Well today was another almost nap-free day. My little guy did have a short nap during our morning walk. I feed him every 2 1/2 to 3 hours, so I hope he is not hungry. He does not know how to put him self to sleep and I am not sure how to hel him either.
I swaddle him so he is unable to suck his fingers or thumb...he startles himself at night so I need to keep him wrapped up. He is not fond of pacifiers, I have tried 3 different brands and sizes-no go....any advice?
The poor little guy is so exhausted by the end of the day...I need to reread Tracy Hogg's book Baby Whisper as I feel we do not have a 'real' routine, we have been out of the house a lot with visitors and various appointments...i never got around to the EASY routine.
I totally empathise with you, Stamcel, on those nap-free days. Just as I was replying your thread yesterday (was it only yesterday?), my 16 week old bub decided he wanted to skip naps again! So on the heels of my message to you my baby has decided to 'change' again and I had to practise what I preached
He went for hours and hours without a nap yesterday. It was exhausting but it wasn't as draining as it used to be because I guess my stamina and patience have been built up. Also, apart from the fact that your poor little guy is exhausted, it's difficult for you if he is wailing away, leaving you stressed, frustrated and unable to do anything about it (not to mention your own things that need doing have to be on standby... indefinitely!).
On the subject of pacifiers - my little guy didn't want one either. I tried a both the orthodontic and cherry types, on several occasions. The first time he spat it out immediately, subsequently when I tried it he gave me a "You gotta be kidding me!" look and that was it. Some babies just refuse them, no matter what age you start them at. The consolation is that you don't have to wean him off it later.
As someone said, perhaps he is hungry. I used to HATE it when other people said that to me, because I fed him every 2.5-3hours like you and he seemed to be wetting and soiling his nappies sufficiently, so I totally disregarded that as a possible issue until my midwife visited and suggested I feed him for a longer period of time because he did seem to be the right age for a growth spurt (he was 6-7 weeks old then) and perhaps he really IS hungry! Since she was a professional, I tried it. I usually fed him for about 20 good minutes but she suggested I double it, keeping the time between feeds constant and making sure he is really feeding solidly, as he tended to drift off and stop quite frequently. After days of the new routine he suddenly seemed a lot more settled and was able to go down for a couple of naps a day! I don't know if this will work for you but if you are desperate and don't mind trying it out, at worst you'll have more wet nappies and slightly sore boobs.
As to routine, what worked for me was the *idea* of it rather than adhering to one strictly - i.e. it was more a sequence of events that usually is: wake up from nap, feed, waketime (e.g. playing, bath, running errands outside together, sitting on a bouncer while I go about the house), naptime. As long as I stuck to this concept I had an idea of what I was able to do next. Even if naptimes did not exist. As your bub grows older the idea of the routine will solidify into something more substantial, constant and reliable. For my little boy the naptime usually didn't exist so I didn't know what to do with the naptime segment initially, but I found that he could catnap in the baby bjorn when I was out doing stuff, so I just counted that as a nap in the absence of anything else! Sometimes you'd deviate from the routine, but hey, it's meant to help you not enslave you. And being out of the house with visitors and appointments - I understand the need to be out - it gives you a real break. Maybe if you structure your day in advance you'll have a better idea of your routine?
