So my 4 month old has been on EASY since 1 week old. We have worked on independent sleep since the beginning, but he still almost always needs either paci or shh pat to settle before naps and bed. About a month ago, he began sleeping long stretches, from 7/8 pm - 4:45, 5, 6 or sometimes even 7 am! He did that for about 2 weeks and then started waking earlier between 2 and 3:30. However, he woke very hungry (smacking lips, etc.) and would take a whole bottle, so I assumed it was a growth spurt and of course fed him. I tried to add ounces during the day to his bottles, but he wouldn't take them. However, in the last couple weeks he has been waking more often (sometimes around 10 pm or 12:30 am) and when we do feed he takes forever to fall back asleep. He lays in his bed and talks (I leave the room for this), which is fine if he would put himself down. He usually talks and then slowly starts getting upset, so I've been going back in to put paci in. Eventually he falls back asleep, but it takes forever (around 2 hours) and I usually have to do this a few times. Last night he didn't even need to eat. He just woke up talking, cooing, and eventually got upset because he couldn't resettle. He also is having more trouble falling asleep at night. He will suck on paci, spit it out to "talk" then eventually get upset. When he does fall asleep, he usually spits the paci out on his way into deep sleep and this doesn't wake him.
His EASY (on a good day - we struggle with short naps, so this EASY is when he gets good naps in)
7:00 am wake eat a bottle
9:00 am nap
11:00 am wake eat a bottle
1:00 pm nap
3:00 pm wake eat a bottle
4:30 or 5 cat nap (between 20 and 40 mins)
6:00 bath
6:30 or 7 bottle
7 or 7:30 bed (lately he has had trouble going down so sometimes not asleep until 8 or 8:30)
*** His A times are often shorter, sometimes due to a short nap, but often he begins showing tired signs at 1 hr 30 min or around there. He is also very very tired by the time I give him his night bottle - I usually have to coax him to drink it.
Also, we swaddle him for every nap and sleep time. I usually swaddle, hold sideways, put paci in if fussy (usually he is at least a little) and then put him in his crib once he starts nodding off). Just to give you idea of wind down.
Because he usually spits paci out without crying, I have assumed it isn't a prop. But could it be that even if he doesn't need the paci to KEEP sleeping, he needs it to fall asleep and therefore when he wakes at night without it he eventually cries because he can't fall back asleep? This doesn't make sense to me because he WAS sleeping longer without these long night wakings. Any advice would be appreciated!
