. Most of the time he put himself back to sleep but I had to go in there 4 or 5 times to give him his paci back before he would fall back asleep I've wondered about his movements being restricted, too. Wondering if he didn't wear the merlin if he would advance to rolling over sooner. Oh well. Its a problem for another day
@mellymar LO has a minor case of torticcolis and he went to his first physical therapy session yesterday. I actually asked the therapist about the Merlin and restrictive movements. She said it is not an issue. It's better to have a baby sleep!!! So with that being said, I plan on using the Merlin for another while longer!
Another side note: I ordered a 2nd Merlin on Amazon. This one didn't have the protective covers along the zippers like the first one does. Does yours have them? Just wondering. I plan on making a return.
My trial balloon without the merlin I definitely saw him moving around a lot more. Turning onto his side and then back to his back. He woke up much more often, too. Most of the time he put himself back to sleep but I had to go in there 4 or 5 times to give him his paci back before he would fall back asleep I've wondered about his movements being restricted, too. Wondering if he didn't wear the merlin if he would advance to rolling over sooner. Oh well. Its a problem for another day
@mellymar LO has a minor case of torticcolis and he went to his first physical therapy session yesterday. I actually asked the therapist about the Merlin and restrictive movements. She said it is not an issue. It's better to have a baby sleep!!! So with that being said, I plan on using the Merlin for another while longer!
Another side note: I ordered a 2nd Merlin on Amazon. This one didn't have the protective covers along the zippers like the first one does. Does yours have them? Just wondering. I plan on making a return.
I have no idea. Unless its blatantly obvious that I should know. Then in that case I guess I don't have them. I can look when I put him to bed. Are they on the inside or outside?
I've got the one without @beemaya83. Doesn't bother him none. I didn't even know there was the other way. Maybe its the difference between the fleece one vs the cotton one? Mine is fleece
Both of those are cotton.Who knows. I'm thinking that the manufacturer probably made some changes to the design? I'm returning the one without because it was up to high and it bothered my little guy. I must say that through Amazon the one with the protection was directly from the Merlin retailer and the other one had a different retailer name. Maybe some are knockoffs? @mellymar
LO is tired and ready for bed at 7. No problem. Except he still needs another feeding. Try to keep him awake for an additional 20-30 minutes so he isn't literally getting a feed within an hour of his last one. He falls asleep anyway. I wake him up to feed him about 730, stuff him with some ounces, then take him upstairs and dude is all awake now that he's eaten. Get him to sleep, and he wakes up as I exit the room. All smiles and talkies. Start over. Get him to sleep by 9. Nuke a meal, pour a beer, sit down a spell. I'm so bushed, we had a very full day. Its 10pm, I've just had an hour to myself and now that my tummy is full of food and beer, I'm ready for bed.
It still counts as STTN if LO is awake for 45 minutes at 130, babbling and thrashing around, as long as I don't need to go in there and comfort or feed her right? Unfortunately I felt like I had to watch her on the video monitor that while time to Jake sure she was ok. Boo.
It appeared that she was just trying to get to her tummy and then get comfortable there. I'm going to say that if I didn't need to intervene, it still counts!
@ciennah99 I have been in the same spot with frequent feedings, etc. Although throughout the night LO usually eats every 2-2.5 hours. I met with an LC this week and she said that since LO seems to be a snacker, that he could possibly be getting more of the foremilk and less hindmilk that would typically make LO full throughout the night. She suggested I pump for a few minutes before his nighttime feed to see if that makes a difference. I was concerned that my supply was being effected because of my lack of sleep as well (until LO received medication for reflux I was up burping him for 20 minutes or do after each feeding), but the LC said what you pump is not often a reliable way to measure your supply. She also said that frequent feedings as not uncommon and not to panic, six months is usually a big turn around age if babes aren't already sleeping for more than a few hours between feeds. I have EBF as well but she was supportive of mixing milk with formula before bed if mom is exhausted and hoping it might help keep LO full longer. She suggested not to try rice cereal until LO can sit up independently, and to mix well with milk, but really encouraged not to introduce other foods until 6 months. Luckily with DH taking LO for an hour of two in the morning and not having to stay up with LO to prevent tummy aches, and not having to climb out of bed (we co sleep), I'm feeling much better and don't suppose I'll introduce anything new yet, but will try pumping before feeding at night. Although if I begin to feel exhausted like I did a few weeks ago, in a heartbeat I would be trying some of her other suggestions. Anywho, I hope you are feeling better. I hope some of her suggestions might be helpful, I thought they were. Of course, exhaustion, stress and nutrition/hydration can also contribute to your milk supply as well. Take care of yourself mama!
