EASY newbie - some questions

[__camillem__]

After a rough couple days (less than 3 hours of daytime naps, good night time sleep though) and frantic google searches I came across the EASY method - today was our first day giving this a shot. Previously I realized that I was putting my 7 week LO down too late and she was becoming OT and super cranky and we were all over the place with feedings/sleep....we are EBF which we had a little bit of a hard time adjusting to but I think we have a swing of things now - two questions 1.previously we were 2 hours between feeds (again this was my fault for not picking up her cues and I don't think she was actually hungry) but want to ensure that my supply doesn't get affected with the 3 hour stretch 2. Should I wake her up or just let her sleep and wake up on her own....seems funny that yesterday I couldn't get her down for more than half an hour and today I'm debating waking her after she slept for 2.5 hours

[creations]

Hello and welcome to BW forums

For BF LOs it's best to feed on demand.  If that is every 2 hrs some days that's okay, and the feeds do not all have to be the same time apart, it might be 2hrs for one feed but 3hrs for another. Just aim to feed when LO takes a good feed rather than using BF in response to every cry and try to avoid feeding to sleep as this can become a prop.
On the forums we use use the most up to date BF guidance which differs from the BF advice in Tracy's BW books.  As Tracy has now passed away the books won't be updated but we believe she would have amended her approach as she did with a few other baby related things.  If you have any BF questions please do feel welcome to post to the BF board.

Mostly you can let your LO wake up naturally from a nap.  There are a few times this isn't helpful though:
- an older baby on an inappropriate routine which isn't working, you might see advice on the forums for baby to be woken after a certain length of nap, this is to encourage a better overall routine. it is unlikely you need to do this with a 7wk old.
- if your LO sleeps up to 3hrs I would suggest waking.  A nap longer than this can impact on food intake (as it will be more than 3hrs since the last feed) and there is a chance of day/night confusion.  If it's just a one off though don't panic, the problem of day/night confusion would show as LO sleeping most of the day and being up and ready to interact through the night.
The long nap your LO took was probably a catch up nap from having short naps the day before.  Don't worry.

It's quite early days for you, try to keep expectation low.  Moving to an EASY routine takes a little while and some days may be better than others.  Sleep training and teaching your LO to fall to sleep independently takes time too, it's a gentle process which you kind of do together, working as a team, your LO learning that she can trust you to always return when she needs you and you learning what her needs are and how best to respond to her needs.

I started EASY when my LO was a couple of weeks younger than yours - I think it's a great time to start. It really helped me to know what to do with my LO, what came next and get into a more consistent predictable routine.  Babies are hard work, EASY can be hard work too - but so worth it!

Hope this helps.  Please feel welcome to ask any questions you have.

[__camillem__]

Thanks for the info/encourment!! We've been having issues with at naps the last couple days she isn't sleeping longer than 30-45 mins....at that point I know she's not ready to eat again and then by the time she's getting tired and I can get her down she's hungry again it's a vicious cycle b/c she'll fall asleep eating

[creations]

OK. I know she slept at least once longer than 30-45 min as you put that in your first post. Has she done other long naps too recently or in the past?

It's okay to feed a little earlier than the 3hrs if a nap has been short and you know another is going to be due around the E time. I would try to start the E with enough time for a normal length feed and then a short wind down for sleep. Try not to let her nod off during the feed but if she does you can either just put her down or if you are going for sleep training then disturb her so that you can put her down awake (and nappy change often wakes LOs).  Also, sometimes because the A time is so short it is possible to fit in two short naps before the feed is due so in that case you have EASASE - ok?

If you would like to post your current EAS times I can have a look for you - I might spot something which could possibly help with those shorter naps.  It's not always easy to see what the issue is in the early days as the routine is still new and LO is learning to fall to sleep and transition etc but you never know.
If you post your EAS times please post exactly what happened rather than your general plan. What time she woke in the morning, when she nodded off and woke for each nap etc. Like this:
WU (wake up) 7am
E 7.00
A 1hr 15
S 8.15 - 8.45 (a note to say if you tried to resettle and the results)
E 9.30am (2.5hr E to fit in before nap)
A 1hr 15
S 10.00 - 10.45
etc through the full day