What to do?? EASY off due to sleep issues.

[Tanners Mom]

Hello Ladies!
I'm looking for some advice for routine tweaks for early wakings and short naps. We started sleep training for our 4.5 month old DS using BW techniques about 10 days ago - since then, his naps and nighttime sleep are off and so his routine is off. He used to have an 8 to 8, 4-hour EASY (up at 8am, naps at 10, 2 and catnap at 6, nurse at 8pm and  asleep around 8:30pm) and was doing great on it (was happy and gaining weight well). How do I stay on a routine with his early wakings and short naps??? As an example - here is our day so far:

6:45 Awake
7:15 BF
8:55 Asleep Nap #1
9:35 Wake from Nap #1
9:35-10:35 Lying awake/Fussing/Trying to get him back to sleep
10:45 BF
12:10 Asleep Nap #2
12:45 Wake from Nap #2
12:45-1:30 Lying awake/Fussing/Trying to get him back to sleep
1:30-1:45 Light activity then started to show signs of sleepy
1:45pm Did wind down and put him in bed - fussed....then started to cry and cry\tried to get him to sleep
2:10pm BF (he ate pretty well but fell asleep a couple of times and then rubbed his eyes between sides)
2:30 Just hanging out - looking around, happy (I'm watching for signs of tired and then I'll do wind down and put him straight to bed)

SO....what do I do? If he is awake at 7am - do I just get him up and we start our day and plan for something like a 7 to 7 EASY? But then the next morning he could be up at 5 or 6am!!!

And what about short naps??? How do I keep the routine? What tweaks do you make to a 4-hour EASY when these things happen?

Thanks!!

[rebecaq]

Hello 

Yikes! Those 45 mins naps can be a nightmare!  Foe help on extending them I say you should drop by the nap boards and see how the lovely mods there can help 

As for his EASY routine, when he wakes from his nap you should stay in the room with him soothing him back to sleep for the reaminder of his nap. This helps you keep your routine and to teach him that S time is for being spent in the room, trying to be quiet and calm.  It will be hard at first, but pretty soon (plus the help form the nap mods) he should ge straightened out in no time   

- Beca 

[Tanners Mom]

Hi Beca!
Thanks so much for the recommendations and support!

I have checked the nap board and got some ideas...one of them worked to extend two of his naps today! Yippee!!!

SO...if (hopefully not) he has more 45 minute naps in the future and I'm not able to get him back to sleep - I then get him up and feed him at the normal 'E' time. But I assume that I'm not to keep him up till the next 'S' time - he would be extremely overtired. So should I just keep him up for a bit longer after feeding him and then try the nap again?

It's hard for me to not obsess about the routine...

Thanks!

[rebecaq]

I know how hard it is to not obssess 

And if he wakes early you should stay in the room with him and keep things dark and low key until it's E time.  If you feed him sooner he could become a snacker and it will move forward all of your routine. So if he really doesn't want to go back to sleep, ten you would have an A time but a very melloooow A time   

Glad I was able to help, any questions, doubts or need for support you can always drop by 

- Beca

[Tanners Mom]

OK...one more question 

If he doesn't go back to sleep and I feed him at the next E time then when do we do the next S time? By the time I feed him he'll have been awake 1.25 hours. So he'll probably be tired about 1/2 hour after I feed him so then does the routine look more like EASAES?? Where the first A is the short time after this feed. Did that make sense?

I appreciate any ideas you have for keeping on a routine in the midst of this!

[rebecaq]

So he'll probably be tired about 1/2 hour after I feed him so then does the routine look more like EASAES?? Where the first A is the short time after this feed. Did that make sense?

That is perfectly fine. And for the most part, you'll see that eventually he will go into an E-A-S routine by himself. 

[Tanners Mom]

Thanks Beca - perfect timing....he woke at the 50 minute mark b/c the BLASTED phone rang! I wasn't able to get him back to sleep so we'll try this!

I figured out how to turn the ringer down on the phone too...finally!