14 week old seems to have regressed with sleeping...help & advice please!

[notjustapuppymum]

My 14 week old boy has always been a really calm, happy and contented baby. Since about 7 weeks we have been in a great routine of feeding 4 hourly (bottle), 3 daytime naps and then since 9 weeks he's slept through for 12 hours each night.

To get him to sleep we used the baby whisperer shush-pat when he was a few weeks old but since 9 weeks he was happy just to be put down in his cot and would fall asleep on his own within 10 mins.

For the last week he has totally changed. If I put him in his cot awake he screams until I pick him up again. His long afternoon nap has been disturbed for the last week, with him waking up and either needing cuddling back to sleep or not going back to sleep at all.

He is grumpy when awake and often gets overtired because he fights his sleep so badly.

I don't think he is teething but he has been pooing a lot less, every other day rather than every day and the poo is quite firm so think he is a little constipated.

I don't know how to get him back to his easy going sleep ways. Any advice or experience of this?

mme remember a maassive growth spurt around this time, lots of wailing and waking- took me too days to work out ds needed feeding more often. Settled down after a few weeks

thanks Hettie, I have upped his feeds this morning and he is napping now, though it took a few minutes to settle him. Hope it passes and I get my happy little boy back soon.

It doesn't matter whether they poo everyday, as long as it is not hard. Some babies do not poo everyday.

They go through developmental stages where things do change. Have you tried adjusting the routine and nap times?

Once they are very overtired it can become a vicious cycle whereby they are so wired they can become so distressed that they find it hard to settle. This is because a stress hormone is released when over tired. If you know they are tired, they have a clean nappy and have recently been fed, push on through with getting to sleep. Maybe try some teething gel too? My 2 kids started teething by 4 months.

Just pick them up until they stop crying and then when they stop lie them down, when they start crying again, pick them, when they stop, lie them down. Do not leave the room with them, stay by the cot and keep doing it over and over. They will get the message in the end and finally go to sleep. It'll take 3 days of being consistent. The first time you may need to pick them up 70 times, the next nap time maybe 50 times etc. This is the method I used. I didn't feel so bad, as I wasn't leaving them to cry it out alone. It does work. I think this did come from one of the baby whisperer books originally.

It does require patience but unfortunately there does come a point when babies become more aware of their surroundings and do do this in my opinion.

It is a controversial area but if you feel comfortable give my advice a go.

Good luck x

Hi teandcake, thanks for your advice.

I have been following the baby whisperer pupd for the last 5 days or so and still no better.

I know it doesn't matter if they don't poo everyday but he is constipated, we have some lactulose from the docs for that now.

I don't think the routine or nap times need adjusting because he is tired at the times I'm putting him down and would happily sleep in my arms but cries as soon as he's put in his cot. I think he is doing it because he knows cot means proper sleep and he is so keen to stay awake now...if he can drift off in my arms or the buggy he doesn't realise he's doing it iyswim.

Likes your company so much he doesn't want to be without you

It's just a stage, they'll come out the otherside again. Keep being consistent, you're doing great.

Sorry you're little one is so constipated, that's always distressing when they;re struggling. Sorry I misunderstood that bit x

Awww thanks teandcake :-)

That's what's so hard though isn't it...you think to yourself "well if he just wants to be cuddled why not..." but then you don't know if it is that or if he's being a little monkey and we're going to get into a bad habit.

It's just so funny the way he was so good and then it changed, I thought it would be the other way around, I guess they just change a lot and maybe where he was constipated and got his sleep disrupted it got him out of his good habits.

I have just ordere the No Cry Nap Solution book from amazon.

He has just got down for his afternoon nap without too much fuss, no full blown crying this time just 5 mins of grumbling!

I think the world is just such an exciting place to him that he's decided it's better to try and stay awake even if it means he feels grumpy!