Let me start off by bragging a little before I hit the hot topic. Little Hob sleeps GREAT at night. From about weeks 1-10, he got up twice a night to eat and then went back to sleep. From weeks 11-14, he'd get up once a night to eat and then go back to sleep. Since around week 14, he sleeps 8:00 pm to 6:30 am and wakes up as happy as a clam and ready to go eat and play for a few hours. I have not had a single night where I've been up all night with him. But he doesn't nap longer than 15-20 minutes a couple of times a day.
-Um.-
-What?-
I was under the assumption that all newborns napped and were sleepy. That's what the books say, right? I remember reading online when Little Hob was around 8-9 weeks old and the text said "Now your baby should be much more awake and alert" and I just laughed to myself thinking "My kid has been awake and alert THIS WHOLE TIME that he was supposed to be sleepy and napping the day away!" The first six weeks of life or so, I just thought he was getting in a routine. And he was! And then we went to Little Hob's six week appointment and the doctor said that he needed about 1.5-2 hours of awake time and then he needed to be put down for a nap. So I went home ready to do that so we could finally get Little Hob into a healthy sleep routine. Little Hob, however, did not hear what the doctor said about going to sleep every 1.5-2 hours apparently because he continued to take 20 minute catnaps and be ready to go on his merry way! And it continues that way now at 16 weeks. A couple of times a week, we may get a 1-2 hour afternoon nap out of him but that is pretty much it.
I have tried ev-er-y-th-in-gggg. Little Hob has been shushed and swung. I have tried putting him down for a nap earlier and spreading the time out between when we are trying to get him to sleep during the day. I have tried rocking him and holding him through a nap. He has been put down for naps completely asleep and slightly drowsy. Little Hob has gone down for naps where I've completely recreated our nighttime routine and he is in his pajamas and sleep sack, turned on the noise machine, blocked out the light, and ran the cold air humidifier. A few times, I've provided a lot of stimulation and activity right before naptime in the hopes of wearing him out and, most of the time, have provided no stimulation to help him wind down and relax. I have swaddled and cuddled and even left him alone to fall asleep to result in...20 minute catnaps. My latest plan, after reading a chapter in a book about helping set a nap routine, is putting him to bed 30 minutes later and waking him at the usual time in the hopes that he'll pick up that 30 minutes of sleep with a nap sometime during the day.
A family member suggested that maybe Little Hob is just not tired. I thought about that but disagree for a couple of reasons. First of all, Little Hob gets super crabby and acts tired around 4-6 pm. Second, babies need sleep as part of a healthy routine. Third, I think Little Hob is tired but just has trouble staying asleep during the day. He gets fussy, rubs his eyes, yawns, etc. and give all the baby sleepy cues and eventually falls asleep but does not nap soundly enough to be asleep for more than 15-20 minutes. Fourth, whether he is tired or just fighting a routine---I want my child to develop healthy sleep habits. I want him to (eventually) be able to put himself to sleep, sleep enough hours during the night, and get the rest he needs to be able to make good decisions and concentrate. Just like any other parent, I want Little Hob to be happy and healthy and I strongly feel that adequate sleep is going to be part of that equation!
So, now what? Right now I'm looking at all the options. I'm reading books (Babywise, Ferber, the Sleepeasy Solution, and Baby Whisperer) at the suggestions of others and I'm reading and listening to other people's experiences with their child's naps. After looking at all of these options, I plan to figure out what is best for our family and talk to our pediatrician about it at our next visit. I think Little Hob may be a little young yet for 'sleep training' and I definitely don't want to mess up this sleeping through the night that he's been doing. If you have any comments or suggestions, I'd love to hear them!
I've taken to letting Little Man just do what he wants, when he wants. I have to wake him in the night to eat because of his metabolic disorder so it doesn't matter much what his schedule is because the nighttime waking kind of messes it up anyway. He usually takes a mid-morning nap and a late-afternoon nap at this point (8 months). Sometimes he'll take an early-evening nap as well. Is "normal" bedtime is around 8pm and he'll sleep solid until I have to get him up 8 hours later and then he may go back to sleep for another 4 hours or he may only sleep for 2 or he might just not go back to sleep.
ReplyDeleteI've tried a schedule with him but it just wasn't working. So, I've left him to his own devices.
Oh, and his daytime naps...sometimes a half-hour and sometimes 2 hours. Depends on how he feels.
Oh napping... something I'm interested in figuring out a little better. Carter falls asleep deeply in the morning and the afternoon in my arms, but the trouble is in putting him down in his bed or on a blanket. He always wakes up immediately or soon after I put him there. Seems like he just wants to be warm and snuggly. The one thing that works somewhat is if I can lay him down on his stomach, but it's hard to transition him from laying on me to face down. And then I freak out and have to check on him a hundred times! At night he doesn't mind sleeping on his back, but not during nap time.
ReplyDeleteRenee Anne-Does Little Man seem like he gets enough rest overall? If so, did that happen gradually or has he always slept a little during the day?
ReplyDeleteChristine-We have a similar situation with sleep positions. Little Hob will sleep on his back all night long but if I try to put him on his back to nap he flips to his tummy and starts working himself around 180-360 degrees lol.
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