5 mo nw/ew

[Lyna]

Hi,

Our 5 mo has been on EASY for a couple of months now. We started ST a week ago and we are almost there. However, we have a few issues that are disrupting the routine. Before we started ST, she was having one NW at different times (sometimes as early as 2 am and sometimes at 5). Regardless of the time I would BF and when she was done she would go straight back to sleep until 7-7.30.

Since we started ST, she started having 2 NW. One at around 2.30-3 and another one at 5-5.30. In both cases I would nurse and she would go back to sleep until 7. However, it is becoming more and more common that she nurses at 5.30 and instead of going back to sleep she is up for the day. I have tried settling but it doesn't work. Today after I had given up on trying to settle her, we started the day. A few minutes after we "start the day" she started yawning. I am absolutely sure that she was not hungry because I had breastfed her less than an hour before. So I think : " Ok. she is tired". I start winding down and we are already on yawn number four by the time I try to put her down. Nothing. After half an hour I decided that we were up for the day again (she never slept anyway).

I have another question. When she nurses at 5.30 and then wakes up at 7, she normally doesn't eat a lot at 7 (since she already ate at 5.30). As a result, by the time she goes to S, I am afraid her naps are being disturbed by her being hungry in the middle. How should I handle the EASY in that case? I know tackling the NW should do it but in the meantime what should we do. This is what her easy looked like yesterday:

WU: 6.50
E: 7-7.15
A: 7.15 -9
S: 9-9.45
A: 9.45 - 10.30
E: 10.30 - 10-45
A:10.45 - 11.45
S: 11.45 - 2.15 (I guess she was making up on the bad nap she had earlier)
E: 2.30 - 2.45
A: 2.45 - 4.45
S: 4.45 - 5.30
E: 5.30
A: 5.45 - 7
7: bed time routine, CF and asleep by 7.30
DF: 10.45
NW: 2.30 (nursed and went straight back to sleep)
NW: 5.30 (nursed but did not go back to sleep...

Thanks!

 

[Layla]

It might be a case of too much daytime sleep - I would probably look at controlling her from her afternoon nap and also adding a little more A time as 5 mos should be able to do around 2.5hrs A time. I would probably start with stretching her afternoon A time to around 2.25hrs.

Given that her A time in the morning is already stretched from 5.30-9am, I probably wouldn't push her in the morning at this stage and my DD1 never did a long morning nap so if she's ok with 45mins sleep in the morning, for now I would leave it. So your day might look something like this:

9-9.45am - morning nap
12-2 - afternoon nap
4.30-5 - catnap
7pm - bedtime

Hopefully with the shorter afternoon nap, the extra 30 mins will tack onto her night sleep. Also babies around this age start to make the transition to 2 naps... some as early as 5 months and waking up early or staying up at night might also be an indication of needing to drop the catnap but for that to happen you'll have to try and stretch her A time until its close to 3 hrs. Here is a link on the 3-2 nap transition Average A times- BOOKMARK ME!!

With regards to E in the early hrs of the morning, I usually offer just 1 side and then do a "top up" E (the other side) when she wakes up for good in the morning and then work around the Es from that time. See if that works for you

Let me know if you have any questions and what you think

[Lyna]

Thanks Layla,

This makes absolute sense. I thought she was catching up on deprived day sleep but rather she might be taking night sleep during the day. I wish I had seen this post earlier. We had a long nap this morning again. She woke up at 6 and went to sleep at 8.10. I woke her up two hours later. She is not quite 5 yet. She will be in three days. My concern is that we are on ST day number 10!! We have been 100% consistent (this is the second one so we know it pays off) except for one time that she fell asleep during the CF because she was exhausted...she had had a bad day (beginning of ST a week ago). Despite being on day 10 it is not perfectly working every time and I fear I am not being able to pin point the ideal A time. For instance this morning, 2.10 of A time seemed to be perfect because she went down easily, without a fight. I figured she had had a good nap so I could stretch the A time a bit. So we did A time from 10.15 until 12.35 and she fought it for 40 minutes!! This is what her day was yesterday and today.

WU: 5.30
E: 6
A: 6-7.30
S: 7.30-8.15
A: 8.15-930
E: 9.30
A; 9.30-10.30
S: 10.30 - 11.15
A: 11.15 - 12.30
E: 12.30
S: 1.30-2.15
A: 2.15 - 15.30
E: 15.30
S: 4.30-5.15
E: 5.15
CF, Routine and BT by 7.30
NW: 3.30 BF and went straight to sleep
WU: 6
E: 6.30
A: 6.45-8.10
S: 8.10 - 10.10
E: 10.30
A: 10.45- 1.10 (I was aiming for 12.30!)
She just woke up after a 40-minute nap.


Now that I am recording it and you tell me she should be able to manage more A time, I think she was UT the whole day yesterday. I was convinced she was OT!! Kept on trying to put her down after two hours and she would fight it! I think I need your help in figuring out the A time because now that she woke up from her nap I am thinking that 40 minute is definitely OT but she doesn't seem angry. She is awake in her crib cooing as I write. I am hoping she settles on her own but I am doubt it. She is wide awake! UT after a 3-hour A time seems unlikely to me. I am very confused now.