Author Topic: Sample 3.5 hour routines?  (Read 7503 times)

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Offline mixtim

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Sample 3.5 hour routines?
« on: March 22, 2006, 13:14:36 pm »
Hi. Anyone have any 3.5 hour EASY routines they would like to share?  Like a lot of others, I'm having trouble figuring one out mathematically and my LO is definitely not ready for a transition to the 4 hour routines (she's only 9 weeks, but just isn't interested in eating after 3 hours many times).  Our start of the day is around 6:30.

TIA!!


Offline corrina01

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Re: Sample 3.5 hour routines?
« Reply #1 on: March 22, 2006, 13:25:55 pm »
My DD was one 3.5hr EASY from 4 months to 6 months then I finally extended it to 4hr EASY

Here is my routine

7am Feed
9am Sleep (1hr 30mins)
10.30am Feed
12.00pm Sleep (2hrs)
2pm Feed
3.30 Sleep (45 mins)
5.00pm Feed
7.00pm Feed then bed

HTH

Corrina
Mum to Faith
A very spirited toddler with a touch of angel



Offline HeatherC

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Re: Sample 3.5 hour routines?
« Reply #2 on: March 22, 2006, 22:00:11 pm »
Like Corrina's routine shows, with a "not quite hungry at 3 hrs but can't hold out for 4 hrs" situation, you have to kind of tweak times between each feeding.  Some may be 3 hrs 15 mins spaced, others 3.5 or 3 hrs 45 mins, or split the last feed in two and top off just before bed time.
Kelsey, Feb. 4, 2005
Landon, Jan. 2, 2007

Offline mixtim

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Re: Sample 3.5 hour routines?
« Reply #3 on: March 23, 2006, 17:02:45 pm »
Thanks HeatherC and Corrina01.  I like the idea of splitting the last feed in 2 because she's rarely very hungry right before bed due to the lack of time from the last feed (which is usually on about 1.5 or 2 hours apart). 

Offline tigercakemum

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Re: Sample 3.5 hour routines?
« Reply #4 on: March 24, 2006, 20:17:31 pm »
Hi there

My DD is 12 weeks and I am trying to transition her to 3.5 hours. Her schedule is as follows however I am flexible within half an hour as she can wake any time between 7 and 8am

7.30am wake and bf
9 sleep
10.45 bf (she cant do a long one here just yet)
12 sleep
2.30 bf
3 sleep
5.30 bf
7 bedtime routine and bf at 8

Dream Feed:
she sometimes wakes for feed at 10.30 - we always give her expresed milk in a bottle and always try her even if she is asleep. She barely takes 1-2oz even if she does feed and then sleeps through.

It is working as it means that my DH and I get to eat between the 5.30pm feed and bathtime at 7. 12 weeks ago I never thought we would get to this stage as she is so spirited so I am happy with trying to stretch her out slowly.

getting her down to sleep has been the main prob but thats spirited babies for you!



Offline becky1969

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Re: Sample 3.5 hour routines?
« Reply #5 on: March 25, 2006, 22:11:16 pm »
With Corrina's schedule, I'm confused about the nap at 3:30 being 45 minutes, but then the feed at 5? so, there isn't an E after the wake-up? Also, does that mean the baby is up from 4:15 until 7 (bedtime?)



We're trying to move to a 3.5 hour schedule because he's clearly not hungry at the 3 hour mark, and is now able to stay awake longer, but we're really struggling with finding how to make this work. Our biggest problem is in the mornings. He just doesn't seem to want to nap longer than 45-1 hr. I'm wondering if it's because I should be keeping him up until 9.
Owen, 12/28/05 7 lb 2 oz

Enjoying the toddler years!

