How are the babes sleeping?

[tracymom1]

Hi everyone!
Just wanted to check in and see how everyone's newborns are sleeping. I know we have some that are already 2 and maybe even 3 months old and some that are still just a few weeks so I wanted to see how the evolution of sleep patterns is going.
Even though DS is only 23 months old, I have such a hard time remembering how he was those first few months! DD is getting better at night, waking every around every 2-3 hours to bf, though I really wish we could get a 4 hour stretch in there somewhere. Sometimes she will go down for a nap during the day and sometimes not. I often wonder if she is over-tired and over-stimulated and having a hard time winding down, causing the very cranky times we have most days. She cries a lot. A whole lot.
Has anyone read the book "The No-Cry Sleep Solution"? What did you think? I want to give DD healthy sleep habits without any CIO involved. So hard!! What do you mamas think?

[LuNaLu]

I think Poppy is a fabulous sleeper, but I have low standards thanks to my first DD who NEVER slept Poppy wakes about every 2 hour at night, but goes right back to sleep after getting some milk in her belly. Since I only have to be up for 5-10 minutes each time, I don't mind a bit. She's gone 3 hours a couple times, 4 hours once, and, amazingly, one time she went *6.25 hours*!!! I was shocked, LOL. Loli, who is now 23 months, didn't sleep more than 3 hours in a row until after she turned 1, LOL. So this is wonderful!!!

[pinksprklybarefoot]

Xavier has been an amazing sleeper - Rex-Goliath didn't sleep this well until he was nearly 2! Xavier will go to sleep somewhere between 8:30-10:00 PM, wake up once around 3:00 AM, and sleep until 6:00-7:30 AM. Been like this since day one - I can hardly believe it.

Since I am hitting school hard this year, having a baby that sleeps might just be the gift I need to make it work.

[ATruck]

Tracy-- she doesn't nap at all during the day?

Louisa is almost 3 months old now! She has been a pretty sleepy baby, I assume due to being born early. The first 2 months, she slept about 20 hours a day. Now she is awake a bit more and often needs a lot of help to fall asleep. I generally wear her down in a sling, which is what seems to work best. I read NCSS a few years ago, and this time am trying not to have nursing be the only sleep association. Louisa is often so fussy in the eve, that I tend to just do whatever works. Hopefully, the evening fussies will leave soon?

In the daytime, I do try to sometimes get her to fall asleep on her own. I won't let her cry, though I do let her fuss a bit sometimes. She seems to not want to be awake for more than 1.5 or 2 hours. And she seems to want an earlier bedtime than my DD, though there is some variation there. She sleeps in slings a lot, as her sister did. I remember somewhere around 4 or 5 months, my DD would sleep longer in bed- we will see if this one is the same.

At night, she has at least one 4 hour stretch, often 5 or 6. I am just enjoying it while it lasts, b/c my first did the same at this age, and that ended around 4 months.

[serenekitten]

Well, last night sucked. DS was up every 2 hours or less, it seemed like. Very wriggly when he wasn't nursing. And then he spat up around 5:30 when I tried side-nursing.

Usually he sleeps for 2-3 (once, four) hours at a time at night. He'll eat and settle back down and I do well on six hours sleep. During the day he'll get a nap in for about the same length of time.

Today is not looking good, either.

[haren.13]

I hesitate to say this, but Charlotte has been a fantastic sleeper. She naps quite a bit but has her fun awake times during the day. Then at night she only wakes usually once. She truly is a better sleeper than my 2 year old...not better than my 2 year old was as a baby (which she definitely is) but also better than my 2 year old sleeps NOW! It's crazy, but I imagine that, like all good things, it will come to an end

[veganmama719]

So far, much better than my other 2 at this age.

Declan is 3w2d old and has slept 6.5 hours once, 5 hours four or five times and 4 hours frequently. Every night but 2 I have gotten at least a 3 hour stretch.

However, the last 2 nights have been rough. He seems to be having some digestive issues!

[tracymom1]

Originally Posted by ATruck

Tracy-- she doesn't nap at all during the day?

nak
***Warning...cranky vent coming***

She will sleep during the day only while being held or in the sling. As soon as I put her down she cries (and not just for a few seconds - she starts wailing). Every 3 or 4 days I can get her to nap on the bed or in her cradle for an hour or so if she is really tired (like she had a bad night or something). Sometimes she will sleep in the car but I really, really don't want to get in the habit of driving her around to get a nap in.

