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Sleep help needed please!

Hi mummies, could do with a bit of sleep advice! For the first time ever he fell asleep in his cot at 7:45!

William is nearly 12 weeks and a breastfed baby and pretty good at sleeping 9 to 10 hours overnight, up until the last couple of nights his bedtime was between 10-11pm and he would wake 8-9am, sometimes later but has recently been waking up whenever we get up which can be 7:30. Last night after much screaming he got to sleep at 9:30pm, woke up at 6:40am, had one boob then back to sleep at 7, then woke up at 8:30am so I got him up, changed and dressed for morning time.

How long should he be sleeping overnight? Is 10 hours enough or should I feed him back to sleep then back to bed until he wakes up again? Having had the 10 hours I always got him up, he would have a feed 15 mins after waking up then back to sleep around 1+1/2 later and then the routine goes to pot. I was really pleased I got him to sleep at 7:45, I would like to make 8pm his bedtime as we have a very good feed, bath, feed, bed routine, even if there is lots of sleeping before the bed bit!

During the day his sleeping is all over the place, generally he needs to sleep every 2 hours but ever since he had his injections on Friday he's become a lot more grumpy, always grizzling or properly crying but is sometimes distractable. He fights sleep, I know he is tired but he still screams until he's calm enough to find his thumb, he just spits dummies out. The other day he napped for 3 hours, and always naps longer when he's on me or out and about in the pram, does anyone else find this?

Also, how will I know when he's teething? He has been drooling a lot (earning the nickname goo-bag) and likes nomming his hands but because he has been so grumpy and crying much more than he used to we are wondering if it is teething. Can't feel any difference in the gums but he does sometimes clamp on my finger if I put it in his mouth.

Really could do with hearing what your bedtimes and general sleep patterns are so I know if he's sleeping enough as he is sooo grumpy! Thank you! xx

Replies

  • hey, our little lady generally has 3 naps a day and sleeps from 8ish-7ish in the morning. first feed at 7ish then back to bed for a 30-45 nap, then up bottle at 10, snooze at 11 30ish, bottle at 1 another longer nap, then bottle at 4, no sleep after this bottle usually, try to keep her entertained, the bedtime bottle is usually fom 6 30 onwards, regardless of when she's had the bottle before she's ready for it by 7, and tells you about it! she then sleeps till 7ish, will wake earlier sometimes, but not hungry and will drift off herself. she's kind of fallen into this pattern herself. i try to make sure she has one nap a day in her cot, more if we're home but if we're out its sometimes in the car or pram.
    about teething, she has her whole hand in her mouth at times, is clamping down on teethers and dribling so i think they're on their way!

    [Modified by: rubarb on September 22, 2010 10:31 PM]

  • Ahh bless him, those injections are so nasty, but good for them in the long run! Every time I get into a routine James changes it! I think thats the way it is always going to be because he is constantly changing and developing. My bedtime routine is great for us though and right from the first day I did it I wished I had done it earlier. James used to go to bed at 10/11pm too but I decided he needed a normal bedtime so one day I just started it - 6pm bath, 7pm feed and then bed - he slept sooo much better than before, recently he has started to get too tired for the 7pm feed so we have bought it forward to 6:30pm and he then slept longer! I know what you mean about the days going to pot but I have found a way that works for us. It is all planned around the feed needing to end up at 6:30pm, (James feeds 3 hourly) so what I do is even if he wakes late and feeds at 10am for example, I will still feed him again at 12:30pm to get him back in line, then even if he doesnt take a full feed I keep him going to the 3:30pm by distracting him etc. (give or take 15 mins).
    So my routine from evening is..
    6pm bath
    6:30pm feed
    7pm ish bed
    5-6am feed
    8ish get up dressed play in bathroom while I get dressed
    9:30 feed
    10am nap 30 mins ish (sometimes while I am out)
    10:30-12:30 out for walk or doing something/playing
    12:30 feed
    1ish nap in cot 45 mins ish
    2-3:30pm activity mat, singing, playing with me
    3:30pm feed
    4pm ish nap in cot 1 hour ish
    5-6pm play with Daddy
    This is all give or take half hour but pretty set.
    Like I said sometimes he throws a spanner in the works! this morning he woke early at 7am so I pulled him into bed with me and then we both woke up at 10am!!! James always sleeps for hours if he is on me! I think 10 - 12 hours sleep is what they need overnight in total, thats what most babies on here seem to be doing.
    As for the teething James has been biting down and dribbling for 2 weeks now and hv said sometimes the teeth just move around under the surface - and my friends son has been doing that for 6 months now with still no teeth. Anyway, feel like ive rambled - hope that helps?! xx
  • mrsd harrison is just the same its such hard work isnt it , i worry he isnt getting enough sleep but am trying to get him to kip more easier said than done though isnt it xx sorrx no help but your not alone xx
  • Thanks for the advice ladies, we are having mixed success, some nights he goes down fine, last night it took 2 1/2 hours as every time we put him in the cot he just screamed, we gave in, brought him downstairs and he sat happily in the bouncer for a bit then got arsey so I fed him and he finally went to sleep!

    Today for his naps we just let him cry as is wasn't proper crying, he was tired and fell asleep after hubby went up, rubbed his tummy and did the shusshing noise. He's asleep on Daddy now! I'm going to make sure his day is 12 hours up, 12 in bed, so it's an 8pm or earlier bedtime tonight! xx
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