tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7230077724876087121.post5955041543524226084..comments2023-08-22T01:59:18.988-06:00Comments on My Baby Sleep Guide | Your sleep problems, solved!: 0-3 Month Newborn Sleep GuideRachel Rowellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02160855322599826360noreply@blogger.comBlogger152125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7230077724876087121.post-9135429867369371212018-02-27T13:37:03.624-07:002018-02-27T13:37:03.624-07:00With the pu/pd you are mainly just holding until d...With the pu/pd you are mainly just holding until drowsy, rather than until baby stops crying (or even for less time with some babies/older babies). If often works to hold baby until he is less and less drowsy over time (like a long time--weeks).Rachel Rowellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02160855322599826360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7230077724876087121.post-87657275242938528632018-02-27T10:12:01.637-07:002018-02-27T10:12:01.637-07:00Rachel,
On your PU/PD page you suggest using this...Rachel,<br /><br />On your PU/PD page you suggest using this method after the baby is 4 months of age and say if earlier than 4 months see this page.<br /><br />What is the difference? What is an “extended” PU/PD? Is the difference that you are automatically picking baby up once she starts to cry? Ive been Trying this method with my 2 month old but don’t want to stress her out. She is used to sleeping in my arms and only sleeping in her bassinet once she is in deep sleep at night. Every time I try to put her down drowsy she automatically starts to cry as soon as she hits the mattress but will sleep hours in my arms. She is a healthy baby who is actively gaining weight and doesn’t seem to have any health issues. I make sure to burp her often and it doesn’t seem like she has any issues releasing gas. It seems like she is just very dependent on me for sleep.Krista Montgomeryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01965148773431844090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7230077724876087121.post-35478243528322858802018-02-20T01:14:06.487-07:002018-02-20T01:14:06.487-07:00I love your blog first of all! We were having a ha...I love your blog first of all! We were having a hard time with our little 1 month old boycotting naps and being over tired and cranky even though she seemed to sleep ok at night (3 hour blocks with little fussing in between). She is 5 weeks now and doing great with naps (and seems happier) thanks to your advice. There is one issue we're running into that I'm hoping you can help us with though. Her day starts at 6:30 and she tends to start awake about an hour each awake time. Naps tend to start out long at the beginning of the day, 2 hours with no fussing when she goes down unless she has a burp and then it's right back to sleep. [Side note: She seems to have a problem with reflux, which does interrupt her sleep at pretty much every nap for burping or spit up. She needs burps frequently during feedings, I try to keep her upright for half an hour after feedings (which doesn't always help) and her bassinet in our room is on a slight incline.] As the day goes on, her naps seem to get shorter and she is more awake and wanting to eat more frequently, which is why we tried to build her EWS schedule to accommodate with feedings at 6:30, 8:30 (bedtime), and 10:30. Often she either does not seem tired and stays awake between the 6:30 and 8:30 one or if she is tired we have to help her sleep since she won't go on her own. Time between the 8:30 and 10:30 one is often us having to help her sleep or repeatedly comforting every 20 minutes. Before, after the 10:30 one she was settling easily for bed. Lately she has been fussing and wanting more feedings (seems like a lot of comfort feeding, which I don't want to do and try to avoid) and is then having more reflux which contributes to being awake or she simply wants to be rocked nearly to sleep (we try really hard to put her down sleepy but awake, I'm not sure I'm always great at this) each time she awakens. So now instead of settling at 10:30 it's been midnight or 1. I'm hoping you have suggestions for how else we can schedule her evening and night and what else we can do to help her get some better nighttime sleep.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14874418565803822578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7230077724876087121.post-32162359477647837732018-01-24T18:17:52.358-07:002018-01-24T18:17:52.358-07:00Unknown,
