Routine buster? How do outings with baby work?

[jsorrow24]

What do you do when say you have just fed your baby...give him activity time at home say for 45 min to hour, then leave to go shopping in hopes he will take his nap then. He sleeps in the ride to the mall for about 20 min or so then wakes when we reach our destination and does not go back to sleep. We come home, time to feed. Do I keep him up for the "A" again then sleep or try to put right to sleep. He is not yawning and seems content and very alert. He has been now for about 2 hours now. He is 7 wks today.

Any suggestions how outings work with EASY or better ways to get out of the house and still preserve the routine?

 

[HeatherC]

At that age, he's probably going to fall asleep in the car no matter what time in the EASY cycle you venture out.  Therefore, you just need to adjust your day a bit to compensate for the sleep he may loose.  While many babies will sleep the whole time their in the car/stroller, others are woken by whatever, and then they do loose part of their nap.  After the next feed, just watch his cues and put him down when he shows tired signs regardless of how much A time he's had.  The important thing about EASY is not the clock, but knowing your baby's needs, keeping them on a predictable routine (E, A, then S) for their sense security and yours, and teaching baby overall independent sleep.  That does not mean there is anything wrong with a baby falling asleep in the car/stroller b/c he would probably be on his way or already able to fall asleep independently otherwise.
Congrats on your new lo, and best wishes.

[jsorrow24]

Thanks...that's what I did today...I fed him when I got home and just let him stay up a little bit. And boy was he overtired. It took some good wind down time to get him to sleep and then he woke 30 mins later, but a little or should a say about 30min of sssh/pat put him back out. I have been struggling with doing the ssh/pat...lack of patience. But I am committed and will see this through.  I feel such a "victory" when it works. Before, just to save time and frustration I would just pick him up and lull him to sleep and lay him back down. But after a few days of him constantly waking up during naps and one night of him waking up every 2 hours I decided to nip that in the bud.

Thanks for the reply! 

[HeatherC]

That is so wonderful to hear that you are committed to the shh/pat.  It will be so great for you when you no longer have to do it and he's sleeping like a charm all by himself!!!  Congrats!

[jsorrow24]

Tell me about it...he did so well this morning for his first nap. I watched him put himself back to sleep I was sooo happy. But I think he was so overtired for this nap that it kind of threw him off. But he didn't cry or get upset as I sat there and sssshhh and patted. He would want his soothy a bit throughout and that helped relax him then he spit it out.

I still hate doing ssh/pat...but I have seen so many posts with success stories that I just have to keep doing it to keep him used to his crib and falling asleep there. With my first child, I gave in and she ended up sleeping with us for awhile. Now at 3 and since the baby has come, she wants to sleep with us again. She falls asleep in her bed then wakes up and comes to our room. I think she has really regressed. One issue at a time...baby sleeping then getting her back to staying in her bed all night.

Wish us luck!