Baby Nursing Through His Naps . . . Won't Sleep All Afternoon. . . Help!

Hi,
My first child was a like yours in that she only took 45 minute naps...until about 6 months when she solidified two good naps, one in the morning (9-10:30ish) and one in the afternoon (1-3). I always said I'd rather have a good night sleeper than a good day sleeper, so keep at it. It might just be the way he is with napping while he's little.

The breastfeeding is a little confusing to me. For a completely different reason, I used a nipple shield with my first, but for you, it might slow down the flow for him so he can cope better with the fast flow. It's just a thin plastic thing that goes over your nipple and he latches to that, but it has little holes in it like a bottle top so the milk goes through. Also, maybe instead of letting the window of sleepiness pass, just put him down for a nap and when he gets up, he might be more ravenous to eat. They can go more hours at that age between feedings...actually think about how long he goes at night (which I'm guessing is his longest stretch). Maybe after the nap, he'll nurse easier. It sort of fits with the "baby whisperer" philosophy...which is a cycle of eat, activity, sleep, repeat. That did work for my daughter and son at that age.

Another thing is that 10 minutes to get him sleepy thing. I think kids do great with routine...and that's what he's used to, so that's what he wants. You can change that, though. It will be harder at first (day or two), but then it will get better. Start as you mean to go on...whatever you want to be doing for the next year (or more!) to soothe your little guy, start doing now. Of course that also means...stop doing something you don't want to keep doing. He's going to keep wanting what he's used to.

Good luck. I know how hard the first months are. It'll get easier...you'll figure something out.

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Have you heard of the book "The Baby Whisperer"? I read this book and referenced it with my son. It really helped solve a lot of sleeping, eating, scheduling issues. He hasn't had a problem since! Check it out and good luck! I'm on to the "The Baby Whisperer for Toddlers" now and again, great tips!

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Ah yes, the dreaded four-month sleep regression. This almost killed us when it struck our our house four months ago. My best advice is not to panic, and to know that this not only a completely normal developmental spurt, but also that it will pass. It won't be like this for long, though it might be a rough few weeks. My guy pretty much stopped sleeping more than 45 mins at a time AT ALL, and also became impossible to feed or nap out and about, which was a truly miserable combination for him. We essentially just resigned ourselves to hanging close to the house for a few weeks with only the briefest of outings until things settled down. Believe me, it will get better. Here are some links to some good info on the topic. Both the posts themselves, AND the comments are worth reading. We had never heard of such things when we hit out 4-month regression, and honestly? We thought our baby's brain had exploded, which I guess is kind of what's happening, in a way. Ours went on for almost 3 weeks, and then....then it just....stopped. I mean, we did what everyone says to do, instituted a bedtime ritual for both nighttime sleep and naps: same things, same cues every day, at the same time of the day, including a little nap-time song. I have no idea if these things helped, or if it was just time, but it made us feel good to be doing something proactive, and now we already have a rock-solid bedtime routine that we can carry with us wherever we go. There's definitely something to be said for that. Anyway, read these if you have a few minutes. They won't turn him into a sleep-angel, but they'll help YOU, I think. Don't worry, you're doing a great job.

http://moxie.blogs.com/askmoxie/2007/10/4-month-olds.html

http://moxie.blogs.com/askmoxie/2006/02/qa_what_are_sle.html

http://moxie.blogs.com/askmoxie/2005/12/quick_and_dirty.html

http://moxie.blogs.com/askmoxie/2007/02/qa_4_12monthold.html

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My first two sons were (are) very active and I thought I might die with what they needed from me...but I didn't. The longest reprieve I ever experienced between feedings was 45 minutes but 30 minutes between feedings was the norm. Night or day did not alter these feedings in any way. I breastfed them (until I had to stop because I found myself to be pregnant again and not capable of doing both pregnancy and breastfeeding). The first son could not sleep unless he was being moved in some way. I had a swing that he slept in but he would wake up every time it stopped and it was a wind-up. I think those battery operated swings must be wonderful for this situation. My second son would sleep wonderfully if I put his cradle or crib right up against the dryer while it was running. If you find a place that he will sleep, try nursing him over that spot so that you don't have to move him once he's through eating. I would nurse him over his car seat in the car and over the bassinet against the dryer or over the swing and then just gently start the swing when he had fallen off to sleep. This time will pass, I promise.

