5 month old trying to establish easy and am totally lost

[sjt]

I finally gave up this week and decided to just try Tracy's suggestions.  I have owned the book and read even before he was born. I guess I was just hoping for a miracle.  As soon as I think I have something going it falls apart again.  I have been charting his sleep for a month and its all over the place.  He even slept thru the night (with DF at 1030) until 7 am about 10 times and hasn't since.  Now he wakes at 2 or 12 or 4 or hwenver.  He has started rolling over from his tummy to back (I have let him sleep on his tummy...I know no no).  This wakes him up sometimes. 
The reason I decided to establish EASY is because of my son's 40 min naps.  It was exhausting all day.   Not to mention I was nursing to sleep so he was nursing all day as well.  He did 1 1/2 of A and 40 min naps.  So essentially he was snacking/cat napping.  Then in the past month or so he would for 3 or 4 days in a row do this
7 up/nurse
830 nap/nurse
910 up
1100 nap/nurse
130 up
330nap/nurse
400 up
630/700 pm bed/nurse
When I set out to establish Tracy's routine I was planning to do the 4 hour schedule that she has in the book.
It started great on Sat.  My husband and I initiated PU/PD and it was really hard but worked on the 2nd nap.  I also only nurse AFTER he wakes and in 3.5/4 hours.  Come Monday  he woke too early so I nursed him to sleep then he slept in until 830 which threw everything off ( I am still sticking with the nursing AFTER).  Then today he woke up early again and I couldn't get him back to sleep and he fell right into the schedule above minus the nursing all the time. 
My question is: Since he seems to naturally take a longer nap in the mid day slot should I continue with that kind of schedule or should I go Tracy all the way??? 
If I followed that schedule it would look like
630/7 up/nurse
830/900 nap
930 up/nurse
1130 nap
130 up/nurse
330 nap
430 up/nurse
630/700 bedtime/nurse
See its hard to maintain the 4 hr routine this way.  I am at my whitt's end.  My mother-in-law is here and she thinks I'm crazy.  I really need some guidance!   

[deb]

When Josie did her short napping thing we just did the feeds as close to 4 hours as possible.

Have you seen the sample EASY routines in the EASY FAQ's? http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=164029.0

Will try to get back later.

[sjt]

Thanks for the info on sample routines. 
I did PU/PD today again to extend the morning nap to no avail.  I just can't get him to take a longer morning nap.  Without that I get one long nap and two short naps!  BAHHH its so frustrating.

[deb]

Thanks for the info on sample routines. 
I did PU/PD today again to extend the morning nap to no avail.  I just can't get him to take a longer morning nap.  Without that I get one long nap and two short naps!  BAHHH its so frustrating.

Some babies, mine included, seem to find PU/PD too stimulating. Here's another thing you can try: http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=649.0

[Rileys_Mummy]

Firstly ((((((BIG HUGS)))))) for you, i know exactly where you are coming from! My 6 month old son was a chronic catnapper I mean 4 x 30min naps a day and that was it! I tried PU/PD first and it went well until the 2nd day when it went horribly wrong, everytime i picked him up he got excited and starting kicking his legs and smiling to which point i gave in and rocked him back to sleep which was the way i used to get him off.

3 days ago i decided to try again but instead used the shh pat method and it has worked brilliantly for me. I put him on his tummy (He can go on his tummy now he can hold his head up and roll over properly) then pat his back or sometimes his bum if thats what he prefers i have to do it for about 5 mins now but when i started it was for about 10-20 mins if he was really upset. I wouldn't look at him or make any eye contact and if he tried to roll i would gently roll him back and put one hand gently on his back while patting with the other. If he rolls onto his belly thats it hes awake again and grabs my hands and tries to play with them, so tummy works best for me on this. At first he tried to fight me and would cry for nearly the whole time before dropping off but now he doesn't even cry he just lies there calmly while i pat him he falls asleep about 2 mins later but i stay for the whole 5 mins to make sure he's in a deep sleep, Now he has an 1.5 hour nap in the morning a 1.5-2 hour nap in the afternoon and a catnap of 30mins after tea, all thanks to shh pat! I got all of this advice from a post on the NAPS/SLEEPING forum on shh patting (sorry i don't know how to paste a link as im so new to all this) Sorry for the long reply. Just thought a success story from someone who was where you are now might give you a light at the end of the tunnel. Hope this helps you. Chin up hun xoxoxox

[Chicane]

Hey sjt

Sending you big hugs. Just want to say, go easy on yourself. You've only just started out and the act of stopping the feeding to sleep is a huge change and a huge accomplishment.

The average awake time for this age is 2.15 to 2.5 hours. You should try also to aim for a 12 hour day, that means  if LO wakes at 6.30am then bed time is6.30pm more or less.

Learning to roll is a big developmental leap. The best way to help him  with this is to practice during his awake time, on the bed, sofa, play mat. He'll get the hang of it and start to put himself back in the right position in his cot,onhis own.

Also, listen to Rileys mum - this was the case with us too. PUPD can be very stimulating, start out with shh/pat, you may need to adjust it to suit your LO. my DS hates is the way its described and preferred a low hum and gentle head stroking. Focus on continuing to stop the feed to sleep, on perfecting and learning you techniques...you will get there in the end

xo