Hi Lindsay,
She wakes anywhere between 6:35- 7:30am - usually between 7-7:30
Eats right away
Stays awake for 1 hour
Naps for 45 minutes EVERY TIME. She goes down very easy for this and all naps. I sit with her until she's fast asleep, then put her in crib. (I know I need to work on putting her down drowsy... One thing at a time!)
I can get another 45 minute nap if I put her in swing.
9/9:30 Wake and feed
Activity 1 hour
This repeats every 3 hours until 4pm.
4pm she eats, then we pick up her sister so she's in the car. Get back around 4:45-5pm and she's cranky and ready for a nap. Sometimes I'll also feed her a bit more if she didn't feed well at 4pm.
I'll put her in the swing for this nap. She's out for 30-45 minutes.
On an ideal day, she's up just before 6. We play together and she tends to get hungry before 7, so I'll feed her around 6:30-6:45. Then it's bath, jammies, pacifier and rocker. She tends to go down quick around 7:15/7:30 and in a deep sleep by 8 usually (ideally). Otherwise, Ill place her in the crib and she wakes up 15 minutes later. I'll pick her up and she'll close her eyes right away, but goes crazy sucking on her pacifier on and off so I know it's not a restful sleep. Hopefully she goes asleep but sometimes she can't and screams at me for a bit. At that point all bets are off and I'll nurse her to sleep.
I've started the dream feed. Had 1 or 2 good nights where she sleeps to 2/230, but she mostly wakes at 1:15 or so. She eats and then goes right to sleep in my arms and out again until 4ish. I'll feed her and she's out again until I wake her between 7-7:30.
My questions now that I've reflected on the schedule:
1 - will naps naturally get longer?
2 - should i drop DF or will it get better?
3 - what is the best schedule for the evening?
4 - should I be on an 2.5 schedule? Im wondering if I moved to quickly to 3 hours?