Stuck in a Night wakening/short naptime catch 22?

[landscapelinz]

I have a 19 week old BF little girl. She was put on EASY from birth and it has worked well for her. As a newborn she always had 2- 3 hour naps and then one day at around 2 months she woke up and went on to 45 minute naps. You can pretty much set a clock by her unless she over tired in which case they are 30 mins.

She has had issues with her weight in that she has always increased but it has been slow. You will see from her EASY chart below that she on a 2.5 - 3h cycle, despite the fact she nearly 5 months. I have therefore been slow to try and increase her cycle to  a 4h one but starting to question it now. She always used to wake up once in the night around 4am for a feed (she has always had a DF around 10.30). For the last 5 weeks she has been waking 2 times in the night and then unable to get back to sleep the third time which is often 5.30.  I am a broken shadow of my former self!! I have never been so sleep deprived and hubby is downstairs sleeping on the couch. Please save us!

I know she should be on a 4 hour cycle and that 45 min naps may be contributing to her issues. I also know that at least one of her NW is not food related but often I am so tired in the night I feed her for an easy life although I am fairly firm in just cuddling her to sleep at the 5.30 NW (if she will sleep - she often just does the 45min nap thing from then on).  Her A times have always seen her happy and alert, hence why I am only now questioning the 45 mins. She is more recently tired (falling asleep at her daytime feeds despite the fact she has just woken up) but this is no doubt because her night time sleep reduced and of poor quality or are we stuck in a night sleep/nap time catch 22?

Other things to note: She has always settled herself well for naps unless I miss the window in which case a bit of cuddling required. My settling method is to cuddle til calm ( can be 1 min or 5) and then put her down before she asleep and she self settles. Sometimes necessary to repeat.

I am mindful she might be teething. When she wakes in the night she is grunting rather than crying. I try to leave her but it can go on for 45min + and I normally then will get up and try and cuddle to settle (and/or feed if I am desperate). I have also tried cuddling at the outset to see if I can nip in the bud with mixed results. No teeth are showing through but I often catch her 'fisting' her ear which I asume could be related. There is another question there - should PU/PD be used when the baby is just grunting with (it sounds like frustration) or should you leave it for this to turn into crying before intervening with the PU/PD.

E/A 7.45 - 8.45
S9.20 - 10.00
E/A 10.00 - 11.50
S 11.50 - 12.40
E/A 12.40 - 1.50
S 1.50 - 2.45
E/A 2.45 - 4.05
S 4.05 - 4.45
E/A 4.45 -6.25
S 6.25 - 7.15
E/A 7.15 - 7.55
S 7.55 (Bedtime)
E/A 8.25 - 8.55 Woken unexpectedly. Never has done this late before. Fed and settled again
E/A 12.45 - 1.30. Woke grunting. Fed well and struggled to settle her
E/A 3.37 - 4.42 Fed hungrily. Struggled to settle (cuddle her til calm, put down when settled but still asleep. Had to do this 4 or 5 times. Eventually left her to grumble and grunt and she settled herself.
E/A 6.20 - worke grumbling. Fed but refused to go back to sleep.

A very bad day:

E/A 6.40 - 7.40
S7.40 - 8.40
E/A 8.40 - 9.55
S 9.55 - 10.45
E/A 10.45 - 12.00
S 12.00 - 12.50
E/A 12.50 - 2.05
S 2.20 - 3.00
E/A 3.00 - 4.15
S 4.15 - 5.00
E/A 5.00 - 6.30
S 6.30 - 7.45
E/A 7.45 - 8.20 (again, a very unusual time for her to wake bed normall 7.30 unless we hit an OT tantrum
S 8.20 - 8.40
A 8.40 - 9.00 (cuddled to settle)
E/A 10.00 - 10.20
E 1.30
E 3.20
A 5.30 - tried to settle her without feeding. Eventually caved at 6.00 and fed her. She slept briefly to 6.40 then work for the day.

I desperately would like someone else to review these schedules and give me a second opinion as I am researching myself round the bend! The NW is the starting issue which I am desperate to resolve. Am trying to increase her naps on the basis it might be linked and using a PU/PD type technique (my version probably cuddles for a bit longer but she is still awake when I put her down) but she is resisting it and I am anxious that her day times don't become as unenjoyable as her night times. I am desperate to still enjoy my baby whilst making sure she happy and healthy.  I watch her on the monitor as she wakes up from naps and she does her 'I want to go back to sleep' routine (face turned to one side, fist to side of face, slowly rotating legs) and will do this for a while but inevitably gives up and lies awake. If your suggestion is to try and put her back down again at nap time I would appreciate tips on when the optimum time is to intervene.

