Routine and napping questions- please help!

[tlw]

Hello first let me say thanks for taking the time to read this long message.  I am a first time mom of a beautiful baby boy who will turn 5 months next week.  We just started EASY about 12 days ago.  I have several questions and am hoping that someone can give me some advice or words of encouragement. 

LO is Angel with a little bit of textbook
I think he is going through a growth spurt and maybe teething
Currently on 4 hour feeding routine

Here is what our routine has looked like over the past 2 weeks (it really varies day to day)

6-7 Awake (in bed talking, I usually keep him in crib till 6:45 or 7)
If he is content should I just keep him in crib till 7 then feed, or do I need to get him up rigt when he wakes up?
7 E
7:30-8:30ish A (this time varies day to day.  there are days when he does not get 2 hours of A because of his sleep cues)
I am trying to work on this A time so he gets atleast 2 full hours. 
8:30-10 S (this time varies as well, which makes my routine EASAES, some days he has 1.5-2 hr am nap and other days it's 45 min.)
10-11 S or A
11 E
11:30-12:30/1 A
1-2/2:30/3:00 S (again this nap varies in length, can be 2hrs or 45min.)
3 E
3:30-4:30 A
4:30/5 Catnap and cereal (eating time depends on length of catnap)
5:30-6:00 A
6 E
6:30/7:00 S
10 or 10:30 DF

Today was a great day!!!  LO was up for at least 2 hours at every A time which is something we have struggled with.  He slept 2 hrs in the am, but only about 45 min. in pm with 30min catnap.  In bed at 6:30 and asleep by 7:12.

Questions: (sorry if these sound stupid I am just confused)
1.  If LO takes short naps all day 30-45 min. should I be putting him to bed earlier, not giving him a full 12 hr day to prevent OT?  Do I skip the catnap if he needs to be in bed by 6 or 6:30?  What happens to his 6 or 7 feeding if I need to put him to bed earlier, do I feed him earlier and not worry about not staying on the 4 hour feeding routine or do I skip that feeding and feed again at DF?

2.  If my LO had a short am nap but a long pm nap should I wake him for his next feeding (even though he needs the sleep)?  For example one day he only slept 45 min in the am but then he slept 3 hours in the pm.  I woke him up to feed him at 3, but you could tell he was still tired.
Not sure if it was right to let him sleep that long.  What should I be doing if this happens again?

3.  LO has a hard time soothing himself to sleep.  He doesn't suck on a paci, just chews.  He will chew/suck on his fingers for a while but then he gets really frustrated when they fall out of his mouth.  Any ideas on what I can do besides ssh/pat to help him calm down during naps/bedtime?

I would appreciate any advice anyone has to offer.  Thanks!

[deckchariot]

welcome to BW!!  And well done getting on a routine in 12 days!  That's wonderful!  Thanks for posting your routine, let me see if I can help with your questions:

I Agree with pp - if he's happy, you can leave him.  Just remember though, his A time starts from when he wakes up, not when you get him.  So if he's up at 6 and you're aiming for 2 hrs of A time, that means 8 is 2 hrs of A time.  At 5 mos, most lo's are moving towards 2.25 hrs of A time, but often that first A time is the shortest of the day.

1.  If he's had multiple short naps, yes, I would put him to bed a bit early.  That may mean skipping the catnap - depends on what his day is like and how tired he seems.  I would always feed him before bedtime - don't worry if it's not 4 hrs from the last feed.  You want him to bed with a full tummy so he'll sleep better.

2.  At 5 mos, it's not necessary to wake for a feeding, though you certainly can.  I never let my dd sleep longer than 3 hrs at a time -  it just messes our whole routine up.  But I leave that up to you.  If he's way OT, he may need to catch up a bit.  When he napped for 3 hrs - how did the rest of the day go?  What you want to look at is total sleep in a 24 hr period.  Here's a helpful link:  http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=85134.0

3.  shh/pat is GREAT!  He will pick up on how to self soothe.  Before you started BW - how did he go to sleep?  If he was used to you rocking him, it will take some time for him to figure out how to do it on his own.  If he's not attached to the paci - you may not want to introduce one.  You could however, introduce a "lovie" - a bear or animal or something that he can use to comfort himself (pick a stuffed toy he likes to play with and see if he'll attach to that)

Here's another thread on teaching sleep to bubs your age that might help too:
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=85499.0

It looks like you're off to a good start, it just takes awhile for things to all settle in!  Hang in there!!

