March 2018 newborns

[blinkineckmum]

Not sure if a thread exists already. If so, point me in the right direction.
Here's a place to celebrate our bundles of joy and find support for everything from stitches to breastfeeding, partners and sleep and anything else we may come across in the early days to challenge us!

That’s the problem I have, I shut the blinds, put the hood up on his basket and turn the TV off but he still won’t go down and stay down. He used to have a 2 hour sleep late afternoon but for some reason has stopped that. He falls asleep on me when he’s feeding so is obviously tired. When he’s kicking around on his play mat or in his swing chair he’s yawning and rubbing his eyes but is too busy looking at what’s going on and kicking about. If we’re out he’ll happily sleep in the car or pram. So there are signs that he does get tired.

I’ve ordered Ollie the Owl for him to see if that helps as he likes the sound of my hairdryer and that generally does seem to get him to sleep for a short time.

I don’t want to get into the habit of him only sleeping on me or when we go out. I want him to settle in his basket. My health visitor suggested moving the basket to the bedroom and putting the monitor on so he associates that room with sleep (he’s fine at night) but I’ve not had chance to sort the monitor out yet. He’s feeding every 90 mins so I get very little time in between feeds to do stuff, especially if he’s asleep on me or I’m rocking the basket to try and get the little monkey to sleep.

My DS is such a light sleeper that he never sleeps properly in the pram or car seat. I would definitely prioritise getting the monitor sorted and putting him in another room to nap. It has made all the difference for me and at first I didn't know what to do with myself when he wasn't right there. I was the same and it took me weeks to set up the monitor. Do you have someone who can help and do it for you, as it sounds like you have your hands full.

I've managed to get the monitor out of the box tonight and put it on charge, so hopefully I may get a bit of time tomorrow to set it up. I know I should be appreciating all these newborn cuddles, but it frustrates me not being able to do stuff and the simplest of things takes a couple of days to get done.

I just need to keep persevering with him. At least it's summer so I can get out & about for a walk if I feel he needs a sleep. Perhaps he's one of these babies that doesn't need a lot of sleep. I wouldn't mind as long as I know it's not detrimental to him. I just want reassurance that the odd 30 minute nap here and there in the day is ok and that he doesn't necessarily need several hour-plus sleeps.

I think all you can do is try different things and see what works. If he still only sleeps for the odd 30 mins here and there and isn't overtired/grumpy then you will know it's just how he is. I totally understand your frustration and feeling a bit trapped when you have a baby who only wants to sleep on you. I try and get all my jobs done and feed myself in the first nap in the morning and then if we end up cuddling all day it's not as frustrating. Mine is getting better at being in the bouncer as time goes on too so can put him there if I'm desperate, but like to try and spend time with him when he is awake and smiley. Do you have a bouncer or swing? Or even a sling if he wants to be on you.

We have a swing which he loves but doesn't sleep in it. He doesn't like the baby carrier, although when I've persisted with it he has settled eventually and has fallen asleep in it on a couple of occasions. I can't wear it for too long though as it hurts my back now he's getting heavier.

I'm going to try keeping the basket in the bedroom and see how I get on with that..

I don't put my ds down for naps in the bedroom or his moses basket. Instead he has his naps in the pram. I know lots won't agree with this but I want there to be a difference between day and night. Also because ds will be going to a childminder where there will be noise and other kids and he will be going on school runs etc.
At 8 weeks he definitely went through a stage of not sleeping for very long - he would only sleep while the pram moved / we went on many long walks. He was also only sleeping for 2/3 hours at a time at night. This was until about a week or 2 ago (ds is now 12 and half weeks). By himself he stated showing more signs of being tired rubbing eyes etc. When I noticed these I put him in his pram and a lot of the time I can just leave him and he goes to sleep or sometimes he might need a few pushes up and down and then he will fall asleep for an hour or 2 depending on when it is in the day. Usually he will do at least one 2 hour nap more likely 2. Following on from this a week ago he started taking more on his feeds. He does still cluster feed in the evening but then I can put him down in his moses basket around 10 o'clock. He falls asleep after about 15/20 mins (we have a rotating star projection and nature sounds playing so he happily watches this while he drifts of - no crying) and sleeps to about 3 (350 today) feeds and hours back to sleep to sometime between 6 and 730. This works for us but he really did may get himself into this routine.. We just persevered during the early weeks with lots of walking and the baby carrier when he really wouldn't settle. I was told that most babies will have a fussy time when you first put them in the carrier but will settle and then like it after 5 mins it so which definitely sems to be the case for ds.

