I feel like they say that because the manufacturers don't want to be held responsible for anything that could potentially happen with something that's not tested for whatever standards they need to. Our mattress fits snugly into the PNP and is firm but probably way more comfortable than the particle board thing that it comes with.
So far we are lucky to be getting 3 hour stretches in between feedings. She usually wakes to eat around midnight/ 1am and I cannot get her to sleep at that feeding. I always have to wake H and have him rock her. Its so weird because she usually falls asleep pretty easily for the other night feeds, it's just that one.
I feel like I've learned a ton about sleep in the past 5 weeks, and I thought I'd share a few things that have improved night times for us:
- THIS BLOG! - THIS ARTICLE! The sleep by age chart was extremely helpful. - We no longer swaddle for daytime naps. We now only swaddle at night, and I think it makes a big difference. He cat naps during the day and sleeps much harder at night. - After much trial and error, here is the secret to the Halo swaddle, in case you're having trouble with it: pull the velcro side over and down toward the baby's hip instead of across toward his shoulder. This helps to get it as tight as possible so their arms can't wiggle out. - As with a few others here, we are doing feed-change-feed for MOTN. It's really helpful in getting him nice and full so that he sleeps for longer stretches. - I think we're generally lucky to have a decent sleeper, but he was fussier in the evenings for a while before we realized that he just wants to eat nonstop between about 7 and 9 each night. I read somewhere that because their stomachs are so small, many infants like to eat small amounts at a time over a long period of time in order to fill up the entire length of their digestive system so that they can sleep for a longer stretch at night. Think of it like a squirrel filling up his cheeks with food for later. We call it his "squirrel dinner" and just let him snack to his heart's content. Then when he's finally done and passes out, I hurry along and get ready for bed as quickly as I can. I can usually sleep for about 4 hours before he gets up some time around 1 or 2. Last night he fell asleep at 8:30 and didn't get up until 2! I feel like a new woman.
Obvious disclaimers are obvious: I'm by no means an expert and what works for my baby might be useless for someone else's. But I hope something here is helpful to someone!!
Also @MommaBean I just saw this article on nipple confusion, and I thought it might interest you!
@NiceyMeany Thanks for these awesome tips! At what age did you remove the swaddle for naps? Amelia is almost 2 weeks and so far won't really sleep at all unless swaddled. Did you stop cold turkey or slowly phase out by starting with one hand out first?
@lfrank12 I just stopped cold turkey this week (he was 4 weeks old on Tuesday). I'll admit that he is a good sleeper, though, so getting him to go down is never a problem. He doesn't sleep as long when he's not swaddled, but the tradeoff is that he sleeps better at night.
@NiceyMeany, I think that squirrel description is perfect. I never thought of the whole digestive system part, but it makes total sense why they cluster feed at that time of night.
I have not really managed structured naps yet, my LO mostly naps on me after nursing or in his rock and play during the day. We do swaddle at night and it seems to help.
Married - 7/29/06 Ben and Maggie - 4/10/09 Mia - 6/16/11 Surprise! due 2/23/17
Sleep is ok. Anna is 12 weeks now so se is starting to go longer stretches between feedings at night.
Typically she is asleep from 7-8pm until about 12am-1am. -two nights ago she went 8 hours before she woke for milk! then she will go back down and then wake at 3am on the dot every.single.night. No matter when she last had milk......then is so hard to get back to sleep after this feeding. So pretty much from 3am on I get no sleep lol
Out of all my babies, (this is #4) I feel most rested with this little guy. He typically goes to sleep around 7:30-8. On a really good night he won't wake up until 2:00 to nurse. I always nurse, change diaper, nurse. Then he will go back to sleep until 5 or 6:00. At that point I need to get up anyway to get the oldest two ready for school & drive them to school. He usually falls back asleep somewhere during that process, lol. On a "bad" night he will go to sleep at 7:30-8 and wake at 12 and again at 3 or so. He usually goes right back to sleep- and so do I! Almost every day he has his long nap from 12pm-3. During that time my younger daughter and I also lay down for "quiet time" and I'll get a 45 minute or so nap. I've found this helps me catch up on any sleep SO much. I've made getting rest a priority this time around. I usually fall asleep shortly after he does at night.
