2 1/2 Month Old - Sleep & Schedule?

Hi. Try this link and maybe it can help.http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/growth/sleep/sleep13m.html
My son still took 2 3hr naps everyday and went to bed at 9 at night until he was almost 16 months:-) It seemed like he was ALWAYS sleeping lol. Good luck

Don't worry about her sleep it is ok, My know 16 month old was always asleep at least that is how it seemed, I actually started to think something was wrong with him, during my pregnancy I had a positive test for Down's with him. I didn't rememeber my others sleeping that much but they were easy infants, around 5 months as he was more active the sleeping decreased and he became more alert, he is know a normal active 16 month old. Enjoy it while it last! Her schedule sounds just fine.

Hi Wendy, my dausghter just turned 18 mo. I remember everyone telling me to get her on a schedule and I wore myself out trying. As aoon as I let her figure out her own schedule life was much easier. I wouldn't worry about the sleeping, it usually is a sign of growing so don't be surprised if at the next well check she is above average for height. For me,putting mine to bed between 9 and 10 worked best that way she'd sleep until 6 or 7. Don't worry the routine will come in due time, don't rush it...
~J.

Hi W.-

Your daughter's schedule sounds like my son's schedule. He is about the same age (9 weeks) and is on a similar schedule. The last couple of nights he has gone from 8-9ish to 3:30, and then it's about every 4 hours the rest of the day.

If I remember right, it was about 4-6 months when our daughter (2) was on more of the 8, noon, 4, 8 feeding schedule and sleeping through the night. I also am looking forward to that kind of schedule again!!!! I'm thinking it was about the same time that we started her on cereal for breakfast in the morning that our Ped. said to make sure that we were putting her on our schedule instead of accomodating her schedule - but she had already stretched her nights out and was pretty much already on the schedule that he wanted her on.

We get about the same amount of awake time too - depending on what feeding it is. The 3:30 am feeding we put him back in bed when he is done and he ususally quiets down quickly so I assume he is going right to sleep =). The other ones it just kind of depends on the day. Sometimes we get 1-2 hours, then others its straight down because he is so fussy.

Hope this helps!

J.

I love "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy child" by Dr. Weissbluth. Some people find it a little too intense, but his advice always turns out to be spot on. Even with my 5th I ended pulling it out to fix a sleep problem. Your baby sounds very normal. She might slide to 3 naps a day n a few months, but I wouldn't push it. It's hard to have a baby sleep all day b/c you feel like they should get more interaction time, but right now they just need sleep. It's great that you're so good at reading her signals. I have friends who start night sleep training (getting the baby to sleep through the night) at about 3 months. I usually wait until 6 months b/c it's so hard to let them cry it out.

J. - SAHM of 5

hello,
I remember my son was still slept a lot at that time. He took a morning nap, and afternoon nap and also a shorter nap around dinner time. He seemed to stay awake well for about an hour or maybe a little longer at that time before I would lay him down in is crib. We cut out the last night feeding when he was a little over 3 months and he seemed to adjust pretty well, with only a few nights of some crying. There are always exceptions of course where I would nurse at night, growth spurts or other reasons. I looked at the book babywise. I don't agree with everything in it, however it really helped a lot when trying to make some kind of schedule for us. It sounds like you baby is doing good. Eventually she will be able to stay awake longer. My son took two naps up until about 14 or 15 months. He would take a morning nap and an afternoon nap. Now he just takes an afternoon nap and is 18 months. Every baby is different, but I think there sleep is very important.

