15 weeks. Is LO ready to extend EASY already???

[musicgal03]

I am starting to have some issues with my 15 week old DS. He has been an incredible sleeper when I get his EASY just right. We are right now at about 1.20-1.30 A time with  1.30-1.40 minute naps.

The first change came about a week ago when he started to refuse his catnap. He doesn't cry just lay there awake until I get him. It didn't affect his night time sleep by having a long A at the end of the day. Now he is also refusing one of the longer naps. He seems tired but just lays there and coos for up to an hour when he gets frustrated and starts to cry.

I have been suspecting a growth spurt with him though since he has woken earlier in the night and also one additional waking around 5 AM. This has been going on for 2 nights now.
I am not sure what is going on here. This is our EASY which is not working too well right now making me think he need a change.

E 7.15
A 7.35
S 8.45-10.15

E 10.15
A 10.35
S 11.45-1.15

E 1.15
A 1.35
S 2.45-4.15

E 4.15
A 4.35
S 5.45-6.30
E 6.30 (One side)
A 6.40
E/S 7.40

E He wakes usually sometime between 3-5 AM. We don't do a dreamfeed. Always goes back to sleep after this feeding.

So the last couple of days he has refused one of the naps during the day. Yesterday he skipped the 3rd nap and then only took a 30 minute one as kind of a catnap. I have been adding a feeding before 2 of the naps in case it is a growth spurt.

What do I do? Seems as if he is moving toward 2 naps and a catnap. Like 3 long naps are too much. I am confused too though as to if this is a growth spurt and that is why it is all happening. First nap today was great but now for the second he has laid in there and talked for over an hour. I am just about to go in and get him since it is almost time to get up anyway. I will feed him and then put him back down after about 40 minutes. I think that is the right thing to do??? Messes up the routine big time but what can you do? Any thoughts? Thank you!!

[*Liz*]

Yes I would extend tha A time for your LO.

Add 10 -15mins to whichever A times are starting to cause you trouble and see if that helps at all  .

I would be tempted to do this all through the day really from what you say and start to transition to a 4hrly EASY.

HTH 

[musicgal03]

Thank you so much!

Today was lot better. Decided to go with 1.30-1.35 A time and he was down for all 3 naps about 1.30. Seems really sleepy and mellow today. Isn't that how they can behave AFTER a growth spurt? He has been so wound up the last few days so this is a big contrast making me think he just went through his 4 month GS.

Last night he woke after 6.15 hours of sleep which is short for him. He usually goes 8-10 hours.I fed him and then he was down until morning which was nice since the previous 2 nights he woke twice to eat. We shall see what happens tonight....MAYBE the GS is now over...phew...

[*Liz*]

Let us know how you get on 

[musicgal03]

Well, yesterday was a great day and he even got his 40 minute CN.

Last night though he woke at 10.30. DH held him and got him back to sleep. Then he woke at 1.30 at which point I went in and got his arms out of the swaddle so he could get to his thumb. Wanted to see if he really were hungry or just needed to suck. He slept until 6.40 AM!

SO, obviously he was not hungry when waking right? He didn't eat for over 11 hours....He is BF exclusively.

The problem with letting him loose out of the swaddle is that I find him on his belly in the morning. He is a HUGE belly sleeper but it scares me a bit still. He IS incredibly big and strong (7.5 kg, over 16 pounds and over 27 inches long) He can lift his head easily and rolls over when not swaddled. STILL I am worried about it. I don't want to encourage a feeding at 1.30 AM when he doesn't need it though and Shhs/pat does NOT work for him.

This morning I did 1.35 A time and he then took a 2 hour nap. I am still worried that extending his A time will backfire. But coul;d THAT BE the reson for earlier waking in the night now?

[*Liz*]

I understand the 'tummy sleeper' concern. that is a common post on the General Sleep board - but I think once they can roll there really is little you can do about it - just take all the extra safety precautions. My DS tummy sleep as well - started about 6 mths once he learnt to roll. I just went with it as flipping him back was a waste of time and he WOULD NOT be swaddled or wrapped up anyway.