Sleep has been touch and go with Harrison. For the first little while after we brought him home he was doing pretty good. He'd sleep like a champ most of the early morning and then from early evening on only waking up for a couple of three hour stretches in the early afternoon. He'd only wake up for his feedings every two to three hours. However, he's become less predictable now and for the past few nights I haven't been able to get him to sleep before nine o'clock. He also stays awake more after feedings in the middle of the night. Where as in the beginning when I brought him home I could usually get almost eight hours of broken sleep, the last three or four days I've maybe been getting five to six hours of broken sleep. I also SUCK at taking naps during the day, so I find it impossible to get caught up on the sleep I've been missing at night. I'm sure at some point I'll get better at napping out of necessity, but right now it's just not happening @_@
@BeckS13 I'm so sorry your LO is giving you such a rough time lately! Hopefully he'll even out/be more predictable again soon and you can get some sleep.
Amazingly well, like better than we ever could have hoped well. We had to sternly tell her to keep her distance only maybe a couple of times when we first brought Harrison into the house, and we have to be a little on the strict side about her not getting in his face when I'm trying to nurse him and she's around, but other than that she's been very gentle. It's also helped that we have a bunch of visitors in the house these days so she's learning to behave better around people too. I know I was petrified that we might have to give her up because of her hyperactivity, but she's calmed down significantly. Babies are magical I tell you O.O
Anyone else's baby fight sleep like they're Mike Tyson? I swear Elliott fights every single nap and especially bedtime. He does go back down easily during night feedings, it's just daytime. He always looks around like he wants to socialize. I'm wondering if I'm not catching his sleepy cues early enough?
@BourbonBiscuits DS2 was like that. I usually just did alot of tummy time and had him play with the baby gym for a while. He's 2 now, and still only sleeps the minimum. Sorry I don't have any helpful tips, I just know how your feeling lol. He might just be a more alert baby.
@BourbonBiscuits my LO fights sleep for some of his naps and sometimes for nighttime sleeps. For nighttime sleeps, we usually end up pacing around the house with him, and if we get super desperate, give him a bath and then feed him. For naps, we just pace until he sleeps, or put him in the stroller and go for a walk which also helps put him to sleep.
@AliJorgensen29 How soon did you introduce the baby gym? My guy hasn't quite hit one month yet, so I'm wondering if it's too soon to introduce a baby gym, but if it will help him sleep easier, I'm all for it lol
I started all my kiddos in the baby gym right from birth. I only lay them in there for 5 to 10 mins at first. Since they cant see well, I put one toy that dangles just low enough that they hit it when they start moving their hands around. Then, I try tummy time right after by rolling them over right in the baby gym.
@BourbonBiscuits - I asked our pediatrician about this at today's appointment because I didn't think a one month old would fight sleep so hard. She told me that baby is still figuring out what it means to be tired and the whole 'going to sleep' process. Completely normal and should work itself out shortly (whatever that means).
@MLRocha lol don't you love when the answer is "yeah that's normal it'll work out"? So I guess we just keep on keepin on ... hoping your LO gets it worked out sooner rather than later!
I've started having a little trouble with the nighttime "fighting sleep" too. My other kids are ready for bed around 730. I've always been an early to bed, early to rise type person. Soooo when the baby decides he wants to party until 10?? That's not good for me. Lol. If I've ever learned anything with babies/toddlers/big kids it's that mostly everything is just a phase and will pass in good time. (Then on to the next issue!!) haha.
Athena isn't too bad, lately she started getting the fighting to sleep thing and she will wail until I can get her rocked to sleep. I have to say though that she is mostly easy going. She sleeps typically 3-4 hour increments, but generally 2-3 during the day. She has a wide awake time around midnight and will play/talk and look around, then gets fed until she is sleepy and will usually sleep from 1ish until 5ish, and then gets a diaper change and feeding and dozes for another 3-4 hours. Her daytime wide awake period is usually around 1pm and she will be up and active for 1-2 hours before taking a nap. That is her average although she had some days that she is not a happy camper and other days where she is more sleepy
So, when people are talking "naps" during the day, how long are these typically? My dude is seriously not interested in sleeping during the day. I can get maybe an hour or an hour and a half is like pop the bubbly buy a lotto max ticket good. But this usually includes some major fussing time on the front and back end. Does napping only count if they're in their crib/bassinet or do you count being asleep in a carrier? Asleep in a bouncer chair thingy? Asleep in my arms or on my person?!
@floatingelephy Some days our babe only takes several short cat naps throughout the day (30-45 minutes) and some days he takes 2-3 hour naps. I count any sleep, anywhere as a nap. Sometimes he naps in the PNP, sometimes in his bouncer, and sometimes he naps only on me. Some days it seems like he doesn't need much sleep but others it seems like he is hardly awake. We try to follow his lead. Is your LO giving sleepy cues before getting fussy? If Harrison gets overtired then it's harder for me to get him down for a nap.
