Transitioning from a 3 hour schedule to 4 hour schedule

[momtoasher]

thank you so much, it's hard not to at times. Although, today is the first day he didn't wake up at 4:30am... I don't care what else happens today -- THAT'S progress!!   

[deckchariot]

YEAH for a bit of extra sleep!!!!

[momtoasher]

ok, a few days have gone by and this just isn't working, I hate to say. The poor little guy was up almost every 4 hours throughout the night and during the day, he hasn't been able to make it past 30 minutes through a nap before we have to go in and shh/pat or help him transition through his sleep cycles. The more we do this, I'm realizing that he just can't handle 2 hours of A... I don't know how to get him on a 4 hour feeding schedule without 2 hours of A, so maybe he's just not ready for 4 hours yet. He's about 4.5 months old, but he was born a month early, so maybe that has something to do with it. But, this just so isn't working any longer. I think I'm going to try to get him back to a 3.5 hour schedule and see if we can get him back on track... he hasn't slept really well for over a month now, so we need to make some changes; he's completely wigged out. 

[deckchariot]

I didn't realize he was a month premature - you are right that he's probably not ready for a 4 hr EASY.    Some lo's never make it to a 4 hr EASY until they start solids (especially if they're bf).  With 30 min naps, I would definitely say he's OT and moving to a 3.5 hr EASY is probably the way to go.  I want to encourage you though that it sounds like you really know your lo - you can see that he's too tired and simply isn't ready for the 2 hrs of A time for a 4 hr EASY - YOU ARE A GREAT MOM!!!  Getting him back on 3.5 hrs may help him catch up on his sleep and then later he'll be ready to go longer.  Do what works for him.  Please keep us posted!

[momofclaire]

I agree with Michelle. For some reason I missed that he was born early.     He may not be ready for a 4 hour routine.  Spend a few days following his cues and not worrying about the clock and see what happens. Hang in there. It will get better.
Myia

[momtoasher]

Yes, I didn't mention he was born early... honestly, he's done so well and is right up there with everything else for a 4.5 month old, we often forget he was early and that it might affect other things. He is breastfed and I guess I didn't understand that bf babies don't often work on a 4 hour schedule without solids...

So, we're going to work on getting him back to the 3.5 hour routine. Although, this doesn't necessarily explain why he can't make it through 45 minutes in a nap - which was the reason we started the whole transition in the first place. I guess we'll continue to use PU/PD and shh/pat to help him make it through his naps better. So, this was roughly the routine I was going to work for the 3.5 hour routine:

E: 7am
A:
S: 8:45

E: 10:30
A:
S: 12:15

E: 2:00
A:
S: 3:45

E: 5:30
A:
E/S (Bedtime routine): start at 7:15

DF: 11:00


I'm not quite sure on that last bit because he'd be eating again after 2 hours, but it would kind of be like a cluster feed. Any suggestions on how that could work differently? Also, I'm going to try to keep him up for 1.75 hours, but it may be only 1.5 at times. During those times, do we try to extend the nap so that he eats again at 3.5 hours? But naps shouldn't be more than 2 hours, correct? I know we'll have to help him extend his naps since he typically gets up after about 45 minutes, so I'm not exactly sure how long to extend them for... And is the other rule of thumb that they sleep about 5 hours during the day at this age?

Thanks for all your words of encouragement and help - it's been a great help!

[MJMom]

I thought I would add in, my LO was BF'd and was on 4 hr EASY by 4.5 months.  I think watching the cues is the most important!

Good luck!