What is your concern about extending the A time? I'm not sure I really understand?

I wouldn't try and interpret one night like that really. I would just see how things develop.

Remember that fear of OT and leaving your LO UT actually ends up with them very OT by teatime anyway - and it is usually better to stretch the A times and balance the day out.

[musicgal03]

All naps perfect today so we shall see what the night brings. You are right, can't judge by a couple of strange nights I guess.
Kept him up for 1.35-1.40 today with no issues.

My fear with extending A time is that it will backfire on me and for him to get OT.

What would be your suggestion for EASY from now on? If I extend A time much more I won't fit all the naps in. Especially the CN. What do you do about that?

Thank you so much for your help!!

[*Liz*]

As EASY extends ou DO drop naps - that is part of the process that we go through over several months. First the CN gets dropped and you just have 3 long naps for a while, then as that becomes too much you have 2 long naps and an afternoon CN again for a while. At about 7 mths they move onto just 2 naps a day, then at 15 mths or so 1 nap a day.

So it is a dynamic process that actually happens naturally as they are able to handle more and more A.

If your LO is refusing 4 naps now it is a good sign that he doesn't need them anymore, and that would fit with his age as well.

Fear of OT is partly sensible - but having a situation where your LO is put down UT will lead to short naps or nap refusal anyway. So by trying to avoid OT and doing shorter A's that your LO now needs you end up with an OT LO anyway. Does that make sense?

Have you read any of these - they explain the process of moving to a 4hrly EASY which is essentially what you are now doing 

http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=63161.0
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=120362.0
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=164253.0

[musicgal03]

Thank you so much Liz. This is really helping me and making me more confident to move forward!

So, that night Thursday, after the perfect naps of 3 long and one CN he slept from 7.45-2 AM. I didn't feed and once I got his hand out he went on to sleeping until 6.20. 2 AM is 6 hours 15 minutes. A lot shorter span than usual. And he didn't wake from hunger either so I don't know.

Anyway. This was yesterdays routine:

E 6.20
A
E 7.55 (top off, I do this every morning after such a long night without food)
S 8.10

E 10.10
A (He was tired here after 1 hour and hysterical after 1.05. I didn't know what to make of it so I put him down. It backfired obviously)
S 11.20 (Woke after 40 minutes cooing at first and then crying hard. Got him up at 12.30 still crying so I fed him)

E 12.40 (He did take a lot of food here)
A NONE
S 12.50 (By now he had been awake for 40 minutes)

E 2.40
A
S 4.25 (Slept only 45 minutes. Strange cause he had enough A time before this nap. Got him up at 5.30.)

E 5.40
A
E/S 7.10 (By this time he had been awake for 2 hours. Wasn't too cranky though.)

E 4.30

So he lasted until 4.30!!  9.15 hours. I ate and went back to sleep until 6.40. I just now fed him and will start the day from here.

I think I will try the 3 naps today hoping he can last with an A time of 1.40 all day. Seems OK for him to have a longer A time before bed as well without having sleep issues that night. Many times he has skipped the CN and had a really long A time before bed and still slept great.

I do have an older boy as well but I can't remember at all what I did with him. I was on EASY with him too though. I do remember at 6 months he was doing 2 long naps and a CN which he sometimes even skipped. I just can't remember the transition there.....Still all kids are a bit different so it really doesn't matter.

I will try this today and let you know what happens......:-)

[*Liz*]

Sounds like a good plan.

I do think that it seems as though your LO is going to need swaddle weaning as well though - especially if you are getting NWs that are solved by giving him his little hand.

If you really don't want tummy sleeping you could perhaps try a sleep positioner - or roll 2 towels either side of him to keep him on his back? That is what my Mum used to do back in the days when 'side sleeping' was actually the recommended thing.

