Help implementing EASY

[momoflillianrose]

Hi my baby is 8 weeks old. I just got the BW book last night and read the whole thing. My baby has been on a 3 hour feed routine since birth (breastfeeding). She is a good nurser, no problems there. However, she does not go down for naps very well and wakes 2 times at night to eat. We've had lots of company and she's been a very popular baby - being up and held a lot. Now everyone has left, so I am trying to fix this and today we started trying the EASY routine (the one from the book, starting at 7am). She tood her first and second nap well, but after that no naps and it is 7:30pm. I put her down with the ssh/pat and she has been waking back up or not going to sleep at all. My questions are:
1- Is this normal? How long should it take for her to re-adjust?
2- If she doesn't fall asleep at at, despite my ssh/pat, etc, and I feed her again, should I keep her up after the feed for some A time, or should I put her right back down afterwards?
3- What do I do if she's gone with no naps after 3 feeds??? Should I resort to the swing so she can get some rest?
I am trying to watch her sleep cues like a hawk and put her down at the first yawn. She settles down but then is up again!
4-Should I do the clusters feeds at 6 and 8pm?
Thank you for your help.

[hjrmom01]

welcome to BW and congratulations on your lo!! Couple of questions. Was your lo born to term or a preemie?  How much did she weight, how much does she weigh now? Any medical problems (reflux, etc?)  Is your lo swaddled?

To answer your questions as best as I can:
1) it is common for very young babies to have an evening period of fussiness and be awake for a while (commonly called the "witching hour")  It is possible that your lo is OT and thus not settling for naps, too.  It may take a while for her to come down from all the excitement of people being around.  But, at this age, 1.5 hr A time (A time is ALL awake time, from the moment they open their eyes from nap/sleep to the moment they close them again...so this includes eating as well!) can be too much!  The first yawn can already be too tired.  My lo's awake time was only about 45-50 min for the first 3 months!    So, it may be awake, feed, nappy change, stare at mommy for a minute, and right into your wind down.

2) If she has skipped a nap and you feed her put her right back down.  If you've been trying for a nap for 1 hr and especially if she's been crying the whole time, stop, feed her, then go right back to putting her down.  If you ever get a short nap (anything under 1 hour) then the following A time needs to be reduced to prevent over tiredness.  Make sense?

3) If she has gone 3 feeds with no naps then do what we call APOP (accidental parenting on purpose). At this point she's probably WAY OT (overtired) and needs some serious help to sleep.  So you can try a walk in the stroller, baby carrier, swing, car ride...basically whatever you have to do to get her to sleep!!!  Like I mentioned before, the first yawn may be too late at this young age.

4) Cluster feeding is up to you. Some lo's do well with it, some don't.  My lo didn't do well with it because he has reflux and that much milk that close together just made him spit up.  It's all trial and error and finding what works best for your lo.

I hope that helps you out a little bit.  Feel free to keep posting any questions, that's what we're all here for!!!  Remember to rest when your baby rests, take care of you, and enjoy her because they grow up SO fast!!!

[momoflillianrose]

Thanks for your help!

Lily was born 2 weeks before my due date, I had a c-section (she was breech), but she was full-term (38 weeks). She weighed 6 1lbs 1 oz and now weighs about 10 lbs. No medical problems. I swaddle her everytime I put her down, although she breaks out very easily.

I will try putting her down earlier. A couple of other questions . . .

1) When should I implenet ADOP? If she misses one nap, and I feed her, and she still won't fall asleep, is that time? Or should I wait?

2) If she falls asleep nursing and resists waking up, should I make her wake up before I put her back down? Can I use nursing to sleep as ADOP? Also, I finally just got her to sleep at 8pm (she fell asleep after nursing) and now she is back up (crying) and it is only 9:15! In these cases, should I do the shh/pat?

3) I can't tell a difference between a mantra cry and a real cry. Any suggestions?

Thanks so much!

[hjrmom01]

Have you tried the miracle blanket or a kiddopotamus swaddle blanket to prevent her from breaking out?  I used the kiddopotamus one when H was little...it has velcro closures and he couldn't break from it.  As he got bigger we switched to the miracle blanket...oh that was the best!

1) It's really up to you when you APOP. A lot of parents APOP the catnap (I know I did!) because I always considered it a freebie since it really wasn't a full nap, more like a charger.  If you've fed her, tried to get her down and it's coming up on her next feed and she hasn't gone down, you can get her up and feed her then try to put her right back down. Give it a little bit and if she doesn't go down then I guess you can APOP.  Again, it's really up to you.  But by the time she misses one nap she's probably going to be OT.  What is she doing when she's resisting the nap? Laying there awake, crying, how is she acting?

2) If she falls asleep nursing you can try to sit her up and burp her, usually los will wake up when you sit them up.  Try to change her diaper (that always made H wake up!) And then go right into swaddling and then WD. You can use nursing as APOP but you want it to be something that can easily be removed....I personally went with a car ride or a nap with me.  If you are sure she isn't waking up hungry by all means give shh/pat a go! But if you've been trying for a while and she's still crying she's going to be hungry (crying burns a lot of calories!) so get her up, feed, her then straight back down to bed.