Sometimes it is easy, but sometimes it is...Unknown,<br />Sometimes it is easy, but sometimes it isn't. Every baby is different. Most babies seem to do ok. The best suggestion I have is to lay flat, continuing to do whatever it is you did in the past (swaddle, white noise, sleep routine etc) and baby is bound to get used to it in a short time, even if baby may protest a lot at first.Rachel Rowellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02160855322599826360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7230077724876087121.post-29871341878445051052018-01-20T13:16:06.132-07:002018-01-20T13:16:06.132-07:00You said transitioning to laying flat on the back ...You said transitioning to laying flat on the back is easy peasy. We are struggling with this right now. Any suggestions?Jesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08489162621499472414noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7230077724876087121.post-71356892723462124662018-01-03T09:47:01.904-07:002018-01-03T09:47:01.904-07:00Hi, first, I'm so glad to have found your webs...Hi, first, I'm so glad to have found your website and hoping you are still answering questions! I have a 5 week old whose bedtime is at 7pm and wakes at 7am. I've noticed a pattern of sleeping from 7pm to about 1230am but after that long stretch he'll go back to waking every 1.5 to 2 hours until 7am. He'll eat and not have much of a problem going back down. Even after dream feeding at 10pm he still gets up at 1230. I was thinking about moving his bedtime to 9pm but your post suggested to try and not go later than 7pm. Do you have any suggestions regarding starting a later bedtime or how to better handle and consolidate his sleep after midnight?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17526339301103166035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7230077724876087121.post-34221423957096903992017-12-07T19:37:07.209-07:002017-12-07T19:37:07.209-07:00My baby is 2 1/2 months old by the way My baby is 2 1/2 months old by the way Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11362206246649018679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7230077724876087121.post-9223480054107082742017-12-07T01:49:12.094-07:002017-12-07T01:49:12.094-07:00Hi Rachel! Thank you for this post! I have a colli...Hi Rachel! Thank you for this post! I have a collicy baby with reflux so I started using the rock n play for him about a month ago. He sleeps in this at night and still wakes up anywhere from 1-4 hours. I use the rocking and vibrating and white noise function every time. I want to transition him back to his bassinet but I’m wondering if I should just go straight to the crib. He also doesn’t like to nap if I put him down, but if we are out in a car seat or if I’m wearing him he will sleep usually 2-3 hours for a nap. I put him down drowsy and then he is suddenly awake. I’ve tried P.U./pd method and letting him cry for 45 min too and nothing has worked. I probably haven’t been consistent enough but I’m wondering if his personality will let me even use this method since he always seems overstimulated. Please help! Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11362206246649018679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7230077724876087121.post-40963010229383287562017-10-31T09:46:29.489-06:002017-10-31T09:46:29.489-06:00Elizabeth Martin,
I have a love/hate relationships...Elizabeth Martin,<br />I have a love/hate relationships with pacifiers. I find them really helpful in many newborns. They are soothing and often make life much easier for baby and parents at this stage. Using them for sleep might end up causing sleep issues. It is hard to say for sure. Some babies it does and some it doesn't. You don't really know until you get there. Not popping it right back into baby's mouth the second it falls out and she cries out for it can be helpful (wait a few minutes). If it ends up being a big issue, give it a short time, and if it keeps up, then consider taking it away. Having it help her now is very likely worth the possibility that the might have a few rough days later on down the road.Rachel Rowellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02160855322599826360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7230077724876087121.post-51852211271725956822017-10-29T09:18:16.560-06:002017-10-29T09:18:16.560-06:00Hi there, I'm wondering what you think about p...Hi there, I'm wondering what you think about pacifier use in general. My dtr is 6 weeks, and we just started to give it to her on occasion. I am breastfeeding and she struggles with my fast let down. We have gotten some strategies for this from the lac consultant, including offering a clean pinkie or paci to help with digestion and soothing when she is uncomfortable from gas. She just started to take it recently. It does help her relax for sleep/go to sleep, but I'm worried about it becoming a sleep prop. Mostly, I want to avoid the frequent night wakings associated with once it starts to fall out and baby wakes up down the road. Any thoughts?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04656855563677245259noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7230077724876087121.post-8041218317155098142017-10-22T10:11:45.648-06:002017-10-22T10:11:45.648-06:00Mary Beth mehaffey,
