5-530am waking - can this be changed? Too late?

[newkidontheblock]

1 hr pm nap (which is the cat nap), correct?

That was nap 2. A CN is a shorter nap of 30-45 mins.

Or was there a 3rd 1 hr nap as a cat nap on days your child wouldnt do 2 long naps and her A time is already 2 hr 45min+ ?

For a while, I would do a CN on days when naps were short but after a while, I actively worked on lengthening naps by being in her room at the 30 minute mark and patting her back to sleep if required. I had to stay in the room patting/resting my hand on her for the rest of the nap for 2 weeks (I think). Then I backed off completely and she slept through. Such a relief. Otherwise, if the naps ended too early, I went for an EBT.

How long of a gap should there be from the second nap to bedtime if little one has a short second nap of 1 hr? 2.5hrs or 3 hrs A time? 3 hrs seem long if sge only had 1 hr nap, isn't it?

This depends on your LO. How long a gap does she need to bed? My DD always did her shortest A to bed. We had looong A times through the day but she could wake up from a 2 hour nap at 5 and still would be in bed asleep at 7pm sharp and STTN. She could handle a max of 2.5 hours to bed at that time. It was very easy to tell when I had got a timing wrong because BT was always easy and she always SS (until she didn't. But that's another story) A 1 hour nap isn't really a short nap. 30/45 mins is.

WRT to the routine you posted, try for 6 pm and see what happens. Or try lengthening that nap. I capped to 1 hour because it was too close to bed but you need a bit longer nap to sustain this.

[newbie_momsie]

Thx for your reply!

DD is 6.5 months now since my first posting in this thread. We are getting to 2 hrs 50 mins A  time as of tomorrow so I will be  dropping the cat nap. However her early waking is still happening. I also worry about her feeding because 1 feeding will be dropped As A time approaches 3 hrs. Should I just add more milk per feed then? She takes breastmilk by bottle due to latching/inverted nipple issues.

I think my DD only needs 10 hrs of sleep because no matter how I adjust her routine or when we put her to bed...she usually wakes up after 9.5 to 10 hrs of sleep. Hence she always wake up around 430-530am. Do most parents just hold and rock baby to sleep until the desired wake up time? Does this question belong to a new thread? Thx!

[newkidontheblock]

Your bub might be LSN but 9-10 hours of night sleep only sounds less to me. Especially since she isn't getting too much day sleep either. Let's get through this transition and then re-evaluate:) 5.30 am WUs are just really hard to settle since they have gotten so much sleep already but there are ways to get over this. Getting the routine in order is step 1.

WRT milk feeds - yes, you can add more milk to her bottles and see if she takes in more. I was nursing directly and had the same worries, so I fed twice in every A time but you wouldn't need to do that with bottle feeding

[newbie_momsie]

Thanks again for replying!

Today suppose to ve the day I drop her catnap but not sure if I can because she woke at 530am and I only got her to go back to sleep for 10 mins Feel like the timing will be screwed up for today's bedtime. I tried rocking for 30 mins then i gave up and fed her but still she was pretty awake. If I drop the cat nap her bedtime will be either around 530am (so early) or 6pm today Dependi g if she naps 1.5 hrs or 2 hrs.

What can i do to help her sleep later in the morning after we reach her transition to 2 naps? you mentioned getting a routine...do u mean tweaking our current routine?

Thanks so much, really appreciate your help and being able to talk to you as I feel that there is nobody else i can turn to for help on this.

[newkidontheblock]

A 6pm BT is perfectly fine, and is a necessary part of this transition. I was a big chicken then but during the 2-1, E went to sleep at 5.30 on multiple occasions. It's only for a short while. During the 3-2, I took each day as it came. If nap2 ended at a time that I could comfortably do a 6pm BT, I did EBT. If nap2 ended waaay too early and BT would have to be any earlier than 6, I would do a CN and push BT back a bit. You have to keep being flexible in this manner and slowly phase it out. I did find naps automatically lengthening once we were through this.

EWs just seem to be a part of this transition. Eris went back to normal WU a while after we were firmly on 2 naps. But she needed that specific amount of day sleep. So at that time she needed 2.5 in 12 hours, which is why I would make sure she got 2 proper naps or adjust my length of day accordingly. I know it's hard but just ride it out. It does get better:)

[newbie_momsie]

Thank you....i feel like i have been riding this EW out since March....it is a long time

Today was the first day of the 3 to 2 transition. Naps went well. Everything well until bed time. I don't know what to do!  It has now been 3.5 hrs because she hasn't fallen asleep yet! I really dont want to hold and rock her but i am getting desperate for her to go to sleep. I tried patting her but i think my presence is more distracting. When i go in she will just prop herself up using her hands and arms. now she is doing her mantra cry. Should i just sit tight and wait it out. I know eventually after an hour she will be so tired that she will fall asleep. But is this the way to teach her to fall asleep on her own at bedtime? I know if i go hold her now she will fall asleep faster than waiting it out

[newkidontheblock]

What did the day look like? Do you think she got her second wind? Could you just sit next to her and stroke her back or pat her? Or how about talking softly to her while sitting near her crib?