LO does great on EASY with me but not with sitter.....please help me!!!!

[mjohnson33]

Please help me!!!  I have had my 5 month old on a pretty good EASY for almost a month now.  I was home this weekend with him and an extra day on Monday.  He did perfect with me on it all weekend!!! Yesterday was his first day away from me and he was with my mom.  He did great on his morning nap.  Then when she went to put him down for his afternoon nap, he slept for about 40 minutes and woke up.  She tried and tried to get him to sleep and he wouldnt go.  She said he screamed hysterical and she could only get him calmed down if she didnt try to put him to sleep.  So he was up from 2:15pm til 5pm when I picked him up.  I thought he would fall asleep in the car on the way home but he didnt.  He was very fussy but wouldnt fall asleep.  So we get home and he was fine.  I was planning on putting him down for bed early since he had such a sleepless day.  So I did his bath at 6:30(45 mins earlier than normal) and fed him at 7pm.  He was falling asleep eating and when we were done I got ready to put him down for bed and he wokeup and wanted to play.  I left him in his bed and he played and laughed for 15 mins before he got cranky and I was able to get him to sleep.  I thought he would sleep so good last night b/c he was so sleepy and he had a horrible night, very restless.

This morning, I was hoping for a better day.  He wokeup at 6:30 and ate and I took him to the sitter.  He stayed awake there until 8:30am and she put him down he went down fine and everything.  He slept for 40 mins and wokeup wide-eyed and she tried and tried to get him back to sleep and he was just smiling and laughing,.....now its 40 mins later and he is very fussy and not due to eat for another hour.  She said whenever she tries to put him down he cries and if she tries to put him to sleep he starts screaming hysterical.  She said she can tell he is exhausted but he is just fighting it.  What do I do in this case?? Why is he doing this?? We have had a great schedule for the last month and all the sudden he wont sleep away from me!! Please help me!!!! I dont know what to do....

[skatty]

I am not sure but it sounds like he could be getting OT or OS or both!! Being around somone other than mum is quite stimulating so maybe he will need a shorter A time, a syou can see the bad naps start to effect bedtime  I think it would be a good idea if your sitters start his winddown earlier and make sure it is identical to yours and see if that helps 

[mjohnson33]

How much should I shorten his A time?

[Chicane]

It does sound a bit like OT and OS but maybe its actually time for a routine tweak? Why not post your typical day and some of us can take a look at it. Also, if going to your mum's is just a new thing then he may need some adjusting to her methods...how long has he been at your mums?

hugs

x

[mjohnson33]

His days are never the same!!!  But here is a rough outline:
E:7
A
S:9 (sometimes he sleeps good here 1.5 hours others he only sleeps 30 minutes)

E:11am
A
S:1pm ish (sometimes he sleeps good here 1.5 hours others he only sleeps 30 minutes)

E:3pm

I pick him up at 4:30 on MWF and 5 on Tues, Thurs.  That is where it gets hairy.  I would like for him to CN on the way home but he rarely does.

I usually bathe him at 7:15-7:30 then feed him and he goes to bed between 7:30-8pm.  He does STTN but not good.  He is a very restless sleeper and flip flops all night long and keeps me up but never fully wakes.  

Basically for the EASY, we just try to follow the eat every 4 hours rule, other than that the naps are kinda whacky sometimes.  He was doing really well with the 4 hour EASY until this Tuesday.  It was being followed rather well.  He is exclusively BF except for one formula bottle at bedtime and I do feed him solids once in the evening.  I give him bottles during the day as I am at work.  I feed him 5.5 oz each time.  Do you think I need an increase?? Please help me!!! I am so frustrated!! It was going so great and now its not.

[Love, laughter, & PJs]

I am so frustrated!! It was going so great and now its not.

Hugs. We've all been there!  I agree with Chicane that it sounds like it's time for a routine tweak.  The 4h EASY tends to work well, as a general rule, at 4 months.  I would try increasing his A time by 10 or 15 min to see if that helps.  You may need to APOP a bit in the next day or 2 before that, though, to get him out of the OT loop.

[sarahjoy]

My MIL is my childcare and it took a while for everything to work out.  Make sure that you're talking about the salming techniques, I struggled with communicating and getting my MIL to do things the BW way.  We still write down his EASY everyday so that we're all on the same page, just helps me see patterns or when he needs an EASY tweek.  I also have to admit that right now it is easier for my MIL to put him down for naps than it is for me to do it, so it comes and goes.  Good luck!

[mjohnson33]

He is actually 5 months old does that make a difference??  He can barely stay awake for the 2 hour A time.  He is super fussy and rubbing his eyes.  What is APOP?  So I need to make sure the wind down is the same everywhere?? I dont really do much of a wind down other than just very low key playing and when he starts to get fussy I just go in his room for a few minutes, turn on the noise and swaddle him, then I hold him for just a minute and put him down....he is actually better for me than my sitters....

[mamatolevi]

5 months old does that make a difference??  He can barely stay awake for the 2 hour A time.

Hi there! At that age, my DS got tired at the 2hr mark as well, but I believe it was simply out of habit. He had been doing 2hr A time for awhile and was used to going for a nap at that time. Try to push through it, see how he does with an extra 10 or 15 min. What do you think?

[mjohnson33]

So increasing his A time will help him sleep better at night? I will try anything at this point!!

[mamatolevi]

An increase in A time would hopefully lead to better naps, which leads to better night sleep LO's have more restful sleep in general when their neither UT nor OT. So, good naps = good nights and vice versa.

[Love, laughter, & PJs]

An increase in A time would hopefully lead to better naps, which leads to better night sleep LO's have more restful sleep in general when their neither UT nor OT. So, good naps = good nights and vice versa.

Exactly!  It seems counterintuitive but when I started BWing someone mentioned to me to think about how you feel when you're trying to sleep and you're exhausted or not tired enough.  It's hard!

[skatty]

Sorry I told you to shorten, not my speciality and I based it on my dd when she was a babe  I hope things work out 

[mjohnson33]

Thanks ladies, I will try it this weekend.    Here is what the sitter did today:
E:6am
A
S:9am (he fell asleep on the way there and was wired when it was time for nap)
He slept for 2.5 hours!!!
E:11:30am
A
S:1:00pm (I think this A time was too short but we will see how long he sleeps)

[mjohnson33]

Ok, so Friday to finish my post she put him to sleep after a short A time (she said he was ready) He only slept for 1 hour.  Then she kept him up until I picked him up at 4:45pm!!! I was so mad, he was awake for more than 3 hours.  Thats too long!  So of course he fell asleep on the way home and wokeup as soon as we got home.  So he was all off routine Friday. But the rest of the weekend was great!!

I took DS to the doctor and asked them to change his medicine to a PPI.  So after 2 days of finding one that insurance would cover, we started it yesterday. I hope it works. 

I have increased his A time to 2.5 hours and it seems to be giving him better naps.  This weekend went really well for me I got at least 2 hours each nap this weekend.  However, when he is a the sitters today he only slept for an hour when he sleeps for at least 2 for me....what is going on here???  She is doing pretty much what I do with him why wouldnt he nap good for her?  Is is because he is missing me??