Normal sleeps.?
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Forum Name: First baby? Second or more?
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Topic: Normal sleeps.?
Posted By: ElfsMum
Subject: Normal sleeps.?
Date Posted: 11 February 2008 at 12:42pm
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ok so I'm clueless...:) but I just wanted to know...is it normal that Ethan will sleep sometimes for 3-4 hours 3 times in a row then go to 1.5 hour sleeps and feedings.. he sortof cluster feeds early evening.. but like last night up every hour and a half till 4am then 3-4 hour sleeps since then..but night before up every 1.5 during the day and 3-4 hours at night.. wrapping and a dummy seem to help.. as does settling with Dad instead of me :(
i realise he's too little for a routine..and he's only feeding mostly off one side(hence the lactation lady coming today) but he sometimes has expressed milk...i do all the things people say like curtains open during the day not talking to him much or playing at night etc.. so is it normal he changes all the time..and assuming he's gaining weight..pooing and weeing (which he is) and sleeping enough he is doing ok? mw said he looks very healthy? he ends up being fed on one side..then changed etc then try the other side(sometimes have tried it first but he wont latch no matter what i do..except when mw was here typical) and then again on first side.. he will often nearly go to sleep so i will put him to bed. mostly he will bring up wind but sometimes he finds it hard..and then he will be up 45 mins later...or will sleep for 3-4 hours!!! we tried letting him put himself to sleep...which she said is ok when he's intermittently crying.. and that mostly works but at night he will generally drift off after a feed.... anyway is this all normal?:) I'm so clueless!!! ------------- Mum to two amazing boys! |
Replies:
Posted By: cuppatea
Date Posted: 11 February 2008 at 12:46pm
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Sounds normal to me, Spencer was totally random as well. If he is self settling after his night feeds I would take that as a good sign (even if his sleeps vary in length). Cluster feeding in the evening is normal as well.
You could try gripe water for the times that he struggles to bring his wind up. Let me know how you get on with the LC ------------- 
 
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Posted By: ElfsMum
Date Posted: 11 February 2008 at 12:52pm
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yep i will.. yes i must get some gripe water... i assume it has no alcohol in it these days?:) do dummies help settle.....make things worse? ------------- Mum to two amazing boys! |
Posted By: cuppatea
Date Posted: 11 February 2008 at 12:55pm
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No no alcohol in it these days. Dummies are suppose to help, unless they spit them out and you have to keep putting them back in. Having a dummy really helped Spencer and luckily for us he dropped it of his own accord around the 2 months mark when he found his fingers. -------------
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Posted By: ElfsMum
Date Posted: 11 February 2008 at 1:00pm
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yeah it seems to help him too which is funny as i SWORE no dummies:) hehe.. just heard some stories it makes feeding harder! ------------- Mum to two amazing boys! |
Posted By: cuppatea
Date Posted: 11 February 2008 at 1:05pm
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Well the way I saw it was that he could either spend all his time sucking on my finger or on a dummy. I don't think sucking on my finger would help if it affects feeding and there was no way I was gonna let him comfort suck on my nipples for as long as he wanted to. Plus he would spit it out as soon as hungry and a few times I tried to comfort him with it while I got ready to feed him and he would scream at the attempt so I don't think it stops them feeding. (not sure which you meant, not feeding cos of dummy or not latching properly cos of dummy) -------------
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Posted By: kebakat
Date Posted: 11 February 2008 at 1:41pm
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It sounds very normal like he's just figuring out what day and night is.
Dummies are great. The only thing to watch for is that he doesn't miss out on any feeds by just sucking on a dummy instead.. it was just something my MW warned me of in the early days. Daniel would quite happily suck on his dummy when he was hungry and it was hard to tell the difference between hungry and comfort sucking as he didn't spit it out when he was hungry in the early days. |
Posted By: Mum2ET
Date Posted: 11 February 2008 at 3:08pm
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For the first couple of weeks Ella had her day & night mixed up and tried to have her longest sleep (which at that age was 4 hrs) in the afternoon. I got told that the longest she should sleep during the day is 3 hrs and then after that I should wake her and give her a feed; that combined with having her sleep in the living room during the day (it was middle of winter and at least we were sure that the living was warm enough) helped get her into a pattern. We also started giving her a bath at nightime from about the 1st week and still do so, and also helped. Babies also have a habit of changing the rules on you, just when you think you have got them figured out....then something else comes up ------------- Mum to Ella (5) and Tom (2) |
Posted By: monster
Date Posted: 11 February 2008 at 3:27pm
That all sounds pretty normal to me! Remember sometimes babies will settle better with their dads because they can't smell milk - no confusion over whether they're tired or hungry - so don't take that bit personally -------------   
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Posted By: ElfsMum
Date Posted: 11 February 2008 at 3:43pm
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in terms of feeding apparently ...from what i heard if they need to suck they should be getting it from the breast..but lactation lady said it is fine for a few mins to settle.. he hasn't needed it yet..gone straight to bed happy...yah:)! kebakat-yeah and that's the other thing ...man all this stuff should be in a book..my friend recommended a great book but i cant find it anywhere:(
mum2ella- yeah i get told different things abut waking him up..i have only done it once..i dont let him go past 4 hours..but i hate waking him..always told during training and that to never wake a sleeping baby bu that was about older children.. we just got a thing for him to sleep in lounge in as well so that will help hopefully.. she said as my milk flow is so much he might not be getting enough fatty bits to settle with.. monster i try not to..just hard as i want to settle him without Dad as Dad needs to sleep:) ------------- Mum to two amazing boys! |
Posted By: busymum
Date Posted: 11 February 2008 at 5:28pm
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It sounds pretty normal. IMO he is too young for a dummy because he's just trying to get your milk established. He will sleep longer in the morning than the evening, your milk will be fattier. Look after yourself, it's quite exhausting with all the waking and feeding. -------------  |
Posted By: peanut butter
Date Posted: 11 February 2008 at 5:50pm
| whats the book? |
Posted By: 3boys
Date Posted: 11 February 2008 at 6:28pm
Babies are totally random, and then you sort them out and then they become random again 
Even though he seems out of whack he is doing all the normal things like cluster feeding in the evening ect. I would also wake him in the day, for your milk you really don't want to go more than three hours at such young age. I wouldn't worry, if he is really tired he will go back to sleep after the feed. I actually found my baby feed better when he was asleep! I would just go with him and get plenty of rest. The rest will sort itself out. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: ElfsMum
Date Posted: 11 February 2008 at 7:55pm
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nzpiper....ummm the user's guide to the NZ baby... Nicola Miller-Clendon.
mummy- yeah i told you i was clueless..it was the only thing that got him to sleep for ages, but yes we are going to stop using it now..working so far... :) i seem to be the only person in the world who doesnt wake their baby:) I'm so reluctant to do it.. but as you say if it ends up being for the best..:) he slept 445a-830a , 10a-130p , 4p-530p and now 7p- so far after being up every 1.5 hours last night....feeding is soooooooooooo much easier now she showed me a better way to do it.. ! yes i wanted to sleep today but had lactation lady etc coming.. normally I would get at least a nap during the day..i hate sleeping in the day but its necessary!!:) ------------- Mum to two amazing boys! |
Posted By: popcorn
Date Posted: 11 February 2008 at 8:46pm
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heya kawwww, first of all i want to say it really truly gets easier!
2nd i found infacol really good for wind but you do have to use it after every feed. alternatively the weleda colic powder is meant to be good to but i havent tried that one. that windy smile is gorgeous! |
Posted By: kebakat
Date Posted: 11 February 2008 at 8:55pm
| Ohhh I have that book, I didn't read much of it though lol |