Any ideas/comments welcome...(and by that I mean PLEASE HELP ME!!)

[Violet's mom]

Just sending encouragement - might be a growth spurt - we just went through one too!  I know the baby whisperer really encourages 1.5 hr naps and mine always wakes at 45 mins so I have to do a shhhpat for just a couple mins and she falls back asleep.  However during this past growth spurt she wanted to eat and then immediately return to sleep.  Remember easy is a guideline and at some points your baby just needs a little extra.  I think mine has been on 2 to 3 hr nursing since she was born and I am waiting to see when she indicates she is ready for a 4 hr stretch there is no set age for the 4 hr schedule.   Give her a couple of days and try to really enforce the longer naps!  I have not had to use pupd. 

[Erin M]

Hi sweetie!
You sound like you really need some longer A times -- you should be somewhere around 2 hours -2 hours 15 minutes (or even more at this age) -- you're getting so many short naps during the day that she's most likely not getting any good restorative sleep and is getting overtired because of all the short naps.  The first A time is going to be your key -- make sure you're at at least 2 hours, maybe even 2.15 and see where you get.  If she's resisting extending the naps, it's most likely because she's not tired enough to sleep more.  You can do pu/pd all day but if she's not tired enough to go back to sleep, she's not going to, you know?  Same with the nighttime -- if she's just grunting and awake, just let her be -- she may eventually go back to sleep  on her own without any intervention.  Assuming you get a decent nap, you want to keep the A time the same for the second A time of the day -- tired cues can get somewhat unreliable at this age, so don't always trust the yawns!  If she short naps the first nap, try shortening the second A time, but only by about 15 minutes or so. 

If you're concerned about weight gain, you can work around that within the EASY framework as well -- some moms will feed at the beginning of A time, and then do a "top up" feed about an hour later, just to make sure that their baby is getting enough.  It's definitely ok for her to be nursing more often than every 4 hours at this age, like the PP said, some babies need to nurse more often at that age -- lots of BF babies don't get on the 4 hours eating schedule until closer to 6 months (or beyond). 

[landscapelinz]

Thank you so very much for this.

Regarding the A times, this is the bit I am a bit confused about as I have read sometimes that if she has not had enough rest then the naps will get shorter when she is put down (i.e. the A time too long)...but then if you want to extend the naps try extending the A time. I suppose I know what she is like when she is over tired and it can be pretty exhausting and upsetting for all concerned! Because I have been a bit unsure about this, my stance has been a bit erratic. Take the other day for example. I put her down after 1.25 h on the basis it would take her about 15mins to settle and this would lead to a sensible 1.5h A time and therefore hopefully a good nap...but she laid awake for 45 mins and then hit melt down and I had an hour of very upset baby. Pretty awful for all concerned!.  I couldn't understand however how she could have missed the window bearing in mind she was lying in it for so long (looking relaxed but clearly not enough to go to sleep). Perhaps as you say she had not been 'worn out' enough before the nap?...but then I read in other sources that you need to give your baby some quiet A times so that they are relaxed enough to sleep....this is what I mean about researching myself around the bend!!

I will try your tip about extending the first nap of the day and see how it goes. Your reply makes alot of sense.

Thank you both so much for taking the time to respond. The solidarity is very much appreciated! xx

[Erin M]

this is what I mean about researching myself around the bend!!

Oh, I have so been there, done that! 

Regarding the naps -- here's what we generally find (and keep in mind that this is not an absolute rule, some babies do different things) -- 45 minute naps mean that you need some more A time before the nap (babies generally wake happy from a 45 minute nap).  30 minute naps mean you need less A time before the nap (and LOs will generally be cranky when they wake -- trying to get back to sleep, but not quite succeeding).  I will now tell you that my ds was different and if he woke happy, no matter what the nap length, I needed more A time before the nap.  Wide awake wakings sometimes mean overstimulation before the nap too, but for now, it will probably be easier to rule out the OT/UT stuff. 

And, to complicate things, sometimes if you put them in their cribs too early they'll get either upset or worked up because they're not tired enough to nap -- then they don't fall asleep when they should and then you end up missing the nap window (seems like that would be hard when they're already in their beds, but it does happen)!

Does that help?

[landscapelinz]

Hi there - thanks again SO MUCH for this. Genuinely cant tell you how much I appreciate it.

