Ironic that this picture of us shows Britton sleeping, because it is not something he has been doing well lately!The books say that a 3-month old should be getting between 16 & 18 hours of sleep a day. But after recording Britton's sleep patterns for a couple of days, he's only sleeping about 10 of every 24 hours! Instead of the three 2 to 3 hour naps a day he's supposed to be taking, he'll take about two 30 minute naps a day. The rest of the time, he's wide awake and taking in the world. Oh, and one day last week, he was awake for 11 straight hours. The child just doesn't want to sleep!
He has been a great night sleeper since we have brought him home. We can put him down in his crib and he'll go right to sleep. Until 3 days ago, he was sleeping in 6-hour stretches, which meant only one middle of the night sleep interruption for us. But for the last 3 nights, he's up every 2-3 hours, and he's hardly interested in eating, just wants to be awake, and maybe make sure mom & dad are still around. I thought babies were supposed to sleep through the night moreso instead of less so as they got older.
Danny & I had early decided not to be "schedule" people with our baby. Especially since Britton was born early and needed to gain weight, we decided we would let him eat & sleep whenever he wanted/needed to. But, I am now busy working with him during the day to take longer naps, hoping that the advice "well rested babies sleep better and longer" is true. Hopefully, we'll be able to strike a balance between being too unstructured & being slaves to the schedule. Our goal is to have him in a good routine by 4 months. We'll see how it goes ...
Here's to hoping for more sleep ... for all of us! (He is currently in the middle of the longest nap he's taken in awhile -- a whole hour so far!).
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5 comments:
i'm so sorry, honey. i remember those sleepless days. ava did that as well.
the first two weeks were great, but then, she never wanted to sleep. if your breastfeeding, like i was, ava was never full. we added cereal fairly early and switched over to formula. she slept much longer after that...just some advice your way...not trying to butt in. :)
i hope his schedule evens out. ava loved soaking up the world as well...sleep deprivation had me going crazy!!!
i'll be praying for you...
Emily,
I can't believe how big Britton is getting. It is so wonderful to see how wonderful and healthy he is. My nephew was early like Britton and he had trouble sleeping. When you are looking at where a 3 month old should be, make sure to substract the number of weeks that he was early and figure out his sleeping patterns based on that age and not his current age. That might help or maybe he is just going to outgrow taking naps at an early age. Glad you are having fun with him!
Will did the same thing at about 3 months, but it didn't last long. Hopefully Britton will quickly remember how sweet sleep is and go right back into a routine :) Also I love the pic of Britton and Danny with the counter full of bottles -- it makes me feel reassured that we aren't the only ones ;)
Emily,
I had one child who took naps by the book and two who only cat napped. Clara and Lewis never slept more than 30 minutes during the day. Just know it could very well be normal for Britton. Clara starting taking a longer nap when she started walking. With my first child,Rob, I thought his good sleep habits were because of my parenting, then when the others came along I realized it was just his personality and need for sleep like me.
Meg Fuller
Boo on lack of sleep! David never slept more than 12 hours in any 24 from day 1. He was also a snacker when it came to nursing.(Is there a reason that there is 4 1/2 years between him and Julia?!) Julia on the other hand nursed like there was no tomorrow and slept quite a bit and I was so worried that something was wrong! SO...this may just be his normal...or it could be a phase. Whichever, just roll with the punches, nap when he does, and housework will wait.
Can't wait to see you in June!
Love, Peggy
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