Hello and welcome back to BW forums
Sorry to hear your routine is off track and your nights are so difficult for you just now.
It looks like your LO's A time is too short for her age and an increase would help to make her properly tired for her naps which could help to make them longer. Even if they did not get longer right away it would help you to move BT later.
At 5 months the guidance A time is 2hrs to 2hr 30. Here is a FAQ:
https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=84884.0I know you are struggling to get her to 2hrs and are not seeing a longer nap after a 1hr 45 or 2hr A time but you probably need to push past that A time and move towards more like 2hr 30. Don't expect the nap to extend right away, it might, it might not.
If your LO is more like 5.5 months or approaching 6 months old she might need even longer A time.
After begin the night she jist wake up in 2 hours
I would probably interpret this as a good nap rather than a bad night. A nap from 4.30 - 6.30 then get her up for an A time of 2hrs and then BT at 8pm. I know 8pm sounds very late for BT, in other circumstances I might suggest capping that sleep to a shorter nap so that BT could come earlier but at the moment it looks like the only long nap she takes so I'm hesitant to say to cap it at this point.
The routine is going to change as you increase the A time though so the end of the day is also going to change. This means that a late bed time would be temporary.
Whilst you extend the A times I would also suggest you get her back in the cot. I know you want her to sleep better so you are holding her but it isn't doing you much good at the moment is it? I sense that you are feeling quite frustrated and perhaps trapped under a sleeping baby - I would feel the same to be honest.
If it was me I would plan:
- First A time no shorter than 2hr 15 and make sure she sleeps in the cot. You can keep a hand on her or pat her throughout the nap if she is unsettled but even this would be a step in the right direction to get her sleeping in her cot again.
- If she wakes early from the first nap note down the time. Try to resettle but do not let her sleep on you. You can pick her up if needed to help her calm down but if she calms when picked up then put her back down and continue shush/pat in the cot. If she really will not settle after doing this you can either continue until the end of the nap time or you can just get her up.
- second A time will be timed from when she woke from first nap. Time it 2hr 15 or 2hr 30 and do as nap 1, get her in the cot.
- continue through the day
- towards the end of the day head for a bed time of 7 - 8pm even if this means having a late nap.
- before BT make sure she has a feed even if it has been less than 3-4hrs since the last feed, so if she wakes from a nap at 6 and is due a feed then feed her, then at BT at 8pm feed her again even though this is only 2hrs.
it's normal for a breast fed baby to need a couple of feeds in the night. For now if it has been 3-4 hrs since her last feed I would just go ahead and feed at night if she needs it, it sounds like she does as she is taking full feeds. We can reassess this when her routine is a little more settled.
I hope this is helpful. let us know how you get on or if you need more support.