Thanks @Smurf123, glad to hear I'm not alone and you had similar issues. I thought he'd cracked it this morning when he went in his basket upstairs without the hairdryer, rocking or anything else to assist. He only stayed down 40 minutes though. Apart from that the only nap he's had today is about 15 mins in the car this morning. I put him in his basket this afternoon with the hairdryer going and for the first time it didn't work. I must have left him grumbling (not crying) for 45 mins before he did a dump and needed changing and was starting to get really vocal by that point. He was yawning and rubbing his eyes but just wouldn't go off. Then after a mid-afternoon feed where he fell asleep I put him in the pram and went out for an hour. Before we'd even got out of the front door he'd woken and didn't go back off (again, a first for the pram not working). The bloody shop had sold out of ice cream as well.

Last night he slept from 11.30pm-5am and 6.30-8am. The two naps he's had today total about an hour, plus little snoozes he's had whilst feeding. He'll sleep similar hours tonight as that's the pattern he's got into. Surely that's not enough sleep?😕

Hi Clevs, I thinkvat this age they should be having quite a lot of daytime sleep. An hour does t sound much but maybe those catnaps while feeding are enough for him. Does he seem restless or unhappy/crying? If he isn’t then I wouldn’t worry but if he seems distressed then guess you’ll have to keep trying with the hair dryer!

I have found with my dd that if she falls asleep after a feed and I transfer her to her pram cot then she will wake up shortly after. However if I don’t let her go to sleep straight after feeding and keep her awake a bit (playing on baby gym mat, changing her bum, swing chair etc.) then about 30mins later she’ll show tired signs and I can put her in pram drowsy and most times she will drop off and stay asleep much longer (2hrs or more). Worth trying?

He's been a nightmare this evening. Probably a combination of being over tired and the heat. He's been screaming uncontrollably for the last few hours, although he did crash out on my at one point and I managed to get him in his basket for 30 mins.

I will try your method of keeping awake a bit after a feed and see if that works. I'm willing to try anything at the moment because I just don't think he's getting enough sleep, probably why he's so ratty in the evenings. I'm doing all I can for him but it feels like I'm doing something wrong. I hope it's just a phase he's going through.

He's also a constant feeder so I get very little downtime between feeds which makes it even harder when I can't get him down in the day.

@Clevs I feel for you, I really do. This sounds so similar to us a few weeks ago when my DS would scream for hour at a time from over tiredness and then finally spark out from exhaustion. I would second the advice to have awake time after the feed and then put down for a nap at the first signs of tiredness. Our routine is sleep, feed, change, play and sleep again. I hope he has finally settled for you tonight.

Aw hope you are all ok. Just remember the evening fussiness and cluster feeding is really common/universal at this age. My dd always fusses around until about 10pm most nights. If she’s slept well on day though it’s just fidgeting, wavy arms and frantic dummy sucking. So maybe a bit more daytime sleep is good.
Just remember this is probably hardest bit and it will go really quickly!

Hope all goes well tonight. I’m off to bed now until the 3.30am feed!

I have a dilemma...(A lighthearted dilemma 😊) We were out for the evening for my husbands birthday. My mum came to our house to babysit. Ds took a bottle for her at about 7 and then fell asleep about 730 in his pram. He never falls asleep that early for me. He usually just cluster feeds all the way through to about 9 or 10 then sleeps to maybe 3..
My dilemma is do I stay up thinking he will wake soon or attempt to move him into his moses basket (and most likely wake him) or lift him and attempt to do a dream feed even though he isn't looking it and we haven't had much success with that before...
I honestly can't believe he is still asleep and am somewhat reluctant to wake a sleeping baby by trying to move him to bed.

