Can't seem to extend the 3hr routine

[mumofalice]

Just thought I'd pop back and say hi and give you an update . . . but first of all Melissa I have to say the new photo of Grace is gorgeous - she's all grown up!! Also had a look at the pics you had taken with your Mum - they were lovely - bet your Mum was over the moon with them.

Things have definitely got better - tho when the site was down a couple of weeks ago I did miss it as I was having a tough couple of days (LO was OT but I couldn't seem to extend her naps and ended up crying with her!!) - cues are harder to catch these days . . . and if I miss them I know it's going to be hard to put DD down for a nap.

DH and I did the BW quiz together a couple of weeks ago (I had done it myself way back when I started and seemed to have a textbook baby - but was sure that wasn't the case anymore!!) and boy did it make sense - tho we didn't give exactly the same answers our DD came out as Textbook / Touchy with both of us. I went back to my books and read the bits concerning Touchy babies - I know it's a bit of a cliche but it was as if some of those quotes were about my LO.

We've just been on our first family holiday and because I feel like I know my LO now more than ever it made life a lot easier. We made sure that she had that first nap of the day before we headed out as this seems to be the most important one. She wasn't getting as much sleep during the day as she would probably get at home but she just ended up going to bed earlier at the end of the day to play catch up as it were - seemed to work out okay.

Funny thing about the holiday was that DD didn't seem phased by any of it (I was worried that she wouldn't sleep as well - being in a different cot in a different room, etc) - she settled in straight away and almost seemed to nap for longer than she does at home!! (Must have been all the fresh air tiring her out LOL!!) However, coming back home seems to have thrown her more - we've had a recurrence of fighting going down for naps and she's been taking longer to settle herself when she has gone down - am hoping that it will all work out in a couple of days . . . otherwise I might have to go on another holiday!!

We're still not on a solid 4 hr EASY - don't think we will end up getting there!! - but we quite regularly get one 4 hr stretch in the morning and sometimes we get a 2nd one too which is always a bonus. I think I assumed that we would get there at some point as our 3 hr EASY was textbook - on a good day of course LOL!!.

Think that's about all for now - hope things are good with you

Berni x

[Grace's Mom]

Sounds like things are well. 
There are always going to be crazy time, but lo's seem to, with the help of mommy, get back on track.
Thank you so much for the update and for the compliments on our photos.
It was a really special time and memory.
I wish my mom lived near by.  It's super hard.

Glad you went on holiday.
Where did you go?

[mumofalice]

hey melissa

you do make me smile - whenever I'm thinking that things aren't going that great I get a response from you saying how well I'm doing!! I guess I'm a pessimist and you're an optimist!!

it's definitely taking a while for us to settle post-holiday - which I found rather strange as there weren't any settling in issues when we went away and in fact DDs routine was almost better - maybe we should go on a permanent holiday LOL!! we went to the Lake District for our holidays - only a couple of hours from home but very picturesque and perfect for us to spend some time outdoors with the dogs and introduce DD to our kind of holidays LOL!! she seemed to like it anyway.

have to say my mum does live close by - but I think because she's not that far away (but far enough to drive - which she doesn't) I don't end up seeing her that much . . . I always think you make more of an effort when someone isn't that close. you'll always have the photos and memories of that special time you all spent together - I probably wouldn't do that with my mum cos she's so close by iykwim.

Berni

[Grace's Mom]

You are too sweet.
I am glad I could make you smile.
***I don't think you are pessimistic.  You are living with a baby and it can be really hard.
I did the same thing when Grace was that age. 

Your Holiday sounds wonderful.
I love being outdoors!

**Delayed response to change....
we just moved across the country 6 months ago (4 hour time difference  ). 
We were so afraid that DD was going to get all messed up because of it.  Well, we got here and the transition went 85% smoother than I thought.  I was thrilled.  Well, about 6 weeks later it hit her. She was seriously OT and having more NWings than she did when she was a newborn.  It's took 1-2 months to fix.  All that to say that sometimes I think their bodies have a delayed reaction to change which is probably why  you lo did so well while away and now is having some harder times.

Well, DD is still sleeping, thank God, so I am going to take this time to go get her breakfast ready and take the dog out.
Poor thing had a fever all yesterday afternoon and night.  Hoping it's gone now.

Let me know how your day gos.
Hope it's a beautiful one.