@floatingelephy I also count naps of anytime he is sleeping, no matter how long or where at. A lot of times he sleeps for 1.5 -3 hours at a time during the day, usually closer to 2- 2.5. Some days he's awake for several hours between naps and some days he sleeps all day and only gets up to eat and be changed. He never sleeps during the day laid down. He only sleeps in the swing, his carseat, in our arms, or in the moby. Today he was up from 7:20 until 11 and then he slept 1 hour before I obnoxiously sneezed and woke him up... now it's a little after 12:30 and he's trying to nap again, but fighting it. We just go with the flow.
We've had a few days of nothing longer than 15-30 minutes and I haven't been napping. I've been lucky if I can get a shower by the time H gets home from work... I'm seriously missing that sleep.
I'm in the same boat @MLRocha. I've taken to handing baby off as soon as my husband walks in and getting in the shower. Baby didn't nap for longer than 40 minutes yesterday. Most of them were 20 minutes. Naps? What are those?
Yup that's me this week @poetryandoceans and @MLRocha. I had to let her cry for 10 minutes just so I could eat something because she woke up 5 minutes after I put her down (slept on me for 30 minutes for reflux). The 14-18 hours of sleep a day thing is a LIE
@lfrank12 Because I'm a masochist, I actually tracked his sleep the last few days. We are not getting anywhere near what they recommend, and that's with me watching like a hawk for every sleep cue. And he's not too upset or fussy because of it. The world is just too damn interesting.
@floatingelephy My little guy typically cat naps throughout the day, but has one long (3 hour) nap mid-day. This also coincides with the older kids "quiet time" so if I'm going to try to shut my eyes for a bit, this is when I do.
That being said, I completely get feeling like you can't nap due to baby's schedule. This is baby #4 for me, and the first time I've actually napped, or been able to nap. My first seemed to hardly sleep during the day, and for very short inconsistent periods of time. When #2 and 3 came alone I was dealing with toddlers! It's hard!
Eta: naps are in the rock n play. That's where he sleeps at night as well.
@poetryandoceans yeah I use an app and track her sleep, feeds and diapers. In this unplanned & uncontrollable infant world it is the one thing that I feel like keeps me organized and brings back some sanity even if it borders on being OCD
@floatingelephy I count any sleep time as a nap; all the stuff about the amount babies sleep doesn't have a disclaimer about what the sleep should look like. My kiddo is finally down for a nap right now in the wrap. We try to get him to sleep in his crib or bassinet, but those are constant struggles, and he needs to sleep or he's impossible. I give somewhere else two tries, and if that fails, wrap it is. I figure we have to balance developing good habits for the future with them getting sleep now.
Edit it to say: during the day. He sleeps in the bassinet no problem at night
@lfrank12 I try to use the app periodically. Like I go without it for a few days, but if I want to check in on how often he's feeding or how much sleep he's getting, I use it again for a few days. This is my 3rd day charting again, and while it's been helpful to see how we're doing, I can feel myself locking into the numbers a little again, so I think I'm going to stop again for awhile after today.
I don't know if this helps, but at day care any time she is asleep they log it as a nap. DD's center has an app where I can see naps, feedings, diaper changes etc. and a few times she's literally been asleep for 6 or 8 minutes lol. They follow her lead as far as a schedule at day care and she usually takes 3-4 naps anywhere from 45 minutes to 2+ hours and she is there from about 7:45AM to 4:55PM. I attached yesterday's report for an idea and she's been relatively consistent on her nap lengths.
This might be a stupid question, so bear with me. Is it possible for DS to have an internal clock that wakes him up at the same time, regardless of how long he's slept? He wakes up at 11:40 every single night, whether he went down at 6:30 or 8:30. Mostly just curious and wanting to figure out how to stretch this
@BourbonBiscuits I think they can... I've noticed we end up getting up at 2:30, 5:30, and 6:30 every night. It doesn't matter if he goes to sleep at 11:00 or 12 he will be waking up at those hours. A few nights ago, he went to sleep at 10:30 and it was our first 4 hour stretch of sleep!! Woo hoo
Thanks ladies, this was hugely reassuring. We are definitely more of the cat napping type, but I was reading that naps at this stage should be 2-3 hours and in his crib.
@chef'swife I have been trying to watch for his sleepy cues, but they're so subtle! He's awake until he's not. The fussing happens when I try to prematurely force a nap in his crib.