@ciennah99 I have been in the same spot with frequent feedings, etc. Although throughout the night LO usually eats every 2-2.5 hours. I met with an LC this week and she said that since LO seems to be a snacker, that he could possibly be getting more of the foremilk and less hindmilk that would typically make LO full throughout the night. She suggested I pump for a few minutes before his nighttime feed to see if that makes a difference. I was concerned that my supply was being effected because of my lack of sleep as well (until LO received medication for reflux I was up burping him for 20 minutes or do after each feeding), but the LC said what you pump is not often a reliable way to measure your supply. She also said that frequent feedings as not uncommon and not to panic, six months is usually a big turn around age if babes aren't already sleeping for more than a few hours between feeds. I have EBF as well but she was supportive of mixing milk with formula before bed if mom is exhausted and hoping it might help keep LO full longer. She suggested not to try rice cereal until LO can sit up independently, and to mix well with milk, but really encouraged not to introduce other foods until 6 months. Luckily with DH taking LO for an hour of two in the morning and not having to stay up with LO to prevent tummy aches, and not having to climb out of bed (we co sleep), I'm feeling much better and don't suppose I'll introduce anything new yet, but will try pumping before feeding at night. Although if I begin to feel exhausted like I did a few weeks ago, in a heartbeat I would be trying some of her other suggestions. Anywho, I hope you are feeling better. I hope some of her suggestions might be helpful, I thought they were. Of course, exhaustion, stress and nutrition/hydration can also contribute to your milk supply as well. Take care of yourself mama!
Thank you @MurLindzz Good suggestions. I hadn't thought about the foremilk versus hindmilk. Did LC mention if it's better to just feed on one side at a time then? I'm definitely not panicked just tired! I'm sure the exhaustion, work stress & my not so great diet haven't helped my supply. Also sometimes I'm so busy at work I miss a pump session. Last night LO was up at 11 & 3 & up for the day at 7 so not too bad! I even laid her down after the 3 am feed partially awake. She started in on her cooing & talking & kicking but put herself back to sleep so that was great! I know every baby is different & I'm pretty much ok with just going with the flow & responding to her needs its just the two hour awakenings in the middle of the night were a bit much!
So does this kid have a bat signal that goes off right when I get comfortable ?
It's uncanny......
Mine does. He also has one that goes off when I'm about to eat!
YES. When the doc asked if she was watching us eat, I told her she ALWAYS knew when we were about to eat.
Still not STTN, but I can lay her down after dinner, bath, bottle, & minimal rocking, when she's a little awake & she *usually* does good at falling asleep on her own. I've stopped feeding at night since she's on formula and doesn't seem hungry when she wakes. I can completely tell she is just waking through sleep cycles & doesn't know how to put her self back to sleep. We plan to sleep train over thanksgiving break. Last night, she slept till midnight then woke up. Every. Single. Hour. Until I put her in the bed at 6am. I. Hate. Colds.
LO is still waking up at night thinking it's daytime, not every night but 2 or 3 a week. I have her in bed with me now & she's just kicking away, flailing her arms & whacking me & talking. I'm torn as to whether I should just put her back in her crib wide awake & see what happens or keeping lying here ignoring her til she gets drowsy & then try.
we let our guy fuss if it's between 9 pm and 5:30 am. he will party for an hour in the crib a few times a week, but we just let him be if he's been fed and changed.
^^ the other day DH put LO to bed but as soon as LO hit the mattress, eyes popped open and it was all smiles and talking and kicking. I told DH to just leave him in there babbling to himself and we would go in if he started to freak out. Over a while the babbling stopped but he kept fidgeting, then eventually the fidgeting stopped too and he had put himself to sleep. I'm actually considering doing bedtime that way more often, but then I wouldn't get to read to him in the rocking chair.
I am afraid to jinx it but we started sleep training on Thursday and it's working! I can't believe it. My LO has been up at least every 2 hours or more for over a month. The night before we started he was up every 30 minutes. He cried a little bit the first night but put himself to sleep pretty quickly. Up at 4am and never went back to sleep. Then last night he went down without a peep. We did a dream feed at 11pm and he didn't even wake up. He slept in total 12 hours! I am still in shock. Now he is taking a nap (in which he went down without any crying which has never happened before) that is going on over an hour. He has never done that unless I am holding and rocking him. I am not bragging I just wanted to mention it in case anyone is really on the fence about it. I did a version where you check on them throughout the whole thing so he was never just alone and crying. Highly recommend!
