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calling all mummies!! please help!!!

Charlies body clock is completely out of sync. He sleeps during the day and settles really quickly after a feed but as soon as he wakes for his bedtime feed he's wide awake and will not settle. He feeds anytime between 9-10 (although still working on a routine as it varies day to day) then is awake till the early hours, when he does drop off he wakes within a short time for his next feed and it takes ages to settle him and this continues through the night!!

please can anyone suggest anything to help get Charlie on our time zone - i neeeeed sleep! xx

FM & Charlie (18 days) xx

Replies

  • try cluster feeding (lots of close together feeds) before bedtime dim all lights turn tv down and let him wear himself out kicking on change mat. then take him up to bed ?? might help hun xxx
  • He has a dummy but is not interested. I will try and bath him before bed, i've been doing it at his tea time feed thinking it will wake him up a bit. How often do you bath Gracie faye? mw said there was no need to do it every day although i do top & tail him daily. xx
  • Hi ya sweet it will get better but takes a bit of time for there body cloick to change round as when he was in the tummy he was prob awake whilst you were resting and sleeping when you were up and about !

    Anyways when macey was newborn (16 months ago) from the day i brought her home during the day she always slept downstairs in her bouncer and i never had the curtains shut it was always day light in the room and i had the tv on and the hoover going and noise all day. Then after her bath ( i did every night after about 2-3 weeks) she would have her bottle in a very dim room and then i would take her up to her moses basket and it was be pitch black or very dark. I thought this def worked for me and she soon got used to daylight in the day and night time was dark.

    Hope this helps hun try to get yourself into a routine that suits you both x
  • thanks I will try these things, i must admit Charlie stays down in the living room in his moses basket till i go to bed at ten(ish). I do dim the lights in the evening tho, don't think i feel ready to take him up any earlier as I wouldn't relax downstairs, i'd be checking on him every 2 seconds, lol
  • What dummy have you tried him with? We tried to give one to Frankie but she wouldnt take it - it was a cheap tesco one. I found a MAM one i got free with a magazine and she took that no problem. I think its because the mam teat is a lot smaller. Maybe worth trying a different brand?
  • Hello.

    I no wht you mean hunny, Freya was they same. I found that just getting out and about more during tha day, keeping busy and keeping evenings quiet and clam help wonders.

    Kerry, Freya (13months) and bump
    X X X
  • well Charlie had a 5 and a half oz feed at 9.30pm and he is still awake now (12.10am) im sooo tired, thing is when he does finally fall asleep he'll wake again soon after 4 his next feed - just wish i could have 1 decent nights sleep to catch up. xx
  • well he finally drifted off to sleep at 12.30 so i went up to bed only for him to wake again at 1.15am for his next feed, its now almost 2am and he's still wide awake. i need sleep!!!!
  • Oh dear!!! I know this might be clutching at straws but what milk is he on? Frankie was on SMA Gold but suffered terrible colic and would only go about 2 hours between feeds. We have just switched her to Cow and Gate comfort which is thicker and since then she is much more settled and goes 4 hours between them. She has even slept from 8.30-11 then 11.30-4 then 4.30-7 the last couple of nights and she is only 5 weeks old. I dont know what else to suggest!!!
  • thanks for your advice - what would i do without you. x well he woke again at 4.15 for a feed and then at 7.30 and has been awake since but thats fine as im hoping he may sleep better later as a result.

    the other thing im trying is attempting to actually start my day when he wakes for his morning feed (i currently go back to bed once he settles and sometimes we're all asleep still at midday - not lazy honest just very tired at the mo!) in the hope that it will help adjust his body clock a bit, curtains open, tv on, etc... he's currently on his playmat having a wriggle so fingers crossed it may help and tire him out later.

    Someone else also suggested trying cow and gate as im using sma gold at the mo so we'll definately give this a go.xx thanks girls!!
  • hey,

    I think most of what of I thought when I read your post have been covered.

    I think you're doing the right thing by starting your day earlier. I think establishing a bedtime routine is really important. I bath Louise everynight, then her dad dresses her, then I feed her in a dark room.

    During the day, maybe to try to stop him from sleeping, feeding, sleeping again - interupt the pattern with a nappy change to wake him.

    Fingers crossed for you tonight

    Lisa
  • The first night we switched to gow and gate was awful - i think it was her body getting used to the new milk but 4 days later she is settling down, sleeping better and going longer between feeds. Have you tried moving to bigger teats? I noticed she was refusing more than about 2oz but still very unsettled and when i got bigger teats she started taking more. Im trying to think of the other tips i have been told......

    We started a night time routine too. At 6 she has 2oz then bath then another 2oz. Then we attempt to settle her in her own room. Its starting to work. I have also found that writing down how much she has, when she has it and how long she sleeps for has helped me see what routine she is falling in to. then i have manipulated it slightly by encouraging her to nap a bit longer in middle of day by taking her for a walk. Also as other have said make sure she sleeps in daylight in day and i dark at night cos babies dont know the difference between day and night
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