Yes, you would wake baby durin...Mary Beth mehaffey,<br />Yes, you would wake baby during the day to keeps with your ews every 3 hoursish (give or take on your baby and their age). There are some links you can click into above where it talks about the ews cycle above, specifically the ews link, that will explain it further. <br /><br />Best,<br />RachelRachel Rowellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02160855322599826360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7230077724876087121.post-56272985518092981652017-10-20T04:18:55.965-06:002017-10-20T04:18:55.965-06:00I have a question I'm just confused on with th...I have a question I'm just confused on with the e/w/s cycle. If you baby sleeps longer than the newborn schedule you posted do you wake them to get them on that particular routine? I love your schedule and want to try something at this point..night time is not working. Currently not even putting her to bed till 10 pm and that's too late obviously, but she will wake at 2 and feed and be awake for hours so that's due to the fact she is probably sleeping too much during the day. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15914279330537326998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7230077724876087121.post-33405436789655279482017-10-04T10:10:43.138-06:002017-10-04T10:10:43.138-06:00When you say sleep sack, do you mean a swaddle or ...When you say sleep sack, do you mean a swaddle or loose bag. Make sure it is a tight swaddle. You may want to introduce a pacifier to help with her soothing and see if that helps her. There are movement/breathing monitors you could consider checking out if you are having to do tummy sleeping. They might give you some peace of mind if that is what you end up doing. Leaving her to fuss for a few minutes on her back might be all that is needed to adjust to a different position. Getting older will also probably help her.Rachel Rowellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02160855322599826360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7230077724876087121.post-48022427616268904602017-09-15T23:07:27.276-06:002017-09-15T23:07:27.276-06:00I put her in a sleep sack every night and use a wh...I put her in a sleep sack every night and use a white noise machine, she hates the swing and rock and play I have (see told you I've tried everything lol) the only way she sleeps is either on her tummy for naps during the day so I can watch her or on my chest at night on the couch so I can make sure she doesn't roll off of me or suffocate from being on her stomach. I'm desperate at this point but I'm trying to do what's best for her and not have her sleep on her stomach because if anything happened to her I would never forgive myself but she can't keep sleeping on me I know it's not safe. Like I said before though she literally will not sleep on her back no matter what I do or how tired she is. Thank you so much for taking the time to help me, I truly appreciate it!Mcburr13https://www.blogger.com/profile/02822263196257996808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7230077724876087121.post-39072494334075456762017-09-15T13:01:41.928-06:002017-09-15T13:01:41.928-06:00Mcburr13,
Swaddling and with noise sometimes helps...Mcburr13,<br />Swaddling and with noise sometimes helps with this. You can try a swing or rock and play to see if she'll sleep ok this way. Getting a bit older may help with this, too.Rachel Rowellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02160855322599826360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7230077724876087121.post-58580806497597250812017-09-14T12:45:32.423-06:002017-09-14T12:45:32.423-06:00Hello, I have an almost 3 week old and she absolut...Hello, I have an almost 3 week old and she absolutely refuses to sleep on her back. I have tried everything and she wakes up as soon as I put her down. I've tried letting her get into a deep sleep, putting her down partially awake, burping her, letting her lay on me for awhile, I mean everything and she will not sleep on her back. Any suggestions? Mcburr13https://www.blogger.com/profile/02822263196257996808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7230077724876087121.post-21673329821395753692017-07-31T15:56:55.769-06:002017-07-31T15:56:55.769-06:00We can get baby down for a 5-6 hour sleep and a qu...We can get baby down for a 5-6 hour sleep and a quick feed then another 3-4 sleep but after that she wants to be up for 3-4 hours. We try everything to get her back to sleep, but she keeps fussing and we end up giving her a bottle almost every hour and sometimes we get a catnap of 30-45 minutes. So she goes to bed at 7-7:30 and she gets up at 12-1 for a feed (an hour by the time she goes back to sleep) and then sleeps until about 4:30-5am and won't go back to sleep!! We are exclusively pumping so her bottles at 10 weeks old at bedtime are around 5 ounces. She does 5 ounces at the first wake up and we try for 3-4 at the second wake up. Any suggestions on how to get her back to sleep at 5am? She finally goes back to sleep 8 for 45 minutes then was up until 11am then took a 45 minute nap. She took a long nap at 1:30 for 3 hours and she is taking a catnap now. We are close to being on an okay schedule but that three hour stretch at 4:30-5am is terrible. Any suggestions out there? Knitshappenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06485307073657839914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7230077724876087121.post-51721118356623674432017-06-17T09:01:43.036-06:002017-06-17T09:01:43.036-06:00Hi Rachel! How do you handle naps in the stroller ...Hi Rachel! How do you handle naps in the stroller or car seat? If I don't get out of the house each day I will go crazy! Plus sometimes I actually have things to do. But I also want this to be as effective as possible so both Baby and I can get more sleep!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10804095104969844780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7230077724876087121.post-60131221656719548122017-03-10T22:13:41.329-07:002017-03-10T22:13:41.329-07:00unknown,
