Interrupted sleep until DF, affecting next morning routine

[ILok]

Hi guys,
My LO is 8 weeks old now; at the beginning we didn't really have a proper night-time routine and often our baths and last feedings would be late and she would go to sleep as late as 11pm. In the last 3 weeks or so I've been trying to implement an 8pm-8am routine with a DF between 10-11. However I am stumbling upon two issues and I am wondering if they are normal or what I can do to improve the situation:

1) She wakes up often between 8pm until the DF; almost every 45 min as if she is just taking cat-naps. I give her the pacifier and do the shushing technique. Sometimes she will fall back asleep while other times she can be fairly awake around 10pm as she waits for the last feeding and I get a sense that she wants an activity time. Is there something I can do to promote uninterrupted sleep between 8pm until the DF?

2) In the next morning, she will wake up around 7-8pm for a feeding but she is very sleepy and sometimes I simply can't wake her up to have a proper activity time. She will just eat, I'll change her and she will pass out; as if it is still part of her "night". When I put her to sleep she sometimes sleeps for 2 hours, sometimes for 45-60 minutes (it's our most problematic nap and generally confusing part of the EASY routine). Could this be happening because she continues to wake up after her BT at 8pm? Any suggestions as to how to tackle this?

Thanks a lot!!

[Martini~]

It seems that her night and day are a bit switched. Can you post your routine so we can figure out how to help?

[ILok]

Yes of course,
So ideal routine is :
E: 8am
S: 8:15- 11
E: 11am
S: 12:15-2
E: 2pm
S: 3:15-5
E: 5pm
S: 6:15-7 (CN)
A: 7-7:30 bath, massage
E: 7:30
S: 8 pm
DF around 10:30-11
Night feeds around 2:30 and 5/5:30

The issue is that very frequently she doesn't sleep straight through from 8pm until the DF. Up until a week ago I used to do the cluster feeds and the schedule appropriate for a 4 week old and now that she is 8 weeks old I wanted to drop the CFs so it could be that she is adjusting (I used to have BT at 7, and the CF at 9 and DF at 11). The issues is also sometimes if she is up a lot between 8-DF, when I get her up from the crib for the DF she is very alert (and typically also required a diaper change) so I am afraid she mistakes it for activity time. It can also take her some time to fall back asleep afterwards. Then she may register her BT as being 11pm and the next morning when she gets up around 7:30-8 for a feed, she is very sleepy and I have a hard time keeping her alert for A. She ends up having a shorter A time and that throws off our routine for the day. I feel that if I were to get her accustomed to sleeping straight through from 8 until her DF that may solve the issue - but how do I do that??
Thanks for your help!!!

[Martini~]

Honey you will not reach her how to sleep if you don't increase her activity time in The morning. Her day is 11-11 right now rather than 8-8, as she has a very long morning nap which seems to be her night and is bot sleepy at 8pm so she gives you there a series of catnaps. If you want her to sleep you have to keep her more alert in te mornings, cap her morning nap, and day by day she should be more sleepy and start to sleep better from 8 till 8.

[ILok]

Thanks for your reply,
I realized I had a typo; I usually put her down at 9:15 (not 8:15!) - that's assuming she woke up around 8. I aim for at least a 1 hour A time. The last week the mornings have been pretty good - she's been pretty alert. I still have a hard time getting her to sleep consistently from 8:30-DF. She had a hard time falling asleep at BT and she is very fussy and cries a lot. Not sure if it's just normal or if she may be overstimulated by the time she actually falls asleep (which can sometimes be 9:30- giving her over 2 hours of A time). If it were up to my husband we would have an 11-11 schedule as we are both night owls and he works late but I want to avoid a routine that is not sustainable in the longer run.

Just to clarify, sometimes she wakes up around 7 and I just start her routine from there (and with slightly shorter/longer naps during the day I still aim for 8-8:30 BT). However, if she wakes up around 6:30, do I feed her and then wake her up at 8 and feed her again? My family thinks I am crazy for waking a sleeping baby and my husband thinks that if she is sleeping, that means her body needs the rest. I try to explain that it's all for the sake of getting her into a good routine but at times I feel guilty about it myself!