Just starting out - but falling at the first hurdle!

[janieb1]

Hi everyone

Started EASY a couple of days ago.  My dd is in the habit of sleeping most of the morning. Yesterday for instance she woke from  her night sleep at 6.30am, great. Fed (or snacked more like) and fell straight back asleep. Nothing keeps her awake. Putting her down, nappy change, stripping her off, lrubbing her hands etc might wake her briefly but she just dozes straight off again. You'd think that cos she snacked she'd be hungrey. Apparently not. She just refuses food - I'm bf. If I leave her, which I've done in the past she'll sleep through till 11-11.30! Then of course at the other end of the day we have the reverse problem, constant feeding and won't sleep and the  reflux is worse after big feeds.

The good thing is that she is capable of long sleep and has been good when putting her down for daytime naps in her cot using shh/pat. I used to bedshare and let her nap anywhere so we've already made progress there.

Any advice about switching these periods would be very welcome. Thanks.

Janie

[Jaime]

hi, welcome to the boards! 

how old is your baby?  i'm guessing under a month???

it does sound like she's switched nights & days.  here are some ideas that helped me - keep in mind that all babies are different.  my first figured this out in a week or 2; my second took a LOT longer.    
* Daytime Mommy was very chatty, interactive, exposed babies to sunlight (either outside or through a window when it's cold).  lots of snuggling, kissing, and those sorts of things
* Daytime Mommy would do her darndest to wake them for a feed by the 3-hour mark.  my highest points of desperation involved a naked baby & a damp washcloth!   
* Nighttime Mommy didn't talk, turn on lights (no more than a nightlight), no eye contact, and kept things very low key.

the idea is to help cue her as to when to sleep, and when to not sleep as much.

sounds like you're having luck with shh/pat too, which is good. 

anyhow, HTH   

[shelliz]

Janieb1,

    My daughter would also "snack" at meal time before I got on the E.A.S.Y. plan. I bf her also and she would only eat maybe 5 minutes at a time and I would sometimes feed her every hour or whenever she seemed hungry. Now that I have her on the EASY plan, she takes in a good meal at each feeding (accept for the 7:00 a.m. feeding b/c she usually wakes at 4:00 a.m. and i feed her then).  If you start getting her to the 3 or 4 hr mark before feedings she will surley be staying up b/c she will really be hungry since she won't be snacking.  It would also be really helpful in the scheme of things to get her on a schedule of waking her at 7:00 or 7:30 a.m. to get her internal clock set. That way she will be much more predictable. My dd is 5 months (not sure how old yours is), but she wakes at 7:00 and eats at 7,11,3 & 7 before going to bed b/w 7:15-7:30. I never imagined I would be able to have her on a routine like that...but we have been doing it for 2 weeks now and it is great! *** I also brought my dd into bed with me when she woke up at the 4:00 a.m. mark and now she is sleeping in her own crib.

 Keep up the good work!

Shelby