5 months old EASY sleep & other questions HELP PLEASE!

[Lindsay27]

Oh gosh hun, no need to feel deflated!  We all do what we have to do to get by some days!

It looks like a bit of a UT/OT thing happening, so the first A was 2.15hr and a 45min nap which was likely UT (could have used a little more A), and then (if I am reading this correctly) a 3.5hr A followed by a 30min nap that was OT - so that 2nd A was too long following the short 1st nap.  Does that make sense?

[ameliebob]

you're probably right! I'm having trouble scheduling
Could you help me sorting this out? it seems like I follow here lead more than we do routine. I'm having troubles to stick with increased awake time when she's fussy!

6:15 WU and feed
8:00 breakfast
8:45 to 9:30 (or more!) nap
11:00 bottle (any sooner than that she won't eat much! so it's more on demand on that feed
12:00 Trouble to get her to have lunch...! 
12:30 to 14:30 (on a good day) nap
now i'm having trouble to make it til BT. Which i'd like to be around 7:00. if i put her to bed sooner than 7 she just wakes up at 5 cuz she had her 11 hours of night sleep 
If we can get to lenghten her morning nap that would sort out my stretch to BT but she's already so fussy trying to do 2.5 hour! I can't imagine how we could do more

[Lindsay27]

Hmmm I think I'd be inclined to try to push that first A a little more if you can.  By 6 months we were doing a 3hr A (to get through the 3-2), we reallllly had to push it.  It wasn't easy not gonna lie lol.  But I found that even if she was OT and happened to wake after 30mins I could usually resettle her and she's sleep for another 1.5hrs.  If the second nap ends at 2:30 like it did, can you offer a quick CN at like 4/4:30? Even just AP 15mins to get her through to BT? 

[ameliebob]

Yup thats what I did today! She slept 15 min in the car at 16:00 and was perfectly happy afterwards and just enough sleepy for regular bedtime

We will try to push it to 2.75 hours starting tomorrow! I hope my son will help me keep her entertained 

Great advice thank you very much

[ameliebob]

Nooo we got another 5 am wake up today!! What the heck is going on

[Lindsay27]

Honestly hun the EWs are just because you are in the 3-2, it happens to near everyone . I found once we were completely settled on 2 naps the EW eventually went away, but it does take a bit of time and it does also mean that the first A needs to move out, which is usually difficult since they are tired from waking so early! 

Just wanted to post this in case it is helpful.
All about the 3-2 transition- 5/6 months

[ameliebob]

Hi again! Good news! I think that pushing out morning nap to 3 hours ruled out the early wakings! BUT we are still having 45 min naps. I try to do a nap at 9 am and 1 pm. Most days she does at least an hour for afternoon nap and we an hour nap in the morning for the first time last week. But how to roll with a tired baby when she gets only 2x45 min naps??

[Lindsay27]

Do you every try to resettle the short naps?  45min naps are typically caused by either UT, or not being able to transition to the next sleep cycle.  So given that you've really pushed the A times I'm inclined to think it's the latter.  One thing to can try is sneaking in at the 35/40min mark to catch her coming out of a deep sleep and pat her to help her transition.  2 x 45mims will definitely cause some OT eventually.  Sometimes if I couldn't resettle I'd AP the rest of the nap if I could.

[ameliebob]

Morning nap is A lot harder to resettle. First I have her big brother to take care of (I plug him in front of the tv after she's been asleep for 30 min so he's quiet and I can try to resettle to sleep)
Second she wakes up happy and cooing and when I try to resettle she just smiles at me and wiggles loll
But I know that she was tired as it's so hard to keep her happy and entertained for 3 hours after wake up

The 2nd nap if I'm unable to resettle in the cot I move her to the swing and hope that she will eventually fall asleep. If not, should I try to fit in another nap or do an early BT?

[Lindsay27]

If not, should I try to fit in another nap or do an early BT?

It's really personal preference...many opt for even a 15min CN to make it to bedtime as many find that an EBT perpetuates an EW.  We had EW no matter what during the 3-2 so I opted for an EBT because I would rather not wrestle her down for a CN right when I'm trying to make dinner lol

I never spent a whole pile of time trying to resettle either, if the first nap is short and you have to reduce the next A that's perfectly fine.