My 5 week old son has sparatic sleep patterns. Some days he sleeps all day, some days he naps, some days he doesn't. Usually, he sleeps pretty well at night, but we would like to get him to go to bed earlier and wake up earlier in the morning. Any advice? We are concerned about when I go back to work because right now I am only sleeping when he sleeps. When I go back to work, I have to wake up at 5 a.m.
Refer to ask dr Sears Web site. Dr. Sears has never failed me. When our oldest was a baby I read Night Time parenting and it saved my life.
Good luck!
J.
He is a tad young to start sorting sleep. I would get a sleep book then you would know what you can expect. We use the book Good Night Sleep Tight by Kim West. And we used it from birth with our now 7 month old and he was a on a great schedule by three months. It also has worked great for our 2 1/2 year old.
this is very typical behavior for a newborn. remember the first 3 months are sometimes called the fourth trimester because of the randomness that mimics womb behavior, and the high needs of baby.
do your best to accomodate these needs. the cry it out method will only work to make baby lose trust in you, so try your best to not use this approach, and encourage caregivers to do the same.
he will normal out, just keep at your normal routine, and remember that no amount of schedule will actually cause your baby to sleep any different than how he needs to... just be patient and TIME will help him to sleep in a more routine way. :D
www.askdrsears.com is fantastic. i trust dr sears with my life, and the life of my son as well!
L., Your little guy is still really young. I am getting for baby # 3 this week and one thing I can to realize with my first two, I could not get a schedule for my babies for about the 1st 6 weeks. I think you will start to notice some huge changes in the sleeping routine from the 6 to 8 week marks. I would just do your best to keep him on a good feeding schedule during the day becasue I think that helps a lot. Both of my little ones were sleeping through the night between the 10 and 12 week marks. That of course can very, but hang in there a couple of more weeks and I think you are going to notice some big changes in your babies routine.
Yes, unfortunately, he's way too young to do much with a schedule yet. There are tons of great sleep books out there - the key is finding the one that works for you - both in terms of finding a method of sleep training that fits your lifestyle and parenting style, and one who's tone makes you feel comfortable and not annoyed.
Kim West is good, I've heard good things about "The No-Cry Sleep Solution", Mary Sheedy Kurcinka's "Sleepless in America" tackles sleep problems in kids of all ages, my personal favorite is "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Marc Weissbluth. All of them will tell you, though, that for most kids, you can't really push them onto a schedule or teach them how to fall asleep on their own until they're about 4 months old. I know that's not what you want to hear, and I feel for you. The level of sleep deprivation that a new parent endures is insane. These books will help you prepare for the moment when his body is really ready to fall into a routine, and will probably also give you some ideas about small things you can do now to encourage sleep at given times. (At his age, you can't really discourage sleep, he's going to sleep if he wants to sleep.)
Check out your local library, too, you'll find lots and lots of sleep books. Dr. Sears has a good one, too.
Good luck!
