Baby Sleep

Sprinkels28 · December 2016

Hi All,

I've consulted the books, the blogs, etc and I am coming to you for your help! Maybe we can all help each other. My LO is 8 weeks old and is still waking every 2-3 hours . Is this normal? Friends and people in breastfeeding groups seem to make me feel like he should be sleeping longer. I'm not sure and I'm going nuts!

What are your tips for increasing sleep for baby?

Signed,
*Tired New Mom*

Ladybug2821 · December 2016

@Sprinkels28 I think for us what works is putting her in a swaddle. I think it triggers to her that it's night/bedtime. After her last feeding I change her, swaddle her, and rock her until she's asleep. Then I very carefully lay her in her Rock and play. She will be 2 months next week so I hope to start transitioning her to her crib or the pnp so she can learn to sleep on a flat surface. She will sleep 5-7 hours. Unfortunately it's naps that elude us.

ball4768 · December 2016

@sprinkels28 Like @Ladybug2821 suggested, it might help if you have a bedtime routine in place. We give baby a bath, lotion her up, and then swaddle her for bedtime. She usually sleeps for a 5-6 hour stretch and then gets up every 2-3 hours after that. Also, white noise and a pacifier help her to fall into a deep sleep.

Sprinkels28 · December 2016

We do swaddle him.

Are you bathing every night? What time does baby go down for bed ? Are you BF or formula feeding?

Ladybug2821 · December 2016

I only do baths twice a week because I was told it'll dry their skin out. I am BF and she's normally down by 10 pm. I also forgot to mention I use the white noise too and a humidifier which also creates a white noise sound. During my routine it is dark and quiet.

Sprinkels28 · December 2016

Hmm. Yeah we do baths every other night. He was sleeping in mama roo (not on) and then we switched him to pack n play several weeks ago. We have white noise machine on too and a paci. I generally set a timer for white noise machine. Do you leave it on for the entire night ?

Ugh. It's just frustrating that it seems we are doing everything to help and yet no sleep!

Ladybug2821 · December 2016

I completely understand your frustration as I'm in the same boat with naps. She won't even stay asleep after a walk or car ride anymore but I should be thankful for the nighttime sleep. My white noise turns off eventually but the humidifier is on night. I would leave the white noise on all night and see what happens.

MRSCORKER · December 2016

We're doing everything we're "supposed" to do and still only getting 2-3 hour stretches and LO is 8 weeks. My pediatrician said it can take up to 12 weeks for some babies so sleep longer. I'm with you, so tired and terrified to go back to work. I get my best sleep during his morning nap from 9-11

Sprinkels28 · December 2016

Oh @MRSCORKER, thank you for chiming in! Now I feel that I'm not all alone in this!!

christinab0722 · December 2016

Oh my goodness this post is exactly what's happening lately. LO will be two months tomorrow and does pretty good at night... I do our last bottle around 9pm and he's been sleeping until 2 or 3am, then he'll wake again around 5/6... But he will NOT sleep during the day. Like at all. I took him out in the car today and he screamed for over an hour. I try the swing, bouncy seat, the bassinet and nothing freaking works. I swaddle, make the room dark, use white noise, he takes a binky and nothing. Not a wink. Which also means I'm exhausted and cannot get a single thing done bc the only way I've been able to get him to shut his eyes during the day is to hold him. I'm dying over here. My oldest rocked day time sleeping like a boss so I'm just at such a loss as to what to do.

christinab0722 · December 2016

I should also add that LO still eats religiously ever 2.5 to 3 hours.... amd even last night he was up every 3 hours. My oldest started sleeping 11pm to 6am right around 12-13 weeks... But this new kid just has me all kinds of confused

Ladybug2821 · December 2016

@christinab0722 yep that's how it is here. The pedi just told me it will come with time but like you I can't ever get anything done including taking a shower. I have to wait until H is home or until after 10 pm which I hate doing.

vanessa11411 · December 2016

I was just there. Then bam, he was sleeping longer. I get a 4 to 5 hour stretch then they get smaller throughout the night. We start bedtime at about 7 and he's usually asleep by 730/8. He's up at 6/7 am to start his day.