@jlellis603 Target I know for sure has them but I assume most grocery stores would too. Or Amazon if you can wait 2 days for them
Thank you! I have to go to Target this week anyway. Have you used them at all? Do you have a preference between those and gripe water? Or are they pretty much the same?
@jlellis603 I would get both. Sometimes one works better than the other. The gripe tends to work faster and helps with hiccups. But, the gas drops have definitely helped when the gripe didn't. I have Little Remedies brand and the gas drops can be added to a bottle too, which is nice.
Pharmacies also sell them, saw both at Walgreens the other day!
Re: March Sleep Thread
She usually wakes to eat around midnight/ 1am and I cannot get her to sleep at that feeding. I always have to wake H and have him rock her.
Its so weird because she usually falls asleep pretty easily for the other night feeds, it's just that one.
- THIS BLOG!
- THIS ARTICLE! The sleep by age chart was extremely helpful.
- We no longer swaddle for daytime naps. We now only swaddle at night, and I think it makes a big difference. He cat naps during the day and sleeps much harder at night.
- After much trial and error, here is the secret to the Halo swaddle, in case you're having trouble with it: pull the velcro side over and down toward the baby's hip instead of across toward his shoulder. This helps to get it as tight as possible so their arms can't wiggle out.
- As with a few others here, we are doing feed-change-feed for MOTN. It's really helpful in getting him nice and full so that he sleeps for longer stretches.
- I think we're generally lucky to have a decent sleeper, but he was fussier in the evenings for a while before we realized that he just wants to eat nonstop between about 7 and 9 each night. I read somewhere that because their stomachs are so small, many infants like to eat small amounts at a time over a long period of time in order to fill up the entire length of their digestive system so that they can sleep for a longer stretch at night. Think of it like a squirrel filling up his cheeks with food for later. We call it his "squirrel dinner" and just let him snack to his heart's content. Then when he's finally done and passes out, I hurry along and get ready for bed as quickly as I can. I can usually sleep for about 4 hours before he gets up some time around 1 or 2. Last night he fell asleep at 8:30 and didn't get up until 2! I feel like a new woman.
Obvious disclaimers are obvious: I'm by no means an expert and what works for my baby might be useless for someone else's. But I hope something here is helpful to someone!!
Also @MommaBean I just saw this article on nipple confusion, and I thought it might interest you!
I have not really managed structured naps yet, my LO mostly naps on me after nursing or in his rock and play during the day. We do swaddle at night and it seems to help.
Ben and Maggie - 4/10/09
Mia - 6/16/11
Surprise! due 2/23/17
Anna is 12 weeks now so se is starting to go longer stretches between feedings at night.
Typically she is asleep from 7-8pm until about 12am-1am. -two nights ago she went 8 hours before she woke for milk!
then she will go back down and then wake at 3am on the dot every.single.night. No matter when she last had milk......then is so hard to get back to sleep after this feeding.
So pretty much from 3am on I get no sleep lol
ME: 25, DH: 27
TTC #1 since 09/2015
Miscarriage @ 10 wks 02/28/2016
BFP 05/28/2016!
@AliJorgensen29 How soon did you introduce the baby gym? My guy hasn't quite hit one month yet, so I'm wondering if it's too soon to introduce a baby gym, but if it will help him sleep easier, I'm all for it lol
@MLRocha lol don't you love when the answer is "yeah that's normal it'll work out"? So I guess we just keep on keepin on ... hoping your LO gets it worked out sooner rather than later!
That being said, I completely get feeling like you can't nap due to baby's schedule. This is baby #4 for me, and the first time I've actually napped, or been able to nap. My first seemed to hardly sleep during the day, and for very short inconsistent periods of time. When #2 and 3 came alone I was dealing with toddlers! It's hard!
Eta: naps are in the rock n play. That's where he sleeps at night as well.
Edit it to say: during the day. He sleeps in the bassinet no problem at night
@lfrank12 I try to use the app periodically. Like I go without it for a few days, but if I want to check in on how often he's feeding or how much sleep he's getting, I use it again for a few days. This is my 3rd day charting again, and while it's been helpful to see how we're doing, I can feel myself locking into the numbers a little again, so I think I'm going to stop again for awhile after today.
@chef'swife I have been trying to watch for his sleepy cues, but they're so subtle! He's awake until he's not. The fussing happens when I try to prematurely force a nap in his crib.
Pharmacies also sell them, saw both at Walgreens the other day!