Thanks for responding Stacy!
her routine is generally:
wake - 6.30 - 7.00am
breast feed immediately
activity at home 7.15 - 9.30am
sleep - 9.30 or 10am till 10 -10.30am
to get her to nap, I put her down in her crib, she cries and i pick her up - she often cries more at this point but I try to calm her for 5-10 minutes by shhing and patting and sometimes rocking a little, then putting her back down when she is calm. mostly she doesn't calm down in this time and i put her down again anyway and put my cheek next to hers (in her crib), make sure she's got her lamb (she sort of pulls at this angrily) and she eventully calms down most times. At this point i just lie in my bed (next to her crib) and reassure her by holding her hand if she tarts to whimper or look like she's getting unsettled again. If she has screamed for an hour without relenting, I feed her and then put her down sleepy but awake and she usally goes down with just a little whimper and sucks a bit (just gesture, no thumb or paci).
ok. rest of day:
11.00am introducing solids: we do 3 days of a pureed vegetable then add something new or change veg
11.15am breast feed (if it didn't happen at previous sleep)
11.30 out activity, mothers group, supermarket etc...
sleep - 1.30-2.00/2.15pm either in my arms if we are still out, but in crib at home
2.30pm breastfeed
2.45pm - activity at home till 4pm (unless we were out through previous sleep)
4pm - walk dog
5pm - used to be a catnap in sling without paci, but this seems to be going out as of two weeks ago. she actually slept on walk last night for 30 minutes. this delays bed till 7.30 but it's great because she is not falling asleep in the bath or crying when being dressed and missing her story time etc...
5.30 -rice ceral and pureed fruit
6pm - bath
6.20 - story time, breast feed, bedtime cd goes on, cuddle etc...
6.30 - 7pm sleep
she wakes once one sleep cycle into the night sleep, and can't self soothe. i have to go in, reassure her with a pat and she will sleep till 2am, 4a or something and then screams if i don't feed her. this is new and i am resistng unless it is after 5am that she wakes because i assume she is genuinely hungry then. she sleeps if I feed her.
I am feeling absolutely terrible about the paci because even though her naps have not changed in duration since removing it, she has gone from being a baby who really didn't cry to one who is crying a couple of hours a day. I took it away because it got so that I was having to hold it in her mouth to get her to go to sleep and she woke frequently in the night looking for it from about 5 months, whereas she had formerly slept through 8pm-6am from 12 weeks, in her own room. My partner objected to me moving into her room so I got him to move her crib back into our room so I din't have to get out of bed 10X a night, but even being ditsurbed without getting out of bed was enough to convince me I had to get rid of it. I understand you (Stacy) had a paci problem too and was glad to read that you'd got through it, but I'm thinking I have made things worse at this point and have turned an angel into a grumpy baby. I am only relieved that whatever other mistakes I might have made, her naps have only ever been 45 minutes.
I only just got Tracy's book a couple of weeks ago and strted reading site at that time. I actually have not had much time to read all I need to b/c I'm knackered from lack f sleep and busy with bub except for two short naps! Please excuse my mistakes with method. I hope you don't think I've totally stuffed baby up - she was so good!
Thanks for any help, Bonnie