5 months old EASY sleep & other questions HELP PLEASE!

[ameliebob]

hi everyone! I'd like to have comments on our routine! She's 5 months old and we started solids early on the ped recommendations (around 4 months).

We are trying to have a fixed schedule for wake up and BT (7:00 & 19:00) and feedings (7:00, 11:00, 15:00 & 18:45) and meal times (08:00, 12:00 & 17:00 so that she eats at the same time as my 18 months old). Sleep, on the other hand, is all over the place. 
Below is my EASY (but only filled with E & S)

Jul. 14 :
   04:30 EW, paci and back to sleep
E 06:30 WU & Bottle
E 08:00 Solids
S 08:30 to 09:15 (at home)
S 10:30 to 11:15 (in the car ; kept sleeping even if we were not moving)
E 11:15 Bottle
E 12:00 solids
Refused the top up feed before nap
S 13:30 to 14:20 (unconsolable there is no way she is going back to sleep)
E 14:50 bottle
S 16:00 to 16:20 (in the car ; woke up when we arrived at home)
E 17:00 solids
E 18:40 bottle
S 19:00

Jul. 13:
E 07:00 WU & Bottle
E 08:00 Solids
S 09:00 to 09:15 (in the car ; woke up when we arrived at daycare)
S 09:30 to 10:30 (in the car)
E 11:00 Bottle
E 12:00 Solids
E 12:15 (I'm trying to implement a top up feed before nap)
S 12:30 to 2:55 (I had to replug the paci twice)
E 15:00 Bottle
S 4:20 to 4:30 (in the car ; woke up when we arrived at home)
E 17:00 Solids
E 18:40 Bottle
S 18:55

Jul.12:
   04:30 to 4:55 EW
   06:30 WU
E 06:45 Bottle
E 08:00 Solids
S 08:15 to 9:00 (at home)
E 10:45 Bottle (acts as the top up feed ahaha)
S 11:00 to 13:30 (I had to replug the paci only once)
S 14:30 to 15:15 (in the car ; woke up when we arrived at daycare)
E 15:15 Bottle
E 17:00 Solids
E 18:45 Bottle
S 19:00

Jul. 11:
   04:30 to 05:00 EW
   06:10 paci until the bottle is warm, she fell asleep!!
E 07:20 WU & Bottle
E 08:15
S 09:15 to 09:30 (in the car ; woke up when we arrived at daycare)
S 9:45 to 10:15 (in the car ; woke up when we arrived at home DUH!!)
E 11:00 Bottle
E 12:00 Solids
S 12:45 to 15:00 (I had to replug the paci 2-3 times)
E 15:00 Bottle
S 16:55 to 17:10 (in the car ; woke up when we arrived at home)
E 17:15 Solids
E 19:00 Bottle
S 19:20

Jul. 10:
   5:30 EW, paci, back 2 sleep
E 7:30 WU & Bottle
E 08:15 Solids
S 09:15 to 10:50 (had to replug the paci once)
E 11:00 Bottle
E 12:00 Solids
S 13:30 to 15:15 (had to replug the paci twice)
E 15:15 Bottle
E 17:00 Solids
E 18:15 Bottle (was so agitated on the bottle!!)
S 18:55 (put down at 18:25, she's usually out in 5 to 10  minutes!)

Now, here are my concerns :

- CAR SLEEPING!!! Damn I hate it!! We have to do baby yoga after that; adjusting and be sooo flexible ahah!! I try to make her morning nap happen at home but on the days she wakes up later we have to leave so her nap happens in the car
In the afternoon I try to leave when she's awake enough so I know she won't fall asleep but we are in the car for 20-30 minutes between 15:30 and 16:30.

- Replugging the pacifier ; she wakes up at end of every sleep cycle for that thing. We only use it for naps otherwise she won't settle to sleep. Any tip on that? or advice? should i get rid of it? or WHEN WILL SHE ABLE TO PUT IT BACK!! 

- I'd like more predictability on sleep! But i'm not sure i can do much...
We shoot for ;
1 awake time 2hours (and that's already a big stretch for her. we can't go more than that)
2nd awake time 2.5 hours. I found out that if we go sooner than that she won't resettle after 45 min. Only if she seems exhausted we will put her down sooner. 
Ideally no more than 3 hours before BT but lately she seems to be adjusting well at 3.5

- Breakfast and lunch solids ; she will only take a few baby spoonfuls. If I try to feed her later than 8:15 she is tired and won't eat at all. Will it comes naturally? I keep offering it and one day she will eat more? If I move this after her nap then she won't take a full feed of formula, so that's a no-no. At dinner she eats plenty so that's a no brainer there.

[Lindsay27]

If she had a consistent WU time do you think that it would help with the car napping in the morning?  I am wondering if you wake her at a certain time every day if it would help?

I know you mentioned her A time in the morning is 2hrs and a stretch for her, but I would try to increase that if you can, even 5/10mins every 3 or 4 days.  I think you are approaching the 3-2 and the best way to get through that is to really push those A times, we ended up needing to go right to a 3hr first A to get through.  It did cause some OT obviously but worked out in the end.

As for solids, do not worry at all if she is not eating a good quantity at each meal.  She is starting early so it is to be expected that she is not overly interested, and the general rule is "food is for fun until you're one".  My DD didn't have any interest until 6.5 months. 

