Transitioning to a 4 hour rountine and have questions.

[hiriskmommyX2]

My son will be 17 weeks tomorrow and has been moving himself to a 3.5 or 4 hour routine for about a week now. Sometimes he reverts back to 3 hours but mostly he's moving on.

What does a 3.5 hour routine look like?

Is it ok to do some feeds every 3.5 hours and some every 4 hours?

At what age (approximately) do babies want to move their naps to 9am instead of 8:30? Mine still wants to sleep at 8:30am and he'll sleep until 11 or 11:15, but he'll wake at 9:10am and sometimes have a hard time making it to the next cycle.

It seems that he wants to do a 4 hour routine in the morning, but as the day goes on it is more like 3.5 hours which then throws off his bedtime routine at 7pm. Is this normal?

I guess I'm wondering if what I'm experiencing is normal for a bf baby during this transition time? I'm just trying to follow his lead and pay attention to what he is telling me.

By the way, we have also been trying to get rid of the paci too. It has become a prop and I think it's affecting his sleep. We have been working on this since Monday night and things are going well.

Diana

[deckchariot]

Here's a link that should help you with the transition from 3 to 3.5 to 4 hr EASY:

EASY transitions

The best way is to watch your baby and see, if he's hungry at 3.5, feed him, don't wait til 4.  In terms of when to nap, that depends on when he gets up.  What you want to watch is his overall A time (and that includes the time he takes to eat).  As he gets older, his A time will lengthen.  Here's a link to "average" A times for lo's:

A times

The 3-4 mos time is all about transitioning, so just be flexible and watch your lo's cues. 

HTH
michelle

[hiriskmommyX2]

After reading both links, I'm guessing that's why I'm seeing more 45 minute naps at 8:30 and longer naps in the afternoon. He'll wake up around 9:10 and be ready to play. I've tried to extend the naps for the last 3 days, but he'll have none of that.

Should I plan to start putting him down 1.75 hours after he initally wakes? I usually do 1.5 hours because he seems tired. Could this be a habitual thing?

Diana

[deckchariot]

Diana - it absolutely could be habitual....I would definitely try extending his A time to 1.75 hrs.  As you move towards a 4 hr EASY, he'll work up to around 2 hrs.  Keep in mind those last 15 min could be a bit rough, so you may just want to use that for some extra cuddle time to extend him out.  Let me know how it goes!

[gpmom]

Diana, I just did this transition and my dd had a hard time in the am, she was tired early.  A few ladies suggested I try to extend her A time and I have to walk around and carry her to keep her from crying but its working, I am getting 1.5-2 hr naps in the am.  If I follow her cue, she sleeps 30-45 at the most.  I know it sounds strange but it's worked for them and now its working for me.  Since we are still working on it, it gets bettwer everyday.
Good luck

[feldmann]

how are you getting rid of the dummy? Could you please tell me? Thanks

[hiriskmommyX2]

Today's first nap went well. After a hellish day yesterday, we are back on track. I think my son wasn't feeling too well. He's been stuffy and having difficulty breathing through his nose and I don't think he quite gets that he can also use his mouth.

Anyway, I was able to try the 1.75 A time and the nap was great. He woke at 6:15am and babbled until 6:30. I got him up, 7am E, and then A time until 7:35 which is when he started showing me cues. I held him and walked around with him so I could push it until 7:50. At this time we changed diapers, clothes, swaddled, sang, and swayed in his darkened room. I put him in the crib when his eyes were falling shut, and he bagan to fuss a little. I used sh/pat and he was off to sleep. By 7:58 he was out. I went in about 40 minutes later to help him transition to his next cycle. I had to go in 3 times total and then he was out until 10:45. A total success.

Feldmann:

As far as getting rid of the paci... He started waking alot at night because his paci fell out. We used the paci when he couldn't settle himself and it suddenly became a prop. I know it built up, but his need for it seemed to sneek up on us. I posted on the prop board and got some help from the ladies over there. My son was very stuffy on Monday night and was having difficulty nursing so I just decided to get rid of it that night. He was up every hour crying, but once I accepted the fact that I wasn't going to get any sleep anyway due to his stuffiness, it was easier to be up every hour. Since he was a little over 16 weeks, he wasn't THAT attached to it. After his first 2 daytime naps, he was pretty much over it.

The only problem I encountered was his cold. He wanted more comfort like the paci would have provided so I just knew I would have to be physically there for him when he wasn't feeling well.- which is what I should be doing anyway. Yesterday was the worst because he seemed to be feeling horrible. I actually threw them all away when I was so tempted to give it back.

If you don't want to deal with the crying you can do the gentle removal plan. I think it's on the fact section of the prop sight.

I have to go, LO is crying. Let me know if you have more questions.

Diana

[deckchariot]

Diana, I'm sooooooooo glad you're seeing some success!!!  Good for you!