I am starting to loose it. I love my children but am starting to hate my life. I have a child attached to me 24 hours a day and I am getting very little breathing room. I would just love to take a yoga class or get a workout in but there is just no way. DH can't handle both kids for more than a few minutes at a time and DD just cries when I am not around anyways. And she nurses every 2 hours and pretty much freaks out if she has to wait more than a minute or so. I can hardly spend any time with DS and he is staring to get really angry at me.

I just don't know how other people do this and make it look so easy. I see all these moms at the park and shopping mall with smiles on their faces, 2 or 3 kids in tow, skinny as can be, sipping their lattes and having a great time. Meanwhile, I am still 20# overweight and cannot for the damn life of me fit in ANY time for a workout, my hair hasn't been washed in 3 days and my clothes are stained and wrinkled. And I certainly do not have a smile on my face. I am just getting by here and am getting really tired of it. I SOOO want to enjoy this moment because I know it will be gone in the blink of an eye, but I constantly find myself saying "just get through the day" and waiting for things to change.

I know, I know... this too will pass and it gets easier - or at least different. I just want to be happy and am having such a hard time making that happen.

[LuNaLu]

What works for me is to swaddle Poppy up, then feed or rock her to sleep, then transfer her to her baby swing or vibrating bouncy chair.

[katylynn]

My little guy seems to be all over the place with sleeping. I'm hoping that he gets a pattern down before I go back to work to make it easier for the sitter. He is 6 weeks old today. Some days he will sleep alot, other days, very little. Usually he will take a larger nap in the morning, but not always. At night, he usually goes about 4-5 hrs for the first stretch and then every 3 after that. However, he did have two nights this past weekend where he slept from 9:30 til 4:30. Yippee!! Back to reality last night as we were awake every 2 1/2 to 3 hrs. Oh well.

[pinksprklybarefoot]

I understand the wanting some time to yourself - with two kids nursing, I really cherish the times that I don't have a child hanging on me. And I understand the mental toll that not having any time to shower and take care of your own basic needs can take.

Originally Posted by LuNaLu

What works for me is to swaddle Poppy up, then feed or rock her to sleep, then transfer her to her baby swing or vibrating bouncy chair.

This really works for me, too. I also will transfer him swaddled, on the Boppy, to our papasan chair and let him sleep nestled in the Boppy. Sounds unsafe, but it is fine - he is on his back and it is impossible to roll anywhere.

Before DS1 was born, my mom gave me a copy of The Happiest Baby on the Block. It was really helpful. DS1 didn't sleep as easily or as well as DS2 does, but the advice in the book about swaddling, rocking, etc really made a difference.

Something that I have also heard works is wearing the baby until he/she is fast asleep, then transferring them, still in the sling, to a sleeping surface other than yourself. I've only tried it a few times, but it did work.

One last thing that I have read (Maybe Dr. Sears?) is that it takes a good twenty minutes of sleep for a baby to be asleep enough to transfer them without waking them. I have noticed that if I chill out and wait a while with the little guy snoozing on my lap, I am rewarded with him sleeping soundly for a while.

[serenekitten]

s for you, Tracymom!

Another "problem" we're having... I'm being made to feel guilty about DS not sleeping in his cradle/crib. Sometimes he sleeps in a in-bed co-sleeper thing (by First Years), but for the most part he sleeps on my chest and we both sleep great this way. I'd rather let us all get a relatively good night's sleep than fight to put DS down in the co-sleeper or cradle. My roommates don't seem to see it that way.

I do want to get him used to the cradle and sleeping on his own, but on my terms, ya know?

[gossamerwindweb]

Originally Posted by tracymom1

nak
***Warning...cranky vent coming***

She will sleep during the day only while being held or in the sling. As soon as I put her down she cries (and not just for a few seconds - she starts wailing). Every 3 or 4 days I can get her to nap on the bed or in her cradle for an hour or so if she is really tired (like she had a bad night or something). Sometimes she will sleep in the car but I really, really don't want to get in the habit of driving her around to get a nap in.

I am SO with you... I wish I could get more than a moment. My son is EXACTLY how you just wrote about your daughter here. He wails if he is set down.. he screams if he has to wait to nurse even for a few seconds. He is the most high needs baby I have met. I have things I NEED to do... like fill out birth certificate paperwork... which would only take about 15 minutes but I can't even get that! I am also feeling like I am losing it. to both of us!!!

[bajamergrrl]

Originally Posted by pinksprklybarefoot

One last thing that I have read (Maybe Dr. Sears?) is that it takes a good twenty minutes of sleep for a baby to be asleep enough to transfer them without waking them. I have noticed that if I chill out and wait a while with the little guy snoozing on my lap, I am rewarded with him sleeping soundly for a while.

