Trying to transition to 3.5 hr EASY

[moken]

My lo is going to be 4 months old next week and can now stay awake for around 1hr 45 mins to 2 hrs. after each feed.  I decided yesterday to switch to a 3.5 hr EASY routine and if that goes well then next week to switch to a 4 hr EASY.  Yesterday my lo did well with the 3.5 hours between feedings but last night he woke up at 2am hungry when he use to sleep until 5am before waking up for a feed.  I tried giving him his paci but he would not take it as he was very hungry so I feed him and put him back to bed.  Then he woke up for the morning at 6am when he usually wakes up around 7:30am when he's on the 3 hour EASY.  I know that since they're taking less feedings they're suppose to eat more at each feed but I'm EBF so I don't know how much he's taking at each feed.  It seems like he took less yesterday and was waking up to eat in the middle of the night to compensate.  Is this normal while they're transitioning?  If I stick with the 3.5 hr EASY will he start taking more and doing longer stretches again at night?  I feel like I'm going backwards with him waking up so early to eat again.  Also I'm not a morning person so 6am is not my ideal time to start the day!

[*Mona*]

hi

so how has the trasition been going for you?
actually when transitioning babies often wake up more at night or wake up earlier in the morning but then it all goes back to 'normal'.

what's your routine now?

[moken]

thanks for the reply and sorry to get back so late.  We've been having computer problems.
The past week has been terrible.  It all started with the first day I tried to transition, our day looked like this:

E- 7:30
A- 7:50
S- 9:15 (will only sleep for 45 minutes)
A- 10
E- 11
A- 11:20
S- 12 (45 min)
A- 12:45
E- 2:30
A- 2:50
S- 3:15 (45 min)
A- 4
E- 5:30
A- 5:50
S- 6 (45 min)
A- 6:45
E- 8
S- 8:20

The 45 minute naps make it harder to go from th 3 hr EASY to a 3.5 as he ends up being awake for such a long time before he eats and end up getting very very grumpy.  I've tried extending his naps but it just seems to get him more and more worked up.  The whole day I folloed the 3.5hr schedule but the last two feeds I did closer together like a cluster feed.  Also at 8pm we go up to his room he eats, we read a book and then he goes to bed tired but awake.   I've tried moving his bedtime earlier but he always thought it was a nap and woke up after 45 minutes but at 8pm he doesn't.
The day after I first tried the transition he woke up an extra time in the night and woke up for the day at 6am.  The next night he woke up 4 times in the night.  I fed him at 2am and 5am and had to settle him for the other 2 times and then he woke up at 6am for the day again.  I started to think that maybe it was a growth spurt so I went back to feeding him every three hours.  That night he woke up 4 times again struggling to get out of his swaddle so I thought maybe the swaddling was waking him up so the next night we didn't swaddle him.  He fell asleep pretty easily unswaddled but woke up 4 times again and in the morning he looked like Edward Scissor hands!  He had cuts all along his face from scratching himself. 
Anyways this is getting very very long but now it's been a week and I'm going to try the 3.5hr EASY again.  Last night he was up 8 times so things are getting worse than ever.  I'm going to try swaddling him again, getting rid of the cluster feeds and doing a dreamfeed.  So far today it's working, he took a 2 hour nap after being up for an hour and a half this morning.  Probably because he didn't sleep at all last night!
It's just so frustrating because he use to be such a good sleeper.  Now I have to figure out where we've gone wrong and try to fix it.

[*Mona*]

hi

hugs to you for getting through this tough transition.
actually I'd try going for 4hrs EASY straight away.
if his naps are 45 minutes it means he's probably ready for at least 2hrs A time.
8 or so pm bedtime is ok, not oo late if he wakes at 7am or later.

have you tried dream feed? it does work if you stick to it and don't wake your baby for it.

and one more thing- maybe he was going through a growth spurt, wanting to eat and waking up at night so often?

how are you doing?
Monika

[moken]

Hi Monika,
I'm still on the 3.5 hour EASY.  I realized that all the wakings were actually due to some eczema that he had on his face that was making him so itchy he couldn't sleep.  We got some cortisone cream from the doctor and it seems to be making things better.  I've introduced a dream feed where before I wasn't doing one.  He now goes to bed at 8pm, DF at 11pm and then is up again to eat around 4:30am and then sleeps till 7am-ish.  Not quite as good as I had it before but I think that in the two weeks of constant wakings we might have gotten into a few bad habits that now need to be reversed.  When he's waking at 4:30am I think it's more to do with his itchy skin than hunger.  I want to give the cortisone cream a few days to start working and then I'm going to make the move to the 4 hour EASY.  I think the eczema, 3.5 hr transition and a growth spurt all happened at the same time making him one miserable baby!  I hope once he's not so itchy the 4hr transition will go soothly.   Thanks for the help and advice!

[*Mona*]

hi

sorry for him having eczema but great you have discovered source of his problems.

don't be afraid to give 4hrs routine a go. it should improve things even more.

Monika

[moken]

Thanks Monika, I know I should just go for the 4 hr EASY but I'm still a little gun shy.  Today I'm trying a 3.75 hr EASY to make sure everything stays the same and if it does then hopefully I'll be on a 4 hr EASY by the end of the week.  His naps are getting a bit better with the 3.5 hr EASY and it would be great if they got even better on the 4 hr EASY.  Thanks again for your help!