A magic receipe for 2hr naps? 4hr easy

[gemma2313]

hi

my lo is 4mo. We seem to get 1.5hrs most naps no problem - don't get wrong I'm not complaining. I'm just finding we are stuck on a 3.5hr easy as a result... and I don't think he's feeding as well at 3.5hrs cause he's not hungry enough yet... Not only that but its leaving us with early bedtimes or OT at bedtime if the third nap is a 45min CN

any ideas on how we make that regular transition from 1.5hrs nap to 2hrs naps?

my ds2 has slept 2hrs before, infact he was quite good at it for a stage but thats long gone. Now the only way we get near 2hrs is if i have to help him resettle at the 45min point.... do I consider increasing the A time again... I'd say we are comfortable at 2hrs now but I think it would be a lot of work to get to more.

[anna*]

Remember, you don't have to feed as soon as she wakes - if you are doing 4 hourly feeds but getting 1.5hr naps, you can do EASAEAS

[waterdragon]

Up to 2 days ago I was questioning the same.Now we are caught in very bad OT spiral again.

Its horrific. Today we have had 2 by 30 min naps and she is screaming trying to sleep. And all this for just another 30 mins.
My mistake today was to see if she would last the night with out feed from midnight....bad move
She woke at 0540 to feed took 40 mins to fall back asleep and then woke 30 mins later. she had another bottle on waking??
I am nearly sick with the upset of it all, she is so tired and crying all the time.
I am going away on tuesday for 4 days and I know this will only get much worse with DH in charge.
Got 3 hrs sleep last night...mostly anxiety related.

[gemma2313]

how old is she now maybe she's having another GS?? they are always bad timing for us.. just when I try something different!! Have she had those 4month needles? ds2 gets his tomorrow so I'm expecting things to go pear shaped a few days after...

What A times are you doing now?

ds1 has conjunctivitis!! argh!.. we have some drops and its finally going away so he's started sleeping better (finally!).. am sure he's teething too.. his molar is just under the surface.

ds2 seems to be settling really well into this 3.5hrs easy but will not budge to 4hrs.....grrr... I know that I could feed him every 4 hrs but not meaning to sound nieve - wont that change the whole EASY order of things?

WE're doing:

Wake up E 6.30
A
S 8.30 -10
E 10.10
A
S 12 - 1.30
E 1.40
A
S 3.40 - 4.20 (45mins... I tried pushing the A time!)
E 4.40 one side
A 5.30 bath
E 6.15
Bed by 6.45... I'm sure he's Ot but he doesnt fight. Goes down easily and quietly.

I really would love to push that first nap to 2hrs somehow cause then ds2 & ds1 will nap at the same time for me 12.30 - 2.30 and I'll get some real time to myself!

waterdragon... I hate seeing you have a bad time cause I always feel like we're about a week behind you!! Whats your routine like now? is anything settling into "normal"? Have you try dropping her A times to let her catch up on some sleep? I do that with ds2 and as soon as we get a 45min nap with a waking where he is unable to settle because he wont keep his head down (tummy sleeper) I know that we dropped it enough/ too far.

[gemma2313]

I just read this in another post on the napping board... I wonder if that 4am feed is what causing your problems and leaves you with her OT for her first nap and it compounds all day long!! what do you think....


"I guess what I was trying to get at was that on the days you posted that he *did* wake at 4, his first nap was OT. On the days it was earlier in the night (2-something) his first nap was longer, so I was wondering if it were maybe a pattern. If you read Deb's post about 45 min naps ( How Tracy Helped Josie and her Family Get Past 45-Min. Naps! ) Tracy told her the problem was her 4am wakeup.

As far as DF, I totally know what you mean about not wanting to start it so late... I had the same dilemma. I started doing real DFs for Ellen at 6 months (before that I was just trying to keep up my supply and since it was low she never got a full feed so it didn't really do any good). Only since I started giving her a bottle and doing it at the right time (930-1030) have I actually gotten really great nights. But I totally understand the hesitation to start so late. "





 

[waterdragon]

We are in real trouble here.
Last 2 days wake at 0540 ..talk for 40 mins falls back asleep 30 min up at 0710... I have decreased 1st a time to 1 hr 3o mins but we are getting a 30 min nap ....I am sick of this .the whole day is a mess.

The only thing about the feed is it wasnt causing problems before if it was before 0430....I am soo tired .Nights are so much shorter

Tried outting her to bed 1/2 hr early last night but she just cooed untill 7.30.

Going to france tomorrow for 4 days .Dh wont know what hit him...we are barely talking .

[anna*]

ds2 seems to be settling really well into this 3.5hrs easy but will not budge to 4hrs.....grrr... I know that I could feed him every 4 hrs but not meaning to sound nieve - wont that change the whole EASY order of things?

Yes it will, but that's fine. The main thing with EASY is that A follows E. It is absolutely fine to do AEASY, if they wake up before feed time.

Honestly hun, I know we would all love 2 hour naps, but truly I wouldn't spend much energy trying to extend a 1.5hr nap. 1.5hr is a full, restorative nap, completely enough If you try pushing A times for a longer nap, you'll likely just end up with an OT baby. As his A times increase, you'll soon enough end up on a 'true' 4 hour EASY where he sleeps right to next feed time.

[gemma2313]

anna, fair enough good call.

I'm actually thinking he might be waking after 1.5hr because he's hungry and isnt quite ready to handle 4hrs between all of his feeds. I've started going back to double sided feeding and am hoping that the little bit extra BM might help him make the 4hrs. I'm going double sided mostly because he started waking more and more frequently at night, not for play or anything so I know our A time is right, he's NW hungry.

Funnily enough, I started double sided feeding yesterday and this morning he slept 2hr15min! yeah!... our afternoon was a disaster though but that was my fault, we went out - how dare I have a life!!

waterdragon PM me when you get back ) Have great holiday and try to R-E-L-A-X ))

[Buntybear]

Hi,

I also found that our EASY was a total muddle whilst going to 4 hours. As Anna says don't fret about it too much, it shouldn't be a rigid schedule. I think it was also around this time I went to double sided feeding  , that should also help with any growth spurt he may have at the 4month mark 

[gemma2313]

He only woke once last night... yeah!!! I can handle one NF just draw a line at 3 !!! It meant I actually got nearly 5 hrs solid sleep... )

[Buntybear]

  YAY!

[anna*]

That is great!

[gemma2313]

and again one NW. but at 1.30 again so I'm thinking we have a habit developing. I'm following advice thats been given though and will continue with NF at 1.30 for a little bit longer.. then sort out the habit later once double sided feeding is established.

We alos had another 2hr nap today! yeah!... I think the lack of 4am NF is helping him take more at his first E and sleep better... afternoons have been hit and miss but at least the mornings good and helps me feel better about the day!! Maybe the doubel sided feeding is helping to.. poor little man was probably hungry!