Hello
This is my first time posting- sorry in advance for length!
Our DD is 5.5 months old and was born at a 4.2kg (9+ pounds). She has been on EASY since she was a newborn and have had great success with it - think she is part angel/textbook. She has become a great self-settler and STTN from ¬10 weeks. Until a couple of weeks ago, our EASY was a typical 4 hour EASY was as follows:
E/A: 7:30
S: 9:30
E/A: 11:30
S: 1:30
E/A: 3:30
S: 5:30 (catnap)
A: 6:00
E: 7:00
S: 7:30
However recently, she has started waking up in the morning slightly earlier than usual (nothing too crazy- maybe 30/45 mins earlier) and has taken much longer to go down for naps. Her morning nap has also started being cut short, although generally she seems to be ok with 1.5/2 hours in the afternoon. Sometimes the catnap starts at 5:50pm and once this week she missed it completely and was very crabby by the time I put her to bed 30 mins early. These things all sound like flags of 3-2 transition!!
I have started tracking her A times again and they can range anywhere from 2hrs to 2 hr 45 mins with no pattern.
The past few days:
13 Dec
E/A: 7:00am
S: 9:20am
A: 10:30am
E/A: 11:00am
S: 1:15pm
A: 2:55pm
E/A: 3:00pm
S: (missed catnap)
E: 6:30pm
S: 7:00pm
14 Dec
E/A: 7:30am
S: 9:50am
A: 11:00am
E: 11:30am
S: 1:45pm
E/A: 3:30pm
S: 5:30pm
A: 6:00pm
E: 7:00pm
S: 7:30pm
15 Dec (tried to stretch her A time out a bit more in the morning)
E/A: 6:45am
S: 9:25am
A: 10:35am
E: 11:00am
S: 1:00pm
E/A: 3:00pm
S: 5:50pm
A: 6:20pm
E: 7:15pm
S: 7:40pm
My mumma instincts are saying she is starting to get close to dropping a nap, but I wanted to see if you guys could help me work this out. She is also going through Leap 5 at the moment, so don't know if this could be a factor.
My questions:
* Should I start stretching her out to 3 hours A time now? Do you think she is ready for the 3-2 transition?
* In the 3-2 transition, can I do the CN on days that she can't stretch out long enough or is that confusing for babies?
* She is EBF and we haven't started solids yet- how do I fit the 4 feeds a day (excl dream feed) around my new naps? An example routine would be much appreciated!
TIA and sorry again for the long post!!
** Also to add- today I tried to stretch her two A times to almost 3 hours. First nap was 2 hrs and I had to wake her. She is currently doing her second nap and went down straight away...