Jack is almost 8 weeks old. Growing up FAST. 2 months old!
Around 8 weeks old, you may find that your baby is moving from 4 naps a day to 3 naps a day (although some bubs don’t do this transition until 12 weeks). You may have found that your bub was always more of a 3 nap a day kinda guy. Jack has always done fairly long naps so it has been rare for him to do a 4 nap day.
You may have also found that around 8 weeks old, bedtime falls anywhere around 8pm or 9pm.
You will notice that bedtime will start to be a little earlier once the transition to 3 naps happens. All babies are different and the length of day naps has a lot to do with it.
Take it as it comes.
A good guide is that if your baby is doing at least 90min naps each time, you (and him!) are doing well. The naps are hopefully longer than that but take what you can get, right?! If they aren’t at least 90min in length then there may be a prop at play. Try to work on eliminating those props.
The awake time should still be sitting around 45-60minutes.
It generally shouldn’t be more than that for another 4 weeks or so.
So if you are finding you are experiencing some short naps or extended upset periods prior to naps or bedtime, then take a look at whether the awake times are too long or if there is a prop.
As previously discussed, the Eat Play Sleep schedule is your best friend. Even though you are feeding on wake up, still keep an eye on whether baby is getting drowsy during the feeds. This could be contributing to short naps or some upset prior to naps as a feed sleep association may be present.
So the main props at this age are feeding to sleep, rocking to sleep, or using a dummy. If you feel like they have entered into your daily routines, try to back away from them.
If there is upset (whether its because you are removing a prop or not), here are some tips when it comes to settling an upset baby.
Firstly, if you put baby down and there is some fussy or crying, just leave baby be for a minute or two. Give him a chance to settle himself. You may be surprised. He might calm down fairly quickly. Every time he gets to practice this, the less times the upset is going to occur, and hopefully it will stop altogether.
As per my previous post, if the crying persists, pick baby up, walk around the room a little, and place him back into the cot and try again.
I wanted to bring in another option.
Sometimes picking up and putting baby down can be too much stimulation for a baby once they get a bit older. Therefore, it isn’t as effective at helping baby self soothe in the cot.
Another settling option is to talk to baby for a minute or two, if that doesn’t settle baby, then move to some gentle touch for a minute or two. This keeps baby in the cot and allows them to work more on their own soothing strategies.
You may like to stay in the room until they are calm.
If baby cries after you have left the room, give it a little time before you go back in. This allows baby a chance to self soothe. If the crying persists, I would go back in and repeat the settling strategies you did previously.
It can be very hard on a parent when their baby persistently cries. So many things can come into play as to why a baby is upset. Remember it is the only way they can communicate. If you know they are fed, comfortable (nappy and temperature wise) and there are no lingering props, then you are doing everything you can. Over time, the upset should reduce. Stay consistent with your responses, that is the key. It creates a safe and secure feeling for baby.
Reflux and colic are other factors you may be dealing with. Again, hopefully over time baby will grow out of these issues. They may still be prevalent around 8 weeks old.
