HELP! Extending naps in 6.5 month old - back to square one.

[mamaneedsrest]

I have a 6 month old daughter and we're on day two of EASY, extending naps, PU/PD, etc.  My daughter was a great sleeper until about 4 months, now she's a 30 minute napper and a constant night waker.  I was able to extend both naps yesterday, which I consider a success.

Quick question: I just tried wake-to-sleep for her first nap (which actually worked last night at bedtime), but she woke up anyway.  I continued to sh/pat for a few minutes, but my presence just woke her up more! Now she's happily playing in her crib.  Do I leave her there until she cries?  Then do sh/pat, and finally PU/PD if needed?

Thanks for your help - I'm still new at this but am hopeful!

[snowbird]

Yes - I think you are totally on the right track. Don't go in until you are needed xxx

[mamaneedsrest]

Thanks...she did it again after about 30 minutes of sh/pat.  Do I keep leaving until we either achieve sleep or the next meal time?

[snowbird]

Hi,

Just wrote a really long reply and my battery died on my iPod - typical! So here I am on the computer...

Does shh pat ever work with your LO? I'm sure that Tracy says it distracts them at this age and recommends you put your hand on her so that she knows you are there. Just a thought I've just had! And from what you've said, it's not helping.

If you are using PU/PD, I think Tracy recommends you continue it until just before the feed (if they don't fall asleep) and then get them up to feed.  From the case study I've read, I think she would then expect you to keep LO up for the duration of the next A time and then do PU/PD again.  Obviously by then your LO is really overtired and I can imagine very difficult to get down. From what I remember, she reckons it will sort itself out in a couple of days.

However, I know that other mums on this forum who have supported me in the past have recommended doing it for 45 mins and, if LO is not asleep/close to sleep, getting her up for 20 mins and trying again (depending on how close the next feed is).  This prevents the OTness getting out of control I think.

I personally have been extending LJs naps by tweaking her A time.  I'm getting 1 hour 20 at the best (if I get it 'right' - although sure I could do better!) and 30 min naps at the worst (25 mins oif I'm really unlucky!).  I've the same problem as you with PU/PD - LJ will lie in her cot for ages entertaining herself and will not cry.  At the moment I leave her in her cot if she has anything less than an hour and sometimes she will go back to sleep - even if she plays for 30 mins.  This doesn't happen loads but I figure at least she is quite calm(ish) while playing in her cot.  I do count her A time from when she woke up last though.

I keep thinking I need to PU/PD if it comes to it (if she gets grizzly in her cot after a nap I just get her up at the mo) but at the same time am hoping tweaking A times will be enough.

What do you think?

xxx

[mamaneedsrest]

Tweaking the A time is something I'm really not sure about.  I was reading (somewhere on these boards) Tracy's plan for getting a baby over 4 months onto EASY, and she says to follow her instructions strictly and to watch the clock for the first several days.  Once baby is on EASY, I guess then I'll tweak her A time??

[snowbird]

Yes - you're right!! You've only just started EASY.  Doh, Sorry!

Yes - I would go with Tracy as you've read.  I would probably just go with what she says about continuing PU/PD until the next feed and then keeping her up for the set A time.

[mamaneedsrest]

OK so i reread the instructions about getting your baby on EASY, and it's just the feeds that need to stay strictly 4hrs apart - it looks like tweaking the A time is OK.  I'm going to extend by about 15 minutes today, plus before her first nap I kept activity much more mellow.  She went down easily, like always, but we'll see how long she lasts!  Thanks for the A-time idea...

[mamaneedsrest]

Like I said, extended A time 15 minutes and kept activity mellow this a.m. - it's been AN HOUR and she's still sleeping!  I did W2S and patted her at the 30 minute mark and thru the transition and it worked!

[snowbird]

Yay - glad you're getting somewhere. Well done you! Keep me posted xx

[mamaneedsrest]

Well, we're on day 6 of EASY and doing great!  I just went in to help extend her nap and barely had to do anything - just a firm hand on her back for a few minutes!  Still dealing with some night wakings, though those are better too.  Now that I think the sleep is more under control, the NWs seem to be due to the fact that she's uncomfortable.  I'm going to tweak her solids intake (cut out rice cereal, move to breakfast/lunch only, etc) and get some gas drops also.  Hopefully that will yield even more improvement.

Incidentally, some of her A times are up to 2hrs 45 minutes.  I never would have thought that extending A time just a bit would make such a difference.  Thanks for the tip!

[snowbird]

Sounds like you've got a great plan!

Really pleased about your A times . When is your LO doing a 2 hour 45 mins A time? The first one? I am on 2 hour 20 at the mo but getting varied nap lengths and need to focus on this next week.  Might extend a little bit more xx

[mamaneedsrest]

Bummer...so the past two days we were out and about for her 2nd nap.  One day was an accident and yesterday we had to go to the dr.  Baby got a rash on her cheeks - sensitivity to rice cereal.  So, now she's in her crib and I'm not sure she even went down.  Nights have not been good either - possibly due to the rice cereal bugging her tummy and itching her face.  I've been letting her sleep in our bed at night - totally against the "rules" I know.   I could kick myself...we were on such a good track I thought.

I'm still feeling like I'm getting her A times wrong because the nights have consistently been screwy.  She was awake for 2:15 before her first nap today and she barely made it.  Now she's fussing and I don't know if she slept more than 15 minutes or so.  Feeling a bit discouraged...back to square one I guess.

[mamaneedsrest]

Do you think I"m totally underestimating her A times?  She'll be 7 mo in about a week.  She just seems tired at about the 2:15 or 2:30 mark.  Do I risk it and keep her up longer?  I just tried sh/pat for about 20 minutes, but no sleep.  Now we've got 30 minutes left before the next feed.  I feel like I totally screwed up and I'm not prepared to go through the difficult first few days of training again.

[snowbird]

It could be that she's just not feeling 100%. When she's better I think you are going to have to go back to the hard work of sleep training again.hopefully it will be quicker as she will remember it. Altho APing (sleeping in your bed) could make it difficult. Don't know much about APing except for the soother which is now history. I really try not to do it as it makes things difficult later on. But then again, I've not had such probs that have made me feel the need to do it. I do understand that sometimes its hard to know what else to do.
Don't beat yourself up about it )

Tracy does say never Bring them into your bed - if they're poorly, you need to go to them - get an air bed on the floor in their bedroom. Might be something to think about for the future.

If her nights are bad, she may need less A time as she's so tired. Post your EASy and will try to help you xxx