New to Easy

[Angeline]

Hello

I've started doing an E.A.S.Y routine a week ago with my 4 month old.  My LO was only able to fall asleep after BF and ended up in our bed for the night.  We started the E.A.S.Y routine last week and used the BW technique (PU/PD) to get her to fall asleep in her crib.  It is still a struggle to get her to fall asleep at night and she ends up waking up after 30 minutes from naps.  It sometimes takes up to 1 hour to get her to sleep for naps.  She also has been waking up every 2-3 hours starting at 10pm at night.  I'm exhausted and she is exhausted.  Will this get better?  Is it possible she is going through a growth spurt? 

[yaya]

hiya and HUGS to u!
can u post ur routine so i can take a look?

[Angeline]

Thanks for the welcome.

Our routine for the most part looks something like this:

7am wake
7:30 feed
7:30 - 9:00 - activity
9:00 - start putting down for nap
we try to nap for 1.5 hours but LO wakes at 20 min or 40 min mark
attempt to put back to sleep until next feed
11:30 pm feed
12:30 - 1:30 - activity - usually at a mom's group or for walk
2:30 - 3:30 - cat nap if possible
3:30 - feed
4:30 - try another nap
6:30 - feed
7:00 - bedtime routine
7:30 - sleep
10pm - feed (LO wakes for this)

She then wakes at around 12:30 or 1am and then again at 3 am and then again at 6am at which point I have trouble getting her back to sleep until 7am.

[* Paula *]

Hi and welcome to the boards.

Hugs, I am sorry to hear that you are having such a rough time.

I am wondering if your lo could be over tired, hence the reason for her waking up so soon after a nap.

When you started EASY - did you go straight onto the 4 hour EASY? 

Before you started the routine, were you feeding her on demand?  If so roughly how often was this?

When you put her down for her naps, are you following her cues, or the time?  You may need to watch her and see when her first sight of sleepyness / fussiness is, then check the time to see how long it has been since she woke up.  This will give you a better idea of whether she can cope with the 4 hour EASY  A time.

I am thinking that perhaps your lo may be better on starting on the 3.5 Hour EASY, and then once she is settled, you can try transition her onto the 4 hour.

It is also quite possible that your lo is going through her 4 month growth spurt.

Hope this helps.

Paula x

[Angeline]

Hi Paula

When we started the EASY we went straight to the four hour plan.  Before we started the EASY I was feeding her whenever she got fussy assuming (my mistake) that she needed to be fed.  This worked out to about every 2 hours.  Whenever I fed her she fell asleep on me and that would be her naps.  After reading the BW I now look for her cues to let me know when she is tired and hungry.  When she starts to yawn or rub her eyes I get her to her room and crib for nap time.  I will try going to the 3.5 EASY.   I have a feeling she is overtired which is making the transition hard.   

[* Paula *]

Keep us posted on how you get on with the 3.5 hour.  If you find that she is getting fussy before hand, it may be worthwhile going to the 3 hour.  But watch her cues and see what works best for her.

Keep us posted on how you get on.

Paula x

[Angeline]

We have switched over to the 3 hour easy since LO is very overtired.  She is doing much better when we put her down at night but my problem now is that she doesn't do well at naps.  It is very hard to get her to go down sometimes and on average she only makes it to 30 minutes. I try to get her to go back down but she then gets aggitated and upset that she rubs her feet together until her socks come off and her feet start to get red and sweaty.  I try to calm her but her screems get louder.  I feel terrible for her.  Any suggestions?   
Another question.  When we wind down for nap I put her in her crib and say see you in a while.  Should I walk out at that point and only go back in when she starts to cry?  She tends to just play in the crib and then gets upset about 10 minutes later.

[* Paula *]

It may be that she is not tired enough to go down on the 3 hour easy.  Might be worth while tyring the 3.5 hour easy and see how you get on there.

With regards to putting her down inher crib.  Yes if she is not crying i would leave and let her settle herself, she may surprise you and go straight off to sleep.

Good luck. 

Paula x