I have found that if you raise issues such as 45 min naps and unsettled night times with the health visitors you tend to get blank faces in response or the dreaded 'she's teething'!!

I have been tinkering around with the A times with mixed results. I will keep trying over the next few days and then report back in case it is of any use to anyone else but I can say that even after a couple of days we have had a couple of 1 hour naps, one nap where I managed to settle her into a back to back 30min plus 40 mn nap and, wait for it, one beautiful, peacuful, baby produced, no contribution from me, 90 min nap!! I was so pleased I could have reached across the ether and given you a big kiss!!

She is staill waking for 2 feeds in the night but the general restlessness is much reduced and she settles after the feeds. Her morning awake time is now more like 6.30.  I know there is room to review these feeds as I think they are probably habit driven but I will turn to those at the weekend. The hubby is now back in the bedroom so we can concentrate on those together!

So as I say, update to follow in a few days but many many thanks in the meantime

If anyone else is reading this with similar issues, I can recommend reading the sleep interview with Tracey in the FAQ section of the S section of this site. Many revelations were had and reinforced advice given here by the kind Erin

xx

[landscapelinz]

Just an added note to my last comment re the sleep interview with Tracey. My directions not very clear so here's a link (Sleep section/general sleep issues/FAQ's/a special sleep interview with TH)

Internet Interviews with Tracy

[katie80]

Glad you're having some successes!

I have been tinkering around with the A times with mixed results.

You're probably doing this already, but it's often helpful to keep a log of A times when you're trying to figure out what works best.  Also, it can take some LOs a few days to get used to a new A time, so you may want to hold to a certain one for a few days before changing it again to see if she settles in.  These links can be helpful as well... Average A times- BOOKMARK ME! , chronological EASY samples, 4-6 months

Keep us posted!

[landscapelinz]

Oh dear, what a roller coaster.

Thanks so much for the links. My exhuberance has been modified rather since last time and I think I need  to check in and make sure I know what I am trying to achieve here!


OK, so in summary  - my now nearly 5 month old (20 weeks) is still waking up in the night. Typical kind of times is one around the DF time (I tend not to DF her now as she will wake for a feed around this time anyway) so say 11.30pm, then again around 2am , again around 4.30 and then she wakes up for the day around 6.30. I leave her to amuse herself until 7am. This means she gets hers first feed at 7am (to be discussed further!).

I know I proabably shouldn't but I do feed her at these kind of NW  times. Normally she wakes 'whining' I would describe it as. I try and ignore her in case its between cycle noises but if it escelates I get up and pick her up. I know within a few seconds how thats going to go - if she slumps sleepinly into my arms I sooth her and put her back. If I stand still with her without moving she susses that this is my intention and the whines worsen and I feed her. Feel free to advise against this here. My problem is I cant be certain she not hungry and after 6 weeks of this I have to say the thought of dealing with a PU/PD situation here fills me with dread..so I feed her. (I can feel the term 'accidental parenting' hovering over me here but I am past caring!!) Also - I am telling myself I should deal with one problem at a time and therefore to concentrate on the naps first and the NW issue later. Do you agree?

Over the last few successful mornings (the weekend was a bit of a write off) she has woken at 6.30am. I have left her to it till 7am and then it's blinds up, 'morning Mr Sunshine' and tried to feed her. She usually too excited to take a big feed here (and surely another indicator of a good night of feeding) so we get up, amuse her and then I put her down then at 8.30 ish. So thats 2 hours approx of activity time although 30mins of that is when she is amusing herself in her cot in the dark so not sure if that should be born in mind or not. I have also fallen in to the trap of feeding her just before that 8.30am put down (because she didnt feed well at 7.00). My brain tells me this is the only time I do this (apart from a last top up before her evening bed time) so I am not relying on feeding to get her to sleep (oh, apart from all those NW's that is!!) and therefore this is ok. Hmm, again, feel free to caution me on this. I might need a bit of a talking to!

Anyway, the result of all that is a luscious 1.30min nap. Huzzah. From then on though it all falls apart. I try and replicate it with a 2nd awake time of 2 hours but with very mixed results. One example was a 1h 52 A time but it was at a local play group class. It was followed by a 39min nap.  Another example was a 2h10 where we went to a very busy cafe so again lots to look at even if she not taking part. This resulted in a 1h nap. What do you reckon - shall I stick with the 2 hours 2nd awake time. As you say, I probably need more of a sample to see what her reaction is. Unfortunately the other days I have been out and about and she has slept in the sling and these have only been for 30mins. I find all it takes is a couple of 30 min naps and (quite understandably) we have a very rocky afternoon. Again, feel free to caution me on perhaps curbing her social activities for a while until I get to learn her new pattern....its just hard when you also trying to think of nice ways to entertain her during her increasingly long A times!!

