re: EASY hard at 81/2 mths

[moynihan]

Hi there - I'm new to this site and new to EASY. Currently I am still bf her to sleep at naps and bedtime - but do plan on the PU/PD once I get EASY under control. Grace is 8 and a half mths.- have always had her on somewhat of a scheudule - but from the start she has so many NW and naps so poorly that I'm finding it hard to stay on EASY which I think is the problem for nw's! For example - last night she had 8 NW from 7pm to 6:00am.  She will only nap for just over 1 hour in the am and in the afternoon she will not stay sleeping! Generally she falls asleep quickly in the afternoon but wakes up after 10 minutes and I can't get her settled back. If we are in the car she will sleep as long as we are driving. So I know she still needs the sleep inthe pm. Therefore all afternoon she is sleepy and yawning. This makes the EASY hard b/c she's tired at meal times! I need help!! Should I be trying to keep her on the scheudle time wise ie - wake 7am, nap 9am, A 11am? or just follow it from a routine standpoint - ie. let her nap at 9 am or 10am then let A time fall after that? I'm feeling stressed on watching the clock when she's yawning at 8:30 and really at her age she should be sleeping until 10am. Also b/c she only naps for an hour in the am - I'm not sure what to do about A time then and also in the pm b/c she doesn't nap unless I take her in the car. (which when I'm desperate I do!) I'm so frustrated b/c I don't know how to fix this..I know that we are on a horrible cycle and we are dying for some consistency to our days and especially our nights!! This is really what I would like below but not sure if this makes sense or not???
Also - is there any way to get her to sleep longer than 1 hour in the am and more importantly to get her to nap in the afternoon???
7am - wake
9:30 - 11am - nap
11am - bf
11:30 -lunch solids
11:30 to 2:00 - A time
2:00 to 3pm or 3:30- nap
3:30pm - BfF
4:30 - dinner - solids
4:30 to 7 - A
7 to 7:30 - sleep thru the night!!!
But how do I get there?? Thank you so much for any help or advice you can give me!

[* Paula *]

Hugs, I am sorry you are having a rough time.  At this age, there are so many things that are cathing their attention, and they are finding things that they would much rather do than nap.  I know my DD can be like that, she is so nosey.

Night wakings are a sign that your lo is overtired and not getting enough sleep during the day.

Looking at your routine, I would say that your morning A time is way to short.  This is why you are getting such a short nap.  My DD is roughly the same age and she is on a 3 hour A time at the moment.  I suggest you try extending her A time to at least 2.5 hours in the morning so that she gets a good nap, and then perhaps 3 hours in the PM, so that she also has a good nap.

You say that you are only getting a 10 minute nap in the afternoon, I would say that your lo is probably OT by the afternoon from the short nap, and all the night wakings catching up with her, and this is why she is so OT.  I would work on your A time in the morning,a nd then hopefully the afternoon will go a lot smoother.

Also at this age a yawn does not necessarily mean that they are tired.  I know that if I sit my DD in front of something for too long without changing the scenery, she will start yawning and getting fussy, but is not actually tired.  You may be mis reading her sleep cues.  If she starts yawning, change the scenery, perhaps read a book to her or play another game with her to keep her occupied a bit longer.

HTH's