Sample 4hr schedules & how much activity/sleep for an 8w

[HeatherC]

Hello.  I was wondering how long your lo sleeps for naps after he settles.  How is his overnight sleep?

[Mo-Jo]

Thanks for your reply!

For his daytime naps, he probably sleeps a good 2/2.5 hours in the morning, then 1/1.5hrs early afternoon and maybe 1.5/2hrs late afternoon. He currently sleeps about 1.5/2hrs in between his bath and his 11pm feed (by the way for the past two nights we've started to moved some of this bit into his crib rather than on our shoulders - progress!) and then he's great through the night - only waking up around 3am for feeding and going straight back to sleep again afterwards, right through to about 6.30/7am.

Hope that helps, thanks in advance for anything you can suggest.

[HeatherC]

I think what's going on is wonderful.  That's awesome that he naps so well.  The only thing I was going to recommend was having him sleep elsewhere than on you or dh as this could create a huge problem down the road.  I'm glad you are having success with him sleeping in the crib.  One suggestion I've read before regarding babies not enjoying their cribs was to have some play time in the crib to familiarize them with the environment.
The only other suggestion I would make is to bathe him before the 7 pm feeding, and put him to sleep before 8 pm.  This is just a suggestion, and the decision is totally yours.  Only you know what works best for your family.  HTH

[Mo-Jo]

Heather thanks for your reply and sorry about the delay in coming back to you. Thanks for all your encouragement and for the idea of switching things around at bathtime - great thinking, I reckon we are going to give that a go. Things are getting a little better and falling into place a little more every day, today I even got DS to take one of his naps in his crib! However he does seem to be really tired and has hardly had much A time at all today...  Anyway, will let you know how we get on.

In the meantime if anyone else has any example 4hr schedules I'd still be really interested to see what else we can learn. Thanks in advance!

[Mom2katiebug]

When we switched to 4hr EASY (DD was about 10 WO) things were all over the map.  Feeds feel into place very well at 4 hrs, but Katie could have a meltdown anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours after waking.  So, it took a while to get the A time right.  Naps have been TERRIBLE since 8WO, so I can't blame that on the transition. 

DD is now 12.5 WO and yesterday we had a good day using a 4hr EASY with 1.5 hrs of A time.  This was not possible even a week ago:

7am Up, Diaper Change and eat
8:30 Winddown
8:45 Asleep; was able to extend nap
11am Up, Diaper Change and eat
12:15 Winddown
12:30 Alseep; was able to extend nap
2:30 Restless and finished nap on mom
3:00  Up, Diaper Change and eat
4:30 Catnap
5:30 Wake from catanp; visit with dad
6:30 Bath, lotion, massage, diaper, jammies
7:00 Eat
7:15ish Winddown
7:30 Asleep
10:00 Dream feed (first time for this)
Several trips to replace the darn paci  :evil:
5:30am Eat - this is going to throw today off a bit...

HTH.  Let me know if you have any other questions.

[HeatherC]

Sounds like you both are doing very well.  Casey, that looks like a wonderful day, and Mo-Jo, I so happy for your success of independent sleep as well.  Just remember, A time can vary from cycle to cycle and day to day.  Both of your lo's are in heavy developmental periods right now, and they will probably be more hungry, and more tired.  Keep us posted.

[Mom2katiebug]

Heather - you are totatlly right on.  We had a "perfect" day and then yesterday was a bit less than perfect, but still better than the past few weeks.  A time is a guideline in my post, but I generally watch Katie and try to switch to low-key activities if I think I can extend her or just start the winddown if there's no chance.  Each nap is different and I just hope for more good ones, knowing that a few bad ones will sneak in too.  But, it's much easier to cope with when you get a couple of good ones. 

FYI - This seemed to switch overnight for Katie.  One day was TERRIBLE and the next was "perfect".  We did switch formulas and I did make an effort to extend her A time carefully, but still it was an overnight thing for her.  So you never know what each day will bring.  Also, it seems that Katie's morning naps are the best ones of the day - easiest winddown, less trouble between sleep cycles.  So, at least for her, maybe that one is "worked out" and the others will follow.