Hungry baby = short naps

[lilac83]

My DD has always been an "interesting" napper but lately she's decided to spice things up even more! She is on the lower end of sleep needs, typically getting about 2.5 hours per day and 11.5 at night. So, I've been aiming for a 1 hour AM nap and a 1.5 hour PM nap. However, I'm having problems structuring bottle feeds and solids feeds around naps and she's waking due to hunger. Any suggestions how to tweak things? I'm thinking I won't be able to follow a strict 4 hourly feed anymore.

7:00 - wake
7:45 - 6oz
9:30 - nap (short A time because I'm trying to get a UT 1 hour nap here)
10:05 - woke
10:15 - 1T oatmeal with .5/.75oz fruit (wolfed it down!)
11:45 - 6oz
1:30 - nap (today she woke a bit at 40m resettled for another 10m and then was up)
2:20 - woke
2:30 - 1 T oatmeal with .5/.75oz veggie (wolfed it down again, actually crying for it when she saw the bowl!)
3:40 - 7oz

Today then she got a catnap, drank another 8oz bottle (no solids for dinner) and was asleep at 7:45. I switched the order of bottles and solids because she wasn't eating her solids even after waiting 1-1.5  hours. Doing things this way though she eats her solids and still drinks her full bottle. Basically I count her as getting 3X7oz bottles because I use 1oz from the first 2 bottles to mix with her cereal and then an 8oz for bed. Any suggestions? I think she may have wanted to eat after her catnap too but I didn't feed her until bed because I don't want her getting too fat!

[TDR'smom]

At this age, I would not worry about your baby getting "fat".  They will let you know when they are hungry and full. 

When she wakes in the morning at 7, could you immediately give her a bottle, then feed her solids at 9AM?  That would be 2 hours from her bottle and then she could take her nap with a full tummy?

Need to run now, but will take a look at the rest of your day later!!!

xxx
Judy

[* Paula *]

At this age milk is still their main source of nutrician and any solids should only really be tasters, and not meant to be a meal.

I agree with Judy, your lo will not get fat, they know how much milk they need, and cannot over eat. 

At this age I would still be aiming for 4 milk feeds during the day so would think about having a routine roughly like this:-

7:00 - Bottle
8:00 - solids

11:00 - Bottle
12:00 - Solids

3:00 - Bottle
4:00 - Solids

7:00 - Bottle

At around 6 months a lo typically goes through a majory growth spurt, so filling them up on milk will definitley help keep her fuller for longer.

HTH's

[lilac83]

Thanks for the replies.

Judy ~ I had been waiting for the first bottle because she hadn't been interested. This morning though I gave her one right away and she drank 6oz. I then gave her the solids 30 minutes later and she ate them!

Paula ~ That's the routine I had been following when I first introduced solids and she wasn't eating the solids. When I turned things around she ate the solids plus her entire bottle, so she was actually getting more in her. This morning she did eat her breakfast right away, so perhaps interest has grown.

The problem I think is that her stomach doesn't hold very much in any one sitting. She was on 5 bottles per day until about 3 weeks ago when I started stretching her feeds. However, I don't think she's ever been entirely happy about that. Today I switched things up a bit and she took a 1.5 hour nap, a 1 hour nap and is now down for her catnap.

6:55 - 6oz
7:25 - 1T oatmeal w/ 1oz formula, 1/2 stage 1 peaches (she LOVES peaches )
9:15 - 4oz milk snack - didn't feed to sleep though, she was wide awake when I laid her down
nap 1.5 hours
12:00 - 1T oatmeal w/1oz formula, 1/2 stage 1 peas (ate 1/2), drank 1oz formula
1:45 - 6oz - again she was wide awake when I laid her down
nap 1 hour
4:00 - 1 stage 1 pears, 3oz formula
catnap - sleeping while I type, I will wake her if she reaches 45 minutes
7:30/8:00 - she will have 6-8oz more

When I wasn't feeding her before nap she was only sleeping 35-40 minutes. I didn't change A time. I know this isn't exactly a BW routine, but I'm not sure what else to do?

[TDR'smom]

I think you just need to be careful about consistently giving a bottle prior to nap, even if they are not falling asleep with the bottle, she could start associating a bottle with nap. 

Are you sure she is waking out of hunger?  Does she seem well rested when she wakes?

[lilac83]

Based on today, I would have to say I'm fairly certain she's waking out of hunger. She's happy when she wakes, but gets clingy. Today she was in a much happier mood, even though she got the same total hours of sleep she normally gets. I think it made a huge difference that the naps were more consolidated.

I've tried playing with A times since she was 3.5 months old. The morning nap would typically be good, but the second nap has always been a struggle and when she was younger the third nap was even harder probably because of OT. She's sleeping through the night without feeding, so I know she's getting enough food, just not spaced correctly or something.

[* Paula *]

Robin, great news that you had a better day today 

How long have these 30 odd minute naps been happeing?  I am wondering if your DD is going through her 6 month growth spurt and this is why she is napping short.

I agree with Judy though, you don't want your lo to start associating bottle with nap time, it can very quickly become a habit.

[lilac83]

Paula ~

The short 2nd nap has been happening since she was 4 months old. LOL, not a growth spurt! And actually, even though things were mixed up a bit yesterday, at the end of the day she still ended with 28oz of formula, so she hasn't increased her intake just switched things around.

I'm totally convinced today though that the short naps were a hunger problem:
Fed her 3oz before 1st nap - she slept 1hr 45min, she hasn't slept this long in AGES!!!
Fed her 6.5oz before 2nd nap - she's still asleep and has been sleeping over an hour

I understand about the bottle association, I'm just not sure what else I can do?

[* Paula *]

I am so pleased that the naps have gone so well today.

If you think that offering her some milk before a nap is going to help her sleep longer, try offering it abut 15 mins or so before she goes down for a nap.  That way she will still have a bit of A time before going down for her nap KWIM?

Just a question, what size teat are you using?

[TDR'smom]

Also, have you tried extending her naps with shh/pat?  Most times when DD wakes up before 45 minutes, I can pat/shh her back to sleep and she will nap another 45 minutes to an hour.

[lilac83]

Paula ~ I'm using a fast nipple. With the bottles I use (Playtex Ventaire) there's 2 speeds, fast and slow. She's been on fast since around 3.5 months old. I get what you mean about sneaking in some A time. Perhaps I'll feed her then change her diaper instead of the other way around.

Judy ~ I've tried extending her naps. It works perhaps 10% of the time and only with about a hour of crying and then she'll sleep for maybe another 10 minutes. Needless to say I gave up extending a long time ago.

[* Paula *]

Let us know how it goes adding a bit of A time before putting her down for a nap.

Keep us posted.  Hope she naps well for you today

[lilac83]

Just had to update because I find this rather amusing:

So, the feeding a quick snack before nap was working super. She was taking 2 X 1.5 hour naps and even a catnap for those 4 days. However, her night sleep dropped to about 10.5 hours . It's just not meant to be for my LO to have good naps, LOL! Needless to say I have stopped giving her a milk snack and just moved her solids closer to nap time. Also stretched out her A times a bit so she wouldn't need the catnap. Since doing that she's back to having 1-1.5 hour naps, but her night sleep is at 11.5 hours again. Not that I'm complaining, she's just a really good self regulator!

[* Paula *]

I am pleased that she is napping better for you.  Some lo's just don't need as much sleep as others.