[katevin]

For some reason today I've felt completely out of control with DD2 and am thinking we need to get a bit more of a definitive routine going.

She generally feeds every 2.5-3 hours through the day and feeds twice overnight. After she wakes from a nap she appears to be tired again in under 1 hour (!!) which seems to be a very small amount of time for her age!? She usually has 4 naps a day, the last one being a late in the day/early evening catnap. Am not sure whether she really needs this or we should be putting her to bed a bit earlier instead. The other naps are a bit unpredictable, can be anything from 30 mins to (very rarely) 2.5hrs. Normally she sleeps for 1 sleep cycle, so 40 mins-ish and can about 75% of the time be resettled for another 40 or so mins. So I guess 1h20m-ish would be about her average nap time. (Although today has been a bad day... won't go into that!)

So anyway, enough rambling about us... what is/was your 4 month old's routine? How many naps does he/she take per day? And how long is he/she happily awake between sleeps? How many feeds?

TIA for your responses

[deejie]

So anyway, enough rambling about us... what is/was your 4 month old's routine? How many naps does he/she take per day? And how long is he/she happily awake between sleeps? How many feeds?

Hi katevin

Routine? What routine? lol

DS2 typically takes 3-4 naps per day of somewhere between 30-45 minutes. I probably manage to resettle him once or twice... per week He is typically awake 2 hours between naps.

At night, he passes out from exhaustion between 6-7pm. He will typically do a 3-3.5 hour block of sleep, then a 2-2.5 hour block of sleep and then will be awake every hour to hour and a half for the rest of the night. This is what does my head in-- the lack of sleep through the day wouldn't be so bad if he would just sleep at night! I have to feed him back to sleep through the night, otherwise face a 45min-1 hr screechfest. So I just take the easy way out Through the day he feeds every 2-3 hours, depending on his mood. Again, no real pattern!

I really can't see myself getting him in to any sort of routine soon when he is so all over the place I see exactly what you mean by feeling completely out of control and will be watching this thread with much interest!

[rattie]

I'll be watching this thread too.

Our days are similar to the above. 4 catnaps, 35-45 min each. Breastfeeds 2-5-3 hours apart through the day. We Bottlefeed formula at 6pm, dreamfeed at 10-1030pm and then breastfeed 2amish and 4amish. DS2 can wake at 5 and 6 then the day begins again. He can manage about 2 hours awake time but this depends on the night before.

We are having lots of settling issues at the moment. He wont settle for me at all with out my boob. Its driving us nuts. My poor hubbie has to deal with the constant resettling at the moment. Is this normal for this age?

We've been trying to follow Safe Sleep Space tips but its getting us nowhere. I suppose I just want to know its normal for this age and that it'll get better. Its my second baby but DS1 had reflux so was different alltogether.

Settling tips gratefully accepted.

This post has been edited by rattie: 09/04/2012, 07:30 PM

[bettymm]

gosh we are going through similiiar issues too..its something about 4 months!!

DD used to just put herself off to sleep but now only with a boob in her mouth and even then she wakes again after 30 min..if im lucky! so she will have 2-3 little cat npas in the day and passes out at about 7pm. Up until a few days ago she would then have a big block of sleep from 7pm -4.30 am , feed, then back down till 6 am ish, feed then back down til 8am. lovely. But now//she seems to be waking every 2 hrs in the night and will only go back to sleep if she is next to me in bed..with my boob out. sigh.

Also have a 3 year old so it does my head in when i feel like all i have been doing the whole day is chasing my tail trying to get DD2 to have a decent sleep.

This post has been edited by bettymm: 09/04/2012, 07:32 PM

[notsonewone]

My 4 mth old is my 2nd bubba. I also have a 4 year old. So, No routine what so ever. Except for basically feeding every 3 hours in the day. 2 or 3 catnaps, 1 long sleep including resettle.
In bed at night between 730 and 830 then up anywhere from 6 am.
BUT
Has gone from sleeping 8-11 hours per night in one stretch then a feed then back to sleep til 7 or 8 am. Now? 2 feeds overnight. Is resettled at 5am and sometimes other times too

My first child was a routine queen and all nighter at this age!

[rattie]

I'm on struggle street today. I've been tryng to get DS2 down since 8am. Its now 10. The resettling is driving us nuts. Is anyone else finding this?

Also for the second night in a row he was wide awake at 2am wanting to play.

[Jelly Bean 1988]

I dotn really have a routine i just cart ds around with me all day to whatever im doing but he seems to have got himself into one he wakes at 6-7ish and has a feed or 2 then plays for an hour when he gets cranky so in goes dummy and popped in front of abc channel while i clean his bottles for the day.
he sleeps fro about an hour then is awake and playing and has 2 feeds and goes back down at bout 12-1 and sleeps till 3-5 and has a tiny amount of solids has a bottle of anti reflux thickened formula and sleeps from 6 till morning (occasionally will wake to have another bottle in the night if he is having a hungry week)

[Jelly Bean 1988]

i find as soon as he starts getting cranky i make sure he isnt hungry and put him to bed he will cry for 5mins (not bad crying) and falls asleep (if i try to settle him he stays awake cause im there)

[PurpleNess]

Speaking of 4 month old catnappers mine just woke up as I started to type!! Now hes rolling around & giggling in his cot so he can stay there for a minute.

Our Routine is rough
Wake up around 7am, up for an hr then back to nap at 8am for 45 mins on average
9am morning feed ( he feeds ar 4.30-5am so isn't hungry till then) then play etc
10am nap - 45 mins, hr if lucky
Play - go out shopping etc
12 noon feed, play then back to be by 1.
3pm feed
between 4-5 nap of some description
5.30 - bath, pjs
6.15 - last feed, chill out time with Dh Then into bed by 7pm.

He sleeps pretty well at night & only wants 1 feed so I can't complain. I find as a catnapper he needs more regular naps than most of my friends bubs, so if I see tired signs, off he goes. He fights it most afternoons so then it's go for a walk in the pram of lay him on a mat in the shade to watch the trees etc, it relaxes him.
Sometimes I'll have to resettle him 3 times but at night he will self settle via exhaustion I think lol

Got to go ,he whinging now ! Good luck OP & everyone else!

[Leee]

My DS wakes around 5am feed then back to sleep till about 830 we do the school and kindy run then back to bed about 930. Wakes around 12, feeds then a nap around 1 or just after. Up again around 230 for school and kindy run again. Feeds when we get home at 430, bed around 530 for a short nap about 40 mins. Feed around 630 then bed around 7. He then will sleep through till 5ish.

He does not last for much more than an hour of awake time unless we are out.