NEED HELP WITH AFTERNOON NAP

[kets]

We have a 6 month old 32 week preemie.  Is only 4 months developmentally.  Not sure which EASY routine to put her on.  Tried a 4 hour routine but she was waking in the middle of the night and taking 3-4 ounces.  Thinking she was not getting enough milk during the day, we put her on a 3 1/2 hour routine.  Takes approx 4-4.5 ounces every 3.5 hours and will not take more.  She gets 5 feeds but she has trouble making it to the 5th feed due to her exhaustion.  She takes a couple of 1.5-2 hour day naps, but can't seem to get her to nap in the afternoon for longer than 30-45 minutes.  We have tried 4 feeds and a dream feed at 10-11 p.m., but she only takes about an ounce.  We feel if we can get her afternoon nap to be longer, she could take all of her feedings without being exhausted and overtired at night.  Please help!  Thank you.

[* Paula *]

Hi,

Welcome to the BW Boards.

Please can you post a detailed routine of what a typical day looks like i.e eat - how much and and times, A - what it consists of, your windown routine, and how your lo falls asleep, i.e rocking, white noise etc, and S for how long, so that we can have a look for you.

Thanks
Paula

[kets]

Paula,
    Our baby's typical day is awake at 7.  Eats at 7,10:30,2,5:30, in bed at 7 p.m.  and dream feed at 11:00.  She will take between 4-4.5 ounces each feed.  Her activity consists of sitting in a swing or playing on the floor w/ a toy bar.  Her windown consists of sitting with her quietly for 5 minutes.  Her morning nap is 1.5-2 hours long, but she can't seem to take more than a 30 minute nap the rest of the day.  When we put her down at 7 p.m. last night, she cried for about 90 minutes before dropping off to sleep.  She'll wake for her dream feed @11 and goes right back to sleep.  She will sleep soundly until about 5 a.m, then tosses and turns until her 7 a.m waking.  We've been working on this for 3 months and are worried that our child is sleep deprived.  Any help would be gretly appreciated.

[kets]

Paula,
         We have some additional questions:
  1. How do we know if our LO needs a catnap or a longer nap?
  2. When you do the PU, do you talk to her or just hold her quietly?
  3. If she skips a nap, she eats and then goes back to bed?  If she skips another nap, she eats and goes back to bed again?

  Thanks for your help.

[* Paula *]

When your lo is doing 30 minute naps it can either be one of 2 things.

Your lo may be ready to transition to a 4 hour EASY, or your lo is over tired.

Have a look at this link and see if any of the points fit your lo.

https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=63161.0

I would also suggest moving the DF earlier.  Closer to 10:00 is best.  This way your lo is still asleep for the DF, and that will eliminate the 11:00 pm waking and may help your lo sleep better.

If your lo is skipping naps, then she would definitely be overtired, and I would feed and try to resettle down for a nap immediately after the feed.  Once she has had a good nap, then you can try to get her back onto EASY for the rest of the day.

Here is a link with more info on PU/PD

https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=69177.msg531617#msg531617

Hope this info helps.