wow i'm amazed at these babies that only stay up an hour and a half!! my two were/are both such live wires during the day and up for literally hours on end, luckily for me my little boy sleeps soundly at night, so far anyway. i am hoping he grows out of the cat napping during the day and sleeps more, it would suit me much better, but i'm not messing with anything as the nights are great, i get about 10 hours, waking once or twice for a feed..
i'm not sure what would be causing his clinginess, something seems to be troubling him and its such a guessing game as to what it is... you may never work it out, it might just run its course and you will be left scratching your head... just give him lots of what he is needing/wanting, have you tried skin on skin contact, or co-sleeping?
if you think its teething i used some homeopathic teething tablets that just disolve in their mouth that seemed to work, others have also sworn by them... worth a shot, a couple of bucks from the chemist...
also with the whole no structure thing, i never had any at all, it just didn't work that way, but what i plan on doing second time around is not so much aiming for a routine, but a pattern, so doing the same things in a row, but thats about it, no actual set plan to the day, but for example when it is nap time maybe i will close the shutters, massage some nice smelling moisturiser into his skin (his skin is ridiculously dry) put him in his sleeping bag/or swaddle, spend a few minutes in the rocking chair getting him sleepy, dummy in and then good night..... so no actual day time routine run by the clock, but just a series of events leading up to naps etc that will become a routine for him. not sure if any of that made sense. right i'm off to bed.
good luck xx
I agree with Marcellus regarding the set routine but having a pattern does help. We follow the sleep, feed and play pattern and it has made all the difference. It allows you to be flexible with when and how long your baby sleeps and is awake because you're following his cues. But the great thing is you feel there is some sort of order in your day because you know what's coming next - not wondering if he is hungry or tired etc.
i dont have any experience yet but the best info ive read so far on routines is from Child and Youth Health and says that every baby is different so no one thing will work for all babies and that the easiest routine to keep is one that is flexible but centres around the feed-play-sleep routine. skipping the play during the night. but all you can do is try different things and see wat works for your bub.
good luck! hope he settles down!
My gorgeous easy going 5 month old has also turned into a devil. Hard to get to sleep during the day, not sleeping at night - same wake ups as your bub. And I think it's such a shock because he's always been an "easy" baby. I am at my wits end with sleep deprivation and not a lot of support so I've decided to co-sleep. Put him in his cot until he wakes for his first night feed about midnight-1 am or whatever and then from there sleep with him. Or wait until the unsettled part - the 3/4am thing which goes on and off until 7am and see how we go. I've done it a few times already and at least we are both in bed until 7am, even if I have to almost spoon him as comfort it's almost okay. I really hope it's a stage!
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