Going down on his own and then something happened???

[D-bot]

My DS is 5 months and 2 weeks old. He is on 4 hr EASY and has been going to sleep on his own with swaddling fairly easily but recently, he can't seem to be able to settle himself. I can get him to sleep in the first nap with no crying but the 2nd nap, 3rd nap and bedtime needs some shh/pat or PU/PD and sometimes rocking/walking if we are desperate. This can go on for a while sometimes up to almost an hour. I don't know what happened. He started rolling over both ways in the past week or 2 but I don't see him practicing it in bed since we swaddle him so I don't think this is the reason. Here is our typical routine:
E 8am
A
S 10:15am (2hrs)
E 12:15pm
A
S 2:30pm (1.5-2hrs depending on how the timing works out sometimes I wake him up after 1.5hrs)
E 4/4:30pm
A
S 6:15/6:45pm (30-45min)
A
E,A,S 8:30/9pm (bedtime)
Dreamfeed 11pm

I've tried to extend his A time but I don't think he's ready for 2.5hrs A time yet. Could it be overtired? undertired? Also, why do we aim for 12hr day and night? Lately, he's also been waking up at 7:10am. We usually put him to bed around 8:30-9pm still even if he wake sup earlier unless he didn't sleep much or if the timing is off, then we put him to bed earlier.

[Mommylgee]

Hi Dbot,

We're going through a lot of struggles as well, but going to sleep independently is one thing that dd is getting much better at!  (BTW, our los look alike    I realized it had a lot to do with reading her cues correctly and giving her a really good wind down routine.  Now,if I prolong the routine too much she gets upset because she just wants me to put her in her crib.  DD also can't last 2.5 hrs, she starts to take 45 min nappers if I push her.

Can you try experimenting with A times a bit just by following cues? My biggest mistake was following the clock. I don't know if that helps any, but I hope it gets better! 

[D-bot]

Hi Mommylgee,

Nice to hear from you again. It seems like just when things are looking great, something happens again. Thanks for your input. I am currently experimenting with his A times. The last few days, he's been waking up almost an hour before his supposed wake-up time. I am able to keep him up for 2.5hrs before I put him on his first nap but the second nap, 2hrs 15 min seem a little too long for him (don't know why because I was keeping him up for that long before). Anyway, I was able to put him to his second nap at 2hrs 15min even though he seemed to be fussing half an hour before his nap which I think is too early for him to be tired. We'll keep experimenting till we get it right. Wish us luck! 

[elmarie]

I do think that he is a bit OT come bedtime.  Remember a 45min nap is not restorative and is meant just to get through bath and bedtime routine.  I would suggest that you also bring bedtime forward to say 8ish if he wakes at 8am. I will aim for 2-2.15h A.  he still needs 2 naps of 1.5-2h and a catnap of 40min or so and 10-12h at night. This is a 4h EASY that can be used as a guideline 9you need to adjust it to suit your time):

7am wake
9am  sleep (1.5-2h)
1pm sleep (1.5-2h)
Between 5-6 catnap of 40ish min to get through supper and bath time
7.30pm bed
11.00pm dreamfeed (until 7-8 months or when solid food is firmly established

HTH

 

[D-bot]

The only reason the bedtime can be late for us is if he slept a little longer i.e. 2.5hrs. or if I had problems with the naps which pushed the time later. I usually have him in bed 1.5-1.75 hrs from the catnap although lately, he still cries before we are able to get him to sleep. Do you suggest that I put him to sleep at the same time even though he may have only been awake for 1hr? What happens if he wakes up early the next day? Do I just go with the flow and have an earlier bedtime? When this happens, I seem to be able to push him to have a 2.5hrs A time before the 1st nap of the day to get back on track with the normal 8-8 routine. Is this ok?

[elmarie]

I would say bedtime shouldn't be later than about 1.5h after the catnap.  So it is the routine more than the time that is important.  And I would say get him settled into the routine and then start pushing the routine forward again

E X