Which EASY should we be on????

[Shellha]

My DS is 3.5 months old and has been on EASY since day 1, with a few hiccups along the way (silent reflux).

I am at a bit of a loss as to which EASY he should be on (3.5hr or 4hr) due to a few factors:

1. He can go 4 hours between feeds (eg rarely if ever cries for food earlier than this)
2. Naps for 45 mins and won't re-settle
3. Awake time up to 2 hours

Therefore on 3.5hr EASY he can manage well as he feeds, is awake for 2 hours, then sleeps for 45mins, and up again for 45mins before feeding again (so more like EASAE) - however he doesn't need to feed so often

On 4 hour EASY, due to the sleep issues (short naps) it doesn't work!

I have tried W2S and it does work well, but quite often I will go in and he will already be awake! We are also out and about alot, so doing W2S is not possible when he is in his pram/carseat etc.

The 45 min naps are killing me!

He usually goes to sleep at 7.30 (nappy change/bath/dressed/bed routine), I dreamfeed between 10-11, and then he wakes around 4 for a feed, waking for the day around 7am.

Any help on how to get him on to 4hr EASY would be appreciated. He is a big boy - almost 15lbs so I know he can do it, it's just the napping issue that is stopping him.

Thanks

[*Mona*]

hi Shellha.

maybe the reason for the nap issues is 3,5 hrs EASY? I'd go for 4 hrs in your case. we did it with our dd when she was maybe a bit younger than your DS and even tho her naps are rarely longer than 45 minutes at one time, she's much more easy to resettle now and often ends up having 1,5~2 hrs long nap with some 5~10 minute 'brake' in the middle.

if your LO can handle 2 hrs of A time and is not hungry before 4 hrs from the last feed, then I think he should be on 4 hrs routine.

[Shellha]

Thanks for your response Maja's mum!

Could you help me out with how you re-settle your LO during those nap 'breaks'? I get my DS to sleep my putting pressure on his legs and shh'ing him - do you just do the same? Do you go in as soon as you hear her wake or do you wait until she really lets you know she is awake?

Thanks in advance

[*Mona*]

I go in when I hear her "mumbling" to herself, she rarely cries now [only when really overtired which doesn't happen sooner than late evening if she skips her catnap]. I tried a few times to just wait and see if she can resettle herself, but no, she can't do it yet.

do you use paci/dummy? we do, so I go and try to put her paci in and I hold her hands [or she holds my fingers] and whisper to her ear "go back to sleep honey" or sth like that. if it doesn't work, I pick her up and hold her upright, wit her head in my neck and walk around the room with herfor a minute or so. when I see she's settled I put her back into the crib. sometimes I do it once only sometimes 3~4 times. it's a bit like PU/PD only she doesn't cry  we're using white noise too and she sleeps in a grobag/sleep sack.
and sometimes she just wakes up smiling and cooing happily and I just let her be without putting her back to sleep.

maybe you could try some PU/PD as well if shushing and putting the pressure doesn't help him to go back to sleep?

but first I'd go for 4 hrs EASY and see if it works for his naps. surely it won't work in the first day or two but maybe a bit later?