13 hour nights?

[ENMS]

I want to get DD2 on a proper EASY (she is 4.5 months old). One of the reasons she is not on a proper EASY is because her wake up Times are very inconsistent so I'd like to start with that.

Her nights are usually 13-13.5 jours long. She has 2-3 NF so she sleeps around 12h.

She short Naps except for one longer nap per day usually.

My question is can I plan for her to have 13 hr nights instead of the recommended 12? Or will that just give me no chance of having a proper EASY during the day? My guess is she is average-high sleep needs

[anna*]

Audrey used to love her 13-13.5hr nights, we had her on EASY just fine, it only meant that she dropped naps a little earlier than she might otherwise.

[Martini~]

Totally second what Anne said especially if you like it.   The question I would have is - what do you mean by a proper EASY:)?
At 4.5 she  still need 3 naps. If one is long like 2.5h, probably others will be shorter like 30-60min maks. Would you rather have two 1.5-2h naps and one short?

[Emami]

I also used to get 13+hr nights from DD1 too, and she was on a good routine.  I don't know if I would plan for it though, just because you might find that once her naps regulate she will be getting more day sleep so may need a more typical amount at night, and also once she stops waking for NFs she will gain an hour or so there at night.  But if her nights do stay super long you absolutely can still have a proper EASY, and enjoy it!

[ENMS]

Thank you both.

Marta, I meant something a little more predictable. Right now Wake up times vary a lot. We've also spent way too much time going out to see various specialists to help with DD's feeding issues. Now I want to stay home a little more to get her on a more predictable routine as I think she needs it. We are also removing the pacifier (to help with BF issues) and she is using it for sleep so I know it will be a rough few days and since we're at it I wanted to re-check her EASY and try to make it more predictable for her. So I was wondering if the 13 hour nights were sustainable. I personnally like it a lot because it allows me to get the older kids ready for school in the morning! I want to start waking her up in the morning to get that more predictable routine. Her BT is usually around 7:30 so I think I'll aim for a 8:30 Wake up and see where that takes us.

She used to have a long 3h nap but now the longest we get is 1.5-2h. I think we're due for a push of A time anyway, she's been at 2h for a good month. I don't really mind if she gets 2 short naps + 1 long one or 1 long and 2 shorts, so long as she gets the sleep that she needs tbh. I think now she's becoming OT at the end of the day from the initial UT.

Posted with emami, totally agree with you it may not last for a long while. But I'll enjoy it as long as I can!

[lily_layne]

Her BT is usually around 7:30 so I think I'll aim for a 8:30 Wake up and see where that takes us.

That sounds like a good plan. That's what I did with DS. He often did 13-14 hour nights and they hung around for a long time. He also did one short nap (usually on the school run), a long midday nap and then a short one. Around 6 months, he went to 2x1.5h naps and he still kept the long night.

[ENMS]

So you let them sleep as long as they want then? She's been in bed for 14h now - with 2 NF + 1 feed at 7 this morning. I would wake her in 30 minutes since that would be 3h from her last feed.

[lily_layne]

So you let them sleep as long as they want then?

I often did. I had intentions of setting a wake up time but I am terrible at sticking to it so if he slept quite late, I would usually do the next nap in the stroller while we went out which pretty much guaranteed it would be short nap which would get us back on track.

[ENMS]

Great idea, thanks!

[lily_layne]

If it helps, I think our days often looked something like this:
WU: 8:00
S: 10-10:45
S: 12:45-2:45/3
S: 5-5:45
BT: 7

[ENMS]

So I fear that she is not quite getting enough day sleep but I Wonder if it is normal because of the 13h nights? Could you take a look at our EASY and let me know your thoughts:

WU 8:15
E 8:20
E 10:10 (we're doing top ups before naps - this might have become a snacking situation I have to spend a little more time working on the E side soon!)
S 10:30-12:30 - usually this nap is more 1.5h, this was the only time it was 2h.
E 12:30
E 2:00
S 2:40-3:30
E 4:00
E 5:45
S 6:30 (I tried for a CN but she wouldn't - we removed the pacifier last week to help with BF issues and the main problem without it is the CN, she often will not fall asleep). I felt that she was tired in the afternoon though, she probably would have been happier with a longer PM nap?
NF 11
NF 3

Today went:
WU 7:45
E 8:00
E 9:45
S 10:00-11:30
E 12:00
E 1:00
S 2:00-2:40
E 3:00
E 4:30
CN 5:00-5:30
E 6:00
E 7:00
BT 7:30
It is hard to tell when she is OT because she never does 30 minute naps - always 45 minutes or longer, and also she doesn't Wake after BT even when she is OT

[lily_layne]

That doesn't look too bad to me.

[Martini~]

At that age they usually just crash when OT so it's normal. Would you consider moving her to two naps? I mean with 13-14h nights and two 1.5-2h naps she could go through a day without problems. Or just think of shorter first A and shorter first nap, than longer one in the middle of the day and catnap in the evening? In terms of catnaps we had the same at 3mo. Can you apop catnap in any other way?

[ENMS]

I'd love for her to be on 2 naps but I can't seem to get the PM nap right. I've tried up to 2.5h of A time and it is always a 45 minute nap. Should I push it longer? She usually does a 2:15 A time in the morning which ends up in a 1.5h-2h nap.

We already APOP the CN in the ergo, but the issue is I think that with the other 2 kids around at that time it is way too much fun for her! Yesterday DH took her in the ergo and went upstairs for a while until she fell asleep but I can't manage that when I'm alone with the 2 on a weeknight.

She was on this short AM nap, loooong PM, and then CN for a long while. Maybe we could also try to get back to it. But honestly my first choice would be 2 long naps, would be so much easier for me.