New to E.A.S.Y could use some help/advice!

[ShayParker]

Hi, my name's Kayla and my daughter Shaylie will be 6 months old on the 4th. She has NEVER been on a schedule and I don't know where or how to start. I've been writing down when she eats, naps, and plays but some days it changes. She either naps longer or shorter times and doesn't eat as much as she did the last meal. She's gotten into the habit of waking up multiple times a night wanting a few ounces to fall right back to sleep. Never a whole bottle. I've been trying to set an exact bedtime but her naps are kinda messing it up. Nothing is ever consistent and I feel like I'm setting myself up for a disaster. Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

[LovelyLilyandJack]

It's a while since i started on EASY (am about to start again with my second baby but my first is 3 and a half now!) but personally i would start with a good bedtime routine and regular start and end to the day.  So first I'd get teatime to bedtime sorted.  We tend to do the same things at the same time from tea onwards.  I can't remember how long 6 month olds can stay awake (sample EASY routines in the FAQ section of this board will help with that) but if you can get a set bedtime of, say, 7pm,  you can work back from that. E.g. Bed at 7 means story at 6.45, bath at 6.15, tea at 5.30 etc. I think around that age i was doing a split feed actually - one around 5 or 5.30ish and one just before bed.  Anyway.....

Once you've got that established so you're doing the same things in the same order at roughly the same time, you might find your day starts at roughly the same time and you start seeing a pattern emerging.  I wouldn't worry about everything happening at the same time each day - I always thought of it as more of a rhythm for the day.  Bedtime is the only time I've worried about doing things at roughly the same time.

Does your daughter put herself to sleep or do you get her to sleep somehow and then put her to bed?

[*Ali*]

Here is a link to the sample routines lovelylily mentions chronological EASY samples, 4-6 months Scroll down to the 6mo routines. Does anything there look like it might work for your DD?

Also have a look at this FAQ on starting EASY Starting EASY - all you need to know and more!

[ShayParker]

They all look like they could work tbh. The thing is that the time she wakes up, her naps, and the time she goes to bed changes everyday. She doesn't wake up at the same times. But when I put her down for bed around 8-8.30 she'll sleep til about 10ish then I'll give her a bottle and she'll sleep til about 2ish then 4.30 then 6. Before I attempted a routine she'd wake up at least 5 times a night wanting a bottle. I'm a first time mom so I feel like I'm rushing to her too quick sometimes cause I just assume every cry is a hungry cry so I think I got her into that habit I just don't know how to break it. I've tried PU/PD but I can't get her to stop crying when I do. I've read some articles and I've tried a few things just nothing is really working.

And I can't get her to go to sleep on her own. She HAS to have a paci right after the bottle or she'll scream til she gets it.

[LovelyLilyandJack]

Hmmm.... Sounds like it could be a routine thing or that the bottle / paci combination has become a prop and she needs it to settle back to sleep.  Could you post what your day looked like for the past couple of days and maybe we can try and get her day sorted first and go from there? Could you post in the format:

E: How much she's eaten,  and at what time
A: What time she was awake,  including wind down time. Note any activities you regularly do before bed when you get to that time.
S: What time she went to sleep and woke up
E: Time of second feed
A: Time awake after second nap
S: etc....

X

[ShayParker]

E: Wake up at 9am. 5oz and 2tbs cereal 30 mins after waking up
A: 10.00am: An hour 30 mins of activity. Tummy time and her exercise walker.
S: 11.30-12 is when she takes her first nap, takes me about 10 mins to get her to go to sleep wakes up around 1-1.30.
E: 1.30pm: 5oz 2 tbs fruit or veggies
A: 1.45pm: 1hr. 30 mins of play time, more tummy time and plays with some toys.
S: Second nap is around 3.30 lasts an hour
E: 4.30pm: 5oz and 2 tbs fruit/or veggies
A: Play til around 6 then I feed her 5oz and 2 tbs fruits and veggies
S: I give her a bath anywhere between 7-7.30, feed her 5oz after the bath, cuddle for a little bit in our room(Her crib is in the room with me) and she doesn't go to bed til 8.30.

She'll sleep for about an hour and a half then wake up again then I'll feed her a 4 oz bottle, she'll fall right back to sleep then she'll wake up around 2, I'll feed her, then she'll sleep til 6, feed her again and she'll sleep til we wake up the next morning.

[LovelyLilyandJack]

It looks like she's taking some good naps but i would say that second nap is a little early in the day for an 8.30 bedtime, and ideally would be a bit longer to tide her over til bedtime.  I think a lot of LOs drop a cat nap around 6 mo - did she take one until recently or has her day looked like this for a while? I'm just wondering if she can handle a bit more awake time before her second nap to bring it closer to bedtime?  4 hours is a long time to go between sleeps at that time of day especially,  and if she's going to bed overtired it could be causing the multiple wake ups.

How about trying to push her afternoon nap out a bit,  just by 15 minutes at first and see how you get on?  Ideally we'd get her napping closer to 4ish but if you change it too quickly she might get overtired.

What do you think?

ETA : I forgot to say that the significance of me asking about cat naps is that many LOs drop their late afternoon cat nap at around 6 months and it could be contributing to your woes! This might be worth a read - it's essentially what we're trying to do:

All about the 3-2 transition- 5/6 months

If she's only dropped it recently you might need to offer it again for a day or two so you're starting off with a well rested baby,  then try and push that second nap out.

[ShayParker]

Yeah she had a catnap until 2 weeks ago which was around 5pm.
I've been trying to get her to nap at the first signs of her being sleepy so she's not too tired and fussy which may be why they're earlier than what they should be.
But I can definitely give her more A time and try it out.(:

[LovelyLilyandJack]

Yeah,  give it a go and see how you get on, and don't be afraid to offer a cat nap again for a day or so to let her catch up if you think she needs it. I remember my daughters sleep being all over the place during that transition - it's tough to get them through it without OT creeping in.  In fact, if the NW started around the time she dropped her cat nap you might want to start by giving her a catch up day with that extra nap or an early bed time,  and then start increasing her A time ...

[ShayParker]

She's been waking up during the night since she was 3 months actually. It just came out of nowhere. But I gave her more A time today and her naps were all 20-30 minutes. I figured she sleep a little longer though. But she just cut two teeth so I think she was hurting today. She woke up at 5:50 today and I gave her a bath at 8.00 and she's just now going to sleep at 11.00. I'm gonna start fresh tomorrow and get up earlier and see how that does instead of getting up at 9 I'll start our day at 7. Idk if it'll help or not but we'll see.

[LovelyLilyandJack]

20 - 30 minute naps are usually a sign of over tiredness,  though i don't know if teething could be playing a part too.  Cutting teeth often made my lo a bit ot as well. I'd give her a couple of days to catch up, try and keep A time before bed to 2.5 hours maybe and let those teeth come properly through before you try upping her A time again.

What do you think?