Ready for 4-hour EASY?

[Finns mum]

I know Tracy recommends 4-hour EASY at around 4 months, but I'm beginning to think my 11 week old is ready for it? Before starting EASY, he was feeding around every 4-hours or less often (that's when he was asking for it), and I actually started on the 4-hour EASY. The sleep and awake time didn't seem to suit him though, so I went to a 3-hour EASY. Just recently though, he's started having 45 minute naps and he's also cut down on his feeds - I get the impression that sometimes he's just not hungry enough. He also sleeps through the night, going from the DF til 7 or 7.30am, and if our routine ever gets disrupted, he happily goes 4 hours without a feed during the day. He's quite a big baby (13 lb) and is developing early in most ways. What do you think - is he ready? And any tips on how to transition? Our current routine is this:
E: 7.30
A: 8.00
S: 9.00
E: 10.30
A: 11.00
S: 12.00 (except he now regularly wakes after 45 mins and won't settle, so we end up with 45 minutes of A time before E)
E: 1.30
A: 2.00
S: 3.00 (45 minute nap problem again)
E: 4.30
A: 5.00
Bath, wind-down: 6.00
E: 6.30
Bed: 7.00 (he's so overtired from waking during the nap, that he can take over an hour to settle now)
DF: 10/11.00

[estherofi20]

Hi there

Well i changed my DS, from a 3hr to a 4hr at 12WO, 'cause he just wasn't hungry at the 3hr mark, and he was starting to get fussy at nap times, so i think you could try to change it. I did it cold turkey from one day to another, but if you think it would be too drastic, you could try the gradual process, here's the link: https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=50527.0

[Finns mum]

So it can be done early, then? My LO is so overtired from missing all his naps anyway, that I think cold turkey will be the way to do it, it can't be any harder I hope! Thanks.

[estherofi20]

good luck with that!!! keep me posted!

[Lara's Mum]

i agree... i switched dd on her own doing at 13weeks and she was all the better, but do u think u should change if the weather is too hot? do u breast or bottle feed? i would think if u breast that the heat would probably intervene and u wouldn't be able to give him water as it is not recommended before 6mo....

JMHO

HTH

love

[Lana]

We switched Bram right around three months to four hours between feeds.  It did make naps pretty interesting some days but I found that evened out pretty quick once he settled in.  We also went cold turkey on it and only one day was a bit crazy.

[Finns mum]

I didn't know about water before 6 months? My health visitor said it was ok as long as it wasn't interfering with his feeds, and I have given him a tiny amount over the last few hot days. Whoops...!
As it is, the temperature has dropped dramatically, and it's now quite cold, so am pressing ahead & crossing my fingers! Have put him down for his first nap - kept him up longer, and he went down very well. Fingers crossed for the rest of the day...!

[Lara's Mum]

good luck...........keep us posted

love

[Jodi and her boys]

Hi there. I am new here, due to recent needed support in weaning my ds from the paci!  I am proud to say he is off it.  Now the problem is that he wakes up at 45 min in his naps.  Before, he would fall right back asleep, but now, we do PU/PD, shhh/ pat, you name it. He fights and fights his naps now, and he never did that before.  Do you think this is related to the paci or do you think I should put him on a 4 hr EASY?  it sounds like he is the right age (14.5 weeks).  Also, I would definitley due it cold turkey as I would go crazy trying to figure out the process!  It is only one bad day?

Thanks,

Jodi

[estherofi20]

Hello there Jodi

How is your DS, taking his feeds?? does he seem hungry still at the 3hr mark or so?

[Jodi and her boys]

I must say that he still eats a full feeding (at least I think he does).  I breastfeed him and he does "play" more while he eats.  I know he can at least go 3.5 hrs between, because I have let him last that long due to poor naps.  Should I switch even though he still eats a full meal?  His naps are driving me nuts!  Even when we took the paci away last week, he would still sleep for 1 1/2 hrs.  Just three days ago he started getting very tempermental at the 45 min wake up.  THanks for your help!

[estherofi20]

Well Jodi, if he is still taking full feed, i wouldn't be sure if he is ready... but you could try to go for a 3.5 hr EASY, and see how it goes. How is he sleeping at night?

[Jodi and her boys]

He still wakes up one to two times to eat.  His df is at 10, and he may wake up at 3-4ish, sometimes it will be 1am and 5 am.  And wouldn't you know that this morning, he didn't take a full feed, in fact, he wasn't even hungry!  I fed him at 4 when he woke up. I tried at 7 and he didn't eat!

[estherofi20]

You could try going for the 4hr then, and see how it goes. Check out the link i posted earlier for the transition, this transition goes on a period of  2 weeks, that way you can see better how his feedings are going.

[Jodi and her boys]

Thank you!  I decided to go cold turkey and to feed him if he woke early and acted hungry. Nap one went great!  He was so ready to go down and lasted the whole two hours.  I fed him at 11, we did some errands, and then I put him down for nap #2.  He slept great for an hour, then had some major gass.  I ended up patting him for another 45 min on and off, and let him wake up at 2:45. He lasted until 3 to eat again!  I think the 4 hr EASY may work... I will keep you posted.  Does this improve night time sleep?

THanks!