I started mimicking my schedule that I'll have when I go back to work. LO started refusing a bottle so I made sure he drank 3 a day with 3 ounces. Since I started that, he's been sleeping more at night.

With my DS he would never give into a bottle so I exclusively breastfed and he was up every 2 to 3 hours until he started solids.

I was doing a bed time routine but my kids have a tendency to have dry skin and eczema so I stopped bathing him everyday. I do a leg massage right before we get ready for bed. I do the double swaddle. I use two blankets. one to hold his arms down and another to swaddle normally. We also use a white noise machine for all naps and at night.

Ladybug2821 · December 2016

When you all are doing your nighttime routine, are you able to just put LO down in their place of sleep and let them fall asleep on their own or do you have them fall asleep in your arms? Sometimes it takes me rocking LO for 30 or so mins to get asleep. I would love to get to a point where I can lay her down sleepy and she take it from there.

christinab0722 · December 2016

@Ladybug2821 I let LO fall asleep in my arms... It's been the only place he seems he will sleep as of late. I'm on the verge of ripping my hair out bc nothing is working. I've used all my tricks and I'm coming up empty.

Liz622 · December 2016

My son is 14 weeks and still up every 3 hours to eat. He was 5 weeks early (if that makes a difference?). But my friends and pediatrician seem to think sleeping longer has more to due with weight. Two friends say 10 lbs is magic number while pediatrician said 13 lbs is magic number to sleep through night. At last weeks appt (3 months) he was 9lbs 12 oz. I am home with him this year. I can't imagine having to goto work with this schedule!! I am JUST starting to figure out naps with him as of a week ago.

Kittens22 · December 2016

My son is 5 weeks old and sleeps 4h at the most, maybe twice per day, 1-2 hour stretches scattered throughout the day. He is 12.5lbs. I've never heard of weight having anything to do with it? In that case he should almost be sleeping thru the night and I am not expecting that anytime soon...

zuzu87 · December 2016

Don't really think weight has anything to do with it. My LO is 2 months old and weighs 12lbs and she still wakes up every 3-4 hours at night. She takes one long nap in the mornings from about 8 or 9 until about 12 n then little catnaps throughout the day. Maybe 10 mins long at the most. I'm also trying to figure out how to get her to sleep longer at night

navarronine · December 2016

My baby boy is 2 months and a half months and now weights 14 pounds . My house is noisy so he falls into his deep sleep about 10 pm and will stay down tell 5 in the morning. I nurse him laying down in bed I know what the experts say about Co sleeping but he sleeps good every night so far ..

jeng100 · December 2016

We do a bedtime routine here too. I bathe (every other night) around 5 pm, nurse, swaddle, and then lo sleeps in the swing for about 3-4 hours while I feed, bathe, read to, and put down my 3 yo. Then usually between 8-9 I will change, bottle feed, then swaddle lo (all in a dark room with white noise). I rock him to sleep and then put him in his rock n play. I usually get 5-6.5 hours out of him. Then he wakes every 2-3 hours after that. For those of you with nap problems: I've been there. With my first she was a terrible napper. I tried everything. Eventually I just had to accept that she wasn't going to nap more than 15 min 3x a day. It was aweful. Then, around 11 months all of a sudden she started taking 2 hour naps. I think some kids just take longer to learn to sleep than others.

westcoastfoodie · December 2016

I don't really have anything new to add because we do the whole bedtime routine too. BUT I did want to jump in and say that Remy will be 12 weeks tomorrow and only just started sleeping 6 hour stretches within the last week or so. Don't fret, there IS a light at the end of the sleepless tunnel!

mothernorth · December 2016

I'll start this off saying different strokes for different folks, and never do anything you aren't comfortable with.

Now that that's out of the way, if (and only if) your LO's can lift and turn their heads without assistance, I would seriously recommend experimenting with their sleeping positions. If you aren't comfortable with bedtime at first, start with nap time so you can observe, then move on from there. Once we found out Johnny is belly sleeper, he went from sleeping 2 hour stretches, to 6+ straight hours, literally overnight. Try laying them on their sides, tummies, maybe elevate their heads (Jimmy would only sleep on his back if his head was elevated, or else he wanted to sleep on his side) etc. They may just simply not be comfortable.

