6 week old - need help with interpretation of A & naps

[merrion_feb]

Hi,

I have posted previously when my then 3 week old was starting EASY and we were having issues with naps. DS is now 6 weeks old and we are still fairly erratic with our naps and I think this is due to OT and not reading his cues correctly. DS is bottle fed and has been on a 4 hour schedule since the beginning (that was the rhythm he seemed to have got himself into over the first few weeks).

So from my previous posts I had decided that I would work on the first yawn at the 60 mins mark and use this as a cue to get DS to nap (given that he yawned at regular intervals before, during and after feed it was hard to tell which one was the sleepy nap cue!!) given that the A time should be 60 mins to 1hr and 15. However it could take DS anything from 30 mins to an hour to fall asleep which from my understanding of A time actually means A time is 1hr and 30 mins to 2 hrs (I was misinterpreting A time previously so I think I have my DS in an OT state now).

If it takes him 30 mins at a minimum to fall asleep I guess I should be putting him into his cot at 45 mins. Is that correct?

Also if he wakes early then we could potentially have an additional A time before E ending up with EASYAE? Is this possible or is my schedule all out of sync. If a baby wakes early from a nap how is the A calculated before the next nap?
So if he ate at 12, got to sleep for 1.30, woke at 3.30 and then E again at 4 - what time should the S be given he had A time between 3.30 & 4.00?

Appreciate any help as I think I am interpreting things all wrong and as a result I have now made my poor DS very OT which is now impacting his ability to nap.

Thanks in advance for the advice.

[Ima shel Alon]

Could you post your day in an EASY format?
I really do think that he should be on a 3h schedule. Babies only transition to the 4h EASY at 4m and your LO is far from that 
Do you know why it takes him so long to fall asleep? Is it because he is not tired enough or too tired? What are you doing to settle him? Does he just lay there cooing or you need to be with him?
You are right, if he wakes too early from a nap then your EASY will look like EASAEAS, that's very normal for the early months and for anytime really you are getting short naps. About the A after a short nap you'd need to try a few things. Some babies need that A shortened by 10-15min but some need a full A, so you'd just need to try and see what works for your LO.
From what you are saying he is napping full naps (like from 13:30 t0 15:30) so he is not doing too bad, but IIWY I would just start the cycle at WU, so feed at at 15:30, count your regular A and then have a nap.

[merrion_feb]

Thanks for the reply. DS just seems to be on the 4 hour schedule since week 1 - its nothing something that I enforced its just the way his clock seemed to have worked.

Our day is currently something like this but of course this is dependent on if/ when we get him to sleep for his nap and how long he naps for:
E 7.45
A 8.00-8.45
S Put into cot at 9.00 but could take over an hour for him to fall asleep if at all. Sometimes the paci works. At 9.00 bring him to room, sing or chat to him in my arms for a few mins and then into crib. Turn on lullaby music which turns off after 15 mins. If he does sleep he could sleep for 1 and half to 2 hours. He usually is OK there on his own but if he gets OT and starts crying I give the paci.

E 11.45
A 12.15-12.45
S As above for morning nap

E 3.45
A 4.15 - this includes going to crèche in car to collect my 3 year old. Only a 5 min journey so may get drowsy or nod off in car seat
S 4.45 might sleep for 30 mins or wake as I put him into moses basket from car seat. This is the least consistent sleep and as its dinner time I could spend my time up and down the stairs giving him paci so I can talk to 3 year old and get dinner cooked!!

E 7.30
S 8.15

E 11.15 (Dream feed)
S 11.45

E 3.45 (this has stretched to 4.45 over the past couple of nights)
S 4.30

I am still a bit confused as to when the A should start if he has a short nap and isn't due for the next E for an hour or so as there would start with the extra activity before the E.

Thanks

[Ima shel Alon]

So you put him down and leave the room? Then you hear him awake for like an hour till he falls asleep? And does he fall asleep independently most times?
I would think that if he is just lying there when you put him down and not crying AND it takes him very long to fall asleep then he is UT and you might just need to add 10-15min to his A time. I refer to the two first naps that seems to be at home.
For the third nap I would try the sling. Do you have one? That will solve the running up and down, you could just do what you are doing and LO will fall asleep whenever he is ready and will sleep for as long as he needs.

It's hard for me to see from your EASY how long does he actually nap for. You count A from eyes open till eyes closed, including E.

I am still a bit confused as to when the A should start if he has a short nap and isn't due for the next E for an hour or so as there would start with the extra activity before the E.

Yes, that's true, A before the next A, then a little bit more A just to separate E from S and then you have your nap. This is normal. You start the A whenever he wakes up from his nap, even if it was a short one. You could of course try and extend the nap if you wanted to.