Longer EASY cycles?

[betsysmum]

We've been doing EASY with Betsy since day one and in general she does great and follows the EASY routine and transitions just fine between phases, but ideally we'd like her cycles to be longer.

At nearly 10 weeks she's on an average of a 3 hour cycle.  According to the book that is what a 4 week old should be on!  She's thriving and such a happy baby so I'm not really concerned but am wondering if we should be more actively trying to transition her to a 4 hour cycle or should we just let her evolve in her own time?  She's just 11 lbs so a smaller tyke.

Also, while we never have any issues getting her down for the night (normally get her down about 7.30-8, dreamfeed at 11 and she'll wake at about 2.30 for a feed), she's still doing 2 night feeds (around 2.30, then 5ish).  We'd love to have her down to one night feed but not really sure how to accomplish.

She's a mixture of breast and formula (struggled with BF for 8 weeks and she was plummeting in growth charts and feeding as many as 11 times a day).  We do a formula feed for the dreamfeed (so hubby can be part) and I breast feed through the night.

Should I just be happy that my wee one follows EASY, has no problems sleeping and is thriving and just let her get to a 4 hour cycle on her own?

[~Emma~]

 HI there.

LO's are ready to transition to a longer EASY cycle when their A time is nearer the 2 hour mark which is about 4 months old.

If I were you I would stick to a 3 hour if your LO seems happy with that at the moment and when you start to up A times then you can look at extending the cycle.

Emma xxx

[huntersmummyinoz]

totally agree with emma, looks like your LO is on a great routine

[jopan78]

Longer EASY routine may help with the night feeding.

I had my DD on a 3.5hr EASY routine when she was 5mths and she wakes up 1-2 times to nurse at night. I switched her to 4hr EASY and she does not wake up to nurse through the night.

You may like to increase her A time in 10/15min to reach a comfortable 3.5hr EASY, then work towards 4hr EASY routine when she's 4mth or older. If it helps, I decided that my DD needs a longer awake time when her nap was 45min only.

You should know best what works for your DD, so do what you think is right.

[miakrug]

Hi, I have a similar question.  My daughter is 12 weeks, 14 pounds.  She is thriving on the 3 hour EASY routine and generally goes from 8PM to 6 or 6:30 am without waking.  (I do the dream feed at 10:30).  however lately she has had a few night wakings lately due to a growth spurt (I think), but upping her intake seems to help somewhat.

My question is regarding the baby whisperers transition routine from a 3 to 4 hour EASY.  In my book it is on page 230.  The transition routine does not seem to make sense.  For example in the "Days 8-11" section it says to put baby down for a two hour nap at 3pm, but then says to feed at 4:30!  Does anyone know why this might be, or have a better transition routine?

Also, I'm considering transitioning as soon as DD turns three months.  Should I wait until I start having problems with the 3 hour EASY before transitioning to the 4?  Or perhaps use the 3.5 hour EASY for a few weeks?  Any feedback would be appreciated.

[Adaias mom]

My dd is 11 weeks and i found she put herself on a mixture of 3.5 hr EASY and 3hr EASY. If she starts going longer between feeds, then extend, but if she is hungry at 3 hours then feed. My lo tends to do 3.5 hours morning time, then afternoon and evening 3 hours. I changed my naps to 2 x 2hrs and a catnap, to compensate for longer A times, she does about 1hr 40 mins, but again it depends on you lo. If your lo can handle longer A times then adapt your routine accordingly, but if its all going well and you aren't having any 45 min nap issues, then i would say stay with it until you lo starts to adapt.

Changing may give you all sorts of issues!!! I changed my routine and get 2 NW's now, but had to do something as the routine was lasting til about 9 at night!!! Just hope she adapts and extends at night soon.