Author Topic: 4 week old nap problems - 2nd child  (Read 1502 times)

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Offline ossettmum

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4 week old nap problems - 2nd child
« on: May 05, 2017, 09:34:16 am »
Hi all,

I've just started trying to implement EASY with my 4 week old son. He is struggling to fall asleep for naps and bedtime, although once asleep he sleeps well and goes back to sleep easily during the night. I am trying to wind down and then place him in his moses basket to fall asleep unaided. However the problem that I have is that I also have a 2 year old. 3 days a week he goes to a childminder and I need to get him there for 8am, this means I am too busy first thing to put much effort in to getting my youngest down for a nap. He tends to have a feed around 5:45 and then is up for the day. I never manage to get him back to sleep before we have to leave so I end up disturbing him at 7:40 to get into the car. He'll often fall asleep in the car but will then wake up again once we get home. Then I end up feeding and changing him and starting all over again. Today he didn't fall back to sleep until 9:45! Then I feel like we're already off track for the whole day!

Does anyone have any suggestions or advice?

Thanks x

Offline creations

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Re: 4 week old nap problems - 2nd child
« Reply #1 on: May 06, 2017, 07:44:20 am »
Hello and welcome to BW forums :)

Having an older child to care is likely to mean that your new born is going to need to fit in around that childminder (later school) routine, not just now but as the months and years pass too - it's just how it is.  So I would not worry about how long that first nap or two are and instead aim for a longer third nap which might also be where you focus your sleep training.

He tends to have a feed around 5:45 and then is up for the day. I never manage to get him back to sleep before we have to leave so I end up disturbing him at 7:40 to get into the car
Is he falling asleep just before you leave then?  Are you able to put him down in his car seat indoors and let him nod off there, and then carry to the car?

He'll often fall asleep in the car but will then wake up again once we get home.
Again with this CN, are you able to bring him inside in his car seat to continue his nap or finish a full CN of 40 mins?

I would think over the next few weeks he is likely to start to fall into something of a routine around that car trip.  It might help if you are able to be consistent on the days you don't make that trip - if you can still go out maybe to the park or something, or if you don't focus on trying to extend that first nap on the days you are home and instead keep letting him have a shorter CN, then a longer nap later in the morning.
The EASY routine isn't a "one size fits all" schedule, it is a routine which you can adapt to your family needs, it's likely that soon enough the routine will feel normal and predictable for you and LO so rather than feeling like you are "off track" you will be able to consider the whole day to be consistent with your expectations despite a couple of naps being shorter during a CM/school drop off.

If naps are very short you might not need to feed on wake up, it's ok to have EASAE, or even EASASE with two CNs between the E.

hope this helps.


Offline Katet

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Re: 4 week old nap problems - 2nd child
« Reply #2 on: May 06, 2017, 08:47:51 am »
The EASY routine isn't a "one size fits all" schedule, it is a routine which you can adapt to your family needs, it's likely that soon enough the routine will feel normal and predictable for you and LO so rather than feeling like you are "off track" you will be able to consider the whole day to be consistent with your expectations despite a couple of naps being shorter during a CM/school drop off.
Great point ^^^

With my DS2, I found that we never really got into a "textbook" routine because we needed to fit around the needs of DS1 & so I basically settled, on CN, CN, CN, long nap CN, CN, kind of routine & as he got older it went to less & less Cat naps & still kept the long nap, he basically had the long nap when DS1 napped from a NB to when he was around 3yo.
dc1 July 03, dc2 May 05