Implementing EASY for the first time with 6.5mo

[Kellyjs]

Hey, sounds great about the naps! I really wouldn't worry about being 15mins or so late for the bf, your supply will be well established after doing it for long. But please do ask someone on the bf boards if your at all concerned.

It's absolutely fantastic she's settling better for naps and BT. I'd hold the A's as they are for a day or so to get her used to them.

Onto the NT.. Did she settle herself at all those WU's? If not, did she go back to sleep quickly? Perhaps your extra nap caused you to sleep lighter so you were more aware of her waking up? Or in this house, that many WU's normally means teething issues....

What time was BT last night? She had over 3.5hrs of DT sleep yesterday which is quite a lot. If you tried for 12hrs NT sleep as well, that could be the reason she woke up 30mins early?

Don't be too concerned about her waking up slightly earlier in the morning. We all do it! Is she happy enough to hang out in her bed until you come and get her? I leave my LO chatting away for 15mins in the morning until I can bear getting up.. She wakes at 6.15, but I can't cope with getting out of bed before 6.30!!

[Sephy]

Really down right now.

For The second time in a row I have been resettling her every hour (this time I didn't see 2 something, but had half midnight, 130, 330, 430, 530). d
Depressed that this is now worse than before I started (then it was very 2-3 hours).

On the plus side, she did really well 7:15-midnight with no WUs except a bit roused at the DF.

Not sure it's worth me trying to go back to sleep now as she's bound to wake at 630!

Naps yesterday were pretty bad too, not helped by Dh offering to do one resettle, getting muddled up, laughing and smiling at her so she was wide awake (and grumpy) so we had to abort that nap in the end.

Yesterday's EASY was:
WU 6:30
Attempt to resettle until 650.
Get up 650.
E 7 bf
E 8 solids
A
S 9:10 -
E 11 bf
E 1230 solids
A
S 1:30 - 2:00, 2:00 - 2:20 (then DH's disaster resettle)
A
E 3 bf
S 3:55 - 4:25 (think she was woken by the Tesco deliveryman leaving)
A
E 5 solids
A
E 6 bf (as she was asking for it)
E 6:30 bf to top her up per bath and bed
A bath
S 7:15

Then all quiet til the DF, straight back to sleep and quiet til 1230.

Hmm typed out it does look quite inconsistent. She was so grumpy all day - don't know of she's teething hence the bad sleep and grumpiness or just tired from last night's antics.

She seems to wake up and then cry every time, so I am
Always in there resettling her. I'm now shhing and patting to calm her initially, then rubbing her back when she's calm. As soon as I stop she always cries unless she's very close to sleep or is asleep.

Yuck.

Feel a bit better for typing it all out.

[Kellyjs]

Poor you ((hugs)) it is hard when it goes like that.


Hmmmm... What's strange is that second sleep. 30mins tends to mean OT but she managed really well on that same A yesterday. I do think teething has something to do with this all right now. Do you want to try medicating her 15mins before nap time to see if that helps?

One thing that really does stand out is that last A before BT. It's a little long especially after a 30mins CN. Perhaps bring BT a little earlier to 6.45-7 and she how she does.

Try to keep to the same A's for a while and see if she settles down hun. Teething always seems to come and mess things up! Grrr xx

[Sephy]

Well one positive thing (sort of!) is that her cheeks are lurid red now, so I'm pretty sure teething or something else painful is going on.

Morning nap I left the room while she was awake and crying a bit and she self settled in about thirty seconds. Then woke after thirty minutes, but after just a little shhing slept for another hour and twenty minutes. I woke her for her next feed.

This afternoon I put her down after 2hr40 - she settled relatively quickly but woke after 13 minutes and was really screaming (I had given her some calpol before nap but it did sound like pain to me). After twenty more minutes of shhing she's asleep again.  Poor love.

Thanks as ever for reading and your support Kelly.

[Kellyjs]

That's ok hun. At least we know it's teething issues atm.

Perhaps leave the routine as is until she feels a little better then we can work on it again? Some lo's shorter A's when teething anyway. Keep in mind about that last A before BT though ok? Don't let it get too long.