3) This one is going to be a lot of observation on your part....every lo's mantra is different.  Mantra doesn't usually escalate, but more of a repetitive cry (H almost sings to himself).  A real cry escalates when left...it has a "mommy I need you right now" sound.  Again, it'll take time to learn what your los mantra sounds like.

[momoflillianrose]

Thanks! I just got the kiddopotamus blanket today and she does not seem to like it, but I'll keep trying!

When she is awake, she either moves and keeps making little noises and then starts crying later (maybe after 20-30 minutes) or just starts crying.

Thank you!

[hjrmom01]

have you taken the quiz to see what type your lo is?  If not here's the link: http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=52283.0
Have you cut down the A to see if that has helped?  When you get a good nap (do you get a good first nap of the day?) what is her A time before that nap?  How long does it take her usually to go to sleep? If she does, say 1 hr and 15 min and then has a good nap, and it takes her 10 min to fall sleep with shh/pat then your WD should start before 1 hour (say it's 10 min long, then after 55 min) then into the cot at 1 hr and 5 min and shh/pat for 10 min and asleep by 1 hr and 15 min...make sense?  That's just an example, so we have to tweak it to fit your lo!

[momoflillianrose]

I think she is a textbook baby. Things have been going much better, thank you! First of all, I realized that her green poop indicated that she has too much foremilk and not enough hindmilk so I fixed that and she has been less gassy and fussy! Secondly, she adjusted to the kiddopatumus blanket and it's been helping her stay calm. I also cut her A time down to an hour, and she has been doing very well for 2 naps a day, sleeping for over 2 hours - after falling asleep quickly on her own - after her 10am and 1pm feedings. She has also been going to bed on her own around 8pm. I do have some questions about her wake-up . . . I feed her at 7am and she normally is falling asleep by the end and I can't wake her up, so I put her right back down to sleep. But then she is up in an hour! So then I've been putting her on her swing, where she usually dozes for another hour until her next feeding at 10am. Is this ok? And then after her 4pm feeding, she is very alert so I put her on her play gym for awhile then into her swing for her cat nap. Is this ok or should I be making her go to her crib again for those naps? Thank you so much!

[hjrmom01]

Wonderful! So glad things are going better!   It's not uncommon for lo to get "milk drunk" and be difficult to arouse. Will she wake up if you undress her a little or change her diaper?  At this young I wouldn't think letting her sleep in her swing for another hour would be a problem. As she gets older she'll be able to stay awake after the feed for a proper amount of time.  After the 4 pm feed when she is very alert it's fine to let her play on her play gym, just watch for OS.  And the CN in the swing is fine.  A lot of moms use the CN as a "freebie" so to speak and allow their lo to sleep outside the crib.  It's good for them to learn to sleep in other places and it's good for moms to get a break.  APOP the CN is a great way to make sure that your lo is well rested for the evening events (bath, etc) and can make it through bedtime.  Eventually (many months later) she will drop the CN. 

Again, so glad to hear things are going well!  Keep up the great work! 

[momoflillianrose]

Hi Again! Things are going pretty well, but my baby (almost 11 weeks) is starting to get more alert, so I have some questions about tweaking her routine. For the past few weeks, I have been giving her 45-60 minutes of A time, max, and she has been sleeping really well for naps after her 7am, 10am, and 1pm feed. After her 4pm, she has been sleeping in her swing for a catnap, then bath at 6:45, last feed around 7-7:15, the bedtime by 7:45 or 8. She gets up once at night around 3-4am, then back to sleep until 6:30 or 7am. So I've been happy with this!

Now she is getting more alert. For the past few days, she has been playing in her crib for her whole morning nap time! She doesn't cry, just makes little play noises. Then I put her right now after her 10am feeding, and she sleeps for 2.5 hours. Then she has been up again after her 1pm feed/A time (in her crib playing), only falling asleep in the last 30 minutes of the cycle. And then after her 4pm feed, she won't sleep in her catnap in the swing- she just wants to look around - but she screams when I put her in her crib that time of day.

My questions are: do you think she needs more A time after her feedings? I am just afriad of her getting OT. Also, is it normal at this age to still be waking for a Night Feeding? Any advice on tweaking her routine? Thanks!

[hjrmom01]

glad things had been going well    As she starts to get more alert her A time will extend.  Try adding just 15 min of LOW KEY time to the first A time, maybe looking at a mirror, you, looking out a window, walking around the house....if she has a good first nap then do that A time again...if she has a short nap then do exactly what you did, put her down early.  Good job on reducing the following A time to get a good nap 

It is VERY normal to still need a feed at night this young. 

[momoflillianrose]

Thanks I'll try that! 

[hjrmom01]

let me know how things go!