Jodi

[Finns mum]

Well, 2 days into 4-hour EASY, and it's a definite improvement. Sadly, we still have the 45 minute nap problem, but I'm hoping maybe that will disappear once we get settled into it? As it is, he's still getting more sleep than he was before because his first nap (which he still sleeps through without waking) is now 2 hours instead of 1.5. Plus as his last nap is now only supposed to be a catnap anyway, it doesn't matter when he wakes, so it's only one nap I need to work on. More importantly though, changing his schedule has meant he isn't awake so long before bedtime and isn't so tired when I put him down - and so far has settled straightaway! Believe me, if nothing else improves, that alone is worth the change! As for the feeding, he is starting to take slightly longer feeds again. He doesn't seem remotely bothered by moving to 4-hour feeds, and still doesn't seem particularly hungry, but he's putting weight on healthily, so I guess that's just the way he is. As for the 45 minute naps, I will keep trying w2s, but must admit I've not had any success so far. When he woke today, I spent about half an hour keeping going back in and trying to settle him down before I eventually gave in and got him up. Am wondering if it might be worth getting him up straightaway if he wakes, giving him half an hour of A time and then trying to put him down for another nap before his next feed. What do you think? I don't want to reinforce his 45 minute waking, but I also want to do anything to get him that extra sleep, cos he really needs it!

[HeatherC]

Finns mum-I believe the 45 minute nap problem creeps up due to developmental changes with the lo, but also when there is a need to tweak the A time.  What is his current routine since you've changed to 4-hr?

[Finns mum]

This is it (in theory!):
E: 7.30
A: 8.00
S: 9.30
E: 11.30
A: 12.00
S: 1.30 (this is usually 45 mins, ending up with A time before next E)
E: 3.30
A: 4.00
S: 5.00 (catnap, then A)
Bath, wind-down: 6.00
E: 6.30
S: 7.00
DF: 10/11.00
He then sleeps through til morning, occsionally waking but just needing settling.

[HeatherC]

Well, here are some things you could consider:
-shorten the first nap to 1.5 hrs; lots of lo's can do a great am nap b/c they've come off a good night's sleep
-lessen the A time between the first nap and second nap by 15-30 mins
-the more I think about this, it is kind of hard for most 2 mo olds to go on 3 naps, so you might need a cycle with 2 naps in it, probably in the late afternoon

Gosh, I guess I didn't end up being much help.  It's great that he's sleeping so well at night, but if he's grumpy during the day, we definitely need to work on his naps.  Is he content or fussy during the day?

[Finns mum]

He starts off the day content, but once he's had that first 45 minute nap in the afternoon he starts to get tired which makes him a bit fussy. He's not too bad, but he needs constant attention at this point to keep him happy. Today we had lots of errands to do and were out during his 2nd A & S time. He ended up sleeping for a lot of it (he varies when we're out, sometimes the motion sends him to sleep, sometimes it doesn't!), and the difference in his mood was obvious. In fact, we went to a friend's house where he's not been and put him down in his new travel cot both for his final cat-nap and actually to bed, and he went down really easily - I was amazed!
My one worry about shortening the first S time to 1.5 hours is that was what he was getting before, and one of the advantages at the moment of the 4-hour EASY is that extra half hour sleep. Obviously, it would be nicer of course if he had that later in the day...!
Guess there's no easy answer, but I will try shortening that 2nd A time and see what happens!

[Jodi and her boys]

Esther,  I just wanted you to know that all of a sudden, everything clicked with Carter!  He is now on a 4-hour EASY and doing so much better.  He even sleeps through the 45 min mark most of the time!  I haven't needed to shh/ pat him. We just do our wind-down ritual, and down he goes.  I leave him "talking" himself to sleep.  He also takes a longer feeding.  Thanks for your advice. He is doing great now (and started sleeping through the night!!!). 

Jodi

[Finns mum]

Congrats Jodi, wish I could say the same about the 45 min nap for Finn! Still, the feeds are much better now, and everything else is clicking more into place, so hopefully we're getting there!

[renollem]

I'm curious to hear how it's going with the switch to a 4 hr EASY.

My 13 week old has over the past two weeks lost her naps to the 45 min syndrome.  I just found this website today and have been going crazy trying to figure it out.  She sleeps well at night, and I've been terrified that will be the next to go. 

I read and reread the BW books for any clues.  I started wondering if my not even 3 month old was ready for a 4 hr EASY.  She was 7 lb 11 oz at birth and 10 lb 13 oz at 7 weeks.  So maybe?

I thought maybe she started shortening her naps because she was ready for 4 hour and was keeping her on the 3 hr.  She rarely demands her food because I've been so strict in following the 3 hr.  I'm breastfeeding so it's hard to tell how much she's taking in.  But from all I'm reading on the message board many kids go through this 45 min nap syndrome.  She's fabulous at night and as been for a while ( giving us 7- 10 hr night with a wake for food once.)  Maybe she's just been working on night time sleep and the day got mixed up.

I have a 2 yr old too and I'm going crazy trying to extend naps. (not to mention the bouts of accidental parenting I've been trying to correct).  I'm strictly using shh-pat and swaddling for bed now. It's not working well. 

Do I work at keeping her on a 3 hour routine or do I try for the 4 hour?  She seems to be tired after 1hr or 1 1/2 hrs... maybe that's just what she's used to, but I'm not sure she could make it 2 hrs awake time.  It would be great to have her on a 4 hr though then the 2 kids would nap at the same time in the afternoon...

[Jodi and her boys]

It sounds like she is ready, due to not being hungry at the 3-hr mark and waking up at the 45 min mark.  I did the same thing to my son at 14 weeks and it has worked like a charm.  He would go down earlier than 2 hrs if he had the choice, but he takes great 2 hr naps now by stretching that time.  He hasn't seemed to notice the change in feedings, except for the 7pm feed. By then he is both a little tired and cranky and ready to eat around 6:30.  I say try it if she isn't napping.  I did it cold turkey, but you may want to follow the two week plan.  Good luck!