From the links you sent to me it suggests perhaps to concentrate on the morning A times for now and then look at the afternoon once I have sussed out the morning. Would you agree?

The other question is  - do you think i should get up at her A time in the morning i.e at 6.00 or 6.30am or whenever it is so that i can monitor if a 2 hour first A time is working (rather than leaving her til 7.)...and I suppose I could try and feed her half way before her first A time and therefore avoid feeding her just before her first nap. I am finding this is knocking her entire routine out of sinc as of course she less hungry after the next S etc etc and so on for the rest of the day. Any better suggestions to sort this would be welcome. Perhaps try a smaller feed at the 4.30am night wakening?? Thats if she's let me!!

I was going to set out a days schedule but think perhaps its early days yet and I need a week under my belt in order to analyse the results! Any feedback at this stage would be so very welcome! Sorry this is turning into a Nap issue under the NW section of the forum, but hence the 'catch 22' in the subject title!

Finally, excuse the repetition but as my brain is sleep deprived, can I check what I am trying to acheive here is as follows:

NW's caused by being OT during the day and because her body on a 3h cycle (or even 2.5h) and therefore trained to wake up at these intervals(? - although the NWs have only started these past 6 weeks). Solution: get her on a 4 hour cycle and do this by expnding her naps and her A time..this should sort her NW's with less intervention required from me (please tell me lots of success stories out there without the need for the dreaded PU/PD required to sort her NW's after I have sorted out the naps!!

sorry this is such a ramble..bored baby on lap!!

[katie80]

Also - I am telling myself I should deal with one problem at a time and therefore to concentrate on the naps first and the NW issue later. Do you agree?

Yes, I always find it helpful to get the day ironed out before tackling NWs.  If she's going to sleep independently during the day and at BT and you get her onto a decent routine, she should at least increase the length of time between NFs on her own.  That being said, if she's waking every 2-3hrs, I wouldn't be feeding every time, but rather try some shh/pat to help her back to sleep.  Do you ever use some shh/pat or anything similar to help her settle for naps or extend naps?

Again, feel free to caution me on perhaps curbing her social activities for a while until I get to learn her new pattern....its just hard when you also trying to think of nice ways to entertain her during her increasingly long A times!!

This is a personal decision and depends a lot on you and your LO.  If you really want to work at the routine though, Tracy did recommend setting aside a week or two to concentrate on getting it down.  It's not feasible for some, but can be very helpful too.

From the links you sent to me it suggests perhaps to concentrate on the morning A times for now and then look at the afternoon once I have sussed out the morning. Would you agree?

Yes, but I think it sounds like you've got the morning one figured out already.  After 2hr, she does a nice 1h30min nap.  That sounds perfect to me.  I'd expect the next A time to then be 2hr at least, maybe 2h15m.

Perhaps try a smaller feed at the 4.30am night wakening??

This is what I would have suggested.  Try feeding only one side, if you normally do two.  Or, for only 5ish min if you normally do 10.  Otherwise, I think it's perfectly fine to feed her in the middle of the morning A time rather than at the beginning.  I also don't think you need to get her out of the crib right away when she wakes.  It's good for her to be able to spend some time in there on her own and you will be happy she has that skill as she gets older.

I was going to set out a days schedule but think perhaps its early days yet and I need a week under my belt in order to analyse the results! Any feedback at this stage would be so very welcome!

Why don't you keep track of the EAS you do for the next 3 days and we'll take a look and see if there's something we can help you tweak?

NW's caused by being OT during the day and because her body on a 3h cycle (or even 2.5h) and therefore trained to wake up at these intervals(? - although the NWs have only started these past 6 weeks). Solution: get her on a 4 hour cycle and do this by expnding her naps and her A time..this should sort her NW's with less intervention required from me (please tell me lots of success stories out there without the need for the dreaded PU/PD required to sort her NW's after I have sorted out the naps!!

I think I've basically answered this throughout the post, but yes, this sounds right to me.  And we'll cross our fingers there's no PUPD in your future.

[landscapelinz]

Thank you so much for this as always. It really makes me feel so much better having your support.