@beemaya83 hope things got better for you, poor bug
I am cautiously optimistic... two nights in a row of fewer feedings and longer stretches (4-5 hours) of sleep! But poor LO is having teething pain (and absolutely refusing Tylenol), so I'm hoping it's not too linked to that (painful to eat/sleeping off pain).
He woke with a fever and fussiness today and went down for a long first nap after a little over an hour (vs his usual 2-3 hour wake period). Here's hoping he feels better soon but the nighttime sleep trajectory stays positive!
I try not to come here often because I know many ladies have it worse than me. But last night was sucky. My own insomnia, that's a given. I laid in bed in the dark for over twk hours before falling asleep. But then, a combination of weather and technology. My monitor has a 'vox' setting - it sleeps and the screen and speaker are off until LO makes a noise, then turns on. Anyway, we had a storm go thru (still passing by, actually) with mad wind. And the wind gusts kept turning the monitor on. Being a light sleeper and in tune mom, the little click the monitor makes as it turns on wakes me up. So it would click on because of the wind, click back off 3 minutes later because there was no sustained noise. Then immediately click back on again because of the wind, then click off 3 minutes later. Then click on again maybe 10 min later because of the wind... Over and over and over. Every time there was a strong gust of wind, it triggered the monitor to click on. And every time I registered that click, I woke up.
I need to figure out a solution to my technical difficulties. Last night really sucked.
@klkonwi ditto here. I learned today that since LO is 18 lbs now, he can get 3.75 mL rather than the 2.5 that I've been giving him. Also used Orajel Naturals today for the first time and it helped a little
But today may have been LO's worst day on record. Poor kid.
Re: Nighttime still sucks........
I think her learning to sleep on her belly was a major contributor...last night she had flipped within 15 minutes of me putting her down, and she's stayed that way all night. Yay!
Another side note: I ordered a 2nd Merlin on Amazon. This one didn't have the protective covers along the zippers like the first one does. Does yours have them? Just wondering. I plan on making a return.
BFP #1 12/23/13 MMC 01/24/14 @ 9w5days
BFP #1 12/23/13 MMC 01/24/14 @ 9w5days
BFP #1 12/23/13 MMC 01/24/14 @ 9w5days
I still have to wash all my bottles. :-<
It appeared that she was just trying to get to her tummy and then get comfortable there. I'm going to say that if I didn't need to intervene, it still counts!
It's uncanny......
BFP #1 12/23/13 MMC 01/24/14 @ 9w5days
I now see the light!
I'm definitely not panicked just tired! I'm sure the exhaustion, work stress & my not so great diet haven't helped my supply. Also sometimes I'm so busy at work I miss a pump session.
Last night LO was up at 11 & 3 & up for the day at 7 so not too bad! I even laid her down after the 3 am feed partially awake. She started in on her cooing & talking & kicking but put herself back to sleep so that was great!
I know every baby is different & I'm pretty much ok with just going with the flow & responding to her needs its just the two hour awakenings in the middle of the night were a bit much!
Still not STTN, but I can lay her down after dinner, bath, bottle, & minimal rocking, when she's a little awake & she *usually* does good at falling asleep on her own.
I've stopped feeding at night since she's on formula and doesn't seem hungry when she wakes. I can completely tell she is just waking through sleep cycles & doesn't know how to put her self back to sleep. We plan to sleep train over thanksgiving break.
Last night, she slept till midnight then woke up. Every. Single. Hour. Until I put her in the bed at 6am.
I. Hate. Colds.
Nighttime sucks but it gets better! I actually believe that now.
BFP #1 12/23/13 MMC 01/24/14 @ 9w5days
I am cautiously optimistic... two nights in a row of fewer feedings and longer stretches (4-5 hours) of sleep! But poor LO is having teething pain (and absolutely refusing Tylenol), so I'm hoping it's not too linked to that (painful to eat/sleeping off pain).
He woke with a fever and fussiness today and went down for a long first nap after a little over an hour (vs his usual 2-3 hour wake period). Here's hoping he feels better soon but the nighttime sleep trajectory stays positive!
I need to figure out a solution to my technical difficulties. Last night really sucked.
We've been giving our LO Tylenol but it really doesn't take away the whining/pain in my opinion........
But today may have been LO's worst day on record. Poor kid.