Author Topic: delaying the start of day!  (Read 1016 times)

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Offline erinsmum36

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delaying the start of day!
« on: June 16, 2006, 21:02:05 pm »
hi - my LO is on 4 hour easy and has slept thru from 7pm for the last 2 weeks. I dont mean to sound ungrateful but I would like to change her wake up time - currently it is between 5:50 qnd 6:30am. I would really like to make it 7 or 7:30 if possible.. any ideas on how I can, or am I being unrealistic.
When she does wake up she is wide awake and usually pretty hungry - as in doesnt want toy time etc until later.. do babies naturally move the wake up time as they get older, or is this her clock and therefore will she be resistant to change?
She is 17 weeks old. I havent tried PU/PD or ssh pat for this problem as she is wide awake and there is no way that I can see her drifting back off for an hour.

The 4 hour easy is going well - a 2 hour nap in the morning, although the afternoon one is more hit and miss - sometimes only an hour, followed by a catnap between 5 and 6 and in bed by 7pm after bath and last feed. Although it is nice not to be feeding quite so often, I find the 4 hour routine more restricitve in terms of when I can go out, as the naps are longer and so the old 1 hour ones that she could take in the car etc arent really practical anymore

Offline Jaime

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Re: delaying the start of day!
« Reply #1 on: June 17, 2006, 02:13:38 am »
hello,

have some ramblings for you....

at this point her clock could probably go either way.  i'm thinking that she's making up for lost time in that morning nap; if you were to cut it off at 1.5 hrs and tried to lengthen the afternoon nap, you might be able to kick it & have her sleep later in the morning. 

is she just waking at chatting at 5:30 or is she crying?  if she's just chatting she might just go back to sleep for a while.  i remember both of mine seemed to hit that phase for a while.  and luke especially could chat for a really looooong time before he'd go back down. 

guess that's all i've got.  sorry i haven't any more ideas for you! 
Jaime
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Offline Katet

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Re: delaying the start of day!
« Reply #2 on: June 17, 2006, 02:20:06 am »
At 17 weeks if she if going from 7pm through to around 6am, that is about 11 hours that is pretty fantastic... do you dream feed? that might delay it if you aren't already, but in all honesty some babies (like my ds#1) NEVER in almost 3 years sleep more than 11 hours & even with a dream feed nothing may change
You could gradually delay bedtime (5mins every few days) but some babies have a knock on & it causes even earlier wakeups... I honestly think you may have to live with it if she is waking up hungry & wide awake
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Offline erinsmum36

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Re: delaying the start of day!
« Reply #3 on: June 17, 2006, 20:45:02 pm »
thanks for your replies.. ive never done a DF - she slept from 7pm to 12:30am from day 1 so I chose not to, as I preferred my evening off. Funnily enough, last night she woke at 4am for the first time in 2 weeks, and Im fairly sure she was hungry - so i fed her and then woke her again at 7.. unfortunately the whole day has been a difficult one - after 2 hours awake time (am) she woke after only one hour of nap (I find this happens more when she stays awake for the 2 hours - almost like its too much for her?) and one look at her told me no amount of ssh pat etc would get her back to sleep - she was wide awake and smiling. Feeds were also off a bit today - she couldnt last the 4 hours so it was more like 3 and a bit.. unfortunately when I fed her she fell asleep on me (proves she needs the 2 hour nap even if she doesnt know it) so we'll see what happens tonight.. dont know if its the heat, a straying growth spurt or maybe teeth movement (lot of drooling again today) but she has been grizzly all day - maybe cos she woke at 4am for a feed and disrupted her sleep?
I have always fed her when she wakes at night becuase it has only ever been once since she dropped the 12:30am feed so I am not comfortable with the concept of not feeding her at night, even tho I know she has just done 3 weeks straight through..with no dream feed I assume that some days she might eat slightly less than others and just be on the borderline of needing a feed if she wakes up in the night.. do you think I should be doing something different?

Offline Katet

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Re: delaying the start of day!
« Reply #4 on: June 17, 2006, 23:21:35 pm »
I've never done df & like you fed at night up until about 9mo... I think you are doing a great job, somedays you just have to roll with the flow of it. my ds#2 was a bit like your lo, did long stretches from day 1 & he would wake for a 4/5am feed on off for a few months... like you said sometimes they just don't quite get enough.
I found with Liam who did 10+ hours without a feed from about 4 months, that I needed to go back to doing 3.5 hour Easy as I felt he needed at least 5 feeds.
he used to do 2 catnaps in the am a big 2 hour sleep & then another catnap... that was in par due to fitting him around a toddler routine, but it worked... it is fine to do a 3/4/3/2.5 hour Easy or anything like that IF it works... all babies are different & the key is that BW is about knowing your baby & having a structure that helps life be predictable, rather than going by the clock.
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Offline erinsmum36

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Re: delaying the start of day!
« Reply #5 on: June 18, 2006, 07:35:20 am »
Thanks for your reply - youve confirmed what I have been thinking.. i think 4 hour EASY is maybe too much at this stage - its no good managing the feed intervals if her activity and sleep is upset. Last night she woke at 2:30am and I listened really carefully to her cries. I decided that it was more anger and frustration so left it for a minute. every now and again it stopped almost like she was listening out to hear if i was coming. I thought it might stop but carried on and as I dont agree with CIO out this age I went in. Unfortunately whether she was primarily hungry or not I have never managed to pacify her without the feed - like I said, she only ever wakes up once at night and so it could well be hunger, so I fed her and put her back awake and left her as always. she always goes back to sleep on her own aftr a night feed. This morning she woke at 7 and was happy to lie awake (guess the 2:30am feed took the edge of the morning hunger pangs) so I fed her and have just put her back in the cot for a nap (8:20) she is still talking to herself but hopefully will drop off soon.. this should be the 2 hour nap so we'll see! Thanks for the help, will update later re 3.5 EASY!