14week old perfect during day and terrible at night!

[Baby Donald]

This is my first baby and sleep has been a huge issue and point of frustration for me. I have been using EASY since DD was about  6 weeks old. She had a natural schedule already established at this point during the day and I hoped EASY would help with her night feedings and wakings. Unfortunately nights are awful and after 3 mths I am just not sure what to do anymore. hoping someone can help me.

How old is your child? 14 wks - 12lbs

What’s his/her daily routine?
E - between 430am and 5am (it was always 5am and DD suddenly changed and it has been 430 for the last week)
*because this is so early I try and get DD back to sleep at this time and she refuses to sleep unless I am holding her or she comes to bed with me so generally we will start our day here
A - hang out in kitchen while I make breakfast and bottles for day
S - 7am
Y - she naps between 20-40min

E - 8am
A - play
S- 930am/10am
*this nap can range from 40 min to an hour and a half. It is only an hour and a half if I sleep with with her. Sometimes I am so tired this is the best option so i can get a solid nap in
Y- sleep with baby or shower

E - 11am
A - play
S-1230 pm (this is DD's longest most consistent nap of the day. She will sleep till 130 or 2 and will sometimes want to sleep longer. This is the only time she would willingly miss a feeding which I do not let her do)
Y- me time

E - 2pm
A - play
S- 4/430pm
Y- prep dinner

E - 5pm
A - play ( daddy gets home)
S- catnap - 630/645
Y- eat dinner

* we wake DD and bath her between last feeding and next. She is not hungry when we wake her and we cannot have her sleep longer if we want her to go down for the night at 8/830 pm


E - 730/8 pm
S-830/9pm
Y-I go to bed

E - dream feed - 1030/11pm ( we were doing this at 11pm but for the last week DD has been waking herself up at 1030 pm)
S - 11/1130 pm


E - 130/2am ( this feed can last anywhere between 40 min and an hour a half. DD sometimes wakes up and will NOT go back to sleep)

* here is where the night goes bad ... DD will pretty much wake up every hour or half hour from this point onwards. Most times she puts herself back to sleep but  not always and I will have to sooth her. This goes on  until her next feeding ( see above)


Do you bottle or breastfed?? Bottle (expressed milk and formula)

How much? or how long? Between 4 and 5 oz- about 1 hr for each feeding

How many wakes per night? 2 for eating ..  Many more just because

What’s your LO like when waking at night? First feeding she is usually half asleep. Second she is awake

How long is he/she up? 1 hr for first .. Start day on second

When you go to him/her is she fussing or crying? Yes

What have you tried to settle?? Used pacifier and shh/pat ... Wil sometimes try holding and rocking too

What do you do for A time and how long is it? After she eats ... Aim for and hour a half

Are there developmental issues such as teething or milestones? I think she is going through the three mth growth spurt but sleeping issues existed before this

Have you introduced cereal? Why, how much, and how many times a day? (for LO’s under 6 months) - no

Do they have a prop? If so what is it? - no

Do they have a lovie? - no

[anna*]

(((hugs))) and welcome to the boards.

OK, from the top.

First of all 4.30-5am is NOT the start of your day. Can you rock her to sleep? Even if she has to come into bed with you (not ideal, but we can break that in a little while when you have a better routine established), it's really important that she DOESN"T get into the habit of starting her day at 4.30am. 4.30am you treat like any other middle-of-the-night feed. How do you settle her to sleep if she wakes at midnight or 2am?

Secondly, her day is WAAAAY too long. Even if she sleeps til 7am, 9pm is too late of a bedtime for her. She needs to be in bed and asleep for the night at 7pm. All these night wakings are from overtiredness. Her day is too long and she's not getting enough daytime sleep.

I think you should try for an 'ideal' EASY something like this.

6.30am (do whatever you have to do to keep her asleep until this time) awake and milk
8am nap - if she wakes less than an hour, do whatever you can to resettle her
9.30am awake and milk
11am nap as above
12.30pm awake and milk
2pm nap as above
3.30pm awake and milk
5pm catnap 30 mins
5.30pm awake - bath, bed routine
6pm last milk
6.30-7pm asleep for the night
If she wakes 30-40 mins after going down for the night, you resettle her, don't get her up. I really think that when she's getting some better daytime sleep, her nights will improve. Ifyou can't resettle a short nap, cut her A time down by 15 mins or so.

[Baby Donald]

Thank you! We are willing to give it a try. I will let you know how it goes.

Quick question though - how much should she be eating? She was a snacker and we have broken her of that habit but at night she is willing to stop after 1oz which I know will mean she is waking up much sooner.

Also you asked how I settle her. It really depends. Sometimes simply putting the pacifier in her mouth for 5 min works and other times I need to pick her up and rock her.

[anna*]

Sorry got no idea on bottle feeding! Perhaps a quick post on the Bottle Feeding board?