Wow! Getting this kid on a sleep schedule hasn't been easy! But I seem to be getting the same advice: Get the naps in check, and the nights will soon follow.
I am hoping for a tear-free journey. I'll be taking the cry out of cry it out... I think that it is against my instincts for a reason!! Comforting him without picking him up is what is going to work best for us!
A 5 month old should get 14-15 hours of sleep (webMD.com has a nice sleep chart). 10 of those at night, and the rest in 3 naps throughout the day. At around 6-8 months, they may drop down to two.
Here we go:
4/1/10- Our naptime experience to date has been so-so! Chazz seems to nap around 10am, 1:30pm, and 5pm on his own. The only problem is that if he is late going down or just won't sleep, he turns into Mr. Grump!
So far I have been heading him off at naptime and trying to feed him a half hour or so before, then swaddle and put him down in the crib. I pat his back until he is super drowsy, and them leave him to fall completely asleep. Its a 50-50 chance.
4/2- LO won't take a nap at all today... and is one cranky boy. We tried the usual tricks (patting and swaying) but he was not having it!
4/3- After not napping, he didn't sleep his usual 4 hour stretch last night, no 1030am nap either. I was starting to get worried, however he has spent the last hour and a half passed out on my shoulder.
4/10 I've been really bad about letting Chazz sleep in bed. He goes down (in his bed) at 8:30pm and wakes up around 11:30pm to eat. He's usually back to sleep by 12:00am and sleeps to 4:30am. At that point, he's in bed with me and out till 8.
4/13 - Most likely the longest night ever. Read about it here.
4/15- Chazz had been struggling to go down for his 10:30 am nap the past couple of days. He was just too wide awake and didn't even look tired for a minute. I got him down by 11 today, with some tears. The 1pm nap was fine, but only because we were in the car! He cried himself to sleep on my shoulder for his 4pm nap. It was the only way! This must be paying off though, because he is peacefully sleeping as I type. I nursed him, and put him down to fall asleep on his own. Havn't heard a peep!
4/16- He slept pretty good last night, only waking twice. But he woke up at 7am! Today, he hit all his naptimes on time. So I am hoping tonight goes smooth. Tonight is the first night he is sleeping in his full pack n play. Until now, he has been in the bassinet part of it. (thanks Gma E, man has this pnp come in handy!) I let him play in it today to get used to it, he seemed to like it, and he went down easy in it.
4/17- He slept very well last night. He only woke up twice to eat. I don't know what times because I was only half awake! But when I got up for his "dramatic wake-up" he was still passed out... ON HIS BELLY.
4/18- My little man only woke up twice to eat last night. I had to pop in the binky a couple times to get him to sleep. (I really should write down the exact times... I always think I'll remember in the morning... right!)
I feel like we are making some sort of headway. So far, we have gotten him to go down at night on his own, sleep 4-5 hours straight, and nap somewhat on schedule during the day. But this isn't the end!
To Be Continued....
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2 comments:
We just went about our normal business from day one (within reason), and she learned to jive with our schedule. Just try to take him on errands and out on walks every day, that helps. And most importantly, just enjoy your time with him. In the end it's only a year or two of your life. And I figure it's just extra snuggle time!
My daughter was Super Sleeper from 6 weeks on - never a problem and still sleeps 12 hours a night at 2 yo.
Then I had my son. 8 months old and I've dubbed him Nocturnal Baby. Fights sleep. Doesn't nap. Hasn't slept through the night once. In his own tiny infant way he has basically told me to take my schedule and shove it. I finally got fed up and booted him from our bed last week. He has to CIO every night and still winds up next to me about 3am but it's a start. Good luck!!
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