1 mom found this helpful

Have you heard of the book "The Baby Whisperer"? I read this book and referenced it with my son. It really helped solve a lot of sleeping, eating, scheduling issues. He hasn't had a problem since! Check it out and good luck! I'm on to the "The Baby Whisperer for Toddlers" now and again, great tips!

1 mom found this helpful

Assuming that you don't suspect food allergies (they can really disrupt sleep and make eating uncomfortable) it's possible that you have oversupply/overactive letdown. I've had this with all three kids and it down make peaceful nursing more challenging. My letdown is so strong that it's like trying to drink from a firehose, and the little ones sputter, choke, pull off the breast etc while the milk sprays everywhere! Also, the oversupply means that I have an overabundance of the thin, watery, high-sugar foremilk. It's easy for a baby to fill up on this before getting to the fat-rich hindmilk. When this happens it can cause cramping, gas, green stools and general discomfort. The foremilk also gets processed faster and baby is hungrier sooner.

If any of this sounds familiar, I would suggest searching for "oversupply" on Kellymom.com or contacting your local LaLeche League leader for tips on how to manage the oversupply. Once you learn what works everyone can be more comfortable--it's so much easier than wrestling through until they're old enough to handle the stream!

If not I would just say that in my experience, your sleep woes are not too unusual, and you're doing a good job managing them. With my son I had to bounce him on an exercise ball for AGES to get him to sleep--sometimes upwards of two hours, in fact, in a dark room. They're cheap--about 12 bucks at WalMart--and might be an easier solution than step aerobics if he needs the movement.

Alternatively, if you haven't tried swaddling, I would strongly suggest trying it. It was a must for my babies for the first several months! It helps to calm frantic little hands and arms that they can't control and is very soothing. It might be just the thing to calm your little one for nursing and to help him sleep, too!

45 minutes is a typical single sleep cycle for a baby. At some point they do learn to resettle during light sleep stage and will begin to add an extra cycle for a total of 90 minutes. My youngest daughter is 7 mos and is just now beginning to have some 90 minute naps, although most are still 45 minutes.

Hang in there, K.! You're doing the right things it can just be tricky to figure out what a baby needs. I've had a couple of very challenging babies and have had to learn a lot of tricks!

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Hi K.,

I read through your post, and it appears that there may possibly be several things going on here. It is really difficult to know for sure without speaking to you and finding out more details and history. I would urge you to get the help and support of your local La Leche League leader. You can get locations and numbers for local leaders at Lalecheleague.com . These women are dedicated to nursing Moms, and hold monthly meetings as well. They are also on call 24 hours a day. I am a leader for the Wachusett North group in Massachusetts. Get some support so you can not only find out what is going on, but to enjoy this special time without so much frustration.
If you can't find anyone, look me up, and I will help you or find a leader and group who can.

You sound like such a dedicated and loving mother.

Take
Care,

A.

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My babies became much more easily distracted around 4 months old. It is a phase common at that age. Their nervous system before then automatically shuts down outside distractions when they need to rest or nurse, but now it becomes something they must learn to regulate. At this stage I did initially have to find quiet spaces for them to nurse or else they would not be able to nurse. But what worked too, was my calming my body. Babies pick up our "vibes" so much, so that if you become anxious about this situation it will not have a chance to resolve, and I would hate to see you in a pattern of having to do step aerobis with a fan in a dark room each time you need to nurse him. So if you know how to meditate begin to meditate with him in your arms, it works miracles...he will begin to calm, and then be able to nurse....begin in the dark room without distraction first, but slowly begin to add more stimuli, perhaps beginning with more light, until you can nurse in public with a blanket over him so at least he is not getting the visual distractions....this phase will pass, but it is really miraculous how much influence we have over them with our own states of mind, and the more meditative you can be even with a bunch of distractions you will see he will learn to tune out other distractions too...If you don't know how to meditate, ask again....I can give suggestions

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