Author Topic: EASY doesn't add up?  (Read 1282 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Maryellen

  • New & Learning The Ropes!
  • *
  • Showing Appreciation 0
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 10
  • Location: Toronto
EASY doesn't add up?
« on: January 17, 2006, 22:44:45 pm »
Hi, I've been trying to get my 10 week old son on a routine for 3 weeks now, and it's like banging my head against the wall. What I want to know is, how do you do a 3 hour EASY if it doesn't actually add up?

Here's where I'm confused:

Let's say he wakes up at 7 a.m. I feed him for half an hour, that brings me to 7:30. Tracy says young babies shouldn't have more than 15-30 minutes of activity time, so that brings me to 8 a.m. if I stretch it out. I put him down (in an ideal world, this takes 15 minutes or less) and he sleeps for 45 minutes (I note the book says it is normal for little babies to sleep 45 mins - 1 hr, although the sleep interview says little babies will sleep for 1.5 hr - 2 hrs at a stretch. Hmmm?) So, he's slept for 45 minutes and he's up again, and it's 9 a.m. It's only been 2 hours. I'm feeding him again because "eat" follows "sleep". Where does the extra hour come from?

Please help. This is all so confusing.

Thanks,
Maryellen

Offline LeslieG

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 95
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 1523
  • Big sis Abigail Grace - lil bro, Lucas Haden
  • Location: London, ON Canada
EASY doesn't add up?
« Reply #1 on: January 18, 2006, 01:15:36 am »
It sounds to me like you are trying to follow it too closely and maybe not also using cues from your LO.  Does it seem like your son could stay awake a little longer?  Does he wake up fussing or happy?  If he wakes up fussing, he might not be napping long enough.

My DD was able to stay up longer then just 45 minutes.  Usually she could stay up for at least 1 hour and sometimes longer.  I also found that she was able to stay awake longer in the afternoon.

I know that sometimes I get too wrapped up in the routine and then forget that she is an individual who may follow a guide but each day will be different. Some days I roll with this better than others. 

Leslie



Offline Deb_in_oz

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 615
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 16300
  • personal development blogger
  • Location: Brisbane, Australia
EASY doesn't add up?
« Reply #2 on: January 18, 2006, 03:04:04 am »
HI there

i am just wondering what your starting point was when you started EASY.  how often was your lo feeding at that point? how much daytime and night sleep etc?  when you are trying to put a lo on a routine the keys to getting it together are
1) observation - you have to watch him like a hawk for anywhere from 3days - a week to learn his cues (what does he do when he is tired? hungry? bored? overstimulated?  it is like detective work and holds the keys to a lot of EASY
2) consistency: before you start EASY it is a good idea to come up with a plan and stick with it as much as possible for a while - he will not learn the "new" ways overnight. he had 7-10 weeks of the old way, he cannot switch gears too fast.  but with consistency he starts to learn what your message is and you start communicating with each other
3) realistic expectations: ties in with what i was saying above.  you have to look at each step forward as progress rather than focus on "not being at 3 hr EASY yet" etc.  if peviously you were feeding to sleep and now you can put him in the cot awake, that is a triumph.  if previously he only napped in 20 min blocks randomly through the day and now he naps after each activity period that is the step towards a real routine, etc

now specifically to your example:


Quote (selected)
Let's say he wakes up at 7 a.m. I feed him for half an hour, that brings me to 7:30. Tracy says young babies shouldn't have more than 15-30 minutes of activity time, so that brings me to 8 a.m. if I stretch it out. I put him down (in an ideal world, this takes 15 minutes or less) and he sleeps for 45 minutes (I note the book says it is normal for little babies to sleep 45 mins - 1 hr, although the sleep interview says little babies will sleep for 1.5 hr - 2 hrs at a stretch. Hmmm?) So, he's slept for 45 minutes and he's up again, and it's 9 a.m. It's only been 2 hours. I'm feeding him again because "eat" follows "sleep". Where does the extra hour come from?

this is where observation comes in - when anything is mentioned in BW books it is an average / textbook baby. once you learn your babies temperment and cues you can adapt the routine to him individually. some temperments are able to handle longer A times, some babies don't give clear sleepy cues and you have to intervene based on the clock, etc.  at 10 weeks if he wakes from a nap at 45 min this is where sleep training comes in - by staying in his room and using either shh/pat or PU/PD (again - you have to see what is more effective for DS) to try to extend his nap (aiming for at least 1.5hrs + 45 min catnap at the end of the day)you are teaching him that nap time is not over yet. he needs to learn how to transition through from 45 min to the next cycle and needs your help.

if after 20-40 min of trying he will not sleep any longer you can get him up and carry on - he can have some A time before eating if he is not hungry yet (which if you try to stick to 3 hr feeds for now, you can use that as a guide and know that ifit has been 2 hrs or so you want to occupy him until he shows hunger signs)

some cycles will go EASY and others will go AEASY - they key point is to avoid feeding right before bed, so if you had to do the feed later in the cycle just break it up form the sleep by doing a nappy change or a story etc and then do the windown routine for bed.

although "eat follows sleep" there is flexibility - it is a guide. you only feed when he is hungry, rather than imposing the feed on him because it is "next" after sleeping.  when his sleeps lengthen and he naturally wakes close to or just after a feed is "due" then it falls in line with the idea that feeds come after sleep.


i hope that all helps clarify some of implementing EASY. do you have the latest book - there is a section in there that details implemeting EASY that is very helpful.
Debra - a New Yorker living in Australia married to a Brit

dd1 - Textbook/Angel, born July 2003
dd2 - Spritied through & through, born Feb 2005

Check out my website:   Home Life Simplified
Like my Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/HomeLifeSimplified