Friday, May 18, 2012

SLEEP/NAP ADVICE NEEDED!!!

I have been the worst blogger ever lately! I always feel like I need to make an excuse but the truth is, I don't. I don't owe anything to anyone. The truth is, I really do enjoy being part of something where I can freely gush about my baby and get advice from other mama's. I also love the idea that we will one day be able to look back at the many posts of my blog; the place I documented my journey to motherhood.

Tonight I'm blogging for much needed advice. Cruze is almost 11 weeks old and we are struggling big time with his naps. He's gone backwards and I just don't understand why. At one point he was sleeping through the night (waking at 5:25 am to eat) but that has stopped as well. I have come up with several theories as to why he has regressed. First I blamed it on my milk supply which became so low due to me dieting. Tisk tisk I know. THAT HAS STOPPED. I have to forget about my weight for now and although I cringe at the idea of me staying this size, I'll do whatever I need to do for my precious boy. Then I blamed it on my diet (eggs, spicy foods, etc). After taking fenugreek capsules for almost 2 weeks my milk supply soared so I blamed it on an oversupply and him getting too much lactose.

I've tried everything I can think of. I read the babywise book. I Have been sticking to a eat, play, sleep schedule and it helped for the first 2 days but then nada. His naps last 45 minutes ON THE DOT. The 45 minute intruder indeed. It doesn't fail. I time his naps and every single time he wakes up at 45 minutes.

Other ideas I've read and tried:

stirring him 40 minutes into his naps and letting him fall back asleep
white noise
dressing him warmer
dressing him cooler
making the room super dark
making the room lighter

The list goes on and on. I don't mind having him awake with me. It's not like I need time away from him but for his own benefit, this boy needs some sleep. REAL SLEEP. So bloggy mamas of America (and any other country out there) PLEASE HELP! I want your advice, your experiences, ANYTHING.

I WILL TAKE ANYTHING I CAN GET

Help my mommy! I need SLEEP!!!

14 comments:

  1. Sounds like he isn't cycling into the 'deep sleep' does he wake up full on crying or just whining/wimpering? I'm not an advocate for CIO till at least 5 months but if he's just fussing a little maybe leave him alone and see if he will fall back asleep? I love babywise but you said you already read that, and i also loved the book bringing up bebe- they have a chapter on sleep which i found very interesting. Sorry i dont have any better advice! Our baby girl is almost 4 weeks and we just started doing the eat-wake-sleep cycle and so far it's going so much better than the past 2 weeks.

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  2. I try to leave him alone so he can fall into the deeper sleep cycle but he just cries the entire time. I tried letting him cry but I feel so bad for him. It makes me feel like an awful mom so for now we won't be doing CIO. Thanks for the suggestion on the book. I'll look for it!

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  3. So Sorry it is rough for you. I want you to know what is happening is NORMAL!! I thought, like you, I was doing something wrong but I found out it is totally normal. I don't like baby-wise and threw it out at bout month 3 because it was completely unsuccessful. I really enjoyed "the no cry sleep solution" Although I have a sensitive little girl and she has always had trouble sleeping. The thing that helped me most was co-sleeping and getting more sleep.

    Otherwise here are a few links:

    http://www.phdinparenting.com/2009/02/28/gentle-baby-and-toddler-sleep-tips/
    http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/sleep-problems/8-infant-sleep-facts-every-parent-should-know

    ReplyDelete
  4. I could have written this! My boy is 11 weeks 1 day, and also wakes at the 45 minute mark. He also needs rocking to sleep, since it was the only way to get him to nap (and he FIGHTS it every time) since he stopped napping at around 6 weeks old.

    I have no solutions. =( I'm going to be checking back at this post in case other commenters have any ideas for this problem.

    Btw, we're folling a similar cycle, of eat-activit-sleep, as per the Baby Whisperer.

    The rare occassion he naps for 90 minutes is when I'm napping with him, but that's the ONLY time he will. And I can only leave him to nap in his cot after rocking him for 15 minutes after falling asleep... so i only get 30 minutes alone time to clean/shower/breathe.

    Nights began to go well, but have suddenly turned sour, too. He was down to 1x feed at night, but the past 2 nights has awoke several times, nursing 3 times. Sigh.

    Wishing you the very best of luck with Cruze!

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    Replies
    1. Yes!!! Everything you mentioned is identical to our situation. He sleeps when I sleep next to him and our nights started to get harder too. It's good to know I'm not the only one.

      Thanks for commenting! Hopefully we'll get some answers soon ;)

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  5. As far as "crying it out" you don't have to let him continuously cry, but have you considered waiting about 5 minutes? It sounds like his cycle is out of whack, and that extra 5mins you wait if he cries, might be enough for him to fall back into sleep. Also, are you feeding him everytime he wakes up? Try just changing him (if necessary), and reswaddling, then placing him back to bed.

    Is this just naps, or all through the night?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We try to leave him in his crib so he can resettle but he normally just works himself up to a full on cry. It's mostly at naps however yesterday was much better. He took two great naps and slept through the night the night before.

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    2. I'd love to know how you did that. I still struggle and have to hold my boy, now 13 weeks, for his naps. =(

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    3. I started putting him in the swing for his naps and even lying in bed with him a few times too just to establish a schedule. As soon as he started sleeping more during the day, he started sleeping better at night too. Some nights he'll still wake up but all of a sudden he started sleeping through most nights. I also tried my hardest to follow the eat wake sleep pattern. I hope this helps! I know how hard it can be...

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  6. Our 8 month old still wakes up at least once (last night 3 times) per night. No advice here either, we've tried/read everything!

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  7. Hi Eliza,
    You may want to try babywearing. The proximity to mama may be just what little Cruz needs, and you can continue to go about your chores as he sleeps. Depending on the carrier you choose, you can probably nurse him while wearing him, and the rocking and coziness should lull him to sleep. You might even have him in the carrier while you are seated until he falls asleep before resuming your activity. Hope this helps :)

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