Advice on transition to 4 hour EASY

[KellyC]

Hi

My DS is almost 18 weeks old (already?!) and we've been moving towards a 4 hour EASY routine.  Over the last couple of weeks his A time had increased from 1hr 15mins to 1hr 45mins and on his 4 month birthday he gave me an almost textbook 4 hour EASY day with 2 x 2 hour naps and a catnap and 4 hours between each feed, clever boy! 

The last couple of days he still only wants to eat every 4 hours (or less!) and is taking lovely long naps or at least going back down with just a little PU/PD if he wakes early but we're really struggling to make even 1.5 hours of A time.  Any ideas?  Yesterday he'd had 4 hours sleep by 2pm so the afternoon / early evening was a nightmare and we spent the whole of his catnap doing PU/PD - I'm sure he was tired but didn't have any sleep left in him!  I eventually got him to take a very late catnap after a 30 minute break but bedtime was very fraught as it was so late. 

I have been trying to give a light feed towards the end of the A time to keep him awake but now he's even too tired to do this.  At what point during the A time should I offer the light feed?

Thanks for any advice

Kelly x

[HeatherC]

Do you think your lo is really hungry enough to need that light feed?  If he is showing tired signs, I wouldn't press him to stay up too long b/c then you will have an overtired baby on your hands.  1.5 hrs is a typical A time at his age, but it's not set in stone and should be adjusted to suit your baby.  What time do you start your day, and can you give up a typical day's schedule?  I would like to know this before offering any more suggestions.

[KellyC]

Hi

Thanks for the reply.  No, I don't think he's hungry enough for the extra feed but we've been doing it to try and extend his A times (as per how Tracy helped Josie on the naps forum).  It would be very difficult to give you an average day so I'll give you the last 2 days as I've been keeping a note;

E 6.30
A 7.00
S 8.15 (extended using PU/PD, took 20 mins)

E 11.00
A 11.15
S 12.50 (extended, took 10 mins)

E 15.00
A 15.15

Catnap 17.00 - 17.40

Bath, Feed and Bed by 19.00.
DF at 22.00

I was very pleased with this day as you can imagine!  Yesterday he did the following;

E 6.30
A 6.50
S 8.05 (pushing it)

E 10.30
A 10.50
S 12.05 (again, pushing it)

E 14.20
A 14.40

Catnap 17.15 to 18.15 (tired at 16.00 and did PU/PD for 40 mins then had 30 minute break and went back to it, went off fairly easily)

Bath, Feed and Bed by 19.30 (due to late catnap)

DF 22.30

I don't mind working with 1.5 hours A time if this is all he can manage but for the last week he'd consistently been getting 1.75 hours in the AM and 1.5 hours in the PM and it's very difficult to fit 4 hourly feeds into a routine where he's only awake for 1.5 hours.  He will not feed more often - the reason I moved from 3 - 3.5 hours is that he wasn't eating properly (BF) only messing around and snacking.

Thanks again
Kelly x

[HeatherC]

Okay, Kelly, I consulted one of the other moderators (debinoz) on your situation, and she gave some great advice.  Here is what she suggests:

1) as A time extends it is not a permanent change necessarily and he can change his A time based on a number of factors (how he slept night before, any develomental changes happening or about to happen, teething, how stimulating or not stimulating A time was (sometimes a too low key A time can mean they have not tired themselves out enough etc)  Remember that EASY can be flexible and have changes just as your lo is constantly changing.

2) if he is doing 1.5 - 2hrs A times for the 1st 2 lots i think he would POSSIBLY need / be able to do longer in the late afternoon so on a day like yesterday you could wait until 4:30 to try the catnap (i found 4:30-5:15 to be a great catnap time slot for us)

3) you can still do 4 hr feeds now, they just don't necessarily have to happen as soon as wake up if he went down for nap early, at this stage you will start to find times when he has up to 1/2 hr of A time before he is hungry - that is fine - eating does not HAVE to be at a set time (nothing does actually) -  it does not have to be 4hr by the clock.  EASY is a guide, not a strict schedule.  For example if he was awake 1.5hrs and then took 15 min to fall asleep and then slept 1.5 hrs by the time you got him up and had a little A time you would be at 3.5 hrs at least and if he did a 2hr nap then you are at almost 4 hrs anyway, wait a little while if not hungry yet, feed... and still have a lot of A time after the feed

Deb is a great moderator.  I hope you find her advice helpful.  Please let any of us know if we can help you further.

[KellyC]

Hi

Thanks so much to you and Deb for your help.  We're still struggling but I'll play it by ear over the coming days and see what starts to emerge!

Thanks again
Kelly x