Should my 4.5 month old baby be on a 3.5 or 4h routine?

[dani2806]

Hello.
My baby is nearly 4.5 months and I've asked questions in the forum about his erratic routine and how to fix it. I'm getting a lot of help but I'm not sure if I should put him on a 3.5 or 4h routine or start with 3.5 and move to 4h in a week or so...
He had been on a 3h routine before and things started to go pear shaped lately.
Now we have no routine really

Thanks
Dani

[yaya]

hope i answered this in ur other post..otherwise I'd say do 3.5 hrs first then move to 4hr dependeign on how well he adjusts to 3.5hrs good luck

[dani2806]

thanks yaya

[Gabriella]

Hello,

I put my 4.5 months old who had no routine really directly on a four hour EASY. He is a bit exhausted at the end of his A time (especially because he usually wakes half an hour early from his nap), but we managed to get him sleep through the night in two days.

Good luck,
Gabi

[dani2806]

Hi Gabi,
Thanks for sharing your experience.
It must have been hard to go straight to 4h easy! Well done!
I have one question. If his naps were shorter and you had to extend the A time, did you keep him awake for more than two hours? Then, did he eventually managed to do 2 x 2h naps plus a catnap?
thanks

Dani

[* Paula *]

Dani,

Going from the 3 hour EASY to the 3.5 / 4 all depends on your lo, and how much A time he can acutally handle.

At 4 months you do aim to get them onto the 4 hour EASY, however, some lo's never make it to the 4 hour and say on the 3 or 3.5 hour.

Have a look at this link and see if this is your lo, then it is definitley time to transition.

https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=63161.0

If you think your lo is ready to transition, then I would just watch your lo's cues very closley to see which would suit him better.  Some people do a combined 3.5 and 4 hour EASY.

Keep us posted and let us know how you get on.

Paula x

[NiknLily]

Hi
Don't get too worked up about 3.5 or 4 hr easy my DD is on a mix of the 2, we were at 4months on 3.5hr easy but as A time is extending as she gets older its moving somewhere towards a 4hr but nothing is carved in stone.  This is our routine it may help to see how the times can vary from day to day
7am wake BF
9.15 sleep for 1hr to 1.5hrs (norm 1hr15mins)
10.30ish BF maybe later but not later than 11am depending how long she napped
12.45ish sleep for 1hr15 to 1.5hrs this varies depending on length of first nap
2.30pm BF maybe later but not later than 3pm again depending on how long she napped
4.30pm catnap this will be 5pm if she didn't wake till 3pm
5.15pm (based on 4.30 down time, 5.30 for 3pm downtime) bath
6.30pm last BF
7pm bedtime.
This has been our routine now since about 4.5months (now 7months).  I guess what I'm saying is relax with it and as long as LO is getting 2 good naps of 1-1.5hrs and a 30-45min catnap then don't sweat it. 
One last thought you will know if LO needs 4hrs between feeds as they simply wont take as much any sooner if thats the case.
Hope this is of help

[dani2806]

Thanks Paula, i'll check the link.

And New mon, your routine looks like what my lo seems to be going for. Thank you.
I agree that we have to be flexible. The only problem I'm having is that my husband feels pity for our lo everytime he cries (me too of course) and wants to give him a bottle straight away. I explain the reason for waiting 3.5-4h and he thinks I'm starving him...
Hope I manage to convince him.
Anyway, thanks again for your help.
Dani

[Gabriella]

Hi Dani,

I have one question. If his naps were shorter and you had to extend the A time, did you keep him awake for more than two hours? Then, did he eventually managed to do 2 x 2h naps plus a catnap?
thanks

He sleeps 1h20 in the morning, same in the afternoon plus a catnap between 5 and 6pm. I do extend his A time, but I try to do low key activities when he starts being tired. Also, I keep him in his cot after he's woken from his nap as long as I can, in order to give some rest time, even if he is not sleeping.

I just discovered that he needs to go to bed earlier than we did so far, so now bedtime is at 7.15 pm.

Good luck.

[dani2806]

Hi Gabriella,
Thanks. What you do with naps sounds very sensible. About the earlier bedtime, I find it hard to spot the right time...
I give my lo a bath and a bottle then do some singing. After a few seconds he's ready for bed, stays awake in cot for a few minutes and falls asleep, no matter what time... I tried 7:15 and 7:00 with the same result and the other day I tried 6:30 and he woke up a lot during the night...
But I have to admit, betwwen 6 and 7pm he becomes very fussy sometimes...
take care
Dani