Are we on EASY? If not....how do we start??

[tara72]

my LO will be 8-weeks-old on Sunday. a typical day for us varies, but *generally* is something like this:

7 AM-wake (feed 2 oz. breastmilk in bottle and 1-2 oz. formula)
Activity
8 AM-sleep (this is usually a longer nap, about 2 hours or so)
10 AM-wake (feed 2 oz. breastmilk in bottle and 1-2 oz. formula)
Activity
11 AM-sleep
12AM-wake (feed 2 oz. breastmilk in bottle and 1-2 oz. formula)
Activity
1 PM-sleep
2 PM-wake (feed 2 oz. breastmilk in bottle and 1-2 oz. formula)
Activity
3 PM-sleep
4 or 4:30 PM-wake (feed 1 or so oz. breastmilk and 2-3 oz. formula, since I don't get as much milk later in the day)
Activity
5:30-sleep
6:30-wake (feed 1 or so oz. breastmilk and 2-3 oz. formula, since I don't get as much milk later in the day)
Activity/simple night routine (change diaper, change into PJ's, wash face of give bath, read story)
7 or 7:30 PM-sleep

between 7 PM and 7 AM:
-will sleep for about 3-4 hours at night if she had a good day and will nurse for about 10 minutes then have 2 oz. of forumla.
-if she had a rough evening/day, she will often sleep for 6-9(!!) hours then nurse for about 10 minutes before having 2 oz. formula.

she has rocky times where she won't sleep well, even though she shows the signs of sleepiness. when she yawns or starts the stare, we wrap her up and walk her around or rock her for a few minutes. then we put her down when she is nodding off and she falls asleep in her crib. but there are days like yesterday when in the afternoon, she slept for about 30 minutes, then when it was time for her next nap, she wouldn't go to sleep. so after a 6:45 PM bath, she went to sleep at 7 and slept for 9 hours.

are these rocky times normal? we are trying to do the EASY routine a little bit, but at the same time, I know we are not on a "3 or 4 hour routine," which I know we should be doing.

how do we go about getting ON a 3-4 hour routine? I am following cues and cues are, like stated above, eating about every 2-2.5 hours during the day and every 4 or so hours at night. she is a cute chubby little baby (baby chubby!), so even though she doesn't seem to eat 25-32 ounces, she seems to be eating enough for her. but part of me thinks she should be eating 4 ounces every 3-4 hours instead.

I hope this makes sense, there are so many thoughts swirling around in my head, it's hard to organize them on paper. I read about other people's experiences and suggestions, but it is hard to put it all together. so thank you in advance for any advice you can give!

thank you!

[* Paula *]

Tara,

The main thing about EASY is not following the clocks, but to follow your DD's cues, and to teach them when to Eat, a little bit of A, and how to sleep independantly.

At this age it is not uncommon for your lo to want to be feeding every 2.5 -3 hours.  I would not suggest trying to stretch your lo out to 4 hours at this age, as she could become extremely overtired.  The 4 hour EASY is recommended from about 4 months onwards.

When your DD only naps for 30 minutes have you tried pat / shhh to re-settle her?  The short naps can cause a chain reaction causing your lo to be overtired, and in turn can cause more night wakings.

If your lo is constantly taking 30 minute naps, you can always try wake to sleep.  Below is a link from our Naps FAQ's board.

https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=64168.0

[tara72]

thank you for that link, Paula! she doesn't *often* take these short naps, but I will read the suggested page throughout today. I think it will be helpful!

and thank you for your advice. I won't worry too much at this point, but continue to follow her cues.

[* Paula *]

Good luck and keep us posted on how you get on.

[tara72]

okay, after another rough day yesterday of hardly any sleeping for my LO, I'm genuinely confused.

how do  we start a 3-hour EASY routine? I have looked at other threads and of course read the book 2-3 times, but cannot put it together! the one-hour naps during the day need to be extended, but how do I do that?? she should be eating more than 2-3 ounces in one feeding, but how do I do that when she won't take anymore??

thanks in advance!

[* Paula *]

Have you tried pat / shh to resettle your lo when she wakes early after a nap?

What size teat are you using on your bottles?  It could be that your lo is bored with the flow, and needs a faster flow teat.  If you do change the size up, I would watch out that she does not gag, if it comes out too quickly.