How to determine A time? Reading sleeping cue incorrectly?

[Mia's Mommy]

Hi all.

My LO is a preemie, born 4 1/2 wks early. Her actual age is 9 wks tomorrow, her adjusted age (from due date) is 4 wks and 2 days. I'm told to base EASY routine off of her adjusted age.

She yawns immediately after eating, so I read that as a sleepy cue and begin winding her down by swaddling and a little rocking in my arms (I change her diaper before E, is that wrong?). Once I see that she is dozing off, I put in her crib. It takes a lot of effort and time through ssh/pat to get her to sleep and she only takes 30-40 min naps.

Is her A time too short? Is her first yawn that immediately follows E just a yawn that she's just been fed and tummy is full, and not really a sleepy cue?

Also, does S time begin when baby is put down in crib? Or does S time begin when baby is actually asleep?

[empowered mama]

hi there hun,

What is your LOs A time right now?  The A time starts when baby's eyes are closed to when they are open again.  If you are going off the adjusted age of 4.5 weeks, then generally LOs are doing an A time of about an hour (see here: http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=64158.msg476652#msg476652) 

There is no wrong time to change a diaper and if you feel she needs it before the E, then by all means continue as you are. 

Once we know A times, we can tell if we need to make an adjustment in the routine.

HTH

[Mia's Mommy]

Hi there. Thank you for your response! It's so nice to get feedback, esp being new to EASY and not very confident as a first time mommy.

Feeding and burping is 30, plus a few mins of changing diaper. And first yawn is just a couple of mins after E, so I immediately swaddle and head to her nursery. It takes 30-40 mins to wind down and I put her down when drowzy. So total is right around 1 to 1 15 mins.

I leave her room when awake and drowzy but soon she begins to cry/fuss and I do ssh/pat, which can take another 30-40 mins.

I'm optimistic and truly believe EASY works, but I am sooo tired and getting discouraged.

Any suggestions/advise is soo appreciated. Thank you again!

[empowered mama]

hi there sweetie,

Just want to affirm that you are doing a great job.  It is a mighty transition to being a first time mommy, so I encourage you to be gentle with yourself and know you are doing the very best with your baby.

After following the EASY routine for a year, I can truly say that this routine does a wonderful job of getting life into a predictable rhythm for mom and baby.  I think with your LO being so young, it may just take a little time to get her on any kind of routine.  A lot of folks suggest not getting too rigid with it until 2 months or so, though it is good to get into good habits and teaching shh/pat. 

You could maybe try to shorten the A time down to 1 hour, if possible, and see if she gives you a longer nap.  If it ends up being short, then you'll want to shorten the following A time a little.  But really hun, since she is sleeping so much, I would go with her cues and just try to get as many naps as possible.  And you need to get some rest too!

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