Learning to Parent

DH: Hi!He slept a lot last night. I think we can safely let him nap during the5:00-7:00 hours... eh? Remember:- No drawing blood- No peeing on the floor- Nothing other than Mother's milk to drink. Keep me informed on what your schedule is looking like with the Dr. Appt.

Me: Yes, he slept GREAT. I had to wake him at 7 to eat again because he was still snoozing pretty soundly. I wish I knew what the secret is. Maybe it's just a gradual process and we are reaping the benefits of being consistent about day vs night routines. I'm curious to see how he does tonight. Yesterday he stayed awake after his first feeding, but right now he is asleep again. If he stays sleepy all day I may start to get worried again and try to go back to the 2 hour poke-the-baby routine... I could only get him to nurse for about 15 minutes this morning so I pumped afterward; you'll have just a little less than 3 oz in the fridge unless I am able to pump again. I am hoping he has nice long sessions the rest of the day so I may not have the opportunity.
Mom will be here while I go to dr (appt at 3:30). I will arrange things so I feed him right before leaving, so I think I should be back well before he needs to eat again. Do you want me to show her the syringe technique just in case? I am a little reluctant to ask her to do it, because I think it will be a bit outside her comfort zone, and I feel pretty confident I won't be gone too long. But if you want me to show her I will.

DH: Don't show her. I'll leave here a little early. I think we are starting to see his days/nights inverted. All theliterature says it takes a few weeks, and we've had him home for 2.5weeks now. See if he gets a little more lively throughout the day. I found this link on infant sleep. It contains a chart broken showing sleep requirements broken down by how many months old the child is. http://www.lpch.org/DiseaseHealthInfo/HealthLibrary/growth/infhab.html If he is needs to sleep 16 hours a day, that leaves 8 hours awake. Ifyou are feeding him 8-10 times at 30-40 minutes a go, that is 4-6.5hours. Tack on a wakeful period in the morning and one in the afternoon,and the little guy should be tuckered out. I've read several resources now that recommend not letting the baby fall asleep in your arms. Instead, rock or cuddle them to the point of drowsiness and then put them down and let them fall asleep on their own. Otherwise we may condition him to only fall asleep if he is being held...and may increase sleep problems around 6 months when he starts to experience separation anxiety. Don't forget I have a lesson @ 6:00 tonight.

Me: I have read the same thing about putting them down drowsy rather than fully asleep, but I thought it applied to older babies, starting about 3 mos. old. We can try it this weekend if you want...I don't want to get adventurous when you have to go to work the next day. Plus he falls asleep so frequently while nursing, I don't know if that means I should try to keep him from doing so? That seems extreme to me.
He is awake right now, on his blankie looking out the front door.