Offline HeatherC

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Re: Sample 3.5 hour routines?
« Reply #6 on: March 26, 2006, 01:11:52 am »
Becky, the E doesn't have to follow the S directly upon waking.  The main idea of EASY is to have a sequence of events that spaces eating from sleeping so that baby won't use that as a prop to fall asleep. 
How old is your lo?  What is your day like and what time does he wake?  What are his other nap lengths?
Kelsey, Feb. 4, 2005
Landon, Jan. 2, 2007

Offline becky1969

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Re: Sample 3.5 hour routines?
« Reply #7 on: March 26, 2006, 16:56:45 pm »
My LO is 12.5 weeks, and through trial and error (and the input from the wise ladies on these boards!) I think we've realized it's time to start transitioning from 3 hour EASY to at least 3.5 hour EASY. He's just not hungry at 3 hours during the 1st half of the day, and then the 2nd half of the day he's ravenous, so hungry that now he's waking early from his naps. I also realized that I wasn't keeping his awake long enough, so clearly it's time to change from 3 hour EASY!

Our schedule is in the midst of changing, so it's sort of hard to tell you what's going on. For one thing, last week we started a 10:30 dream feed (which never worked for us in the past), which has finally gotten Owen to sleep through the night! Hooray! He's consistently sleeping until  6:30-6:45 now. I'm not sure if I should just let him lay there until 7 am, or if I should just have us start our day at 6:30 to be consistent. I'm fine with a 6:30 start, as I think ending our day at 6:30 pm would make him a lot happier (he seems to be too tired by 7 pm even - I notice a big change in his behavior at that time).

Also, he was a GREAT napper(1.5-2 hours consistently each nap) until this last week when he started waking up at the 45 minute mark and not going back to sleep.  That's how I learned thru these boards that I wasn't keeping him awake long enough. We are gradually getting the long naps back! However, the morning nap is still short - usually only an hour. So this morning I experimented with keeping him up even longer. Instead of 1.5 hours awake time, he had 1.75 hours awake time.

After his 4 pm bottle, he'll have a catnap sometime between 5-6 pm. Then we'll get up have a bath, bottle, then get ready for bed. He's usually in bed by 7:30-8:00, but he's usually really tired and cranky by this time. We were skipping the 7 pm bottle for awhile (before we were doing the dream feed and trying to get him to sleep thru the night), and he went down for the night at 5:30-6 pm really easily and happily with a 12-1 am wakeup. It just seemed like he was a much happier baby then. I've been trying to figure out how to tweak the schedule so that we can get a 6:30 bedtime because I think that would be ideal. I'm hoping with a 3.5 hour EASY that might happen.

I hope I haven't written too much or confused you! We're just trying to transition here because he's clearly ready to move on from 3 hour EASY, but I'm a little confused as to how to do it. He seemed to do well staying up the extra 15 minutes this morning. He's down for his nap now, and he went down easily and without a fight. We'll see how he does at the 45 minute and 1 hour mark!
« Last Edit: March 26, 2006, 16:59:55 pm by becky1969 »
Owen, 12/28/05 7 lb 2 oz

Enjoying the toddler years!

Offline becky1969

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Re: Sample 3.5 hour routines?
« Reply #8 on: March 26, 2006, 17:07:40 pm »
I've just looked over Corrina's schedule again, and could see where we could really use it to our benefit! Especially if we start and end our day at 6:30. Since my baby is younger, we can add in another 1.5 hour nap in somewhere, after the 2 pm feed, and perhaps eliminate the catnap altogether. That could be nice. Perhaps Sleep until 5, eat, have bath etc. then eat again and go to bed. It might work! And then we'd be finished at 7 when he usually just starts to really lose his cool. I like that idea!
« Last Edit: March 26, 2006, 17:10:17 pm by becky1969 »
Owen, 12/28/05 7 lb 2 oz

Enjoying the toddler years!

Offline corrina01

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Re: Sample 3.5 hour routines?
« Reply #9 on: March 26, 2006, 19:44:24 pm »
Hi becky1969

This was my DD routine at 51/2 months. 

When she was about 4months, she used to have a longer sleep at the in the afternoon, roughly 1hr 30 in am, 2hrs in middle of day and then 1hr 30mins at the pm nap.

HTH
Corrina
Mum to Faith
A very spirited toddler with a touch of angel