I am a mother of two children- 3.5 yo and 4.5mths- both girls. We used the EASY method with our first and it worked like a charm. Now, I am applying it with my almost 5 month old and having some trouble with her waking up at night.
Daily Routine (she is breast fed exclusively- both sides for each feeding, no bottles):
E: 6/6:30 wakes, eats
A: 6:30-7:30
S: 7:30-9:00
E: 9-9:30ish
A: 9:30-10:00
S: 10:00-12:00
E: 12:00-12:30
A: 12:30-1:30
S: 1:30-3:00
E: 3-3:30
A: 3:30-4/4:30
S: 4:30-6/6:30
E: 6/6:30
A: 6:30-7:30 (Bath, Massage, soft lights/music, cuddling, etc.)
S: 7:15/7:30
Dream Feed: 11:00 (does not wake up)
Does not eat again until 6/6:30am
Nap routine: I swaddle her up, give her a pacifier, and put her down when she is in stage 2 (eyes open and close); she falls asleep on her own and naps in a swing or the pack n' play.
Bedtime routine: after bath, she gets a massage, listens to soft music, dim lights, etc. I sing her a lullaby and then put her down in a boppy lounger that sits in the pack n' play. We swaddle her up and give her a pacifier. She sometimes spits it out and cries for it. We put it back in once, maybe twice more, before letting her work it out on her own.
Problem #1: She is used to sleeping at night in a boppy lounger and does not sleep for long periods of time when we take her out of it and lie her flat on her back. We used this lounger initially to keep her head propped up after feedings; she learned to like it.
Problem #2: She was sleeping through the night until she was 4 months old. For the past few weeks, she started waking up twice, sometimes 3 times during the night. Initially, I was feeding her when she woke up at 3:00am but have since stopped doing that and now do the "dream feed" at 11:00 instead.
When she wakes during the night: we give her the pacifier and make sure she is tucked in tight-- she likes being wrapped to fall asleep but punches out of it at some point; we rub her head and reassure her we are there. She really likes if I put my hand on her chest with light pressure. We do not pick her up for the first two wakings. She goes back to sleep on her own within 10-20 minutes (this time has improved over the last 4 nights).
When she wakes for the last time or two 3:00am and 4:00am, I end up picking her up b/c she is crying; once she is calm, I put her back down, give her pacifier, wrap her up, hand on chest, etc. She has a harder time going back to sleep at this hour-- sometimes she is up for over an hour-- she just lies there and makes noises or cries/fusses for our hand to be on her chest.
Summary of problem#2: waking during the night between 2-4 times- usually after 2:00am. Requires soothing methods, e.g. pacifier, tight wrap, hand on chest, and in the later hours to be picked up. It generally takes 10-20 minutes to get her back to sleep the first two wakes and up to 1 hour during the last time she wakes.
Activity time: generally means time on the play mat or playing with older sister in playroom/sits in bumbo chair while older sister talks/reads to her.
Developmental issues: definitely teething though no teeth yet-- just lots of drool and gnawing on teethers.
We have not introduced solid foods.
I have introduced a lovie though she has not shown attachment toward it. She does know it's there and holds onto it sometimes, but not always.
Any guidance would be greatly appreciated as I am not getting much sleep these days and I really want my LO to get the best sleep possible and learn to self-soothe.