The paci, I think my DD learned to replug herself around 5 months so I might be something you want to hang onto for a few more weeks to see if she'll learn, but if not I'd wean it.  45min wake ups are also indicative of being UT so that may be he reason for the waking and not necessarily the paci.

[ameliebob]

So pushing more for the a times? Should we do more than 2.5 hours before the 11/12:00 ish nap?
Today was so weird!! She slept for 30 min, paci and wide awake for 15 min, then slept 20 min, paci and out in seconds, and then slept another 15 min and refused to go back to sleep (I gave up after 10 min of smiles of babbling lol!) but she got cranky sooo fast! To me it seems like she can't sleep if it's not in her mouth 

[Lindsay27]

At night how does she do with the paci? Does she stay asleep when it falls out?  I'd be working at bumping her first A time and if the nap is short the reduce the next A time slightly to combat OT.  Can you push the first one to 2.15?

[ameliebob]

She doesn't have it at night. It was so horrible we decided not to offer it for night.
We could try pushing it but morning nap she always wakes up happy so I'm more concerned about the noon-ish nap..

[Lindsay27]

How have you been getting on with no paci?  If the morning nap is short then I would reduce the next A time by 15mins or so, so that her noon-ish nap isn't OT.

[ameliebob]

Ok so here's a quick update. We tried for the last couple of days to remove the paci at naps hoping that would solve the problem. She didn't event cry for it, went down wide awake sucking her thumb but didn't extend her naps at all.
Now we do 1st awake time 2.5 hour - 40 min nap (wakes up happy) - 3 hour - 40 min nap (wakes up crying)

Should we try to fit in a catnap until she manages to extend her naps? I'm so confused! I thought the thumb sucking would help but it's not so I'm thinking I should give back the paci as it is much easier to break than thumb sucking!!

[Lindsay27]

I would push the first A time, if she's doing 40mins and wakes up happy that sounds like UT to me.  We were doing a 3hr A time toward the end of month 5.  If that nap is short I would reduce the next A time slightly to avoid OT which is likely why she's waking up crying for that second nap.

Regarding the paci, some babies need to suck whether it be a paci, thumb, blanket/lovey...whatever.  So it really is up to you but it does does likes she's going to suck something no matter what.  If she's still waking up at 40mins without the paci I think the short naps are more routine related.

[ameliebob]

thanks! This morning we had to gave up after 2.5 hours of awake time as she was crying too much. I gave her the paci to strech her but she closed her eyes resting her head on my shoulder  but we still got a 40 min nap.   

[Lindsay27]

Do you ever try to resettle the nap after 40mins?  It might just help her if you can try to assist her through the transition.  Was she happy when she woke?  If so, I would try to extend the A time even by 5/10mins.  Sometimes they can act tired but really they just need a change in stimulation to keep them going just a little bit longer ya know?

[ameliebob]

Yup I know!! I always try to resettle back to sleep. If I'm quick enough to replace the paci she can go back 2 sleep sometimes. But it never worked for the morning nap. If she's still awake after 15-20 min I give up. Now as I type we extended the afternoon nap by placing the paci back in. Not sure how long she will sleep but so far so good. I'd just wish we don't have to go in at every sleep cycle

[Lindsay27]

Yes I know, for us as long as A times were good naps started extending consistently around 4.5 months, with my Ds it was more like 6/7 months.  How have the last few days been?

[ameliebob]

we got a few long naps (always the afternoon one) but i'm trying to keep schedule as tight as i can but it's hard to do so when it's vacation time lol! So once this week I made her sleep in her swing in order to get a decent sleep as she fell asleep in the car at the wrong time 

my first concern is her wake up time. last 2 days, she woke up around 6 but fell back asleep on the bottle, so i laid her back down and she woke around 7:30. it's not usual and i'm wondering if i should stick with a fixed wake time in order to get a schedule that is the same everyday. Have a look at this week sleep tracking (in blue). (Wed WU was NOT usual at all loll first time she slept so late!! )

My other concern is that she rarely sleeps past 6 am and I'd like to extend that. I know it won't happen overnight! We are currently giving her the paci and let her in her crib for 15-20 min or as long as she happy. Any other tip for that?

[Lindsay27]

Hi hun, sorry I've been on holiday for the past few days.  So I basically think that you are into the 3-2 transition here and that's probably why you are getting an EW.  Here is a good link to check out:

All about the 3-2 transition- 5/6 months

I would try to keep her first A time fairly consistent if possible, from the chart it looks like her first A is anywhere between 2-3 hours, so I would start somewhere (maybe 2.5 or 2.45hr) and stick with it for a few days.  As for a consistent WU, I have never personally woken my LOs at the same time every day, I more just try to keep that first A consistent, but if you think waking at a specific time in the morning will help then go for it

[ameliebob]

Good idea! Vacation is hard here! The last couple of days sleep was all over the place! Napping in the car, pack n play in a bright room, not able to resettle to sleep when at home. She even got 3 to 4 naps some days!!
Today we are at home so schedule is the key! So far we got
6:15 WU n 8 oz
8:30 to 9:15 nap
10:30 5 oz
12:30 6 oz
12:45 to 13:15 nap and unable to resettle
13:30 and counting napping in the swing

She usually never sleeps only 30 min! And she was just smiling at me while I was putting back the paci and patting her butt! Argh!! So I gave up and moved her to the swing in order that she gets some rest. I feel so defeated when I use that!!