How to start EASY

[Gummi_bear63]

My son is almost 5 months old. I'm having huge sleep issues and it's been suggested to me that no sleep training will work when he doesn't have a routine. But how do I get a baby who won't sleep more than 30 minutes on a routine?  He's also started to get very distracted when eating and will only eat properly when he's sleepy. How do I start getting him on a routine so I can fix his sleep issues(short nap, naps only on me, hard to get to sleep and put down, waking a million times a night)?

Please help!  Desperate for help.

[Lindsay27]

Hi hun! Just wanted to say that I've seen this and will post back properly after my kiddos are in bed!

[Serena_12]

This sounds exactly like my 5 month old, so I'm following to see what is suggested!

[Lindsay27]

Sorry hun! Okay, first off welcome!!  The best way to start is to essentially get the EAS pattern down.  That can get complicated with short naps, but an EASAES pattern can be okay too until we get those naps figured out.  Do you have a rough sample of your day I can look at just to give us a jumping off point? Very often 30min naps are OT (overtired) which can be from a number of things.  5 months is a bit of a tricky phase because you are likely in the early transitions of the 3-2 nap transition.  I have found that with my DD I have to feed her in a dark room with the door closed so that she's not distracted. 

[Gummi_bear63]

He's never had a routine really-and I'm as desperate for one as he is!  Wakes around 8. We are working with about 2 hours of activity time right now. However as the day goes on it does tend to get shorter as he gets to be a miserable tired mess from his short naps. On the weekend when he had had a terrible night and the next day he only lasted 1 hour a couple times!  He was just so miserable I couldn't keep him up even though it seemed too short. So he often actually has 4 naps due to long day and short naps.  His bedtime is inconsistent because of inconsistent naps but is around the 6:30-7 mark right now. He currently has a nap around 4:30/5 because it's too early for bed time but I find he wakes from this one so miserable. He's usually crying with his eyes closed for a few minutes before finally waking(but also can't go back to sleep). I should also mention all naps have been in my arms for awhile as he basically wakes the second I put him down no matter how long I wait.

However-the last few days he has been having some longer naps in my arms for the first couple naps (around an hour) as I have done some work with his nights and he's sleeping better. This may be the difference. He's still in my arms though!  Not sure how to get him out of them. I have tried the pat shush before and he doesn't seem to react well. Stirs as soon as I stop (within a couple minutes) no matter how long I pay for and often while I'm still patting resulting in awful naps!! 

He just turned five months so he may be a bit off from nap transition?  He actually only recently got up to to 2 hours as he always seems sleepy early. I have trouble deciding he's tired some days as his only clue is often just becoming very miserable. I think I'm correctly identifying this as tired but maybe not? But this morning for example it was a little bit early but he was really whiny and upset so I tried to put him to sleep and he conked right out and has been sleeping for an hour now on me and still is-so I think I was correct that he was tired.

Any help would be appreciated.

[Lindsay27]

The 3-2 nap transition usually happens somewhere between 5/6 months.  I'd say his A time might be slightly on the low side.  I would maybe try to increase by 15mins or so and see if that helps to get a longer nap.  If the nap is short (anything less than an hour) then I would reduce the next A time slightly (maybe by 15/20 mins) to hopefully prevent him from getting too OT, which results in further short naps.

Average A times- BOOKMARK ME!

Shh/pat might be your best bet for transitioning him to the crib.  It will take a lot of persistence, not going to lie.  If he is used to being held then I would start by holding him until he's really drowsy and patting him (bum maybe?) and then place in crib and continue patting.  The first few times you may need to stay there for the entire nap and continue patting/holding a hand on him to help him through transition periods. Even this is good as he is in the crib and not on you.  For me personally it took a good 2 weeks of shh/pat and either staying in the room or sneaking back in at the 40min mark and continuing to pat, before my DD could fall asleep on her own and get through an entire nap.  Getting the right A time helps a lot so you know he is tired enough.

Even if you don't have a routine, keep track of a day or 2 and post it because it can help us "see" what is happening and point out any tweaks that can be made...even if it is super rough and all over the place