Regarding the shhpat issue, I have never used it. I had one bungled attempt once when she was crying in her cot and I tried to roll her over to get to her back and she hit the roof!! I suspect that you are supposed to sshh pat in an upright position first and then put her down?!!! I have been a bit reluctant to try it since only because it would come out of the blue for her, am worried that it would be more stimulating and also because I could not imagine putting her down and rolling her over to continue the shhpat as you are supposed to.

My usual technique for if she is crying is to hold her and sway gently. I know Tracey advised against rocking but I use this for 'special occasions only' i.e. when she is really upset. Then when I put her down I rest my hand on her chest and look away so as not to make eye contact. Sometimes she will settle with this and other times you feel her hands come accross and hold mine and then I know its a failed attempt. Her self soothing mechanism is face to one side, hand to face and pedals the legs really slowly so when I see this I have learnt its best just to withdraw although the risk remains that she will cease and start crying again...then we repeat with the holding until eventually she goes down. This is what I have used in the night previously when she was going through a really bad patch with more than 2 NW and therefore I was trying to settle her rather than feed her.

On a normal nap session when I am just putting her down I just give her a smile, rest a hand on her chest for a few seconds and then leave her. More often than not she will self settle quietly without me. I have stopped trying to extend her naps by going to her and trying to sooth. I just found it was failing more often than not and upsetting us both. (I was trying my version of PU/PD then which is just holding onto her a little bit longer rather than putting her down as soon as she goes quiet)...and I suppose I took the view that if she really doesnt want to sleep I cant force her. Perhaps I am being too soft here and should toughen up for the sake of my little girl!???!!

The 2nd A time had been frustrating me so hearing you suggest I could even try increasing it gives me some comfort. I will persevere.

I was a bit despondant this morning as she only did 55mins for her first nap rather than her recent 1.5hours. Its been 45mins all the way thereafter. I will indeed continue as I have been and give you some EAS data at the end of the week.

I know I keep thanking you but REALLY...thank you!!!

[katie80]

I have been a bit reluctant to try it since only because it would come out of the blue for her, am worried that it would be more stimulating and also because I could not imagine putting her down and rolling her over to continue the shhpat as you are supposed to.

Yes, totally understandable.  It doesn't need to be shh/pat in its truest form, basically I was just thinking if you had a way to settle her in the crib, then she wouldn't think she was being picked up to be fed and might start settling a bit faster/quicker.  You could stroke her temple, pat her hip/front of diaper, or just put your hand on her like you do when you lay her down and say your sleep phrase.  Of course, you can always pick her up to calm her and put her back down too.

I just found it was failing more often than not and upsetting us both. (I was trying my version of PU/PD then which is just holding onto her a little bit longer rather than putting her down as soon as she goes quiet)...and I suppose I took the view that if she really doesnt want to sleep I cant force her. Perhaps I am being too soft here and should toughen up for the sake of my little girl!???!!

Mmm, not necessarily.  Again, this is up to you.  If you know you've done a decent A time of 2-2.25hr, then I think trying to resettle for 20min or so isn't going to harm anything.  This might help you figure out if she needs a bit more A time or not (usually if it's been enough they will resettle, but not always).  But, if it's more frustrating for both of you, then of course you can just get her up and try again later.

Keep up the good work... you'll get there!

[landscapelinz]

Sorry - I know I was going to wait a few days but just some interim advice please.  Am feeling a bit overwhelmed.

I am trying to resettle her after her naps as suggested. I am taking the view that when she wakes and I pick her up and do the sway and she goes all limp and sleepy then she clearly needs more nap and I try to re settle. I sway until she gets pretty much asleep, put her down, keep my hand on her and she inevitably wakes. I try again and the same happens until one of us starts crying!

She doesn't wake crying so I am presuming that the PUPD technique inappropriate here. I appreciate your suggestions on settling her in the cot which would be much more practical but as soon as she sees me looking over the cot she wakes up more rather than less...and yet she must be tired to have accepted the idea of falling asleep on my shoulder, even if she didnt follow through with it once in cot.  I have just tried to settle her as described above until she started crying and then I stopped. Should this be where PUPD starts? I have to say the BW book I have on this is extremely vague, just saying 'use PUPD to extend naps'.  I have a feeling this is discussed on the website already but I cant find it again...sorry.  Do you recall if there are any good discussions on in-cot settling. Think i really need to master this!

My problem now is I have a baby whose two first A times have been extended by me but her naps (by different degrees) have not so I presume she will be tired for the rest of the day...and this will knock on into the night with the usual problems.  Sorry - I am starting to sound all whingey - as I say, I am just feeling a bit overwhelmed! Should I now just concentrate on trying to alleviate tired baby symptoms for the rest of the day - i.e. promote short A times and the 45 min nap?

thanks as always

[katie80]

(((Hugs))), you're always welcome to come ask questions!

