[Charlotte Ko]

Hi Emma,

Please see my replies below:

Naps: You mentioned that the first and second naps are around 1.5 hours – 2 hours in duration. To get that length of time asleep, are you laying him down in his crib for his naps and then he’s sleeping that whole stretch on his own? Or are you doing contact naps, where you’re carrying him for the whole nap? Or are you going in and resettle him part way through the naps?

We lay him down in his crib alone once he has fallen asleep. We will only resettle him either through patting/ carrying or another milk feed for the second nap if he fusses. For the first nap typically it’s 1-2hrs and second nap, typically 1.5-2hrs and completely possible for him to sleep through sometimes.

Falling asleep for naps and bedtime: Can you talk me through exactly how he falls asleep? You mentioned he’s mostly still awake when you put him down, which is great! But I’d love to know – when you feed him as part of the routine, are you sitting down, or standing and rocking him while he feeds? And if he doesn’t need a feed, how are you settling him? Or is a feed always a part of the sleep routine at some point?

When I feed him, I am usually sitting down to feed him. He is either on my lap or on his bed (recently he prefers lying on his bed propped up using a cushion to drink). I will then burp him. He either drinks and fall asleep or remains awake and if so i will carry him up to sing a lullaby and put him down. If he fusses, try using the pyramid method to put him to sleep.

If he doesn’t need a feed, I’ll use the pyramid method.

It does however seem that feeding has became part of the routine at some point even though that was not the intent as we were never able to feed him fully at the start of a wake cycle to wake- feed- play- sleep.

The pyramid method: And you mentioned it works well once he’s had enough milk – I just want to understand when the feed is happening in relation to putting him down.

The feed will happen before putting him down. Does that answer your question?

Overnight wakes: When he wakes, are you changing his nappy at all, or just keeping the room dark, offering a feed, and laying him back down?

I will change once a night or unless he soiled his diapers. The other times room is dark, I’ll offer a feed. I have started to calm him down using pyramid method without a feed as of last night. It works sometimes, sometimes he would still wake up like 15min later and other times he would keep crying and then i would offer him milk.

The 4-5am wake: You mentioned that a few times a week he seems wide awake and refuses to latch at this time. When this happens, roughly how long is he awake for? And does he eventually settle, or is he up for the day?

Prob an hour or so, he would get tired and sleep or eventually latch and fall asleep.

Start of the night: Do you notice he sleeps a longer stretch at the very beginning of the night, and then the wakes become more frequent as the night goes on?

This used to be the case until the sleep regression hits. He could usually sleep until 1/2am but from 3rd month onwards, he would sleep till 10/11/12am, wake at 1/2/3am and then from 4am onwards almost every 1-2hr. Yesterday being the worse he woke every hour from the time he fell asleep.

Thanks Emma! Looking forward to your reply!

[Charlotte Ko]

Update:

Baby seem to be waking every hour from sleeping and from midnight onwards, every 2 hours.