10 week old - general sleep issues / not enough sleep??

[citymonkey]

My 10 week old son (EBF) currently goes to bed at 7/8pm after feed and bath. He has a dummy usually to settle himself to sleep. He will sleep around 4/5 hrs (current max is 5.5 though last few nights has been only 4) before waking. After that feed, wakings are but erratic and he will then only usually go 2/3hrs between wakings. Usually settles quickly and I struggleto keep him awake and feeding for more than 10 mins (though his feeds are frequently only 10 mins long in the day). By the time it gets to 5/6am he will not settle easily and I have been bringing him back into bed with me where he will usually sleep for a further 1/2 hours.

During the day he will not usually nap unless he is in a sling or being pushed in buggy (the latter takes longer to settle and he will usually wake within 5 mins of it being stationery). He will often only sleep for 30/45 mins unless in sling when he will go for longer. I try to get him to do one long nap in the morning and one in the afternoon (eg today has been asleep since 2pm in sling).

I am worried he isn't getting enough sleep. He does not seem to get the 16/18 hrs I keep reading about. Also I would like to have some sort of routine (not necessarily same time, but just concept of regularly having naps in the day!). What's the best way of going about this?? I want him to be able to sleep in basket / cot instead of just on me...

Also re sleeping at night - should he be going longer now? A friend suggested using dummy when he wakes to see if he is hungry but am worried he might take this when he should be having milk??

I think this all sounds entirely normal for 10 weeks.

I wouldn't worry if he's not following some exact textbook number of hours sleep - his longest stints of sleep are at night, and he is getting naps when in the buggy or sling. I read (in Penelope Leach) that babies that young just get enough sleep and aren't capable of staying awake when they really are tired.

When my DD was that age, she only slept in the cot if I fed her to sleep and then sneaked off (it was a bedside cot, so I fed her with us both lying down) or else in the sling. At night, the longest she'd gone between wakings was 4 hours, but 3 hours was much more typical. She's now 9mo, and has been sleeping through for about 12 hours with a 10.30pm feed for about 3 months. It just gradually got easier and better (although not with smooth/steady progress!)

Re dummy/milk, I only stopped feeding my DD at night when I was sure she didn't need it anymore - when she started not wanting any milk until about 11 am (despite waking up at 7 or 8!), so I knew she could happily go several hours without feeding. That was at about 6 months. I think you should do what you feel happy with, and try not to worry if it's different from what friends or books suggest - babies vary quite a lot in my exerience.

In terms of routine, if you're putting him to bed at the same time each day, and getting up at the same time, then I think you're doing the right thing to encourage him towards a routine. hth, good luck!