Should I switch to 4 hr.? So much pressure...

[Skadiver13]

Ahh gotcha on the meds. You'll figure it out. promise.

[TB9]

I just wanted to post because my dd2 was the exact same size as your LO at that age!

Because of her size she started sleeping through the night very early, but then around the 4month growth spurt she stopped sleeping through because she just couldnt get enough during the day for her size.  Even though she was ready, and I introduced solids at 4.5mo she still couldnt get enough during the day, and i literally *just* got her down to 4 bottles a day recently.  She never really got to a true 4hr EASY, even now her afternoon bottle and bedtime bottle are only 3.5hrs apart, andthat  is with solid dinner in between!

What I ended up doing was following whatever A times she needed to get a good nap, but add a top up bottle 30min before naptime so that she could make it through a decent nap and not wake hungry.  Is that an option for him, or do you think it woukd cause problems because of his reflux?

Do you think he is ready to go to a 4hr EASY?  Has he gone through the 4month growth spurt yet?  Just thinking you may want to consider holding off on trying to increase time between feeds until he is through that spurt 

[Skadiver13]

What I ended up doing was following whatever A times she needed to get a good nap, but add a top up bottle 30min before naptime so that she could make it through a decent nap and not wake hungry.  Is that an option for him, or do you think it woukd cause problems because of his reflux?

^ This is what I was suggesting just stated much better

[PuppyLuf]

What I ended up doing was following whatever A times she needed to get a good nap, but add a top up bottle 30min before naptime so that she could make it through a decent nap and not wake hungry.  Is that an option for him, or do you think it woukd cause problems because of his reflux?

^ This is what I was suggesting just stated much better

He just doesn't take a bottle earlier than three hours apart.  I managed to keep him up two hours this last round and it was very hard.  Hopefully will get easier as he goes (and I'll have the daycare lady take care of the schedule change the rest of the week so he can be crabby with her!! :0) By the time the weekend rolls around again, he'll be fine for me, right?!  He got 9 oz. in him, but refluxed a bit more than he had been, mostly because, I think, I had to have him doing activity after eating to keep him awake or he'd fall asleep.  All the movement caused the problem.

I'm not sure if he's gone through his growth spurt for 4 months yet.  I can only imagine how much he'll weigh if he still has to go through it. 

Is the main reason for switching to a 4 hour if he cannot eat every four hours so that he can get long naps in?  What is the shortest time a "long nap" could be and still be useful?

[Skadiver13]

Honestly 9oz is a lot for this age to take at one sitting I think? I know even know my lo can't do more than like 7oz and he's 2.  Like Tinkerbell was saying she fed 3.5hrs apart even th ough the EASY was 4. So that would still fit.  I think you need to seperate the issues here. One is you need to start thinking about transitioning to a 4hr easy but it can be done over time. He's only 4months right now so you have some time. Start by stretching out your frist A time and then work from there.  A rule of thumb I go by and this is not set in stone is anything less than 45min is usually an OT nap meaning the A time was ether too long or they were over stimulated.  45-1.5hrs is not a full nap so usually indicateds they were UT. Anything over 1.5hrs at this age is a good nap. You certainly don't have to wake them at 1.5hrs but that's 2 good sleep cycles.

Your second issue is the feeding. Work around the naps and if you need to feed in a quiet dark room right before the nap or right after then do that. Don't worry about where your E will fit into the EASY. You can also cluster feed at night before BT to help with the calories.

[TB9]

I always considered anything over 1hr to be a good nap.  DD2 wouldnt always take a second feed during her A, I sometimes just had to wait for her to be able to stay up longer.  I wouldnt push him too much to stay up longer if he isnt able to do it.  And I wouldnt push to go longer between feeds if he isnt ready.  BW is about following cues and structuring a routine around that, because not all babies are the same

[PuppyLuf]

Well, today was a disaster...   He's totally OT, screaming and crying, hungry, spitting up, and on this schedule would actually be getting almost 45 more minutes of sleep per day than he was before.  Ugh.

I cannot figure out how to keep 6 bottles in there less than three hours apart.  He spits up anything more than 8 every three, he can't do any activity because he's spitting, so it's basically 2 hours of sitting still, which is torture for him and me.

I ended up putting him down for an extra half hour nap because he and I were both miserable and he's been screaming for the past hour and a half.  I think I'M OT.

I'm completely frustrated and have been trying different schedules in my head for so long I can't think straight.  I just cannot think of some way for this to work, bottle-wise and with the half hour extra of awake time twice a day before a meal to give his Prevacid.  Honestly, I'm ready to cry with him.

[Skadiver13]

Hi hun what was your easy today?  try not to think of it as a schedule it's just a routine that you try and folow vut his cues should be what you go bym Dont try amd forxw more milk into him thatbhe can do at one sittingm Just add more smaller bottles if thats what you need to do.

[PuppyLuf]

Skadiver, This was our EASY:

6:30am      Wake and eat (9 oz.)
(Stay awake 1hr45)
8:15-10:00    Nap
10:00       Wake and give Prevacid
(Stay awake 2 hrs.)
10:30am       Eat (9 oz.)
12:00-2:00      Nap
(Stay awake 1hr.45)
2:30pm       Eat (9 oz.)
3:45-4:45      Nap in theory (except he was so OT he couldn't sleep and screamed until 7pm)
(Stay awake 2 hrs.)
5:45         Give Prevacid
6:00         Bath
6:30         Eat (9 oz.)
6:45         Bed

I guess I'm having trouble seeing the advantage of switching to a 4 hour EASY over just lengthening A-times on 3 hour EASY.  He'd still get two long naps and two catnaps, he'd get as many bottles as he needed, and he'd be getting less daytime sleep (and therefore more nighttime sleep, as is his pattern).  my purpose for trying 4 hour was to have fewer feeds, but it seems like I'll have to do more?

I just wanted to post because my dd2 was the exact same size as your LO at that age!

Do you think he is ready to go to a 4hr EASY?  Has he gone through the 4month growth spurt yet?  Just thinking you may want to consider holding off on trying to increase time between feeds until he is through that spurt 

I think maybe he's just not ready.  He's still the same size he was last month, so no growth spurt I can see.  He had just finished relfuxing after every meal finally and I was able to lower his morning Prevacid, but today he and I were covered in curdled milk again and he was draining his bottled dry and screamed when they were empty.  I wanted to cry with him...   

[Skadiver13]

Hi hun the purpose of lengthening A times is to start stretching his awake time so it doesn't impact his night sleep as it will start to eventually.  But as some have said if it's not broke don't fix it.  I think it will eventually start impacting your night sleep but if it's not currently and you are happy with how things are going than don't change it. If he's refluxing with the current dosage maybe it needs to be modified as well as not over feeding him.  I fed my reflux lo smaller bottles throughout the day while stretching his A time.  hence my suggestion to seperate the two issues.  Reflux babys have their own issues and so with mine he liked higher A times so I often had to stretch his awake periods and offer smaller 5-6oz bottle 4-5 times a day.

[PuppyLuf]

Thank you!  I will keep observing him and see what he does in the next few weeks.  He has times when he stays awake 1:45, and other times he barely makes it an hour.  EMW seem to be related to dirty diaper more than anything else, right now, unfortunately.  Wish I could make that go away.  It's been going on for 3 weeks now, and I can hear through the bedroom wall as he (loudly) poops.  Sigh.  Thank for all the help.