Yes, this is true for my son. Although I think it only works when he's ready for a long nap and not one of his in-between catnaps. He usually has two long naps, one in late morning and another in the late afternoon or early evening. He might fall asleep for a few minutes at a time in between. He usually falls asleep for the night around 9 or 10 pm then wakes around every 2-3 hours to eat. He has slept for about 4-5 hours at a time though but I noticed that happens if he did some round-the-clock nursing during the day. We bed-share and I nurse him in the side-lying position so that I can sleep while he nurses. It's worked out for us a lot better this way. It's so cute to wake up to him cuddled into me.

[Ianthe]

Oliver is an awesome sleeper! I am so blessed! My 2 yr old wakes up more than Oliver does, and I end up having to wake baby to nurse because I am too full. We go to bed around 10pm and sleep until 6-7 am, then he nursed back to sleep until I get up around 8, and he stays in bed asleep until 9, while I get DS1 up, changed and fed. He is awake until about 10am then goes back down for a couple hour nap.

[ATruck]

Many hugs to you, tracymom! I know where you are coming from, I am also having a hard time not getting burned out. This baby needs a lot more attention than my first did. She will sometimes sleep on her own, but it is mostly sling naps, really. I have a hard time getting her down in bed, because my 2.75 year old wants to climb on her and mess with her at all times. I suppose it would be easier if we did cribs or TV. DD2 will be okay and awake for short periods, but more often than not, if she is awake she is cranky and wanting stimulation (bouncing, etc) Ultimately, it really wouldn't be that rough if I weren't also caring for a pretty demanding 2.75 yr old. I don't know how moms of many do it, really.

If you saw me at the park, I probably would have a latte, but for sure I would be unwashed!

[QTRANDI]

I feel for you Mama's that aren't getting enough sleep to feel functional. Those first few weeks for me were HORRID. I need my sleep. I have adjusted now to not having as much sleep...... but still need quite a bit.

Our last 3 nights have looked like this: (he is 7 weeks old)

Asleep at 9:30-10pm awake at 1am to nurse for a half hour ish... then back to sleep until 6am.

He usually takes a good 2-3 hour nap in the morning or mid morning AND takes another 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon......

I really am blessed..... and hope this continues. Having just read someone's baby totally changed at 4 months?....... yikes.

Randi

[teta]

Ava usually has one 4hr stretch and then gets up every two hours at night. I am thankful b/c by the time night rolls around I am exhausted! During the day she only sleeps while I am holding her. Its amazing- she is like one of those old dolls that their eyes close when you lay them down, except her eyes open. The only solution is to put her in the swing everyday. Sometimes she sleeps 2-3 hours! I just got the parents of invention sling which allows her to sleep on me while I still move around.

[alicewyf]

We have been pretty lucky with Lily and sleep. She sleeps really well at night...she has a 3-4 hour stretch and then sometimes another one, but usually wakes up every 2ish hours after that. We try to be in bed by 10pm.

She does have a hard time getting to sleep, but it isn't bad. Either me or DH can get her to sleep, so if one of us is burnt out the other can do it. With me, she either nurses to sleep (which she prefers obvs) or I can put her in the baby carrier and walk around. Sometimes she will fall asleep nestled on my chest while I'm laying down but usually my boobs are too distracting for her and it takes a long time. She falls asleep SO QUICK nestled on DH's chest. That is how she falls asleep for her first sleep of the night, usually. Then he takes her off and puts her between us on the bed.

She will also stay asleep if we transfer her to her bouncer once she is in deep sleep, so I can get some stuff done during the day w/o wearing a carrier if I want to. She really is a sweetheart and rarely cries unless she has a dirty diaper or if it is her cranky time (about 8pm-10pm) of day.

[georgiegirl1974]

Hugs to all of you mamas with colicky babies. DD was colicky and a HORRIBLE sleeper and I had days where I don't even think I had time to brush my teeth.

Clive is a happy, sweet boy. However, he will only sleep and nap in either his car seat or the swing. He also doesn't sleep for that long (1.5 - 3 hours at night), and he is up for an hour or so sometime between 3 and 5 with gas. But he's happy and sweet and easy, so I'm not complaining too much. He once did a 4.25 hour stretch, but of course that began at 8PM, so it wasn't as if I got that much uninterrupted sleep. And he's not even fussy at night. I'm very lucky...I just wish he'd sleep better at night.