Help! Am I doing a wrong EASY routine for my 5.5 month old?

[Jnlli]

My 5.5 month old is currently on a 3.5 hour E.A.S.Y routine and we are experiencing some massive sleep problem. She naps well but would not go down at night, it would take her 2.5 hours of crying / fussing to go to sleep and this cannot go on. Below is our routine.. am I doing something wrong. She should be doing 3x 1.5 hour nap + 1x cat nap right? Should I switch her to a 4 hour routine? Please help!

We are on 3.5 E.A.S.Y (we are on a E.A.S.Y.A.E routine) and here below is our typical day

E 9am
A 9:20am
S 10am (she can only stay awake for an hour at this time)
Y
A 12pm

E 12:30pm
A 12:50pm
S 1:30pm
Y
A 3 / 3:30pm

E 4pm
A 4:20pm
S 5pm
Y
A 6:30pm

E 7pm
A 7:20pm
S 8pm (cat nap; that usually does not happen or just for 20 min)

E 9pm

[jessmum46]

Yes, definitely time for routine adjustments . At 5.5m many babies are already beginning (or even well into) the 3-2 nap transition and would be consolidating their 4h EASY (two long naps and a CN) into two long naps.

Your LOs A times are really tiny for 5.5mo, there's no wonder she's having trouble settling at bedtime.  She just isn't tired enough because she hasn't had enough awake time.  I would suggest:

Start with the first A of the day, next 3 days add 10 mins to it so she is doing 1h10 first A.
If she has a good nap (1.5h or more), also add 10 mins to her second A time and hold for 3 days.
Same with the third A time, add 10 mins and hold for 3 days.
Skip the 4th nap/CN and aim for a 12h day.

After 3 days, add another 10 mins to each A time.  She is well behind the averages for her age so you should be able to push fairly quickly even if she is high sleep needs.  At 5.5months a minimum would really be 2h15-30 for most babies, some are easily doing 3h.  But if you jump there all at once she will get very OT.  Slowly does it, extend your A time, work towards two long naps and shortening your third nap to a CN.

And then read this: All about the 3-2 transition- 5/6 months to get from those 3 naps to 2!

Good luck, let me know if you have more questions