A times for almost 5 month old

[das5]

Hi!  I have been trying to get my daughter on a routine for awhile now and her sleep just seems to be all over the place.  She will be 5 months old next Monday but was born 4 weeks early...Im not sure if I should be aiming for A times for a 5 month old, 4 month old or somewhere in between.  She has taken a few good 1.5-2 hour naps but most of her naps are 30-45 minutes, sometimes 1 hour. She gets tired pretty quickly after the short naps.   Her nights are not great but typical I guess.  She will wake more often at night and have a hard time getting back to sleep if she isn't awake long enough during the day.  Hoping for some suggestions on timing so that we can get some better naps, and more structure to her day. 
Here is what she has done the last couple of days..
yesterday
A 7:00
E 7:30 
 trip down the street to the busstop so my 2 oldest can go to school at 8
S 9:00-9:45
E 9:45
A 9:45-12:30 for a few days I was having some luck keeping her awake for a longer time here (though she got really tired and cranky) because she would then take a longer afternoon nap and also slept a little better at night but this stopped working..we also have to walk to the busstop at noon with my kindergartner
S 12:30-1:15
E 1:15
A 1:15 - 3:45 back to the busstop at 3:15 to pick everyone up
S 3:45-5:15 I woke her so she would be ready for bed at a decent time..
E 5:15
A 5:15-7:45
E 7:30 fed her again and put her to bed at 7:45 it took her a few minutes to fall asleep usually she is asleep within a couple of minutes but she has never taken a long nap that late in the day


today
A7:05 am 
E she ate around 7:30..she had just eaten around 5 am
A 7:05-8:50
S 8:50 - 9:40
E 9:45
A 9:40-12:10
S12:10-1:40

Thanks for any suggestions!

 

[MommaStorms]

I have a very similar situation! I'm still trying to figure out proper A times and I think she also has a sleep transition problem so naps are 30-45 minutes long and sometimes I can get them, fitfully to 1 hour. I hope something can be figured out, I try to keep her up longer in the morning but she gets so fussy I cave and let her sleep, then in afternoon and evening/bedtime she's awake and fighting sleep for 3 and 4 hours.

[carolina_bug]

*hugs*


I'm having the same issues with my DS.  He was 2 weeks early, and he is now 18 weeks.  I have him on 2 hours and 15 min of A time now, and that seems to help.  I was putting him in his swing for the last 15 min and just watching to make sure he didn't fall asleep there.  It was his quiet wind-down time.  Then I discovered that he actually slept better if I was interacting with him towards the end of the A time.  I thought I might be overstimulating him, but that wasn't the case.  I guess you just have to find what works for your LO, but I would suggest trying to extend her A time and keep it consistent.  She will get used to it.

What are you doing during her A time?  She may need more, or less stimulation as well.  It's such a fine line!