See you soon x

[Sephy]

No need for a comment, just to remind me how today went:

Wu 6:30. Shh lat til 6:50
E 7 bf
E 8 solids
A
S 9:05, wake up after 30mins, resettled relatively quickly. I woke her at 11
E 11 bf
E 1215 bit of purée
A
S 1:47-2, shhd for 20 mins, really upset baby 2:20-255
E 3 bf
E 4:45 solids
Refused CN at 5:15
E 5:45
A bath
E 6:05
Swaddled etc
S 6:30 (in cot lots before that, but shouting / babbling / crying)

Really didn't know what to do on the PUPD front as she didn't seem really upset but was more shouting than crying. Not happy or calm. Eventually left the room as an experiment and she was quiet after 4 more cries. Don't know if that means they were settling cries or if I have just abandoned her.

Finding it hard to judge if I'm doing it right. Will post on PUPD board in the morning. Too tired now, will sleep!

[Sephy]

Last night started off worse than the two before it, but ended up better.

Nws at 1130, 1215, 210 (took about an hour to go down), 440 (BFd) then stirred at 6, with 2 cries but back to sleep before I could get there. Then slept til 7:25, with us both oversleeping, oops!

Wu 7:25
E bf 725
E solids 825
A
S947- 11:25
E 1125
A
E 100 solids
S 210 - 305, 310 - 330
E 330 bf
A
S 520 -545
E 550 solids
A
E 7 bf
A bath
S 740

Already woke after 45 mins, and again at 935 which I think was DH opening and shutting a door loudly. Doing an early feed now as can't be bothered to wake up for a DF in forty minute or so... Just hope this feed doesn't mess up all the hard work so far.

[Sephy]

And last night was the worst yet.

She went down fairly quickly but then woke after just 30-45 mins of sleep for most of the night.

Really long difficult to settle waking from 2:10 until 330, then awake again at 4. BFd her, put her down asleep but then she woke again after ten minutes.

She had both calpol and nurofen but they didn't seem to make any difference.

Feel a little cheated by the BW book, as though I was "promised" some improvements in a few days when actually night sleep has got much worse. I expect I'm doing something wrong, but I don't know what. And now I really am tired!

She did sleep about 540 til I woke her at 730 so that's something. No horrid early morning crying to start the day with.

[Kellyjs]

Sorry it's not going well for you atm hun. The book is there to guide us and help us understand our Lo's. Most do not fit into an exact routine and need a little bit of encouragement to help them get where they need to be.

As the meds aren't making a difference...Sounds like you're slap bang in the middle of needing to transition to 2 naps sooner rather than later. Long NW like that can mean UT and needing to get rid of the cat nap. Remember that link I posted a while back?

She must be nearing 7mo now right? Her A times are still a little under where they could be. sometimes this is learned behaviour and it becomes apparent in the night. Hence long NW and so-called 'cot parties'. A times need to be increased slowly again.

I would suggest increasing that first A again. You only had 2hrs 20mins for the first A for the last easy you posted. Perhaps increase that to 2hrs 35mins for a couple of days? The aim is to eventually get to 3hrs A time which would allow you to drop the cat nap. It's going to take a while ok? I see you're capping that cat nap which is great. You might need to cap it to 15-20mins as the A times start to lengthen to preserve BT. The other A's I would keep as is for now. You had 2hrs 35mins for the second A, then less than 2hrs before the CN, then 2hrs before BT.

What do you think? Xx

[Sephy]

Kelly, thanks so much for replying it really helps me feel less alone.

DH told me he hates it when I get upset as he can't do anything, so now I feel guilty for crying in front of him, as well as her. It's ridiculous!

Looking back, that's now a few times in a row that it's been really bad around 2. Is it worth trying to forestall that by feeding her at 1 instead of the dream feed I wonder? Then at least she'd have a full tummy at 2 even if she still wants to get up and play. Though from the screaming I don't think she's particularly interested in playing really.

(Do you think it's worth me posting that as a separate question on the sleep board or shall I just get on with trying it out?!)

