baby suddenly needs help sleeping at 2.5 months

[nilatti]

My son used to just fall asleep wherever. Now he starts fussing and screaming when he's tired. We check everything (diaper, boob, etc), and then conclude that all he needs is for us to walk him around and jiggle him to sleep.

Did anyone else's child just forget how to put himself to sleep at around this age? It's super weird.

On a positive note, he STAYS asleep for 4-5 hours sometimes now. It's such a big jump...he used to sleep for 2.5-hour stretches, and then, one night, he magically slept for 5 hours in a row. I woke up in a cold sweat thinking he must have died! But no, he was just sleeping. I think that means that, when he wakes at night, he's able to self-soothe back to sleep. We're co-sleeping, so he can feel me right there, but he doesn't make any demands (lately..the past few nights..I shouldn't act like this is a pattern and curse it!).

I was just wondering.

[sageowl]

Yeah, their sleep patterns will change periodically, probably for developmental reasons.  I remember mine doing something like this around the same time.  Just consider it the new "normal".  Kids like to keep you on your toes by mixing it up once in awhile.

[GuavaGirl]

Yes, super normal.  I was confused when it happened to us.  I was shocked that no one explained this to me beforehand.  I kept thinking he was fussing because he was hungry.....because up until then he would just fall asleep if tired and fuss if hungry or needed a diaper change.  

Expect a lot more constant and random change in routine in the next year or so.  My mom always said "it always changes".....but I never believed her.  I do now.   :)

[Knitting Mama]

Yeah, the best piece of advice I got was "nothing is consistent except inconsistency." Just when you get used to one sleeping pattern, something comes along and changes it, whether it's teething, a physical milestone, a mental leap, etc. It's totally normal. One thing that helped me a lot was wearing my baby when she was getting sleepy. Then I could still do stuff around the house or go for walks and she would be lulled to sleep by the movement and stay asleep for as long as I wore her. Also, around 3 months she finally started being okay with sleeping in the swing-- not falling asleep there, but being transferred to it when she was already out. She still takes most of her naps in the swing at almost 8 months.

Oh, I almost forgot: swaddling! Don't know if you're already swaddling or not, but we rely heavily on swaddles for long sleeps in my house. Cecilia may be nearer to a year than she is to birth, but she still takes her best sleeps when swaddled.