Help with EASY for 3 month old - driving myself mad!!

[peanutbuttery]

Hello all,

First time posting and first time mummy here! I have a few questions about EASY for my 3 mo little girl. I feel convinced we're getting something wrong somewhere!

Here is our current schedule (on a typical day!)

7.30am Eat
Activity
9am Sleep (At best, 1.5 hr nap)
10.30am Eat
Activity
12.00 Sleep - 12.45 (45 min nap)
1pm Eat
Activity
2.15pm - 3.00 (45 min nap)
3pm Eat
4.30 - 5.15 (45 min nap)
5.30pm Eat
6.15pm Bathtime
6.40 Eat (top up)
7pm Bed
10.30pm Dream feed

So I'm driving myself mad thinking she should be having 3 longer naps a day, and able to stay awake longer! She's awake anywhere between 1-1.5 hrs.

My questions for any EASY gurus out there are:

NB:
She used to sleep until 7.30am but now wakes at 7am
She mostly wakes up happy from her naps, but as the day goes by she gets more cranky - the final nap can be a struggle.
I only feed from one side. I've tried offering the other side and she seems full and just plays with the nipple.
She self-soothes well if I catch the window. I use white noise/Ewan the dream sheep to calm her for sleep then try and turn it off as she's calm so she falls asleep with no props.
Her first nap is inconsistent and can be anywhere from 45 mins to 2 hours.

a) Does this seem a normal schedule?
b) Although she has a 3 hour EASY in the morning, from 1pm-bedtime it is more like 2-2.5hrs. I'm scared to stretch anything in case she sleeps worse at night. She is thriving and on the 65th percentile. I'm ebf. Is she feeding too much? I've tried distraction but she does seem hungry at those times.
c) Should I be trying to extend her awake time after her first nap? I've become anxious about changing anything in case she doesn't settle for bed!

Any thoughts welcome!! I've become a little obsessed by reading the BW books and thinking I'm going wrong!

Thanks in advance!!!  xx

[jessmum46]

Hi there

To me it looks like you're doing just great!  The book makes it sounds super straightforward and easy, but the reality for most of us is that short naps and day to day variation happen.  45 minute naps are classic around 3-4 months as LOs learn to transition between sleep cycles.  If she self-soothes at the start of naps that will go a long way towards helping her learn to sleep longer though.  It is worth looking at A times, up to 1h20-30 is pretty average for 3 months, and up to 1h45-2h at four months.  45 minute naps can indicate LO needed a touch more A time, but for some they can also indicate overtiredness, so maybe try an extra 5-10 mins and if that worsens things, go the other way. 

After a short nap it is worth being aware that many LOs will need a shorter A time than usual to avoid overtiredness.  This can depend a bit on whether the short nap was due to UT or OT - I find for example that my DS can do a near-full A time after a short UT nap but needs it very much shortened after a short OT nap.

If she is hungry, feed her . You can't overfeed a breastfed baby.  Sounds like you are doing a great job of reading her cues, and cluster feeding in the afternoon/evening is common and normal.

Keep up the good work!

[peanutbuttery]

Thank you so much for your reply! It's reassured me no end! As long as my lo is happy, so am I....and I'm hoping as she gets a little older she'll get better and self-soothing and her naps will settle down. I'm not really bothered when/how long she naps, but it's upsetting when she does wake clearly unrested.

But.....on the plus side I think I'm reading (and getting better at) the cues pretty well, and her sleep is good for a 3 month old. It's good to know that cluster feeding is still normal at this age, and that I shouldn't be concerned about the lack of a perfect 3-4 hour EASY!

Hugs xxx