Cat naps during the day & NW & EW at night

[martygb]

Oh dear, don't know where to start  

My 18 weeks old DS started cat napping every day (45 mins) & we can't get him back to sleep, even if we try & make the next A shorter, he only takes 45 min nap. I thought he might be ready for a 4 hour EASY, but how can we do that if he doesn't even sleep for an hour? We only just sorted out his snacking & he's eating properly (6 oz) every 3 hours & now this. On top of that he started waking up earlier every morning. I've tried W2S & that just woke him up, tried shhh...didn't work. Not sure what to do?? He startles himself out of sleep quite often - he's not swaddled - never liked it & I think it's quite late to start now. Forgot to mention, me & my husband always have to help him to sleep during the day - DS in his cot with shhh pat & sleeps in minutes, but by the time he finishes his 7pm dinner & hubby tries to get him to sleep DS is so OT hubby has to hold him to sleep - he also uses paci 

EASY is something like this:

Normally wakes up round 4-5am & has 7 oz of milk, then straight to sleep till 7am

E 7-8am
A 7.30-8.30
S 8.30 - 9.15
Y
E10am
A
S 11.30 - 12.15
Y
E 1pm
A
S 2.30 - 3.15
Y
E 4pm
A
S 40 min catnap between 5- 6.10pm
Y
E 7pm
S 7.30-8pm
DF 10.30-11pm

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated & thank you  

[Colin Macs Mom]

me & my husband always have to help him to sleep during the day - DS in his cot with shhh pat & sleeps in minutes, but by the time he finishes his 7pm dinner & hubby tries to get him to sleep DS is so OT hubby has to hold him to sleep - he also uses paci

Ok - I think a big part of your problems is that he doesn't know how to sleep independently. Task #1 would be sleep training, followed shortly by getting rid of the paci. You already know he should be on a 4 hour routine, but as you said when he's sleeping so little it's harder to achieve.

Have you tried pat/shhhh? Fow how long? It's VERY important to be consistent and stick with the plan for as long as it takes.

[Colin Macs Mom]

Controlled Crying is not recommended here at all - Tracy felt it goes against everything we are trying to achieve with BW, and it breaks trust between parent and child. We're not talking about doing that at all - but yes there will be some crying involved with sleep training and that's fine. It's LO's way of expressing frustration and saying "what's this all about, we don't do it this way" while you are there with LO to reassure.

I would consider trying Hold Through the Jolts (HTTJ) since he's not swaddled. It sounds like that might help.
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=64168.0

Try and focus on not holding him to sleep and shh/pat - you're not going to achieve independent sleep if he's being held to sleep. And I personally would get rid of the paci but that's entirely up to you. If you don't now, you will need to do it later and the sooner you do it the easier it is.

He's also started waking up at around 3am in the last week (had vaccinations, so not sure if it's to do with that) & most of the time I manage to get him back to sleep for only an hour & then feed. Do I expect too much from him to sleep longer in the morning?

No, that's not expecting too much - 4am is not an acceptable wake time - surely you agree?   EWing like that is often a sign of overtiredness, but you already know that's going on. You might try getting him to bed earlier in the evening and see if that helps.

[Colin Macs Mom]

To be honest with you a lot of people find that both they and LO sleep better when not in the same room. But it's totally an individual choice and what you're comfortable with.

As for the routine, it's really not appropriate to continue with a 3 hour routine. As you know it will cause you more problems. Even if it means a routine that looks more like EASASE. Doing feeds 4 hours apart should be the focus while you work on the sleep part.

Just remember, it takes time and work - nothing is going to come together all in one day.