sleeping schedule

[MIpiccolo44]

We had a lot of catnap problems with my DS, the biggest problem that I had with it was that he was still grouchy even right after a nap, so I knew he wasn't sleeping long enough. I really liked this book THE 90 MINUTE BABY SLEEP PROGRAM, by Polly Moore, it helped us immensely! basically it says that most kids have a 90 minute awake cycle, and that if you catch them at the right time they are more likely to sleep better. One of the best things that I learned was that it seems to hold true no matter how long the nap was, even if he had slept for an hour, he was still ready to go back to sleep after 90 minutes, same thing if the nap had been 20 minutes. He became a much happier baby and toddler after that because he was sleeping more and I was less stressed about it.

That said, it also seemed to make a big difference if he fell asleep in the same place he would be sleeping. He was already like 8-9 months at this point... For example, when I let him fall asleep while I was holding him and then I layed him down, when he woke up briefly he would startle and stay awake, where as if he fell asleep in his crib and woke up briefly he was relaxed from being in the same place and would go back to sleep.

[abunchoflemons]

I did within 6 months for my first cuz I was in school.

[Alaga]

Originally Posted by bezark Have you given a good carrier a shot? My first was 24lb at 4 months, I'm relatively petite with chronic pain issues, and it was still LOADS easier for me to use a carrier than to hold him in my arms. I don't mean this to say "look how tough I am," just that if you've never tried a good carrier, I think you'll be surprised.

This.
My 3 month old is 17 lbs and I wear him in an Ergo. It was definitely worth the investment. I also had a Moby, but it just doesn't cut it anymore. I wear DS for at least one nap a day b/c my DD is so active!

Oh, and I'm also a smaller person, around 5 ft 3 in.

[TaraB]

4-6 months you might start to see the baby be more scheduled and the naps lengthen. For us we worked hard to read cues and help the baby gently fall asleep. around 5 months I gently faded out supports to fall asleep and between 5-6 months the naps lengthened to 2 naps of at least 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours and night sleep at least 12 hrs with a wake up at 10 hours to eat. Our second guy is now 9 months old.

what you are describing is very normal for 8weeks

[babylove921]

Originally Posted by Alaga This. My 3 month old is 17 lbs and I wear him in an Ergo. It was definitely worth the investment. I also had a Moby, but it just doesn't cut it anymore. I wear DS for at least one nap a day b/c my DD is so active! Oh, and I'm also a smaller person, around 5 ft 3 in.

Yep. My baby is almost 3 months, and probably 14lbs, 25", we babywear.

[pottermomma]

Thank you so much everyone! I really appreciate the responses/help.

I have a Moby and I liked it when he was super little but now it hurts my shoulders and always seems to be seeing too much when I walk around. I guess I need to look into a new carrier.

I'm defiantly going to check those books out. I am not good at reading his cues I don't think so I'll have to look into tips.

[bluedaisyma]

Originally Posted by pottermomma Lol yeah I would prefer more but I have nothing to compare him to so I wanted to ask. Thanks ladies. And I would baby wear but he's huge (12lb or more and 23") so it is hard on me because I'm pretty small or I would.

you can still babywear . I wear my 2 yr old on my back and my 11 wk old on my front at the same time and I am small. I also wore my 2 yr old my whole pregnancy and he is about 28 lbs. When I just wear the baby, i wear him on my back in a beco if I have to get stuff done in the house.

as for your question, I never schedule babies. We co-sleep, so I don't wake them to nurse or anything, they wake when they are hungry. The only time I do that is if we are going somewhere and it's been a while since he nursed, I will change his diap and see if he wants to nurse before we go.