Ladybug2821 · December 2016

@AllyTheKid do you put Johnny down for his naps when he's sleepy or do you wait for him to fall asleep to lay him down? LO can actually move her head really well so I might try putting her on her stomach and see how it goes but just wondering how I should approach it

UponAStar16 · December 2016

I recently heard an explanation of the reason why back to sleep is recommended, and other than it just being currently recommended (which usually we have no idea why these factors relate to SIDS rates) it made a lot of sense. I was told it's bc of the way gravity leads to stuff going into the opening of the esophagus (to the stomach) and trachea (to the lungs), since one is located above the other and the opening the closes one or the other (sorry I can't recall the name for it right now).....that on their backs when they spit up, gravity makes it either spill out the side of their mouth or just go back down into their stomach, but on their stomachs after spitting up it more likely goes into their lungs. Basically aspiration is way more likely when sleeping in positions other than on their back. I don't know if there's research on differences depending on whether or not the babies were moving their heads yet or not. Just wanted to share since I know there are many different opinions but I finally understand why one of the AAP recs is what it is

mrszoess · December 2016

obviously everyone knows their kids best, but i feel like the AAP gives recommendations for a reason. imo fussing a bit before or during the nights is better than SIDS

Ladybug2821 · December 2016

Anyone swaddle for naps? LO sleeps so good at night swaddled so I want to try it for naps to get her to sleep longer than 10 mins. I'm scared it will confuse her day and nights though. Can this happen?

CopperBoom86 · December 2016

@Sprinkels28 I realize this thread is a little old, but I wanted to add- absolutely try leaving the white noise on all night! We had ours on a timer at first and she would always wake up shortly after it shut off. Then we tried leaving it on all night and she started sleeping much longer stretches.

Hope you've found something that works for you by now!

mothernorth · December 2016

@Ladybug2821 I put him down when he starts getting tired and fussy. He has also been on a strict feeding, napping, bedtime routine since day one though (was on a schedule in the NICU that I've modified and continued). I have to run a right ship with all these kiddos, and I am fortunate to have it work out for me. If you choose to try tummy sleeping, I'm not sure how it would be best to approach, but I know the the nurses in the NICU watched him closely at first, then just got to where they would listen for his monitors. So I would say, just try watching during nap time then go from there. But if it isn't something you feel comfortable with or confident about, it probably is not the route for you guys. As far as swaddling goes, Johnny has never liked being swaddled so I have no info on that, but I'm inclined to believe that swaddling shouldn't cause any daytime/nighttime confusion. My advice is to just give it try and see how it goes.

@UponAStar16 Hey girl hey! Good to see you! That is an interesting bit of information there, I didn't know anything about that aspect of the recommendation! Just makes me wonder why they had Johnny sleep on his stomach in the NICU, and why he would only desat and experience his apnea episodes while on his back? For the record, the tummy sleeping habit was first formed during his NICU stay. After he was home and we struggled with him back sleeping (he would wake up gagging or gasping sometimes as well), we started putting him on his belly, he did much better, and this WAS disussed with and OKed by his Pedi. Now that he can roll over, there isn't much we can do to keep him on his back, but from what I've read on the AAP site, once they turn over by themselves, you don't have to flip them onto their backs. So I guess that's that.

@mrszoess The AAP absolutely recommends things for a reason, and you are definitely entitled to your opinion, so... do you have any suggestions to contribute?

mrszoess · December 2016

@allythekid the attitude wasn't necessary. but my tip would be to ask the pedi, while
sometimes tips like music and noise and lighting changes are obviously good to give, anything more invasive than that should definitely come from the professionals.

mrszoess · December 2016

and my opinion is something you don't want.

Kittens22 · December 2016

My DS is 6 weeks old now and wouldn't sleep in his crib no matter what we did until we finally figured out swaddling. I almost gave up on swaddling thinking that he hated it cause it seemed to have no effect, plus he could get out within 10 minutes. Then i looked it up on YouTube and found a video from One Minute Mom where she lined the swaddle with a reviewing blanket and tucked the arms underneath so they are secure. Worked like a CHARM. It's been such a lifesaver! Last night we woke up after DS slept 4 hours and he had gotten an arm out somehow, lol, I have no idea how he managed that. But he was still asleep!