TIA
michelle

[tlw]

Thank you for answering my questions.  I have a few more.

In regards to self soothing you suggested using a lovie (stuffed animal, etc.).  Is it ok to have something like that in the crib with a 5 month old.  I am worried that he could suffacate on it. 

So today LO has had all short naps. Could you review my routine and tell me if I "did it right".

6:30 Awake (let him play in crib till 7)
7:00-7:30  E
7:30-8:23  A
8:23-9:02  S
9:02-10:30 A
10:30-11:00 E (I fed him earlier so I could try to get him back down for nap)
11:00-11:45 A
11:45-12:26 S
12:26-12:47 A (woke up and did ssh pat until he went back to sleep)
12:47-1:20  S
1:20-2:45  A
2:45-3:02  E  (he fell asleep while he was eating, finished bottle and I tried to put him in crib for nap and he woke up and will not go back to sleep)
So he is still up at this point and probably OT because it has been over 2 hrs A time!

What do I do tonight?  Put him to bed early? 
How do I handle this again if it happens?
3:02-now  A

[deckchariot]

I would put him to bed early tonight.  See if you can get a catnap in before bedtime and the up, eat, bedtime routine and down.  Start tomorrow fresh and see...It looks like that first A time was good (at least that's what I'd suggest - right about 2 hrs), but it looks like he got just about a 30  min nap, which usually indicates overtired.  So perhaps shave maybe 10 min off just that first A time and see if that helps.  How long have you been doing shh/pat?  It may still take some time for him to get used to it.  What did you used to do to put him to sleep?  What do you do for a wind down routine?

In terms of a lovie - can he roll both directions?  If so, the risk is much less - but that's a judgment call for you as a mom, don't do it if you aren't comfortable with it.  I believe we started one when she was no longer swaddled, and that was at 5 or 6 mos.

hang in there.  It really does look like you're on the right track!

[tlw]

Thanks for your response.  I thought things were going pretty well until yesterday.  LO woke up at 5am and would not go back to sleep.
Of course by the time he actually fell back to sleep he had almost 3.5 hrs of A time.  Way to long and he was so OT!  He got 4 naps yesterday and they all were 40-45 min long.  I tried to get him to bed early but was unsuccessful.. He finally was asleep by 7:12.

Well it looks like we are repeating yesterday today!!!  Up again at 5 and wouldn't go back to sleep (did ssh/pat) until 8:42 so of course he had way too much A time and again is OT. 

This is only the 3rd time he has had an early waking since we started BW (15 days ago). I am thinking that his teething is maybe contributing to this, since sleep environment hasn't changed at all.  He will turn 5 months next week so he could be going through growth spurt as well.

As far as a lovie, I don't feel comfortable with blankie or something like that.  I am trying to see if a teething ring will become his lovie since he chews on everything. 

In the future if he wakes up a normal time 6:30-7 and only takes a 30 min am nap I should cut back my A time a bit (only in the morning)the next day right?

Any further advice?

[deckchariot]

oh dear...if he's teething, yep, that will mess things up entirely!!!  That's the only time we ever get EWs with Abby.  Teething ring as lovie - that's a really good idea!!!  I'd say if you get 30 min naps, yes, I'd cut back A time.  Generally, 30 min = OT, 45 min = UT.  That's just a general guideline.  With Abby, we found 20-35 min was OT, anything 40min and up was UT (unless it was over 1 hr 15, then it was just a good nap!). 

hang in there!!  If you suspect teething, I'd try some pain reliever for him and see if that helps with the EWs.