4.5 month old, EASY questions

[moxie45]

Hello, I am trying to do EASY with my 4.5 month old.  I have the idea of the routine down and successfully implemented it 2 years ago with my son, but for some reason it is much harder with my new addition!  She is difficult to settle into naps, often crying, but I seem to think this is her own way of "settling" as when I pick her up she becomes even more agitated.  I find when I just let her cry a little bit (5 mins or so) she conks right out.  Is this normal?  Then when she wakes, do I feed her right away if it has not been 3.5 hours? (We are working towards the 4 hour EASY, but she is not quite ready for it yet).  Also, she still wakes in the night even after the 11 pm dream feed.  Should I be feeding her at night?  I feel like a first timer again, and its only been 2 years!

Sample of our day:
E (wake at) 7:30
A
S 9 (2hour nap) morning nap is the best one
E 11
A
S 12:30pm
A
S 2 pm
E 3? this is where we usually have issues.  She will only take a shorter nap this time, so do I wait till 3:30 or feed her right away when she gets up?

Any advice is welcome!  The EASY worked SO WELL for my son, I am hoping I can remember the magic and work it out for my daughter now, but it is much harder with a toddler running about!         

[Sarah - Enfys' Mum]

Both my girls have cried a little while going to sleep, like a mantra cry which is loud but not escalating iykwim?

I do feed her if she wakes early from a nap, if it's within about half an hour of the expected time.

It's quite normal to have one or two night feeds at this age. We probably have 3 nights/week with one feed and 4 nights with two.  I don't dream feed.

[moxie45]

Thanks, that makes me feel better.  I only question the night feedings because several times (maybe 1-2 x per week for the last month) she has slept right through from 11:30-7:30!  Amazing nights!  So I know she CAN sleep all night, but when she wakes in the night, it seems the only way to settle her without massive screaming is to feed.......

[Sarah - Enfys' Mum]

I think sttn is a gradual thing at first. My dd1 sttn once at 10 weeks and not again for a couple of weeks. Dd2 has never sttn and wakes once or twice now. Now if she wakes before 3 I try to resettle her, if she doesn't go back to sleep within 5 minutes I will feed her. I can usually tell from the cry if she's going to go back to sleep or not!