I have a 10 mo old that is still waking up at least once in the middle of the night. He has his reasons, that would take a book to list the reasons, but she is still very young and loves to be swaddled, it makes her feel comfort. It also sounds like she may have some gas issues. I would mention this to your pediatrician. If you are breast feeding, it may be she isn't agreeing with something you ate. If it is formula, she may not handle something in the formula and you may need to switch. My little guy is on a bottle, so while I warm up his bottle he sucks on his binky in bed. If he is still awake, then I feed him the bottle. After a while he would sleep 1/2 hour to 1 hour longer. You usually can't stretch them to far until they are about 4 months old and eating solids. They may not sleep through the night, but I believe that once they start eating solids, the food sticks to his stomach better and lasts longer. In the mean time, take advantage of the sleeping during the day, I also have a four year old. PBS is great and I nap on the couch! Ten months of 3-4 hour sessions of sleeping at nights takes a toll. My house cleaning and cooking go the way of the birds. My husband has learned to through in a pizza or frozen lasagna and over look the clutter in the house. Your sanity is very important and if you don't get sleep, your family will find themselves living with a "mama bear".

J.
Stay at home (though I'm never home) mom of four! 11, 7, 4, 10 mo

Hi I am in the same boat with you I also have a 4 year old boy born 9/2/03 and a little girl named Maddie that is going to be 3 months Friday 10/18/07.. mine will go to sleep at about 9 and wakes at 11 and then again between 3&5 sometime it is driving me nuts she is small so she only eats 4 oz every 3-4 hours but when she wakes in the night she will only eat 2 no matter how much I try she will not eat more and then in a few hours she is awake again wanting more.. my Dr suggested not feeding her when she wakes at 11 but I think that is mean he also said I could try to give her an oz of cereal in one of the feeder bottles but I think she is still to young I don,t want to cause any problems with her digestive system. she wakes up allot during the day and she is rolling over already but she just will not sleep through the night.. if you get any good tips let me know good luck to you I hope things get better for both of us.. if you ever want someone to chat with my email is ____@____.com I would love to talk to you

From everything i have read, it is not until after 3 months that you can really look at having a sleeping and eating schedule for your baby. I would suggest keeping a journal of daily eating and sleeping times and when you start seeing a pattern, you can go from there.

I have a 2 1/2 month old also and her nap time still varies day to day. What I can remember from my 2 year old is that it was more like 4 months before she started taking two solid naps, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

she will sleep like that for about month 2 or ask you dr about but he will tell you she is growing a lot she let her sleep it ok for her to sleep my kids went thought that
my kids are older now they are jessi 15 allen 13 wendy 9

I have a LO just shy of a month older than yours(9/28/07) and in the last month is when she has finally stayed up for a little bit. Her schedule is:
Wake up M-F at 7 feed (bf) Sometimes she will go back down for 2-3 hours then up for 2-3 hrs then back down again. this is her schedule all day till about 9-10pm and she will sleep till I wake her at 7am.
Some days she sleeps more than others. If she wants to sleep I let her. If she wants to play we play. This is our "schedule." My first was the same way. If they seem tired I put them down for a nap. If they are playful we play. For me there is no other way.

I have a 2 1/2 month old also( 11-4-07) and my son is on a schedule already. He usually goes 3-5 hours during the day and then sleeps all night. He used to get up earlier in the morning but then I tried to keep him up until 9-10 at night for his last feeding. It helped to start bath and feeding at about 8-9 and feed after that. Now he sleeps from about9-10 until 6-8.

My son would go through some days where I feel he is sleeping a lot but I was told that they are going through growth spurts and that at this age it is ok for them to sleep that much. When he is awake I play and interact with him to keep him awake longer. I put him in different areas and use different things ( swing, play mat, bouncer) for a variety and different scenery so he doesn't get bored.

B.

Most babies are different, so trying to remember what it was like with your son might not help here. Also some kids need more sleep than others. If she seems to need the sleep rather than the interaction but otherwise seems healthy, I wouldn't worry.
If you would like to stretch her waking a bit, you might try starting an activity with her before she gets fussy. Peek a boo or toe nibbling or belly raspberries--or anything that she really seems to like. The key to this is starting it before she gets fussy. If she's already telling herself that she wants bed, she probably won't change her mind. You might not get hours more wakefulness right away, but 5 to 10 minutes each day or two seems to add up over a couple of weeks

M.--mom to 4 girls (all different:) )

