4 hour EASY transition - dreadful cat naps

[Libby0702]

Hi there

I'm just in the process of transferring our DD Arwen to a 4hr EASY, and it's all going okay except for her afternoon cat nap which she actively resists, despite being physically tired.

Here is her routine for today.

E 6:20 (breast 15 mins)
S 8:20
E 10:20 (breast 16 mins)
S 12:20
E 2:20 (breast 12 mins)
CN 4:30 (literally only 10 minutes -I kept trying to shush pat until 5:15pm)
E 5:20pm (breast 14 mins)

Top up 6:30 (150ml expressed breast milk given to her by Daddy - we do this every night. I express after first feed and again at around 7:45 / 8pm to get enough for this.

Dream feed 11pm (breast 18 mins)

She usually wakes about once during the night but it can be at any time. Although She has slept through a handful of times.

One other thing to mention is that she is small for her age. At 16 weeks she is only on the 9th centile. I am also taking Domperidone (3 x 10mg per day) as had very, very low milk supply whe she was first born. Subsequently I am constantly worried as to whether she is getting enough milk from me, although as I can now express off at least 50ml in a session.

I decided to move her 4hr EASY as her feeds were taking less and less time on 3hrs - only around 19 mins.

Any help much appreciated!!

[creations]

Hello and welcome to BW

Can I just check how long her naps are, is it the full 2hrs from S to E or is she waking prior to that and having some A between (this is fine to do, it would just help me to know how long those naps are).  Does she go down to sleep independently?

Have you tried to extend the CN in any way, for example shush/patting or APOP (accidental parenting on purpose, ie in your arms, in a sling, or pram etc)?

Sorry for all the questions, just trying to get a good idea of the routine.
x

[Libby0702]

Thanks for replying. Here are the answers to your questions.

The last few days her first two naps have been the full 2hrs and I've had to wake her up. She does go down independently. At bedtime we can literally just plop in the cot, give her a kiss and then walk out. It takes a bit more than this in the day for the naps - I have to hold her still and will place her in the cot as she is dropping off. The cat nap is just totally different, as soon as I have calmed her I place her in the cot but she often wakes within 5-10 mins. I can get her to fall asleep in my arms so quite often the cat nap is against my chest in front of the TV.

Thanks, Libby

[Libby0702]

I just re-read my original post and realised that I mistyped. The time taken to feed every 3hrs was 10 mins not 19!

[creations]

Thanks for answering those questions.
Looks like you have a great routine going!

OK, for the CNs then.  Two ideas which might consider:
1. continue to AP the CN.
Although AP is generally not advised for sleep training your LO would most likely only habit form to AP for this one nap because she is already a good independent sleeper.  The other two naps would continue to be good long naps in the cot.  The CN is dropped around 6 months anyway, as it is dropped so is the AP.  You might feel that this is a great chance to get in some extra cuddles and snuggles whilst she is still little and enjoy the thought of this, or you might love the idea of tacking her out in the pram or sling for a half hour walk each day and relish the chance to get some fresh air yourself, or you might feel that being bound to APing this CN is unacceptable.  It's a personal decision.
or
2. As those 2 naps are going so well, you could try leaving her to sleep as long as she wants at one or both of those naps and drop the CN.  You will see on the following link that some LOs have two long naps (up to 3hrs each) rather than 2 good naps and a CN.  This might suit your LO and avoid the struggle with the CN, although you'd only be able to drop the CN if you got a decent extension tagged onto the other naps to make up for it.
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=85134.0
This would mean her going longer than 4 hrs between feeds and you might not be happy with that.
If her weight gain is steady and there are no other health issues I would say that she would wake if she was hungry.  You might like to check with your health visitor or GP if you are concerned about her feeds though.

Unless your health professional has said that her weight is of concern I would really try not to worry about it.  The centile lines show where your baby would 'stand' in a line of of 100 children.  Some people are smaller, some are bigger.  So long as she has steady weight gain there is no problem with being a petite person.  My own DS was between the 9th and 25th centile lines for weight from birth until 12 months so he is also quite a slim chap.

Any thoughts about the CN suggestions?

[Libby0702]

Hi there

Thanks for the advice. I did just shush pat yesterday and it worked! I'll keep on with it and see what happens. I might let her sleep for as long as she wants for the other two naps to see what happens, my only question about this would be how do I ensure that she gets enough feeds in?

One other thing I did notice was that for her bedtime feed she struggles to take it off the breast at that time - we have quite a bit of fussing. However she takes the bottle from Daddy with no issues. This is fine, but Daddy is off for a week with work in March so I was hoping to only feed her from me. Any ideas??

[creations]

how do I ensure that she gets enough feeds in?

Babies wake when they are hungry.  She might not take a much longer nap if she feels hungry enough to wake up or she might sleep longer and then take a bigger feed.

Sorry, I don't have any suggestion for the BT feed whilst Daddy is away.  Perhaps pop over to the feeding board and ask about it there as it is a separate question from the CN one.  I'm sure some people with experience will be able to give some ideas.

Do shout out if you if you need any further ideas on the naps though