It sounds like you are feeling unsure abo...unknown,<br />It sounds like you are feeling unsure about how breastfeeding/latching is going. I would see a lactation consultant asap. They will help direct you in the right direct. Your ob/midwife or hospital should be able to hook you up with one if you don't have one already.<br /><br />My guess is that it is more of a need to sooth rather than a hunger issues. If that helps reassure you at all. But double checking with the lactation consultant is a good idea. Regardless, your milk will come in soon if it hasn't already.<br /><br />I am guessing that she is very overtired as well. I would work on trying to get good long sleep periods (even if that means you hold her the entire time). If she is well rested, she will eat better and then sleep better. It's a circle. Prop yourself up well with her on your chest so you are comfortable. I would have other people help hold her as well (so you get rest!). She may want you more, but she will get used to other people and situations if given the chance. Your husband will grow confident in his parenting skills as he is given time to practice. I know lactation consultants are against pacifiers this early on, but if you keep nursing that long you have a potential for big issues so I would push the pacifier. Offer it when baby isn't super upset. Offer it after baby sucks on your finger a moment first. Offer it sticking more towards the roof of baby's mouth and jiggle/tap it around a bit to get her to start the sucking reflex. Look over the 4 S post on this site for soothing tips. Make sure to try the baby squats that I mention-hold baby against chest and squat up and down fluidly. <br /><br />Things will get easier. You may be engorged which is why she could be crying at the breast. Hard to say right now given what I know and that she is so young, but the thing about babies is that things are often totally different in a few days so don't stress too much.<br /><br />Make sure to swaddle and try white noise. have your husband take her out in the carseat in the car if you need to. Yes, it's awesome if a baby will sleep on their own but it doesn't come easy for some and so you have to take it in stride and work on it later and do what you can now to get by.<br /><br />As I read your first paragraph over again, she sure sounds excessively fussy to be crying even while being held by you and nursing for hours and I would consider having her double checked by your pediatrician if she is still that fussy right now. It's hard for me to know from just reading this if what's going on is within normal limits of a baby so it's always best to double check :) Most likely she is fine though!<br /><br />Being a mom is a lot of work! You've got this!<br />RachelRachel Rowellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02160855322599826360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7230077724876087121.post-10320594333852126252017-03-10T18:49:26.200-07:002017-03-10T18:49:26.200-07:00Hi Rachel,
I just have birth 3 days ago and I was...Hi Rachel, <br />I just have birth 3 days ago and I was searching disperately for an advice and I found your amazing blog!<br />My milk hasen't come yet and I am breast feeding so my baby isn't gettinh enough. This makes her very fussy and she would want my breast for constant 6 hours with a lot of crying and small 5-10 min napping on my chest. When she finally sleeps and I try to put her in her bassinet, she wakes up crying and never stops until I pick her up again and put her back on my chest. By thatt time she would want my breast again to fell a sleep. <br />The problem is 1. my breasts are getting realllly sore and I'm trying all the lotions and gel pads..etc. 2. she is not getting enough. and 3. I can't get her to sleep on her bassinet thus I can't sleep! I've only slept for a total of 5 hours since I gave birth and I'm getting really exhausted. <br />Btw, my husband helps a lot but she won't sleep with him either even when he put her on his chest. <br />Another issue is that when she start to ask for my breast and I get her to latch even tho it is a good latch and she is hungry, she move her tongue take couple of sucking then cry again and leave my breast even tho she still crying and looking for something to suck and she would not take a pacifier. <br />Last night I started to give her 15 ml of formula at night after I offered my breasts for an hour. This was the only time she slept for 2 hours in her bassinet but I don't want to make the formula a habit. <br />Any advice or suggestions would really make a difference I am willing to try anything. <br />Thank you so much! Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07224030393372671791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7230077724876087121.post-52428135846446209862017-02-22T11:14:31.028-07:002017-02-22T11:14:31.028-07:00Amy Margaret Bicknell,
I think you are fine with w...Amy Margaret Bicknell,<br />I think you are fine with what you are doing. Babies go through extra tired and fussy days here and there and generally it isn't a big deal when you make some adjustments to work with that. If this turned into a long term thing and he slept worse and worse over days and weeks then you might want to make adjustments. Rachel Rowellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02160855322599826360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7230077724876087121.post-36923618136295286342017-02-21T19:19:33.275-07:002017-02-21T19:19:33.275-07:00Hi Rachel,
