Trying to get a 4 month into routine?

[Laineybobs]

Hi all
We had been doing really well on the 3hr easy but now that he is 4 months in trying to stretch it out a bit but it's our morning routine that seems a bit off. I'll post below our current easy!

Wake 715
E 730
A nappy change
S 810
Y

Wake 920
A nappy change and dress
E 10am
A play on mat
S 1050/11
Y

Wake 1215/1230
A nappy change
E 1pm
A
S 3pm - 45 mins
Y

E 4pm
A
E 6pm - one side
A bathtime
E 7pm - other side
S 730 self settles

Will then wake at 10.30, 2.30 and 7.30 - tho some days will wake and need to be resettled between the half 10 and half 2 feed? Other days tho he does 4 or 5 hour stretches no problem!

I feel like our morning feeds are a bit out? Can someone advise me how to get back ok track? I have tired keeping him awake at the 730 wake time in morning but he got so overtired and rest of day was a disaster! He seems to need that hour then??

Any advice? X

[Buttonbobs]

Hi there

I have tired keeping him awake at the 730 wake time in morning but he got so overtired and rest of day was a disaster

Do you mean you have tried to extend the first A time? If so, did you get a 30 min nap?

Looking at your EAS generally, it does look like he could manage a slightly longer A time first thing as that nap at 1 hour and 10 mins seems a little bit of an UT nap, but perhaps he can only manage a small increase. Some LOs do prefer a shorter first A time. Around this age, LOs can often seem tired before the nap but actually it could be boredom, him asking for a slight change of scene.

Why not try extending by five/ten minutes only and holding for three days at that extended time. Follow his cues and if he looks tired then take him into a different room or the garden (if it's nice enough) and just wander quietly round for a few minutes pointing things out. Keeping it very low key and low stimulation. This might help him settle well for that first nap.

Those afternoon A times are significantly longer - perhaps a bit too long. Have you seen the average A time for his age here?


Average A times- BOOKMARK ME!

Not all LOs follow the averages, but 1 hour 45 - 2 hours would be approximately right for this age. So that first A is quite short and those later ones are quite long.

Wake 1215/1230A nappy changeE 1pmAS 3pm - 45 mins

Are you waking him from this nap? How is his mood on waking?

[jessmum46]

I think although he appears to need a really short A time first thing, that's probably the thing you need to work on to get back on track a bit.  1h10 is a typical length for an UT nap, so I'd suggest you work on pushing that A time a little.  If he's sensitive to change then just 5 mins every 3 days, keep it extra low-key.

The other thing I notice is you have some really long A times in the afternoon, 2h30/45 then a 45 min nap, then 4h awake to BT?  Is that right or have you missed out a nap somewhere?  If I've read it right I think that may be the reason he wants such a short A time first thing - he's exhausted from the previous afternoon.  Typical A time at this age is round about 2 hours, so I wonder if you could shorten up his afternoon awake times whether you may have more success extending his first morning A?

Posted at same time as Naomi

[Laineybobs]

Thanks for replying ladies! In the morning he wqkes and feeds and then is awake for short while and then yawns so I out him back to sleep but I'll try extending it a bit and seeing how we get on with that! Should i coins that first sleep at 8am as one of his 3 naps? I don't dress him before I put him back down, just nappy change and I wonder does he think it's still an extension of his night sleep? And if it would be worth working on brining his day start time forward to around 8am?

The other thing is he doesn't always catnap in afternoon? Just has his nap at 8am another about half 10/11 and then another at lunchtime? Should I be trying to get him to do one late afternoon too to see him through to bedtime?? X

[jessmum46]

With a BT of 7/7.30pm I would be working on a 7/7.30am start to your day. 

The way things stand with naps I think you probably need another catnap in the afternoon to get to bedtime without being overtired (you may also want to bring BT a tad earlier) but if you work on pushing out your A times then you won't need it any more.  You'd be working towards something like WU 7, naps at 9-11 and 1-3 and a catnap between 5&6pm if you're doing  a standard 4h EASY, with feeds at 7,11,3 and BT.

[Laineybobs]

Things seem to have gone worse! We are now battling 30-45 min naps having previously been doing 1.5-2hr. Don't know if it's sleep regression? Also more nigh wakings - sometimes an hour after going down at night, other times every 2hours and past few sha waking at 430 chatting but will feed and go back to sleep again, but wants to sleep longer in morning / sometimes doing a 4hr stretch until 830am.

Have tried extending his naps by going in before he wakes, pu pd, covering his eyes but nothing works! Fe like we are losing our way completely!! Any help??

For info, our easy for past few days is roughly like this:

E 830
A
S 1020/1030
Y
 
sometimes takes 10 mins to settle
Wakes 1115/1130
E 1215/1230
A
S 1330
Y

Sometimes get a nap here but not always  for 30 mins
E 1600
A
S can't get him to Catnap
Y

E 1730
A bathtime - 1830
E 1900
S 1930

Have tries to get him to take both sides when feeding each time which he won't normally do, and he seems to take some. Also haven't had any poo today, wondering if GS?

He is 20 weeks tomorrow! Thanks!

[jessmum46]

So he's only getting one decent nap in the morning, possibly a 30 min nap around lunchtime and no other naps?  Can you AP another nap in the car/stroller?  If not I think BT needs to come way earlier, that's a huge stretch of awake time and he's probably very OT at the moment . What's his mood like on waking from the first nap?  Does he seem happy enough or does he show tired signs again fairly soon?