Happy to help - it is funny how you forget and I guess just being around here helps me remember for now  . Bet I won't be able to work it all out myself when DC 2 arrives though  . I still get plenty of UT/OT issues with my toddler!!

[musicgal03]

You know, I am starting to think that he really needs to move about freely. I know though if I put him down on his back without a swaddle it will be minutes before he is on his tummy. I have used the Sleep positioners and they worked really well until a few weeks ago. He then started to move all the way out of them by sliding down in the bed and swinging to the side. Determined little guy I guess....:-)

I really wonder what would happen if I let him loose from the very beginning of the night....hmmmm. He might just sleep straight through unless he happens to get hungry.

Today his first A was 1.45. He then took a 2 hour nap and I had to wake him up!

THEN, just like yesterday, after about 1 hour of activities he started to get agitated. I managed to keep him up for 1.20 but he was sucking his thumb hysterically like he does when tired so I put him down early. We are right at the 30 minute mark now.....so far so good. Just didn't want a repeat of yesterday...

To be continued.....

[musicgal03]

OK, so yesterday the 2nd nap ended up being 1.50. I then kept him up for 1.40 but then he only slept 40 minutes again....
Kept him up for anohter hour after that and got a CN of 30 minutes out of him.

So 2 long naps and 2 short. The night was great. 9 hours straight, feed and then back to sleep until 7.20 AM.

Today first A was 1.40, 1st nap 2 hours.
Second A was 1.50, 2nd nap will be 1.40 (I am just about to go wake him. It has been 3.40 since he ate)

I am hoping after another 1.45 or so of A time he will go down for a third nap of 1.40. That will bring us to 6 PM. he will then have 1 1/2 hours of A time before bed..... I am not holding my breath though for that 3rd nap. I will report back.

Seems like the transition is a very gradual one. Nothing that happens overnight. So I guess you just have to wing it!

[*Liz*]

Seems like the transition is a very gradual one. Nothing that happens overnight. So I guess you just have to wing it!

That is very true - and totally the best way to approach the 3 to 4hrly EASY. If you let them do it slowly as their A extend then they will do it nicely and in there own time. Try and force the issue and you tend to end up with a big OT mess to tidy up.

Sounds as though you are both doing really well.

[musicgal03]

So the third nap yesterday was only 40 minutes. He would not go back down. We ended up with:

1st nap = 2 hours
2nd nap = 1.50 hours
3rd nap = 40 minutes

Sounds like what we are heading for to me right??? He then was totally out of control tired by 6.55 after being up for 2 hours so I put him down early and he slept a whopping 10.15 hours straight!! Ate and then back down until 7.20.

Today's first A was 1.30. He was exhausted. Slept for 2 hours until 11 AM

Second A was only 1.25. He was screaming and nothing helped so I put him down. Well, figures he wakes after 30 minutes.....he has now been talking to himself and lifting up onto his elbows for the past 30 minutes. Doesn't seem like he wants to go back down....So does this mean he was UT then Liz?? The deal is though that I just couldn't keep him up any longer. Why would he act so tired and scream just to take a mini nap once put in his bed??

So now I am thinking I will give him a long 2 hour nap a bit later. Still it will only bring us to about 4.45 PM. That means a 2 hour + A time at the end of the day......It is like he is not ready for this transition but yet he is? So hard at this point because I can't fit more than 3 naps in but then at the end of the day we fall short you know because of his A time not being long enough. Is this part of the transition for it to be like this?

[*Liz*]

Yes it is totally normal to go through small OT patches as you transition  . Frustrating, but totally normal.

Your LO probably did catch up on his sleep last night but was just a bit more tired today after yesterday's 'marathon' as it were.

He could very well have been UT for the second and was fussing for another reason. Sometimes you really have to trick them with very very low key A when you are extending. Just an extra long cuddle in the dark room sometimes. Really low key.

Please do expect a few bumps through all of this - it happens every time you drop a nap. But what you will learn as to how to manage the bits of OT will help you out with the next transition as well  .

((hugs))