Tweaking EASY

[BecNZ]

Hi

For the last couple of months I have been working towards implementing a 4-hour EASY routine with my now 5.5 month old daughter after battling 35 minute naps and lots of night wake ups.  A few weeks ago we finally began a good routine - she was doing 2x 1.5-2 hr sleeps and a catnap in the afternoon.  But last week she started cutting short her first nap short again - this time between 45 mins and 1 hour.  Lots of people I know (not using BW) have babies who do similar naps - 45 mins in am, 1.5-2 hours around lunch, 45 mins in late pm - and one or two have even said that according to the routine THEY follow, this is ideal.

I'm not entirely convinced after reading many of the posts here and wondered if I should now be working on stretching out her awake time again.  Last week after waking early she would be pretty grumpy in the next A time, although this week she's been better (could she be getting used to less sleep?)  I have been trying to increase her A time by 5-10 mins for a few days now although it's been very slow-going (also hard to know when exactly she wakes in the morning as she tends to lie awake for a bit, then chat to herself for a while so I'm watching her tired cues, then waiting a few minutes longer).

If she continued to do short first naps would this create a problem later when we move to 2 naps in the day?  Or would it sort itself out as A time increased?

Her EASY routine looks a bit like this (depending on wake up time and not including extending A time):

E 6.30am
A
S 8.30am

A 9.30am
E 10-10.30am
A
S 11.30am

A 1-1.30pm
E 2-2.30pm
A
S 3-3.30pm

A 4pm
E 5pm
A (wind down for bed)
S 6.30pm

She has been waking around 9-9.30pm so has an earlyish d/feed at 9.30pm if she stays asleep that long.  She also tends to wake in the night at around 1-2.30am (full feed) and 4.30-5am (one side).  She is fully breastfed.

ETA: Sometimes if she has a short first nap she makes up for it with a long last nap - doesn't affect her night sleep so I leave her.  Also, I have tried shush/pat for her first nap but she wasn't interested in going back to sleep.  Now, as she doesn't really cry (just grizzles) when she wakes I leave her in the cot for maybe half an hour - hoping she'll go back to sleep eventually, although she hasn't yet!!

[vadensmommy]

If it helps any my dd is also doing the same thing (she is ff).  She has cut her first nap down to 1hr to 1hr 15min but typically still has a good 2hr or longer pm nap, and sleeps a good 11-12 hours at night with no NW and a DF.  I too have a hard time figuring out what time she woke up because sometimes she just plays quietly and I sleep through it. 

A thought or two:  Is she hungry when she wakes up?  I know you're probably getting close to starting solids, not that it will make it any better.  DD has already started, but has some gas issues, esp. if I feed to late in the day.  Poor dear.  If she is hungry, you might try EAEAS and feed twice during that A time to see if that helps.  Or you might keep trying to push that A time a bit more, but otherwise I wouldn't worry a whole lot about it, if you are satisfied with every other aspect of her day.  Maybe somebody else will have more input as well   Good luck!

[BecNZ]

Thanks for responding 

I had initially thought it might be hunger causing her to wake early but I'm just not sure.  Because she's waking in the night and feeding she doesn't wake hungry in the morning so only takes a short feed (one side only, and sometimes not even a whole side).  I generally feed her around 6.30-7am and then again when she wakes so it's usually 3-3.5 hours from the last (small) feed.  Then start the 4 hours from there.  We're yet to start working properly on the night wake ups although I tried shortening the night feeds a while back but it didn't make any difference to how hungry (or not) she was in the morning, just meant more night wake ups!!  Also, if I feed her any more frequently than 4-hourly she won't take a full feed which is a bit frustrating.

Anyway, I guess I wasn't sure whether this could be a reason why she is waking.  She did go a few weeks of 2 hour sleeps in the morning even when feeding like this but I suddenly wondered the other day about whether it was because she needed more A time.

Thanks for the suggestions though - I'll be keeping everything in mind  but trying not to stress out too much because even this is WAY better than things were a month or so back.

[vadensmommy]

I have a snacker in the morning myself.  I just keep telling myself that she is like her daddy and doesn't really want breakfast The first two bottles and solids feedings aren't much fun, but they had gotten better, and then today it was back to old ways.  Who knows.  I hear her fussing now!  Going to get 6mo pictures this afternoon so will hush and take care of her   Good luck!

[BecNZ]

Thanks      Nice to hear that we're not the only ones who have these issues.  Good luck to you too!!