Melissa

[mumofalice]

can't imagine you ever being pessimistic - you're always so positive 

the holiday was wonderful - we love being outdoors - funny how it seems so long ago now and it was only last week!!

didn't realise that LOs could experience a delayed response to change - we just couldn't believe how easily she slept in a travel cot (which wasn't ours and didn't seem that comfy), how easily she sat in a high chair (without a high back support which her usual one has), how she seemed to have regular long naps (we were pretty much on a 4hr EASY most days - unheard of I know LOL!) and also how she really seemed to get the hang of BLW all of a sudden and 'ate' more than she ever has . . .

so you can imagine - I thought our whole routine and eating was sorted out . . . seems to me that she preferred her holiday to home - which seems sensible to me!!

today has been quite a good day (though a bit of a tired one!) . . . DD woke up fairly early but she was talking to herself so I left her for a while and she went back to sleep on her own - when I went in at her 'regular'(ish) wake up time she had turned herself round in her cot (her new trick) which is probably why she'd been chatting earlier - think it takes her a while to get her bearings! after 2 hrs of A time she went for her first nap and slept for 1.5hrs. We fed 15 mins later - so first EASY was 3.75hrs. Another 2 hrs of A time (inc. a walk with the dogs) - she was desperate for bed when we got back - think the fresh air sometimes tires her out quicker. She stirred after about 40mins but put herself back to sleep for another hour and we reached 3.5hrs for the next feed.

after that we had a swimming lesson - by the time we'd got back in the car to come home she was really tired (again I think swimming tires her out much quicker) and she slept in the car seat on the way home - probably between 30 and 45 mins - then it was pretty much time to start the bedtime routine . . . the EASY routine gets shorter as the day goes on as we wind down to bedtime and DD tanks up. she ended up in bed a little early as she was shattered when she got out of the bath - she didn't even want her usual bedtime story - so I put her down in her cot and she pulled her comforter over her head and grumbled for a few mins - that was 20 mins ago and I've not heard a peep out of her since.

hope you had a lovely day and that DD has got over her fever.

Berni x

[Grace's Mom]

Today seems like the perfect day.  Wow, 3 great naps.

Your increments through out the day don't always have to be the same.  They may never always be the same and that's ok.  You followed your lo's cues, which is more important than anything.   

Yep, when we had swimming lessons Grace always went to sleep earlier the next go round. And fresh air is a good one for tuckering them out.  Love it.
It's great 

Hope your night goes just as well 

**Grace woke up with out a fever.  Praise God!

[mumofalice]

thanks melissa

think I worry that no two days are ever the same - and although I know that EASY is a routine and NOT a schedule, I think that I'm still worrying that we don't really follow a true pattern iykwim - and yet when we were still at 3 hr EASY stage we were pretty much Textbook . . . guess I thought it would always be like that LOL!! who was I trying to kid?!!

the swimming lesson thing (and most things we go to - baby sign, etc) are a bit tough sometimes because classes aren't always set at the optimum time for your LOs routine. our swimming lesson is about as good as it gets - but by the time we were done yesterday Alice had been awake for 2 hrs (pretty much all she can manage) so was ready for that last cat nap. I guess if fresh air does tire them out (which I suspected - has the same effect on me!) that is probably why our DD had no problem sleeping on our holiday - she had fresh air in abundance!

our night did go well - I've been blessed with a fantastic night-time LO - she was in bed at 6.20pm (a bit early but she was so tired) had a DF at 10pm and I didn't hear from her til 6.15am this morning - that's an early start for her, but then she went to bed early . . . we seemed to have shifted forward about an hour somehow - am not quite sure when or how it happened, but it's still pretty much a 12hr day and night so that's fine.

glad to hear Grace woke without a fever - such good news - so hard when your LOs are ill.

have a fab day (or night)

Berni x

[Grace's Mom]

Fitting the classes into their day gets easier as they get older and their A time extends. 
One nap is nice.
My dd didn't go to one nap until 17 months but always seemed to manage. 

My dd use to be a 7am riser. Then she turned 3 months and she changed (in all areas).
She started waking at 6am, no matter what...time changes, moving across the country, it's still around 6am...some days 6:30 and some very rare days 7am.
It's crazy how their lo bodies are just always changing and then they just kind of set their own unique patterns. 


