We have considered ourselves fairly lucky in the "sleep" category, in part, I think, because we are also fairly lucky in the "eat" category. Izzy is a hefty 11 1/2 lbs and at 7 weeks generally can go one 5-6 hour stretch between 9:30pm and 3:30am -- and then a 3-4 hours stretch from 4am to 7/8am without eating and thus we can sleep! During the day feedings are pretty much dictated by her, but are surprisingly close to the 3 hour mark every cycle. In the past week, she has gone through the 6-week growth spurt and the 3 hour feeding cycle has become 1 1/2 to 2 hours, but still fairly regular...
As you have probably gleaned by now, I am an obsessive reader/researcher, and in my last few months of pregnancy I made my way through all of the sleep-training/sleep-advice books I could get my hands on. Now that we have this little crazy monster, however, I find the advice of other moms to be infinitely more valuable than anything I can find in a book. So..I have a few questions for the group. And if you have any advice to share, please do! Even if you dont think of it as "advice" but more "what we did that did or didnt work" -- please share!
1. What is a typical nap/sleep routine for a 2 month old? Is there anything that is typical? Probably not, so what does/did your kid do? When do they "go to bed" and when is a typical last feeding?
2. How long are most 2-3 month olds awake between feeding cycles. I feel like as soon as Izzy is fed and changed she is starting to yawn herself back to sleep.
3. We have wildly different routines each day. Some days we are at home and Izzy naps in her cosleeper. Some days we are on-the-go and she naps in a carseat or in the ergo. And at least once a week she is at school all day with W and naps, well pretty much where ever. Is this going to make her a "flexible" napper or is it a bad thing that we don't have a nap-time routine?
4. At what age should we start a bed-time routine? Tell me about yours? What does it include? What time does it start? How long does it take?
5. Thoughts on cluster feeding? Do you dictate it or does the baby? How does it work?
6. Whats the deal with growth-spurts? How long do they last? I am assuming she will self-regulate again when it is over, right?
Thanks in advance for all of your pearls of wisdom!
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I can't remember ANYTHING about newborn sleeping, but we did routine right from the beginning with our second child. The first we coslept so that was hard to do routine with for us, but with Lulu we did some CIO (yea yea yea some people hate that term) and it worked wonders. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteWe didn't even think about worrying about a nap time routine until maybe 6 months? The lack of sleep makes it hard to remember. If shes tired let her nap. That's what I say. We wouldn't let HP go longer than 3 hours max with a nap
ReplyDelete1. What is a typical nap/sleep routine for a 2 month old? Is there anything that is typical? Probably not, so what does/did your kid do? When do they "go to bed" and when is a typical last feeding?
ReplyDeleteThere really is no typical until around 4-6 months. 2 months is still really young. That said, we put him to put consistently around 6:30pm at that age (after a change, swaddle, and feed). He would usually wake for another feeding at 10 or 11pm, then maybe 3am until he was up for the morning). His sleep got a LOT better around 3-4 months of age when he would wake only once a night, and sometimes sleep straight on through til morning.
2. How long are most 2-3 month olds awake between feeding cycles...
1-2 hours max. Yep, it seems like they are always tired/sleeping.
3. We have wildly different routines each day. Is this going to make her a "flexible" napper or is it a bad thing that we don't have a nap-time routine?
You never know...it depends on how your child ends up being. Our son used to sleep anywhere when he was tiny, and now he will ONLY sleep in his crib, in darkness and quiet/noise machine.
4. At what age should we start a bed-time routine? Tell me about yours? What does it include? What time does it start? How long does it take?
You can start it any time now. Like I described earlier, we did a change/swaddle/feed until he got older when we incorporated an evening bath on some nights, and then when he was a bit older, a book or two and a song. Usually takes on average 30 min.
5. Thoughts on cluster feeding? Do you dictate it or does the baby? How does it work?
The baby dictates it since cluster feeding is based on the baby's nutritional needs and usually means a growth spurt. It is not fair to deny a baby food when they want it, especially at such a young age. Basically the baby needs to be fed around the clock, every hour or two. Cluster feedings stopped entirely for us after just a few months.
6. Whats the deal with growth-spurts? How long do they last? I am assuming she will self-regulate again when it is over, right?
The general rule is 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months...and then a couple thrown in here or there for good measure. They usually last a few days and mess up sleep. Keep in mind it's just a phase and this, too, shall pass :)