4 hour EASY with a 40min napper how 2?

[liz6969]

Hi all,

I have just moved to 4 hour easy with my 17 week old she has was not hungry at 3 hours so the move was quite easy. My problem is she only takes short naps which throughs the routine off track. This is what it looked like yesterday:

E 7am
A 7.30am
S 9am
Y
A 9.45am
E 11am
S 11.30pm
Y
A 12.30pm
S 2pm
A 2.30pm
E 3pm
A 3.30pm
S 5.30pm
A 6pm includes bath and story
E 7pm

I found that if I don't put her down after her 11 feed she is up for more than 3 hours and falls asleep during her bottle. She selfs soothes well for naps and sleeps through the night well. She is aways happy when she wakes but by bed time she is very tired and cries which she never did on 3 hour easy! Any advice please as Easy is going haywire!!!!!!!

[vadensmommy]

Well it looks like she is actually doing more like 30 min naps from looking at your routine.  If that is correct, 30 min naps are often attributed to being overtired, so it may be that she can't take the 2 hours of A time yet.  You might consider going back to keeping her awake a little less, like an hour and 30-45min and see if that helps.  Has she always taken 45min naps - even on a 3hr EASY?

[liz6969]

Yes she has always taken short naps, we put her in her cot and she gets herself off to sleep but seems unable to resettle herself after the first cycle of sleep, I have a camera monitor so I watch her. I will try the less A time and see if that helps. Thanks for replying

Liz x

[vadensmommy]

bless your heart, I know how frustrating 45 min naps can be!!!  DD did them for a number of months, but for us going to a 4 hour easy fixed it.  I think ours had a lot more to do with she didn't have enough A time!  But I know it doesn't always fix it - going to more A time.  Some babies it is just biological, and there isn't much you can do but let them grow out of it.  Frustrating because 45 min isn't enough time to do much of anything productive, including take a shower, and get ready to go somewhere!!  DD was a great self soother, but no matter what I tried she would NOT go back to sleep after waking from a nap until after the next feed cycle.  I hope you can find more answers, and if nothing else, I hope you can find the right A time for her so she has at least a 45 min nap and not 30 min!!!  Good luck!

[KLT001]

Hello,

Sorry i cant offer support but I totally have the same problem. Due to my 3mth old taking catnaps, it has turned EASY into ESA which isnt working for me either. Im wondering what your suppose to do with bubs when she wakes after a 40min catnap and she still has another 1hr/2hrs until her normal feedtime and then she has wasted all her waketime in between??? Im so confused too.

[liz6969]

That sounds  just like us we start off doing EASY then she will wake an 1 1/2 hours before next feed so by the time she finishes the feed she needs to sleep so it's ESASE But that does seem to make her happier in the evening. Have you tried that between the 11 and 3 feed? We E then S for 40Min's then A time till 2 then S 30 Min's so she can have A time after feed. Any tips welcome

Liz xx