How do you make a schedule when your almost 5 mo only takes hour long naps.

[meghanbird]

My ds is a week shy of five months old.  Ever since 3 and a half months old his sleep schedule has been wacky and I have been trying hard to organize it and moved to a four hour feeding schedule.  The problem is he won't sleep for the two hours he is supposed to during his naps unless I bring him in to bed with me to finish his nap after the first hour.  This of course makes it so the whole day is shot.  The first two hours of the morning go great and then after that!?!?! 

Wake up at 7:00
E 7
s 9-10:10

(then I try to make him wait until 11 to eat but he is so used to eating right when he wakes up it is hard.  He also cannot stay up for the next full 2 hours and it varys each day how much he can handle, sometimes it is 1.5 hours and sometimes it is an hour 45 minutes)

E 10:30
S 12 - 1:15

(Same problem here as before)

E 2:00 (Now I have to feed him right before sleep for the 4 hours to work out
S 2:10 - 3:45

s 5:30 - 6

6:00 bath and eating to bed by 7

Then he wakes up several times throughout the night at 8pm and 10pm and then again at 12:30 which I feed him then and then at 2, 2:30, 3, 4( I feed him at this waking too), 4:30, 5, 6

I am going CRAZY!  Please help!  He is swaddled and BF though at night he gets  bottle of half Breastmilk and half formula (special non allergenic kind) at 7 by husband and 12:30 by husband. 

Well thats my crazy life in a nutshell.  I am so sick of thinking about sleeping and getting no sleep and feeling anxious about sleep. 

[DSAN]

No real advice from me as we are going through similar thongs right now. I can tell you what's majorly saved my sanity though: it's ok to be flexible! It's not a 'schedule' per se but a routine. If your LO wakes hungry I say feed him. Even if it's less than 4 hours. Breastmilk is quickly digested. My DS is a week younger than your bub and he's only gone 4 hours between feeds a handful of times.

Any way, just want to encourage you that you are doing a great job and I know what it's like to totally want to rip your hair out over sleep. We are so there as well!

((hugs!))

[~Sara~]

The problem is he won't sleep for the two hours he is supposed to

My LO never slept for 2h naps either.  It's completely normal and perfectly fine if they don't   Anything over 1.5h is considered good!

Maybe you've tried this, but have you tried increasing his A time in case his naps are really UT?  I'm thinking they're starting off UT but ending up OT by the end of the day.

Whenever LO does short nap (anything less than ~1.5h), A time will be reduced and LO will be ready to go down for another nap after an A time that's about 20-30 minutes less than a full one.  Seems like he's doing that.

Let me know what you think *hugs*

[meghanbird]

Thanks for the support ladies, sometimes I think I might go crazy, I mean how can you have a routine when it seems to change everyday?  I mean for awhile there I was going in and trying very hard to get him to sleep longer and I still do to some extent (the taking naps together)  The NW are really troublesome too as my husband and I are now walking zombies.  I think that is more of the way we respond to him though.  I think we need to let him fuss a bit more than we do.  I cannot do CIO as I tried that once and thought I was going to rip my heart out, though this is what everyone suggests to get him to sleep through those multiple wakings.  Geesh motherhood is not for the faint at heart.   

Sara, when he only sleeps for 1.5 hours then when he wakes up do you feed him?  I tried increasing his wake time yesterday to 2 hours and 15 minutes and it didn't seem to make a difference.  Maybe I'll make it 2 hours and 30 minutes and do I only do this for the first wake time? 

[~Sara~]

I mean how can you have a routine when it seems to change everyday?

Well, EASY is more about having the patterned routine, not necessarily that everything happens at the same times day in and day out.  So, hopefully that relieves some of the stress   I have been exactly where you are and as long as you're not creating props and sticking to what you're doing, it all eventually falls into place.

NWs are especially rough because, like you said, you're half-silly with sleep.  It's hard to have a clear head.

when he only sleeps for 1.5 hours then when he wakes up do you feed him?

If he's hungry, yes.  If he can last until the next E time, feed him then.  It's okay if he doesn't eat right when he wakes.

I tried increasing his wake time yesterday to 2 hours and 15 minutes and it didn't seem to make a difference.  Maybe I'll make it 2 hours and 30 minutes and do I only do this for the first wake time?

I would stick to 2h15 for a couple more days, just to let his body get used to that.  Any more of a jump in too short of a time might be too much.