I have a 2 mo old too (Clare) and she is on about the same schedule. I also have a 21 mo old (Lucy) so "this stuff" is pretty fresh in my head! haha! Clare sleeps a lot too she is just starting to be awake more and stretch her nighttime feeding longer. We get about the same amount of smile time you do but I remember like it was yesterday Lucy was just not a happy baby. She didn't like to lay around and be awake and if you held her maybe she'd be better maybe not would just depend on the day. This went on from 6 weeks til about 6 months. So to me Clare is a much "better" baby. HA! I try to keep her where we are playing during the day (weekends) and the same at daycare so she'll stay awake a little more so by the time we reach our night time schedule she'll be sleepy. Hopefully this was some help to you!

Hi I have a 2 1/2 month old daughter too. Our daughters sound about the same mine because I am breast feeding eats about every three hours and is then happy for about an hour after she woke up and almost on the dot she will start freaking out and its back to the crib to sleep another three hours. She usually eats for the last time anywhere from 9 pm to 11 pm depending on her schedule and she usually wakes up at 3 sometimes later but usually at 3 and then again around 9. As far as I know that is pretty normal they both seem to be on a schedule and as they get older and more awake they will start having a schedule for naps in the afternoon. I can't wait till my baby is more awake all the time because they are so cute when they are awake because they just are so smiley and its so cute when they try to talk but enjoy the sleep now because soon she is going to be awake and you are going to have to keep her busy. Hope this helped your baby is normal. This is my first baby and its all new to me but I figure just go with the swing of things and it will be fine.

~H.~

I wouldn't worry unless her weight drops dramatically. What does your ped's doc say? My sister's baby is a little over a month and she sleeps most of the time. Good luck and enjoy the sleep you can get. She may always sleep better. She's too young to be put on a regular schedule right now. Good luck.

Actually that sounds like a great schedule for the baby. At that age and hour of up time may be it for her. I would expect 3 - 4 naps during the day. Give it 2 more months before you can see her up for a couple hour stretch, and then the naps should get longer and less frequent. Take advantage of the sleeping now! Spend time with your older one or get some much needed rest yourself. I have a 5 month old and he is still up 1 - 2 times a night depending on when he goes to bed. It will pass. :)

W., my son was a lot like that when he was about your daughter's age. I started a nap schedule with him around the age she is, so you can probably start with her. An important part of setting up nap times is to make sure you put her in her own room in her own bed everytime it's nap time, she'll get the idea after a while. My son took 3 naps a day up until he was nearly a year old, if he didn't he got so cranky I couldn't stand him!

As far as sleeping through the night, that depends on the child. Both of my kids started sleeping through the night at around 3 months. But, it was on again off again, it wasn't like one night they slept through till morning and then kept sleeping through the night forever. It's a process. But, I have nieces who still had struggles sleeping through the night even past their fist year. My best advice is listen to the cues your baby gives you and have patience, it won't last forever. :)

It sounds like she is already on a great schedule. She is still pretty much a newborn and so she should be sleeping a ton. I have a four month old and she still doesn't make it clear through the night (as in going to bed at eight and waking up at eight). Sleeping through the night at this age is sleeping anywhere between 5-8 hours at a time so it sounds like she is already doing this. When they start to eat solids it helps them to feel fuller longer so they can make it through the night. I love this stage because they sleep so much, they are very low maintenance and they start to smile. Two very big pluses. I would just follow her lead and you will find that she will get on a schedule without you having to do anything. She will sleep less in just a couple months and then you'll have to find ways to keep her happy when she's awake! It sounds like you are lucky to have such a good baby. Enjoy every moment!

Hi W.,
I have a baby girl a week younger than yours and I had similar concerns about too much sleep. (though my daughter is not so great at night) I read in Dr. Karp's Happiest Baby on the Block that it's not possible for babies to get too much sleep so I don't think it's a problem. By the way, my daughter tends to have a good hour after feeding (she's breastfed) then goes downhill too, though it seems like the good period is extending as she gets older. Good luck!
-R.