Sorry didn’t see this until this morning so too late to give Amy advice! What did you do in the end? I have this same dilemma all the time!

I tried to move him to his moses basket.. With no success. He ended up waking up and had to take him to feed. He stayed up for about an hour before then going to sleep again - slept from 1-440 then to 8 so overall not too bad.

Well yesterday was slightly better for sleeping. I was out for a lot of the day so he slept in his pram. He was still cranky in the evening, but for a shorter period than the previous night. He also didn't sleep through last night like he has done in previous nights. Not sure if thats related to the amount of sleep in the day at the moment. The heat probably isn't helping either.

I'll keep persevering with his daytime naps. I'm not sure if I'm expecting too much of him or not. I'm just going through one of those 'am I doing the right thing for him' phases. When he's having a cranky evening it makes me question myself if I'm doing the right thing for him.

Clevs you are doing a great job. It's so hard when they can't tell you what they want it need!
My ds is definitely not a bit fan of this heat and as the house is so much warmer in the evening he is more fussy. Also I am finding he seems to be feeding much more than usual especially in the evening as he is hot and needs a drink.
A cool bath (36 degrees) is working for us in the evening atm. Ds has learnt to splash. We also have the shnuggle bath which I found difficult to use at the beginning but now ds is a bit bigger he can sit in it by himself so he is much happier and can move his hands and feet about. He goes from being fussy, hot and sweaty to instantly smiling and relaxing when he gets in the water.

Hey everyone. It's been a few days since anyone has posted so I thought I would just check in and see how everyone is doing. My ds is 10 weeks now and he is so much more smiley and content, a real joy to be around at the minute. On the other side of that though he seems to have regressed with his sleep a bit and needs a lot more settling and isn't sleeping for as long in the night. Hopefully just a phase.

Hi MrsL2016
All good here. We went away for our first UK break since becoming a family of 5. Had a great time and took baby for her first swim in a pool. She loved it!
She's fab. 12 weeks now and so smiley and chatty.
My 2yo is still challenging with sleep, but all in all we're all happy. My physio for weak pelvic floor and separated stomach muscles starts next week.
Baby has no real routine but is generally very content so I'm in no rush!
Hope everyone else is well.

Blinkineckmum that sounds lovely. We have a little UK getaway booked for next month and we have also been talking about taking our lo swimming. Ordered some swimming nappies and going to look for some little trunks tomorrow. I hope he likes it too.

We are good here too. Ds is finding the heat a little difficult so generally we are spending our time in doors with him in just a nappy.
He had been in a really good routine for night but has been a bit out from that the past two nights.. I think maybe the heat. He is currently asleep in his pram after falling asleep at around 630 so I'm a little concerned of what the night will hold in terms of sleep as he doesn't normally go down so early.
He is happy smily and chatty a lot of the time. He is starting to hold his head up much more steadily now too which is great.
We got great news on Monday - exactly 13 weeks old and ds had his cardiology appointment. They did an echo and listened to his chest and everything came back clear and no mumur heard so he has been discharged from cardio. Which was a great relief to hear.

We also went swimming. Lo was a bit unsure on the water but seemed to enjoy it and was very relaxed after.

That's great news Smurf. Thanks for sharing!

I'm still battling to get the little monkey to sleep during the day. He just seems to nap on me during a feed and won't go down in his basket. I try and get out each day as he will sleep in the car or pram, but sometimes I just want a day at home with nowhere to go and no visitors! Saying that though he did have a mammoth 4 hour sleep this afternoon whilst I was out looking at new cars.

We're going away on Mon next week for a 4 night break which will be our first family holiday and first week in my forties. I'm not sure where we're going, hubby has booked it so it's a surprise!

Nights are generally pretty good. He sleeps from 11.30-5ish several times a week which is great.

We're having lovely smiles and gurgles, helps and coos. He's also found his fists and they seem to be in his mouth all the time. Arms and legs are getting strong and nappy changes/clothing changes are becoming. A bit of a challenge!

Our local library has had lots of events on this week for Bookstart week so we've had taster sessions of baby massage which he seemed to enjoy.