Wonder Week 19

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1sttimemom

Registered User
There's a great book out there called "The Wonder Weeks" which guides parents through babies' 8 major developmental leaps. During the days or even weeks before and after these leaps, babies may exhibit the three C's = clinginess, crankiness and crying more. Other behaviors include: sleeps poorly, loses appetite, less lively, moody, sucks thumb more often...

My little one is week 18 (adjusted as she was born a week early) and I am so sleep deprived!

She resists all her naps, and as it gets later in the day, it gets increasingly harder to get her to nap. Plus - her naps are 1/2 hr each. I've heard short naps can happen if the baby is assisted in getting to sleep - which I admit we do. Patting, rocking sometimes... but her naps were never this short til 2 wks or so ago, so I am wondering if it's due to the wonder week 19 (fingers crossed it's a phase)

At night, she's back to waking up 4-5 times/night and taking a full feed. 3-4 weeks ago, she had starting sleeping through til 5am after her 11pm dreamfeed!

Looking for other moms with similar experiences?! I am so close to going to a sleep clinic!
 
Could easily be a growth spurt or developmental leap, in the early days their patterns change and evolve fairly quickly and I often found it easier to just go with the flow rather than looking for two many explanations, by the time you get the explanation then they'll have moved on to something else! Feeding a lot at night suggests a growth spurt though, just go with it and try to get as much rest as possible for yourself and you'll find it easier to cope with.

Good luck - it usually is just a phase :-)
 
Hi there, we also followed the Wonder Weeks for a while, and most of the time it was really accurate for our son. He also slept much the same way you've described. Very short naps during the day, assisted to fall asleep and frequent waking at night. We got to the point where we would hold him for his whole nap, just to get him to sleep for longer. We kept up the bad habits until he was about 6 months and then tried making him self-settle. He adjusted to that really well. Every nap he is put in his cot awake and we leave the room, we play music and stay close by so that if he doesn't settle we can go in and give him a cuddle . It's hard to force yourself to get started but it's definitely worth it. Our son is 11 months now and has 2 really good naps a day, all we do is put him down and he goes off to sleep by himself. He still wakes from time to time at night but usually it's because he's dropped his soother.

We stopped feeding him during the night when he started solids and I make sure he has a big meal before bed so he has a full tummy for the night.

Your daughter might just be going through a growth spurt, but whatever it is it'll pass. We always found that things changed every time we thought we had it figured out, but eventually we found out what worked for all of us and we all sleep well now. Anyway, I hope some of that helps and that you get some sleep soon!

http://typhoonsandtantrums.blogspot.com
 
Thanks both for the encouragement and reassurance! That's what my mom tells me - that it'll pass before I figure it out, so I should go with the flow. She's raised 3 of us, so I guess I should believe her but the 1st time mom anxiety just gets the best of me. The worst is early morning when her limbs are thrashing around and she cries out for help.

Have your little ones slept in their own rooms since birth?

BLWC, do you think that at 6 months, your son was just more mentally ready for the sleep training?
 
Hi again, we had our son in our room for the first 8 weeks or so but then we moved house and there wasn't enough room, so he's been in his own room ever since. I'm really not sure if it was that he was mentally ready for sleep training but I know I was! All I remember is reading about babies who are assisted to sleep and that they wake after each sleep cycle and don't know how to put themselves back to sleep, so I blamed myself for his short naps. I have friends who have "trained" their babies to sleep from birth, and they don't have any problems. One friend has a 12 week old who already sleeps 12 hours a night! I'm so envious but I don't know if I could do it with a newborn. I guess you just both have to be ready and I was determined to make it work and my son picked up on my confidence. I've never left him to cry it out which helps too I think. Your Mum's right, go with the flow, and do what's right for both of you.
 
I am blaming myself for her short naps too! She slept a 2 hour nap 2 days ago, but then back to 1/2 hour naps the next day. Once week 19 is over, we'll see what happens. I don't want to put us both through the sleep training until I feel she can handle it and her routine is more stable. Thanks again!
 
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