Hello Mamas,
I have a soon to be two month old who is not sleeping well He sleeps for about 2-3 hours at a time, then takes forever to get back to sleep once he wakes. Needless to say, my husband and I are exhausted. We are working on a routine with him, bath time, pajamas, feeding then some cuddle time before laying him down. My question is should we start our routine earlier in the evening, say putting him down for the night at 8-9, or waiting until later, putting him down between 10-11. We typically have been putting him down at the later time, but now I am wondering if it is too late and he is overly tired by that time and does not sleep well. He does not nap well during the day either, mostly cat naps with one long-ish nap in the afternoon.
I realize he is barely two months and that his sleep pattern is still erratic. I was just curious what worked/works for other moms out there. I feel like a first time parent again. We have a five year old as well, that slept like a dream from birth. We are willing to try different strategies to see what will work best for him and us.
Many thanks!
Absolutely, I have found that dark time is sleep time, early to bed, feedings at midnight keep in low lit room and while awake keep in very bright room. good luck.
I'm not sure that at 2 months it matters too much when you put him to bed. At 2 months they're still sleeping such short stretches and throughout the day, that I'm not positive that "bedtime" is really any different than the rest of the day. With that said, I think we did bedtime around 9:00 at that age, and then slowly got earlier after she started sleeping longer stretches. Do you swaddle him? We used the Miracle Blanket which made a big difference in getting our daughter to sleep longer stretches and getting her back to sleep. We also used a great swing for naps during the day-Fischer Price My Little Lamb swing-and that helped with getting longer naps. She actually napped in it until almost 7 months old, and then I transitioned her to her crib.
Hope this helps-good luck!
Two months is very small, his stomach is tiny and whatever he eats (drinks, really) is not a big quantity, so his belly gets empty fast and he's hungry again (is he really hungry when he wakes up?). If this is the case for your baby (consuming milk faster than your previous child), it'll be better later on, when you'll introduce cereal in his diet (after the 5th month). If it's not hunger, it could be gas or a little reflux. For the latter you could try let him fall asleep in a more upward position (such as sitting in a swing chair or even his carseat), for the gas ask your ped. Keep in mind, also, that some babies do have difficult sleeping patterns without any particular reason: in this case patience is required, they can't help it.
My son was a terrible sleeper for the first month. It got a little better but not until month 4 was he really sleeping well. Where is he sleeping? I found that putting my son in his carseat definetly helped him sleep longer. Also, are you nursing or using bottles? My son loved nursing so much he would fall asleep 10 minutes or less into it, could not be roused, and sleep a bit and wake up hungry AND tired. I found putting him to bed late worked best for us because that way I was super tired too and at least was able to get a few good hours of sleep. Try not swaddling him during the day and swaddle at night. Also, just follow his lead. You are doing a good job though starting with the "bedtime routine". I found a bath to be very relaxing for my son.
Most 2 month old babies wake every couple of hours to eat, or they would starve. They have extremely small tummies and are using every bit of fuel put in them in just a few short minutes, they are growing so fast.
I think it odd that you would expect the baby to do differently...maybe I am reading the post wrong.
I think you are putting him to bed too late. Also, what is your schedule like? Is your family a late night family or an early family? My husband and I get up early, therefore we go to bed early. We keep the kids on the same routine for the most part. But my SIL and her family are night owls. They eat late, go to bed late and get up late. If I were you I'd try to get him on your family's schedule when he's ready for a schedule.
What's YOUR schedule? That REALLY changes the answer...
When My baby was little I was working second shift so baby stayed up late and slept late because that's what worked for US. If you work an early shift put that baby to bed early. If you're a SAHM or Work AT Home mom. go with the flow, and take a nap during the day while the 5 year old is at school or has quiet time.
Also keep the baby CLOSE to your bed-- the baby and you will BOTH go back to sleep a LOT easier if you don't wake all te way up to start with. Rollover pick sleepy baby up, feed baby, go back to sleep works a LOT easier than listen to baby cry, stumble down hall, feed (very mad and wide awake now) baby and THEN try to get baby to go back to sleep
I think at 2 months, my child was waking 1-2 twice at night, so "bedtime" is relative. However, most babies I know sleep roughtly 7pm to 7am, night feedings aside. So, if I had to guess, you are doing it way too late at either time. When my oldest was an infant I would put her down as early as 5 or 6 because once that baby is overtired, she is never going to sleep well. Sleep begets sleep, so aim for earlier and see if that helps him sleep more soundly. Best wishes.
PS - Four months is the turning point on really getting to a schedule. Jus tlet him set the tone, asn sleep when you can.
At two months we went from going to bed at 10 to 9 then a week later to 830 and then about a month after that 8 and about 7 months went to 730. The time changes were due to her ques and growth. I nursed her every night until last week. She at 7 months also went down to nursing only once a night unless it was a growth spurt time. Then all bets were off.
The best advice is though don't go from 10-11 down to 8. His little sleep clock won't know what to expect. Do gradual time changes.
Good luck!
