short A time 1st thing in AM screws up rest of day

[MomforAidan]

My lo usually gets up around 7am, but normally he can't last more than an hour so we just put him to bed again around 8 or shortly after. But then our whole day gets screwed up cause if he has an hour long nap (his usual), then it's only been 2 hrs since the last feed so I don't really know what to do with him. I normally have some activity time before feeds cause his naps are short but first thing in the morning it's worse than normal. Regardless of when he was last fed, it seems he can only can an 1/2 hr or so after waking up to when he wants to be fed.

Another problem I have is my lo is almost 5 months and I still feed every 3 hrs. I've posted before and many people have said I need to try to get to 4 hrs but it just seem impossible. I've tried extending his wake time and he just cannot really get past the 1hr45min mark unless we are out about in/out of car/stroller etc. At home he just starts fussing and showing the signs of being tired so I end up putting him for a nap. Should I really try to extend the time even if it means me carrying him around the house so he won't fuss?

I've also tried extending the time in b/w feeds to greater than 3 hrs but then again he just starts fussing and acting hungry. And because of his morning thing when he can't be awake that long, it's so hard to try to extend the time in b/w feeds. Sometimes I even go less than 3 hrs cause I just don't know what else to do with him.

Help would be great, I would really like to get in a better routine with longer naps and less frequent feedings.

Thanks!!

[yaya]

Hi there! Firstly, can you post your routine so we can take a peak?
My thoughts are that maybe he's still tired at his 7am wakeup, have u tried getting him back to sleep at this time, he may need it.
many babies stay on  3hr routines altho the norm for this age is 4 hrs, I know my Lo was on 3hrs for a long time. If you do want to extend then u have to put up with a little bit of fussiness! I suggest increasing by 5 mins time between feeds for a week, then 10 mins and so on, r u BF or bottle ? Maybe u need to increase the amount taken at each feed to allow for longer stretches between feeds.
Dont think you mentioned how old your LO is , it may be a growth spurt which would explain the extra tired and extra hungry

[MomforAidan]

Hi, thanks for your note. I typical day lately is something like this:
My LO is almost 5 months (a boy) and I BF.

E - 7am
A
S - 8-9a
E - 9:30a
A
S -10:45am-11:45a
E - 12:30p
A
S - 1:30-3:00 (doesn't always have this long nap, sometimes the long nap is in the morning or sometimes no long nap at all)
E - 3:30
A
S - 5:00-6:00p
E - 6:30p or earlier
A
S - 7:30p (or lately it's earlier - but it used to be he went to bed at 8/8:30 which I would prefer cause then he got up later in the am)
DF - 10:30p (although lately he's been waking for this around 10p)

As you can see I always have some activity time after a nap because he's not ready to eat yet. And his naps vary, I can usually count on an hour or just under, but sometimes the first morning nap is 2 hrs or an afternoon nap is 1.5hrs, it just seems to vary each day.

It seems the last few weeks he has been going to bed earlier and earlier. A few months ago he would go to bed around 8/8:30 and then wake for the day at 8am or later and this seemed better for both of us. However I just don't know how to do this cause at around 7:30 or earlier he just seems so tired and if we put him down he's usually out for the night.

Thanks again,

-Kim

[kwaker5]

I don't know if this will help but my baby's first A time was often the shortest.  I think it can be hard trying to keep them stimulated enough in the morning when the surroundings are pretty familiar and you are busy getting yourself up.  He often has to go back in his cot and look at his mobile, which isn't that exciting for him any more (he is just over 4 mo now).  Kicking about with nothing on is a good one to keep him up that bit longer.

I have only recently found that he does actually get 'bored' , and that he can be distracted from feeding or kept awake a bit longer by a change of scenery.  The problem is that when mum's boobs are always nearby it's hard for them not to be always thinking of food!

About halfway between 3 and 4 hour EASY, we ended up with (roughly)
E 7
A
S 8.45-9.30
E 10.30
A
S 11.30-1.30
E 2
A
S 3.30-4.15
E 5.30
A
EAS 6.15 feed/bath and bed by 7 (some nights he was in bed by 6.30 if he was tired in the early evening)

There was often activity time before a feed at this time.
Gradually this has shifted as he has been able to stay awake longer and isn't so hungry.  I am hoping over the next few days it will go to more of a 7/11/3/7 bed at 7.30 because he has started to wake at 6.30 am!

Maybe you in the middle of a transition too.  Have you also considered that he might need to start on solids?  Not many babies make it to 6 month on milk alone.

[yaya]

8.ò30 sounds rather late for a bedtime at that age tbh. I would go with 7- 7.30
If he's waking before the DF then it isnt working for you, try cluster feeding before bed instead
Maybe ur catnap is a little late? I would go with a 4.30 catnap then an earlier bedtime.
My suggestion wouldbe to try to get him back to sleep at 7am for maybe 30 mins see if he isnt needing more sleep then as you're looking at 12 hrs for nighttime sleep at this age. I would then have an am nap which is max 1.5 hrs long and then a longer pm nap and a shorter catnap, say 45mins?

How does that sound?