For background:
My 13 week old has been mostly sleeping through the night for weeks now, just getting up for a bottle around 2ish. I went back to work this week, and while he does great at daycare, he is having trouble with his last nap of the day. He usually has a bottle around 3, then naps from 4:30ish to 6ish, but with daycare he gets picked up around 4:45-5:15, depending on if it's me or daddy who gets him. For some reason, they thought we wanted him awake when we got there, I would prefer to transfer sleeping baby to car seat, so we're working on them letting him sleep until we get there, but I'm afraid they've taught him to catnap that nap.
When we get home, he's extremely cranky, some nights I can get him to nap a little more, some not. I can't just let him go to sleep at 6, he needs his medicine and last bottle of the day around then. (He has reflux)
Monday and Tuesday nights were pretty typical, sleepwise, maybe a little extra waking up. But the last 3 nights he's woken up every 2 hours. I pick him up, do the side to side sway for a minute or two, and he's back to sleep. Except he does it at 4, then again at 5, then after about 5:30 won't go back to sleep so I let him fuss a little in his crib (always picking him up if he is outright upset or crying, but occasionally he'll put himself back to sleep if I let him fuss a little) while I get ready for the day and get his medicine and bottle ready for him at 6am. When I finally get him up at 6, he's always all smiles and talkative, even while having his medicine, which is really the only thing getting this sleep deprived, non-morning person mama through the morning.
Finally, the question! How do I help him to go back to getting good sleep at night? He didn't even wake up every 2 hours as a newborn and his father and I are exhausted, which really sucks now that we're both back to work full time. Luckily, our 7 year old is a hard sleeper and doesn't hear any of it, even though their rooms are next door to each other.
ETA: He does get a dream feed around 10PM as well.
Gamma G, I never told them not to put him to sleep when he's sleepy. The problem is that they're waking him up in anticipation of us coming to pick him up and it's disrupting his sleep. I've asked them to let him stay asleep until he wakes himself up or we get there, whichever comes first. I know they have a lot of babies, but all I've heard since we started was that mine is so happy and the easiest one, probably because he's already on a good routine so they don't have to guess when he'll want a bottle or be tired, it's around the same time every day.
And at this age, there's no reason for me to bring him in his pjs, he's gotten up at 6 since he was born and he needs his reflux medicine at 6 and 6.
___________________
Final update:
I kept him on his regular eating and nap routine yesterday. I put 2 extra ounces of formula in each bottle, but he didn't touch them until his 10PM bottle when he had one extra ounce. But he slept on his regular schedule so his dad and I actually got some sleep! I just need to figure out how to keep him to his regular last nap of the day even though it comes during pick up time at daycare.....
Thanks for the advice, ladies.
When he wakes, feed him.
He's probably going through a growth spurt and is hungry. He's 3 months old, and most babies go through a growth spurt at 3 months.
The first time he wakes up, feed him. He'll probably go back to sleep for a good 4 hours before getting hungry again.
This baby is going through a major growing spurt.
All types of things could be waking him up. Hunger being number one. He is needing more food more often.
The need to stretch and move and to switch positions. Is he lifting and turning his head? If he is, put him on his tummy so that he can start to pull forward when stretching.
Infants are exhausting. My husband and I worked full time once our daughter was 6 weeks old. My husband and I both had dark circles under our eyes for months. There were times I did not know how I had driven to work.
But we would switch off waking up with her. On the weekends, I let him sleep in and then I got a nap. And on Sunday, I slept in and he got the nap!
when my kids were getting up like that they were hungry. he may need a feeding a lot later in the evening so he can sleep through the night. also make sure he doesn't have an ear infection.
I think he's probably hungry. At that age my boys usually woke up to eat at least 2 times every night. Their tummies are just so little, and they grow so fast.
I would definitely feed him the first time he wakes up each night. That will probably hold him a good 3 to 4 hours.
Babies change so fast. Their eating and sleeping habits change as they grow. By the time you've gotten used to one routine, baby is ready for a different one.
Remember, this phase won't last too much longer. I think you were very lucky that he slept so much as a newborn. Most of us can't say the same. He's getting up more now, but it won't be long before he's back to sleeping for longer stretches.
His sleeping pattern was great while it lasted but it might not come back for awhile.
What many parents do is tag team baby tending.
You tend to child one night and get fragmented sleep while your husband sleeps uninterrupted, then switch the next night (he tends to the baby while you sleep uninterrupted).
That way you each get a good nights sleep every other night.
If you get sick, take child to day care, call in sick to work and catch up on your sleep at home then pick up child at your usual time at the end of the day.
Sounds like he is overtired, which causes nightwaking. Talk to the daycare provider about adjusting his nap schedule. If they can't do that, then you need an earlier bedtime at home.
You should let the child care put him down when he's sleepy. Each of those teachers has 4 babies each probably. They can't sit and keep your baby awake and let the other babies lay there and cry....if your baby is tired and wants to go to sleep they should lay him down to do that.
As for baby coming home in the car seat, awake or asleep is fine.
You could simply change his diaper and put him over into the car seat to go to the center. I had parents pick their kids up asleep and bring them in their overnight diaper and jammies. I'd bathe them when they woke up and we served breakfast there so they'd eat. Some moms had to be at work at 5:30am so ask the teacher if they'd be willing to change baby out of jammies into daytime clothes so you can get even 30 more minutes of sleep.
Baby is also at a point of a growth spurt, he's had major changes in his short life, and you're probably acting differently since you feel bad and you're tired.
Just know this stage will pass in the not too distant future.