Melissa

[mumofalice]

Can't imagine Alice ever going down to one nap - she seems to need her sleep! I don't manage to keep up with everything when she has 2 naps never mind when she drops down to one!!

last couple of days have been a bit weird - yesterday Alice woke at 6.15, she ate at 6.30 (BF and then solid) and was back in bed for 8.15. She woke just before 10am and then I put her in her buggy and we walked to baby group - not sure if she dozed or not in her buggy but next BF was at 10.45. She also had solids and was awake for a very long time - did try to put her down for a nap whilst we were out but she wasn't having any of it. Think I might have started to AP!! I ended up feeding her at 12.45 again and she went to sleep in her buggy at 1.45 (she's been awake for nearly 4 hours!!) She slept in her buggy for about 45mins and then I transferred her to her cot when we got home where she slept for just under 2 hours - she fed at 4.45, we went for a quick walk with the dogs, she had a bath and a top up and was asleep by 6.30pm - all in all she probably had the right amount of sleep during the day - just in a bit of a weird order . . . however, today seems to be worse!!

Alice woke at 6.15-6.30 and I BF at 6.45, followed by solids and then A time til she went for a nap at 8.30. She slept for 1.5 hrs and I BF at 10.30 (about 30 mins after she woke). She had solids again and then went for her next nap at around 12. She woke at the dreaded 45 min and was beside herself (she'd rolled onto her tummy and she still doesn't like it) I tried to settle her but she was 'screaming' for want of a better word - even when she's had a tired meltdown it hasn't been this bad - it was like she was in pain and I couldn't console her at all. In the end I fed her again as I didn't know what else to do (which is why I think I'm starting to AP!!) and she gulped down the breast milk like she'd never been fed. She had more solids and then we had some low key activity and some story time before I put her back down at 2. Once again she woke after 45 mins and again we went thru the same 'screaming' process - there was nothing I could do to settle her and once again I BF at 3.15. She gulped down the breast milk so fast I could hear the bubbles going down - which is unlike her. Just don't know what else to do for her as I've never seen her so upset before.

Any thoughts?

Hope your weekend is going better 

Berni x

[sherry lynn]

Maybe a late or early growth spurt?

[Grace's Mom]

That's what I was about to say....growth spurt.

[mumofalice]

as simple as that, eh? she hasn't has a growth spurt before (or not one that I'd noticed - no NWs, really unusual days) - so I'm not used to the signs . . . it was just so stressful to see her screaming (it was more than crying!) like she was in pain.

after the 3.15 BF yesterday we went for a walk - thought the fresh air might do her good - it did! she was happy as you like in her sling laughing at our dogs playing fetch. put her down for a nap when we got back and she had just over an hour of sleep - then it was bedtime routine. she was in bed slightly later, had a DF as usual and slept all night - woke at her usual time this morning (funny how they always wake at the same time even tho they may go to bed later - you said the same about your LO Melissa!).

so . . . think the only difference (apart from the mad napping pattern) was that Alice had an extra feed yesterday - can't remember the last time she had more than 6 feeds in one day!! I'm hoping that I'm not AP then?!! Not that I'm worrying or anything 

thanks for the replies

Berni x

[Grace's Mom]

so glad the night went well

[mumofalice]

Hi there Melissa

Was just wondering if I could 'pick your BW brain' as it were - as you've given me such great advice over the past couple of months.

As you know I've been trying to get on a steady 4hr EASY for quite sometime now, and although we never really made it -or at least not as 'textbook' as our 3hr EASY  - we've been doing okay.

However . . . my LO is 8 months today (don't know where the time has gone!) and when re-reading the 'typical amounts of sleep' table it suggests 2 naps for a LO of her age - as if it should be time to drop the cat nap. Over the past few days I've noticed that she seems to be going a bit longer than 2 hrs of A time - but she still seems to need her cat nap at the mo. I know that every LO is different and I'm watching for her cues . . . but started to wonder how EASY works when you drop that catnap. Had a quick look thru my books and it suggest EAEASY - but couldn't seem to find any sample routines and as I don't seem to be able to do anything without my BW guidelines these days (I'm so needy LOL!) I just wondered if you could point me in the right direction as I'm sure I'll get lost otherwise!

Hope you don't mind me asking for help - but you've only got yourself to blame for being so helpful in the first place 

Hope all is well in your world

Berni x

[Grace's Mom]

Good morning Berni 

My lo didn't move to 2 naps until closer to 11 months.

When on a two nap day they need to be able to stay away 3 hours.

3 hours A time
Nap
3 hours A time
Nap
3 hours A time
Bed

When they move to two naps, it's not technically EASY anymore as feeds are worked around when they napped and such and of course when they need food....you may have to give a feed some what close to a nap on a 2 nap day, etc.

If your lo still needs the cat nap then I'd keep it.
You may need to lessen one or two of the other naps to help compensate so that your lo is going to bed  too late, but you can still have 3 naps until you lo is ready for 3 hours of A time.

Hope this helps.

And, BTW, you are one funny lady 
LOL