Naps and EASY out of the window

[ismaeelsmummy]

Hi guys..

Really struggling here!! My LO has had a bit of a bad week..its just been impossible to stay on track with his EASY and nap routine. He hasn't been finishing his feeds so after three oz he will push the bottle out of his mouth and just not want to know. So he has been hungry again after an hour. I think he is getting back to normal so hopefully i can get back on track with the routine.

My LO is fine through the night and when its bedtime he usually goes down without a fuss..during the day hes a nightmare when it comes to naps..they re all over the place!! I ha vent really been trying as hard with him because he wasn't having any of it ((i know Ive probably made it all harder for myself)). I have been patting him to sleep in my arms as he would wake up as soon as i put him to sleep and he was really tired!! Even then his naps are really short. He wont sleep more than 30-45mins at a time. Maybe less!

I would like some help with re establishing his nap times..what his EASY should look like now..hes 13weeks old. Also please could someone go through the shh pat method as I'm sure I'm still doing it wrong! When do i put him down and what point should i pick him up and what do i do if hes wide awake when I'm shh pattin..

I know i need to be persistent but could really do with some pointers in the right direction.

Sam x

[amayzie]

Hi honey!! Are you on the wind up to christmas like me? If so this week may not be the best week to start to get things on track- so don't beat yourself up about it!

Firt of all you need to make sure you are getting the A times correct- it is near impossble to get anything else right if the A times are up the creek! At his age you should probably be aiming for A times of around 1 hour 30 mind. If you have been working more on a 1 hour A this might have been where your trouble started- meaning that he didn't want to go down for a nap and then didn't want to stay asleep for very long! He needs to be really tired for a nap. You can start by pushing up the A times 10-15 minutes every few days till he's closer to the 1 hour 30 mark.

With the settling and the shh- pat you can start settling him in your arms- but i found this never really worked for me. If i did he'd settle sure enough- but start ACREAMING as soon as i popped him in the cot! My suggestions: Get a chair- get comfortable next to the cot- you will need it- it can take a while the first couple of times. If you have a smart phone download a white noise app- this was a LIFE saver for us!! then you just pop him in the ct when it;s time for a nap and then start patting- i usually did a firmish pat on his upper arm, towards the back.. use the white noise app- but not too close to his ear (try it on yourself and you'll see why! I think i almost deafened the poor poppett! ) To start with you have to keep going till he falls asleep and then you can start shortening the time. I would only pick him up if you yourself are getting really overwhelmed and upset. I found that picking him up was fine- but that i really had to start from scratch every time i did so- BUT this is fine- you need to do what works for you!!

[ismaeelsmummy]

Hi sweet.. thnx for the reply.

Well hes back to being fussy again and he wont drink his full 6oz feed in one go..he could manage 5 usually and can easily drink 6 when he wakes in the night.he will have 3oz in one go and not drink the rest until after an hour.

Also how do i keep on track if he only sleeps for 40mins. How much do i reduce a time by? As his ahort naps throw us off track every day and i dont know where to go frm there?x

[Aishi]

If he naps for 40 mins then I would shave off 15-20 min off his normal a time. What at is he on at the moment and did you tweak routine as I suggested in your previous posts?

Help!! lack of routine and naps getting me down!

wide awake as soon as i put him down!

Like I said in your other posts it takes consistency and time for a time increases to yield results especially if lo isn't an independant sleeper.

Re feeding some babies are just fussy feeders unless there is an underlying issue ie reflux or teething etc. you could post on bottle feeding for speciic advice.

Hth

[Papaya]

Here are some sample EASY routines for this age and slightly older, just to give you an idea...

chronological EASY samples, 0-3 months
chronological EASY samples, 4-6 months

How far apart are his feeds? Is he ff? It may be that he's not hungry enough and needs his feeds spaced out a little more to take a full feed. Sorry, I don't have any experience with bottle feeding myself but you can get more advice here: Bottle Feeding

If you post your full EAS for a day or two, we can try to give more specific advice - but as Katy said, Christmas may not be the best week, depending on whether your normal routine is going to be a bit disrupted or not   Just come back to this thread whenever you're ready.

[ismaeelsmummy]

Hi..

Im back after a nice long break.

Well heres the update.. my LO is nearly 16 weeks
I went to the doctors and he prescribed some Gavison. I have been using this for less than a week and it seems hes doing quite well on it. He still has fussy spells but overall alot better after he is drinking. I am still trying to get him to finish his feed in one go as I know he is more than capable.

The trouble is he now needs to be on a 4 hour routine but this just seems impossible!! First of all he doesnt finish his feed all at once so it makes it very hard to stick to that (personally i think he is turning into a snacker). Second of all he struggles to have an A time longer than an hour or so.. I know at this age he should be aiming for at least 1.45 - 2hrs and as a result of a short A time all his naps are 30mins. I think these problems are the reason he is so fussy as he is always either hungry or tired!!

I would really appreciate some help in how to fix these issues. I really want to sort them out before he gets any older and it get harder for me..

Thanks guys xx

[ismaeelsmummy]

also to add to this..

My LO always wakes up around 2am-3.30am no matter what time he is put to bed.

Is this habitual waking.

His current bedtime is 9-10pm. I am looking to turn this into 7.30pm so i can have time to myself in the evenings as most evenings just consist of trying to get him to bed!! Anytips? Todays EASY has been as follows

E 9.30AM 5oz
A 9.30-10.45
S 30mins

E 12.30 3oz
A 12-30 - 2
S 30mins

E 2.30 3oz
A 2.30 - 2.45
S 30mins

E 3.45 3oz
A 3.45-5 (E again at 4.45)
S currently been 45mins

I dont think he is drinking enough during the day but i cant force him and even if i am persistant he will cry and cry..

[amayzie]

Hi hon- i think that as you say the A times are too short for him at the moment and that the 30 min naps are probably from him starting the day at undertired, then he's OT and fussy for BT. Just try pushing up the A time by even 5 minutes across the day to see if this helps him get a longer nap.

[amayzie]

I was also looking at the amounts he's getting and they seem really low for his age- have you had the reflux meds reviewed recently? It sounds like he's really unsettled- could be pain?

[*Kara*]

I agree with Katy... it does sound like his reflux is not at all controlled.  Snacking is a very clear sign of this - he takes a bit to soothe the burn.