Sleep and EASY Support for spirited babies

[ftm103112]

Hi, I'm new here, and I don't have time to read through this entire thread but can I just say how excited I am for this thread?! I have a spirited baby and am a FTM and a SAHM and practically a single parent (my husband works full time and goes to school so he can't be as involved).

Our dear daughter is almost 5 months and its been 2 months since we put her on EASY but her sleep is STILL inconsistent. I am not sure if this is the right place to get into our sleep/eating problems, but since she's Spirited, I thought it might be a good place to start.

So we never made the switch to 4-hour EASY because I couldn't get a 2 hour nap out of her. I relaxed a bit on the schedule and that seemed to help her figure out what she wanted to do a little more and I'm starting to get 2 hour naps once in a while from her. I'm contemplating trying to get that more consistent by switching to a 4 hour EASY. But our problem is this:

I cannot get her to take a full feeding first thing in the morning. Sometimes she'll latch for a min or two or five but she eventually gets so distracted that she wants to play. Then she gets hungry again at 8am (an hour later). So I feed her and let her play (so the nurse-to-sleep association isn't there) but now the entire feeding schedule is off! I have tried everything to help her take a full feeding first thing in the morning - dark room, nursing cover, quiet environment, something to look at while she nurses, varying positions...but none of it works. I think maybe she's just not as hungry but her last feeding from the night is around 4am, so she should be hungry enough for a full feeding, right?!

If I can't get her feeding sorted out, I'm afraid I can't get her on a consistent schedule. Which I'm okay with except for the fact that she's still super inconsistent in her naps and night-time sleep. I know she can self-soothe at night but she's never done it with her naps. I always have to go in and pat/sh her back to sleep. And it always works to do that, and sometimes she will sleep thru the 45 minute cycle, but lately its been inconsistent and really frustrating.

HELP! I need some fresh eyes/perspective on this.

So to be clear:
1.) Won't take full feeding at 7am wake up which throws off the rest of the eating times for hte day because she gets hungry at 8am and if I skip that feeding, she wakes early from her nap because she's so hungry.

2.) She can't self-soothe back to sleep from the 45 min nap wake up and she wakes up at the 45 min mark more often than not.

3.) I think Tracy would say put her on a 4-hour EASY to solve the nap problem but I can't do that until I figure out problem #1.

PLEASE HELP! =) Thanks!

[*Ali*]

Hi, have you tried waiting to feed her until a it later rather than straight when she wakes at 7? So you would be doing AEASY instead of EASY but that is OK.

How long is she awake before you try to put her to sleep? Just wondering if she needs more A time. we would expect a 5mo to be on 2-2hr15. What about wake to sleep if she is already on an appropriate A time?

[pinkladyangel]

My spirited LO is going through an OT phase at the minute. We're in the middle of tweaking his easy.
The thing I need advice with is when he wakes after 45 mins at naptime I'm finding it hard to get him back off to sleep again. He's so obviously tired but even by being in the room I find that I'm stimulating enough to stop him from going back off again. I used to do shhh/pat but that doesn't work anymore. PU/PD is a def no no as he just laughs when I pick him up and screams when I put him down. He has a dummy (which isnt a prop) and all I can do is go replug and settle then leave his room again. If I stay he gets all excited and his arms and legs start going all over the place. Any ideas as I've run out of things to do and def dont want to go down the crying route.

[Tecike]

When we had this problem, I'd APOP him anyway I could to get some more sleep. Luckily my LO loved sleeping on/with me and I used it during OT phases. It was even good for me too, because I'd catch a few zzz's with him... 

[pinkladyangel]

But wouldnt that then become a habit?

[*Ali*]

What about wake to sleep if the naps are always 45 mins?

[odd]

Hi,

Is there somewhere a pure description of a Spirited Baby? Now I've found this thread and I have a suspition that it might be what I'm dealing with.... the definition could be very helpful.

thanks.

[*Ali*]

Here are descriptions The Five Types - Everyday Moments
And here is the quiz The BW "Know Your Baby Quiz"

[Tecike]

But wouldnt that then become a habit?

It hasn't become a habit here - he's an independent sleeper, so once we were through the OTness, he went back to self settling quite quickly. If you worry about it, you could try W2S as Ali suggested...

[pinkladyangel]

Aaaaarrrrggghhh   
Tried APOP this afternoon but he thought it was a game. I tried not to look at him but he was still laughing. If he wasnt tired it wouldnt be a problem. If i bring him back downstairs he's grumpy and whingey within 10 mins. Will try w2s tomorrow. It may work betyer as when i go in his room its as if he hasnt seen me for a week. He gets really excited.

[*Ali*]

Is the room completely blacked out?

[pinkladyangel]

His room usnt fully blacked but its dim and its never been an issue. He goes to bed at 7 ok and thats when his room is at its lightest. Dont think its that.

[*Ali*]

I was just thinking if it was completely dark he wouldn't really be able to see you and get excited.

[Kiwi_one]

Yep, we completely blacked out the room for our 4-month-old spirited and did Hold Through the Jolts when she hit the 45-minute-napping phase and within a few weeks she was able to get over the jolts herself. HTTJ is quite involved, you can only really do it if they're the only baby at home -- I would literally sneak in at the 25-minute mark, crawl over to her cot, and hold her down with my arms through the bars (and a blanket over them in case it wasn't dark enough to completely hide me if she woke) until she was over the 30-minute jolt, the 45-minute jolt, and then the 10-minute jolt of the next sleep cycle. But then I'd sneak out again and have at least another half an hour of Y in peace Wake to sleep sounds easier if your baby responds to it.

[pinkladyangel]

We ll dont want to jinx it but yesterday managed to get A time to where it should be (i think) and we've also put up a blackout blind. Hey presto naps were good and he slept right through with no early morning feed. I even managed to change a dirty nappy at 9pm without waking him up lol. I really hope we've cracked it(until next leap of course). Thanks for all the advice. I might be back later when it all goes to pot lol.