Hi All,
We have been doing a 4 hour EASY for the past week and a half (from the day that I found out about BW). While we used to have to rock our lo to sleep for his naps, we can now put him in the crib to settle him. This morning, he even settled himself to sleep, after about 20 minutes of very loud fussing (but not crying).
However, he only sleeps for 30 minutes at a time. He used to be a classic 45 minute napper, but in the past week has shortened his naps even more. I am sometimes able to get him back to sleep for another cycle, but other times, like this afternoon, I am not able to.
My lo is 6 months old and our day typically goes like this:
Between 6:00 and 6:30 - Wake up and chatter in crib. Sometimes he sleeps until 7:00, and he just went through a patch where he woke at 5:15
7:00 Bottle
8:00 Cereal
Between 8:45 and 9:15 - Nap 30 minutes
From when he wakes up to his next bottle, I try to get him back to sleep. It usually works in the morning and he can get another 45 minutes.
11:00 Bottle
12:00 Cereal
Around 1:00 - Nap. I watch his cues and put him down when I see them.
From when he wakes to his next bottle, I try to get him back to sleep. Sometimes it works, sometimes not.
3:00 Bottle
4:45 Attempt a catnap.
5:30 Cereal
7:00 Bottle, wind down and sleep by about 7:30. Bedtime varies from 7:00 to 7:45.
He is a good sleeper at night, but although he wakes smiling from his naps, he is still yawning and gets progressively more tired as time wears on, which makes sense. When he was waking shortly after 5:00 a.m. for 3 nights in a row, I fed him a few ounces then put him back to sleep. He is likely going through a growth spurt as he is a fairly textbook baby, and since we introduced solids two weeks ago I have been gradually increasing his amounts until now he is on just over 1 tablespoon, 3 times a day. He takes 32-34 ounces of formula per day and is 18 pounds. He also has mild reflux (no meds) and the head of his mattress is elevated a couple of inches.
So, I have a couple of questions:
1) How can I extend his naps? I tried w2s which worked once, then he went to 30 minute naps. I will try it again, but I wanted to see if he would extend on his own as we increased his solid intake. So far, no go.
2) Should I extend his A time in the morning and before his afternoon nap?
Thanks to everyone who posts on the BW site. I'm so glad I found this site and the BWSAYP book! Before this, I was unsure of how to get him to sleep on his own... now we are on our way.
Alana
