Long naps and 4 hour easy

[nathansmum]

Hi!

Lately, my son seems very tired. He can't stay up more than an hour and a half. He has roughly been on 4 hour easy since he hit his 4 months. But now I don't know what to do with this!

Do I just make his naps longer? Do I wake him and put him back on a 3.5 or something hour routine? Do I have to push him for longer A times?

thanks!

[Lªuren]

Marilyn,
Would you mind posting you current routine? If it makes any difference we always do EASA?

Lauren

[nathansmum]

Hi again Lauren...

I feel like I'm always asking questions... Is this normal or is there something I'm not getting?

Anyway here is what my day looks like:

E: 6:40
S: 8:10-10:00 (woke for a transition and not really shure he slept much after...)

E: 10:15
S: 11:42-1:40 (transition from 12:25-12:50ish)

E: 1:55
S: 3:55-4:45

bath
E: 5:33
S: 5:55 mantra until 6:10

[nathansmum]

Arrgh!

this has been  my day today up untill now:

4:20am feed although I don't think I should be feeding @ this time...

7:30 feed
8:40-11:12 nap (woke @ 10:05 and put himself back to sleep @ 10:25)

11:20 feed
12:40-1:25 nap (tried for 1.5 hours to help him back down but would have nothing of it!)

Why am I so sick of this not working? and WHY isn't this working?

[corrina01]

My DD was on a 3.5hr EASY until about 6 months, when she could stay awake longer. 

I just let my DD lead me on her extending A times, if I pushed it (she showed NO sleepy signs whatsoever), she wouldn't nap as long then she would be overtired by bedtime.

HTH

[nathansmum]

What did your day look like on 3.5?
I kind of get confused on what I should do when it comes the time to do the catnap and bed ritual. The times just seemed a little off around that time of day compared to a 3 or 4 hour routine.

Here is what my day looked like yesterday:

E: 5:40
S: 5:45-7:45

E: 7:55
S: 9:32-11:00

E:11:10
S: 12:55-2:40 (mantra on/off 1:35-1:50, went back to sleep on his own)

E:2:45
S:4:20-5:25

bath
E: 6:00
S: 6:35

DF: 10:00 I don't think he ate that well... ?
Woke @ 12:30 am put himself back to sleep around 12:40
Woke @ 2 am time @ which I fed but still not sure he really needed it
Woke around 5:30 talking (don't know if he went back to sleep or not) started crying @ 6:10

so we started our day early!
Would you think this is a growth spurt? He had been on a good 4 hour routine for a little while... And had also been able to do some good nights when he just woke in the early mornings (5-6am). If this is a growth spurt, should I put him on a strict 3 or 3.5 routine for a few days and see if after that things sort themselves out?

what are your thoughts?

[Lªuren]

Hi Marilyn,

Sorry not been around much DS is teething, has a cough, chest infection..... so its off to the doctors again tomorrow. 

A 3.5hr routine would look something like this (I am assuming a 30 min feed);

E: 7:00
A: 7:30 - winddown would be part of your 'A' time
S: 9:00
A: some 'A' dependant on length of nap

E: 10:30
A: 11:00 - winddown would be part of your 'A' time
S: 12:00  or 90mins from last wake up
A: some 'A' dependant on length of nap

E: 14:00
A: 14:30 - winddown would be part of your 'A' time
S: 15:00 - if last nap was 90mins
A: some 'A' dependant on length of nap

*bath somewhere here
E: 1730
S: 18:00
DF:

Marlilyn this is based on a 7am wake up, not sure if you have a set wakeup or bedtime time? or if it is 8am, if so move everything forward.


You may also get away with the following;

E: 8:00
A: 8:30 - winddown would be part of your 'A' time
S: 10:00
A: some 'A' dependant on length of nap

E: 11:30
A: 12:00 - winddown would be part of your 'A' time
S: 13:00  or 90mins from last wake up
A: some 'A' dependant on length of nap

E: 15:00
A: 15:30 - winddown would be part of your 'A' time
S: 16:00 - if last nap was 90mins
A: *bath somewhere here
E: 18:00
S: 18:30
DF:

It may be better to set wake up and bedtimes, any wakings/feeds before your wake up time class as a night feed then wake him at the time you have set.

Hope this makes sense

The early mornings may also be due the fact Nathan does not need as long a night sleep any more or too much daytime sleep

I feel like I'm always asking questions... Is this normal or is there something I'm not getting?

I know it feels this way sometimes, we all go through stages of thinking we aren't doing it right - but you definitely are. I remember the transition period being a but of a nightmare as well  The next things are dropping the catnap  teething  and weaning 

[nathansmum]

I know it feels this way sometimes, we all go through stages of thinking we aren't doing it right - but you definitely are. I remember the transition period being a but of a nightmare as well The next things are dropping the catnap teething and weaning

Oh my gosh! I know! So many new and different things coming up! We are in this for the rest of our lives aren't we?!!! 
But it is a good thing! I love this little guy so much even with all the mind puzzles he's giving me!  Wouldn't trade him for anything in the world...

Thanks for the 3.5 hour routines.

We do try to have a wake up time (usually around 7). But it hasn't been working lately because mister decided that he was starting his day earlier... Bedtime is usually set by Nathan. We follow his cues after his bath and his last feed. Lately, it's been around 6:30-ish. I'm still trying to push out A times. And after today, I'm gonna try to not feed if he wakes in the night and try to go back to 4 hour routine and see how that works.

[corrina01]

My DD's routine was like this from 41/2 months to 6 months

7am  Feed
9am Sleep for 1hr 30mins
10.30am Feed
12noon-12.15pm Sleep for 2hrs
2pm Feed
3.30pm Sleep for 1hr 30mins
5pm Feed
6pm Bath
6.45pm Feed
7pm Bed and straight to sleep
10pm Dreamfeed
Slept until 7am when I woke her up to start the day

HTH

[nathansmum]

Corrina- That looks like a great 3.5 hour routine! the only place where that would not work w/ NAthan is that he NEVER takes a long 3rd nap. It's always about 40 min... So that kind of brings our bed time earlier.

Anyway, I made an effort at not feeding him last night as I had been for the past few nights. It took us 30 min. and he was back down. Yippee! Same thing close to 6am. I woke him @ 7:25 to start the day.

I will see from here what goes on. But as of now, he went down only 10 min. short of 2 hours A time for his 1st nap. woke after 1.5 hours. I tried to hold off for the feed but he would have nothing of it. Then he was fussy for almost the whole A time and went down after 1.5 hours A time. We will see how long he sleeps on this one...

I wonder why he was so fussy?