If she doesn't wake crying, I would just leave her tbh.  She may roll around and eventually settle back to sleep and if not, then you can go to her when she does need you, i.e. she starts crying.  Does she wake at a consistent time during the nap?  If so, you can also go in while she's still sleeping and place a hand on her and try to hold her through the transition so she keeps sleeping.  That would be a form of wake-to-sleep.  How do I address habitual wakings? (wake-to-sleep and other methods)

Otherwise, I would start finding a way you can settle her in the crib... some variation of shh/pat.  It may take her a couple days to get used to it, but once she is hopefully she'll resettle better than if you have to pick her up.  For lots of babies, once you pick them up and they start to fall asleep on you for that second cycle it is quite difficult to get them back down. 

As for the rest of the day, yes I would try to get her another CN or two.  I would try to stick with a decent A time still though, as there is a better chance she will end up doing a long one that way.  When I first got my DS past the chronic 30-40min naps, his one long nap came randomly every day.  Then, around 5.5-6mo, he finally settled into a more predictable routine.

[landscapelinz]

arggghhhhh!!! HELP!!!!!!

Well, there is good news and bad news! We have made big improvements on her naps (the first two) but by the time we get to bed time she is absolutely exhasuted and so the night is awful - lots of night wakenings. Any ideas? We are at our whits end! Here is a reasonable day:

Worthwhile noting that this day had been proceeded by a night when she had been awake approx 11.20, 2.00, 4.00 and 6am so she was probably pretty tired to start with.

A/E 6.09-8.33 (got out her cot at 7.am) =Total 2h 24 A time
S 8.33 - 10.43 = 2h 10 nap Huzzah
E/A 10.47 - 12.20 (1h 30 A time. She very tired here. Very grunty so caved and put her doen for  a nap
S12.20 - 1.24  = 1h4 nap
E/A 1.24 - 4.00 (2.5 hours. Grunting and tired but self settled well)
S4.00 - 4.40 = 40min nap
E/A 4.40 - 6.40 (2h)
S 6.40. Settled well.
A/E 7.45 Woke suddenly crying. Cuddled to settle and fed.
S 8.00
Awake (and fed) 10.52
Awake (and fed) 1.20
Awake (and fed 3.40
Awake 5.37. Managed to resettle her with hands on her chest but then woke properly at 6am and the day started as follows (a  good and bad day):

E/A 5.37/6.00 - 8.03 (2h or 5=2h 20 A time depending on how you look at it)
S 8.03 - 10.15 (nap 2h 15) Huzzah!
E/A 10.15 - 12.15 (2 hours) Very tired. Really had to keep her awake from 11.45 onwards.
S12.15 - 1.47 (nap of 1h30)
E/A 1.47 - 4.06
S4.06 - 4.36 30 min nap
E/A 4.36 - 5.40 ---- 7.35 Very unpleasantly tired. Had to put down at 5.40 but then she couldnt settle..then pooed and had to change her. Eventually got her to sleep at 7.35.
E 11.00
E1.00
E 2.20 took her 40 mins to settle post feed
E 4.25
A 5.40 left her to settle (I am exhaused)
A6.40 Awake for the day


Things to note: I am very aware that I should not be feeding her at all of the night wakings. I am so exhausted I am caving in but me and the hubby will address this this weekend..
Secondly, as a result of all of the night feeding, she is not hungry in the morning and I am finding that I am feeding her erraticically through the A time in order to get some milk down her (you will see from my original post that she has had some weight issues and I cant afford for her to miss feeds. That said I am aware that this has become a real problem. She is snacking and there is no routine to it and more often than I would like I am settling her for a nap with a feed. This is no doubt contributing to her night wakings and her expectation that I will feed her. I am determined to get back to a firm EASY schedule tomorrow but its so difficult when she is so lazy on that first feed (and I am anxious that she feels full before that first important nap). It knocks it all out of kilter...and I am sure that my exhaustion is contributing to the problems of living in the now (and present nap and feed) rather than persevering by seeing the bigger picture!!

So I know there are things I need to address but is it possible to look at the timings and give me any pointers as to how I can ensure that she doesnt go to bed exhausted!! I am finding from these times that her bedtime is moving more towards 6pm which I dont think is a problem?? But even so I can tell she is really tired here and she of course wakes 45 mins later in any event...a sign of OT I presume...

Thank you so much as always!!!