This afternoon has really messed up any semblance of a routine. We were doing ok until she woke 25 mins into her second nap. I shhd her til calm and left her whining and babbling. Ten minutes later realised she's done a dirty nappy which needed dealing with. Once that had happened she screamed blue murder rather than sleep again. So I waited til afte her next feed, faffed around a bit so she didn't associate the two and then put her down for another nap 1 hr 40 after the last one. Might need to cap it to stop bedtime
Being a nightmare.

Hmm. I'm thinking we'll give EASY and resettling naps until they're over an hour one more week (complete with staying at home etc ) and then if things are like they are now with no improvement we'll have to try something else. I'm starting to get annoyed with her, very upset by all the crying and am so OT myself. Just don't know what else to try though.

Anyway, hopefully this week we will see even a few small improvement to encourage me that EASY is worth it!

Thanks again Kelly, I really appreciate it.

[Kellyjs]

Oh sweetie, I've had those days.. Bawling my eyes out because I didn't know what I was doing wrong! You are so not alone there. My DH said the same thing and tbh I think they think we take it all a bit too seriously. I promise it will get better. I had slightly different issues as my DD would only nap 45mins, then decided to go through the 3-2!! Imagine only 1.5hrs total DT sleep... Nightmare! Oh and I forgot to mention the 4.15am EW... Yuck!

I did what you have done and kept the A's too short for my DD's age. At least your LO will settle back and continue the nap., mine just screamed the house down when I tried to ssh/pat her when she wanted to get up. Which in turn, caused me to sob for the next 20mins trying to settle her..very vicious circle!

I don't think you should drop the DF yet hun, but if she does want an extra feed around 2 it might be worth giving it to her before her nap? I'd give it a go and see. That's the beauty of easy, it's really adaptable, we just need to find what works best for you both. As long as you have a little A between the E and S (ie not feed to sleep, it's fine). My DD has always wanted a bottle before a nap, I've just always made sure she doesn't fall asleep on it so the principles of the easy routine and BW still apply.

Keeping a log of the days really helps pick up things like when she's fussy.

Bump up that first A hun as,per my last post, we really need to get her up to an age appropriate A. It might take a little longer than a week to get to the A's she needs to be, but things should start to improve soon. We just have to take it slowly or risk it all going the other way and her being OT. Tomorrow's another day eh? I hope tonight goes ok. ((Hugs))

[Sephy]

Hooray! Pleased to report that despite a ridiculous afternoon schedule she was asleep within twenty minutes of me putting her in bed at 7.

And getting her down for her first nap took only 5 minutes.

I keep messing up the A times by ten minutes or so because I guess wrong on how long it will take her to fall asleep!

This morning's first A time was 2hr 35.  So actually that's what you suggested.

I've also started puttin her down the other way round in the crib - it makes it harder for me to pat her, so I'm perhaps more likely to let her settle herself and just verbally reassure her and it also stops the light from the door getting in her eyes. Remarkably simple but so far effective.

I know I mustn't count those chickens too early though and am prepared for another bad afternoon and night! Xxx

[Sephy]

Oh and forgot to impart the other good news, main good news, that I slept through DF time but instead fed we when she woke at 12:40. Then isn't hear a peep until 5:30 when I resettled her really quickly.

Hurrah!

Thanks for your patience Kelly.

[Kellyjs]

Yay!!!! That's such great news. Good idea about turning her the other way round.. Amazing what a good night sleep does!

Hold that first A for a couple of days at 2hrs 35, then I would bump it again by 10mins to get you to 2hrs 45mins.

Some lo's don't take to the dreamfeed... That might be the key for you? Perhaps feed when she wakes anytime after 3-4hrs after BT or when you think she's hungry? What do you think?

[Sephy]

I definitely agree about the DF Kelly and am going to just feed her when she first wakes after midnight ( or earlier if I think she's hungry).

Theist two nights I've done that andanaged to get rid of the annoying hard to settle 2am waking.

Unfortunately she was still wide awake at 4:39 this morning with a dirty nappy, but you can't have everything!

Hope things are going ok with you too