Help with 5 month old?!

[Thomasjames2007]

Ladies

I need some help re my 5 month old. He is a great sleeper 7-6 but takes 3 very short (30 mins max) naps during the day.

I'm finding that I'm getting NOTHING done around the house. I'm working a couple of hours from home and have to get my mum round to cover. It's just that DS seems to need constant attention and screams/cries if I'm doing much else. I don't always get out of the house everyday as he really takes up so much time I find it really difficult to get ready if I don't have cover.

So my questions are:

1. Is this a phase will it pass?
   
2. Have I done something wrong? How can I fix it?
   
3. Or is he just demanding and I'm stuck with it?
   

Thanks

[Purplepoodle]

He sleeps at night, count your blessings

[Wideopenspace]

1. Yes
   
2. No. He doesn't need fixing, he's 5 months old.
   3)He's a baby they need stuff.
   
   Plus, thank your lucky stars you got a sleeper.

[ChazzerChaser]

Yes
No
It's what babies do.

[GoodToesBadToes]

I'd say your baby is clingy because he's overtired.

He needs more like an hour in the morning, 2 hrs at lunch and a catnap in the afternoon. Easier said than done.

What happens when h wakes up from the 30 min naps?

[Teabagbeforemilk]

Dd was now like this except she didn't sleep through. Her longest sleep was 2am-6am.

She only briefly napped during the day and stopped napping all together at 18 months. However dn went through a stage like this that stopped when he started crawling.

So, from my experiences I would say

1 maybe, maybe not.
2 you haven't done anything wrong and are unlikely to be able to fix it
3 posaibly. Some babies are more danding than others.

Probably not what you want to hear. But all babies are different.

[Teabagbeforemilk]

3 possibly some babies are more demanding than others

[RaaRaaTheLion]

Can you invest in a jumparoo/door bouncer? I have a great sleeper and good napped but if I want to do something long ( eg deep clean the kitchen/iron) I pop her in her bouncer for half an hour and she's incredibly content in there.

You're not doing anything wrong, he's a baby and they need attention. They can't do anything out of malice or be ' needy' IMO. It's just how it is!

[Anon4Now2015]

1. yes it will pass. He won't still be doing this when he's 30!
   
2. You've not done anything wrong. He's an absolutely normal baby (except he sleeps better than lots of babies)
   
3. He's not demanding. He's just a baby. Yes, you're stuck with it.

[WhatsTheT]

My daughter is still doing this at 7 months... just want babies do.

Get a sling, it will work wonders for your housework and his naps.

but 3 30 min naps is no where near enough. Between 30 and 45 mins your baby will wake themselves when falling into a deeper sleep, that's where a bit of soothing help comes in handy. My daughter always wakes up after 30 mins with a bit of a start, I pop a dummy in, stroke her cheek and keep my hand on her chest and with any luck she is back off for an hour and a half. If she does insist on being awake, I will give her a little milk or a play for a toy for 30 mins, then try again.

[TakesTwoToTango]

My first used to nap only 30 min at a time but went through at night too at this age. Each time she woke I tried
To resettle her for a few mins but if it didn't work I would just let her be awake and put her down again max 2hrs after she woke so she was getting 3 or 4 naps a day. She was still getting her recommended hours over 24hrs as she slept so well at night. Gradually she became more able to sleep longer and so we moved to a routine of 30-45 min in the morning, 2hrs at lunchtime and another 30 min late afternoon. Do what you can to help your baby sleep
More but don't tear your hair out over it - it is very easy, particularly with your first, to get very upset and stressed out of issues that actually, given a bit more time, will resolve
of their own accord.

[Blazing88]

1. Be thankful you have someone, your mum, who can pop round to help.
   

1. Be very thankful you don't have an 22 month old to cope with at the same time.
   

Totally normal. You'd better get used to it!!

[ThinkIveBeenHacked]

Firstly do what you can to make him nap longer in the day - 1.5hrs after he wakes in the morning get him out in the pram for a long walk. Park up somewhere once he is asleep and have a cuppa/take the laptop for work.

Whatever time he wakes, get him down for a nap 1.5 hrs later. Into a dark room if possible. Light and noise may well be luring him out of a sleep cycle.

[Thomasjames2007]

Thanks all!

Thought the sleep thing was definitely a factor - he gets really upset going off to sleep and fights it all the way except going to bed but I'm guessing that's probably because he is too tired to fight it.

I'm heading back into the office in Sept so didn't want DH and poor Mum to be pulling their hair out - DH has already asked me to take more time off as he is worried about coping.

Will definitely invest in a jumperoo thingy. He loves his walker although I don't think I'm meant to let him in that until 6 months but he wants to stand constantly and our arms couldn't hold up it!

[orangefive]

Yabu

[NinkyNonkers]

Phase! Get a decent sling, like a woven wrap and go with it .

[IJustLostTheGame]

Get the jumparoo
Bung him in it and hoover.
Mine didn't nap either. She also didn't like her play mat, being laid down, sleeping at night. But she did like her jumparoo.
Lifesaver.

[PiperChapstick]

He sleeps at night, count your blessings

This. And if you really feel inclined to do housework stick him in front of baby TV for 30 mins. I won't harm him.

[Bodicea]

Not all babies need long naps. Mine never did at that age. He was like this and didn't seep through the night either. I used a wrap sling sometimes in the house as he wasn't a fan of jumperoos. I would try someone elses before you buy one. A wrap sling is a lot cheaper. I say learn to lower your housework standards and enjoy the cuddles. Mine won't keep still long enough for one anymore.

[WhatsTheT]

DH has already asked me to take more time off as he is worried about coping.

He's had the same amount of time to adapt to life with a baby as you. He's got a good few months to start getting a grip of the routine that he should already be used to. That's what happens when the mums do the majority of the baby work on mat leave and the dads don't pull their weight either because they think they don't need to or are working.

My OH fell into this and she won't settle with him or feed properly with him. So now he has to do a lot more work to get used to something that could have been a doddle if he'd have stuck to it in the first place instead of "letting" me do it because I'm not working at the moment. :)

[Iammad]

My now 8 month Old was the same, but still woke up in the night.
I found a combination of sling and jumperoo helped loads.
He is a lot better now he is crawling around now, but into everything instead.

[grumpysquash]

Sounds like my DC1 - long sleep at night, short naps in day. I was doing an OU course when DC1 was a baby. In the end I did (token) housework during the naps and couple of hours coursework in the evening after baby bedtime. DH cooked the dinner. It worked out OK - it was a bit of a phase as DC1 soon transitioned to night + 2 longer naps.
Good luck.

[Totality22]

My baby is the same except she doesn't sleep through, she wakes at least twice per night and I've had to let a lot slide in terms of housework.

I managed to mop my bathroom for the first time in a month today!!

She has been like this from day dot but some days are worse than others. I always try to get the basics done and we go out every day (I have a toddler too and he needs to be "exercised" daily)

[violator]

Mine didn't nap for more than 25 minutes until 14 months of age.
Also didn't sleep at night.

It did pass. It did get easier. It will for you too.

[Teabagbeforemilk]

Is dh going to be sahp? And he asked you to take more time off?

Is he having a laugh. Sahm do it from day one when baby needs fed 1001 times a day and shits twice as much.

[loveandsmiles]

YABU

You are so lucky he sleeps through the night! - how would you cope with a baby that wakes several times in the night and a toddler? Sorry, that does not sound helpful but you are very fortunate to not be woken in the night.

I would agree with a sling or jumparoo for when you do need to get things done - the jumparoo might tire him out abit and lead to a longer day nap.