@mrszoess I didn't read any attitude in her question to you? She has been always been very accommodating to different views and opinions (including yours) and if you read her posts above, this thread is no exception. But if you must stir up something it might be nice to not do that on her birthday.

Ladybug2821 · December 2016

@mrszoess as Ally said, she did consult her pedi and it was ok'd. I for one have asked her for advice and I can take it or leave it just as you can without acting like you are the authority on the matter.

Sprinkels28 · December 2016

Hey everyone, I appreciate all the comments and your personal feedback. We are cosleeping for now. May try the bassinet again next week and see if he settles down in that.

lets keep this thread on task as it is obviously a helpful thread to us all as our babes grow!

UponAStar16 · December 2016

@AllyTheKid I get that he started tummy-sleeping early on and it sounds like there must be a reason they did it in the NICU with him specifically. I don't know but I just was mentioning because I generally blindly follow most recommendations due to my SIDS fears, but this was the first one I can recall actually hearing the explanation of why (like, I can't wait for an explanation of the new "sleep separately in the same room" one bc I don't understand how sleeping in the same room helps SIDS unless its bc you are more aware of the temperature? I'd love to know what the reason is but guess we have to wait for more research!). It is true if I recall correctly that once they start rolling you don't have to reposition them every time if they can both roll front to back and also back to front. I guess it's sort of like to each their own with pregnancy recommendations about drinking, smoking, cold cuts, or anything else, but it can be good to at least know what is considered safest unless the baby has issues that are an exception.

I got logged out and couldn't find my password for a while but I see the O16 BMB has pretty much completely changed from how it was for our 9/10 months together. But it's really cool that you have been such a huge part in maintaining it @AllyTheKid!

And @ladybug2821 I'm LOLing @ the authority comment bc that's actually exactly what she is! But yes, to each their own and we are all just doing our best, we can all take or leave advice but it doesn't mean we have to agree with every suggestion or keep our opinions to ourselves esp when it comes to safety!

edited bc I tagged the wrong person, sorry

mrszoess · December 2016

@kittens22 there's a strong difference in "opinions" and guidelines given by a group of very educated professionals which aim to keep babies alive. safe sleep guidelines have been created and modified due to babies dying of SIDS. yes, the nicu and her pediatrician may have recommended belly sleeping due to her individual child's specific needs at birth, but new people on this board (which it seems most are now...) and lurkers do not know her child's individual medical history or birth story to understand why it may be that he specifically should belly sleep.

i professionally work with several families who have had children die from SIDS. there is a definite difference in taking the advice of an internet stranger over your own pediatrican. the OP asked for advice and opinions, which all
of the previous replies had given. swaddle techniques, white noise, feeding tips, those are all safe variables that vary from parent to parent, but sleeping on their belly is a huge "no".

you may have interpreted the response with no snark, but over the last 11 months i've been on the board, i've learned people's posting styles and that's not how i interpreted it. early on in our pregnancies, @allythekid had a similarly flippant attitude towards smoking while pregnant which has stuck with me this entire journey so maybe that's why i harbor some disdain for her "opinions".

wasnt trying to "stir the pot" either, was trying to make sure babies don't die. sorry not sorry.

mrszoess · December 2016

and @ladybug2821 i actually AM authority on the matter, so i can act how i want

Ladybug2821 · December 2016

@mrszoess Oh I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were a pediatrician because if not no, you are not the authority.

UponAStar16 · December 2016

Nah she's authority on child welfare, lol bc even pediatricians usually only deal with the medical...but the whole point is it's super weird that an explanation of what experts recommend would piss moms off so much. This is probably why hardly anyone comes on here anymore

mrszoess · December 2016

@ladybug2821 my job is the safety and wellbeing of children, so yeah i am

don't get fresh.

mrszoess · December 2016

no @uponastar16 people don't come on here anymore because random white knights come in here and think they know everything lol

Ladybug2821 · December 2016

@UponAStar16 I have no problem with people sharing info. The info you shared was very helpful. But mrszoess on the other hand, I could tead that there was some "disdain" in her comment as she put it. Clearly she's been holding a grudge for some time now.

@mrszoess Please don't say CPS, girl please

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