Thanks for your honest posts, they'...Hi Rachel,<br />Thanks for your honest posts, they're great! <br />My LO is now 4 weeks old today! He is a great sleeper, he feeds every 3-4 hours (sometimes during the day I wake him) feeds take between 30-50minutes depending on his hunger level and he takes either 1 side plus or minus a snack from the other. At night he is basically asleep by the end of the feed and I put him down in his bassinet in our room. During the day he naps in his room again 3-4 hours between feeds (I wake him at the 4 hour mark) and see how far he'all comfortably settle if he wakes before 3 hours. Usually just with patting and shushing. <br />However the last 2 or 3 days he has been falling asleep at the breast during the day 2 times or so. Sometimes he wakes when I put him down to sleep - in which case I leave him to settle, if still grunting (not usually crying - he seldom cries) in 10 minutes or so I go in and shush and pat him. I do this 2-3 times. If he's still awake I offer him a cuddle/burp and then if all has failed a feed when he then falls asleep at the breast. <br />Am I starting to get him into a poor routine? An expectation that he needs a feed to settle? Or at 4 weeks is this still okay?Amy Margaret Bicknellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10881475121199088660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7230077724876087121.post-8561696688397471322017-01-13T07:56:42.337-07:002017-01-13T07:56:42.337-07:00Hi Rachel,
This post is really helpful! MY 6 week ...Hi Rachel,<br />This post is really helpful! MY 6 week old is not napping well currently and we're working very hard on waketimes and trying to get 2-3 good naps per day, which sometimes we do and sometimes we dont. First, he has some trouble falling asleep--sometimes he cries and sometimes he doesn't (just lays in bed and looks around in the dark until he falls asleep) and we also deal with the 45 minute intruder. My worry is inconsistency--I'm trying to do what I can to ensure that he gets enough sleep, but I'm afraid I'm creating bad habits by doing what it takes to ensure amount of sleep (although I'm still being conservate in what I do). Sometimes I go in and re-settle if I think I can, sometimes I try to let him fuss it out, etc. Is this ok at this stage? I'm trying to give him as many chances as possible to self settle without sacrificing overall sleep. Is this a good approach?Ms.lippyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12009903774269616345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7230077724876087121.post-21686394369010997492016-12-18T19:58:48.446-07:002016-12-18T19:58:48.446-07:00Hello, my baby just turned 1 month yesterday and w...Hello, my baby just turned 1 month yesterday and we have had a lot of trouble getting him to sleep at night. <br />Our bedtime ritual is eat, sing a song and then I put him down sleepy but awake around 7:30pm. Sometimes he falls asleep right away and other times he cries a little and goes to sleep which is fine. The problem is that he wakes up crying 5-10 minutes later. He is again able to soothe himself to sleep but will cycle like this for hours: sleep for 10 minutes, cry for 1-2 minutes, self-soothe, repeat. There is no point in me trying to soothe him because he is already back asleep by the time I get to him... at least for the next 10 minutes.<br />It's impossible for my husband and I to sleep when he does this, but I also worry that he is not getting into a deeper sleep cycle like this.<br />Help? Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15163367756673122181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7230077724876087121.post-2025855417219122502016-11-16T20:05:29.007-07:002016-11-16T20:05:29.007-07:00An example would the first nap this morning
He was...An example would the first nap this morning<br />He was fed at 6am and woke at 630, he was rocked to sleep as I want him to wake after 7. He was put down with his eyes closed. Woke at 8am.<br /><br />I fed him but he kept unlatching on his own. So I wiped him down n chabged his diaper and clothes. Played with him for awhile and tried to feed him at 830. He unlatched several times. I gave up and brought him to the room at 845. <br />I swaddled him and sat him down to cuddle him. He kept protest crying and used his legs to constantly push himself upwards. Tried to rock him n walk him, same effect. <br /><br />9am I removed swaddle and walked him in a birghter room. He settled and I put him down to swaddle. He protested. Tried to shush and pat, but he continue to protest.<br />910am I picked him up in the swaddle and swayed him till he settled and stared into space. Put him down with eyes open and walked away. I saw his eyelids shut but 5 mins later he woke up with a cry.<br />I waited 2 mins before enterin.g tried shush and pat for 2 mins. No signs of settling so I picked him up and rocked <br />He slept at 915 only to wake at 950. I tried all kind of ways to get him to sleep and he just wouldnt even though he is tired. <br /><br />1025 I gave up n fed him. LQChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11399235893960155224noreply@blogger.com