We had a horror night last night, she woke after 45 minutes and then cried for 2.5 hours. I tried ssh/pat and the pu/pd which eventually worked. No idea why this happened as she had a good day yesterday. 2 x 1.5 hour naps and a 45 min catnap. Although she was awake for 2.5 hours before falling asleep, maybe that was it?
Yes, a 45 min wake after BT is almost always OT. I think it probably was the 2.5 hr A time to bed that did it. At that age I usually did 1.5-2 hr max after a CN.
Sorry to ramble, what I wanted to say was that despite this, she woke at 7am today after a few EW so I agree, 7am is probably her most natural wake up time and we will stick to that one.
Not rambling, I think that's a good idea.
Is the half feed after the catnap to get her through till bedtime or to tank up for the night?
I used it more to tank up for the night. At that age my DS was on a routine much like yours, pretty much 3.5 hr EASY and often couldn't make it all the way to the BT feed, so I offered a partial feed after the CN. As he started to get hungrier toward 6 mo, he took almost a full feed at both times and this is when I knew I needed to start solids.
Interestingly, after her crying session ended at 11pm, she slept till 3am, going 8 hours without feed. Just too tired after the crying or something new?
A silver lining, I guess. I hope tonight goes as well, but without the initial crying.
You mentioned pushing A times and in particular the afternoon. Do you mean before or after the catnap? What new time would you suggest? We are bang on 2 hours at the moment, 2.15 perhaps?
If 2 hrs is getting you good naps, you really don't need to do any pushing just yet. The reason I suggested that earlier is I wasn't sure if she was getting a CN or not. Once one of her naps starts to not be full (i.e. less than 1.5 hr), you'll want to think about stretching to 2.15, yes. But, after the CN, always stick to the A you're at or a little less. Since it's not a full nap, they usually can't make it as long. HTH!
Keep me posted.