3 -4hour transition

[Sam's mum]

Hi

Just wondered if anyone has any advice! 

My DD is 13 weeks and has been on 3 hour EASY for about 4 weeks (was on 2.5 since birth).  She has done really well on this although most naps won't sleep for more than 45mins (unless we're out) I can sometimes settle her back down but then end up having to wake her to feed.  She goes to bed around 7ish having had a last feed around 6, with a df at 10.30am.  She is still waking for a feed around 3/4am and then first feed of the day is between 6 and 7 although if she is still asleep around after 7 I'll wake her to feed.

I want to move her to a 4 hour feed schedule and wondered how others have managed with dropping a feed, also should she still be waking for a feed at 4am? 

Also someone mentioned that if they keep waking 45 mins into a nap to stir them at around 38mins so they sleep through ... I haven't come accross this in the BW book I've got (...answers all your questions), wondered if anyone has tried it and does it work?

Thanks
Fiona

[HeatherC]

Also someone mentioned that if they keep waking 45 mins into a nap to stir them at around 38mins so they sleep through ... I haven't come accross this in the BW book I've got (...answers all your questions), wondered if anyone has tried it and does it work?

Fiona, that is called Wake to Sleep.  Some have success with, other do not.  It is basically supposed to be a way to reset the sleep cycle so that your lo goes into another cycle and thus has a longer nap.  You have to give it time to work, possibly up to a week ( ) and not give up after the first try.  It is discussed in the book on pgs 191-192, 251, and 283.  Also, you should be able to find some more info on the Sleep boards, probably Naps and General Sleep Issues, and maybe Night Wakings.

As for the 4 hr routine, you should make sure your dd is showing signs of readiness, not just of dropping a feed, but of being able to stretch her routine between feeds.  You will have a bit more A time and she would need more S time.  A thing to try would be to gradually stretch her feeds in 15 min increments every few days, 1 or 2 feeds at a time to see how she handles the change.  Then, you'll end up shifting the entire day to bring the middle 2 feeds into one, for example, or some other rearranging.  Have you seen the chart in the book, pg 230?  There are some inconsistencies with the time table there, but the general idea is what I mentioned above.  Not all babies sleep the recommended example times, but it will probably be close.

[Sam's mum]

Thanks I'll try the wake to sleep and see what happens.  I did read it in the book about middle of the night wakings but confess I don't get a lot of time during the day to read and didn't get to the part about naps!

With stretching to the 4 hour EASY one of my questions is how I fiddle with the times, extend by 15 mins then keep to the 3 hour while maintaining the same bedtime.  So how would I go from a 6.30am start then 9.45 then 12.45, 3.45 and 6.45 but still want her to go to bed around 7/7.15 (and just as an asside I've never managed to feed and bath in 1/2hour! - normally feed around 6/6.30pm, then bed right after bath taking at least 45mins and sometimes an hour).  If I were to do 2 feeds extended then I'd be worried I was pushing bedtime back by a full half hour. 

Thanks again for the help - I'll be glad when we're on 4 hours and can stick there for a while!!

Fiona

[HeatherC]

Well, are your feeds like this right now:  6:30, 9:30, 12:30, 3:30, 6:30?  Basically, you want to fuse together 2 of the feeds gradually.  So, you could try 6:30, 9:45, 12:45, 3:45, 6:30, then, 6:30, 10:00, 1:15, 4:00, 6:30, then 6:30, 10:30, 2:15, 6/6:30, then 6:30, 10:30, 2:30, 6/6:30.  If she has a harder time eating as soon or can't wait long enough for some of the example times, feed her when you feel she's ready.  You may find that she'll fall right into a 4 hr routine without a fuss.  My dd transitioned by sleeping past a feed one day and we never looked back.  I set it as her new nap and feed routine and it worked fine.
You're doing fine, just remember to take notes so you can find what works and what doesn't.

[Sam's mum]

The feeds do work out like that generally - however last night was a really bad night, she has a cold and wouldn't resettle after waking at 2.30 until 4ish and then woke at 5 hungry...today is the first day since that post birth phase where I let her sleep until she was ready to get up at 8 this morning. 

That really clarifies the transition - I was just confused how to extend feeds and keep to the same bedtime.

thanks for all your help - I'll let you know how it goes.  Using wake to sleep and PU/PD to get her to go more that 45mins during the day.

Fiona

[HeatherC]

Fiona, just a reminder:  pu/pd is really meant for after 4 months old.  Sooner than that can be too stimulating and/or tramatic for a lo.  Try ssh/pat instead.