So I have decided to try out a new schedule with Eliana. This 3 hour thing just doesn't seem to be working anymore and she most definitely has decided to no longer Sleep Through The Night. I don't know what's wrong or what changed, but I know I have tried everything in the world to get her to go back to her normal 9p to 6a without waking up. But nothing is working. So I am trying out a new schedule.
Today is day 1 with the new schedule and so far I think its going well. But the real test will be tonight. I truly hope it works otherwise its back to the drawing board. But for all you Mom's out there I would love some insight as to what your schedules are and what you do. Here is what Eliana's new schedule looks like:
8am: Wake up and Nurse
8:30 - 10:00am: Wake Time/Play Time
10:00 - 12:00pm: Nap
12:00pm - Wake up and Nurse
12:00pm to 2:00pm - Wake Time/Play Time
2:00pm to 5:00pm - Nap
5:00pm - Wake up and Nurse
5:00pm - 7:30pm Wake Time/Play Time
7:30pm - Bath
8:00pm - Bedtime and Nurse
Here are my questions:
I realize that I am going 5 hours without nursing in the afternoon, but she always takes a longer afternoon nap and so my other options are to wake her at 4pm and nurse then have her take another 1 hr nap like between 5:30 and 6:30pm or to keep the 3 hour nap, but nurse her again at 2pm before I put her down. I know your not supposed to feed before nap time, but its the only other option I have. She can't stay awake the entire time between 4pm and her 8pm bed time so I am stuck with extending her afternoon nap or allowing another cat nap before bedtime. My only problem with the cat nap before bedtime is that I don't want it to affect her ability to go to bed at 8pm.
Any thoughts or resolutions or suggestions? I am assuming she will still nurse somewhere around 5-6am and then go back down afterward for at least another month because I don't think she is quite ready to do a 12 hour stretch. She can go 10 hours, but she always wakes up in the middle of the night now for whatever reason. Gas, Teething, Constipation, etc. I have no idea. So I figured if I went militant with my schedule it would help her sleep better through the night. In the beginning this wasn't a problem, but apparently now that she is older and more aware of her surroundings I think she is becoming more sensitive and needs a stricter schedule.
Anyhow that's my situation. I would appreciate everyone's input. Eliana is almost 5 months in case you were wondering and we did start her on rice cereal about a week ago, but stopped because it seemed to constipate her. We are holding out before trying anything else.
Thanks Guys!
p.s. We have followed the whole babywise thing since day 1 and it was working like a charm until about 3 weeks ago and since then I have no idea what's wrong.
thats isaiah's EXACT SAME schedule! i will pray it works for you! you are a great mother and doing a great job...never forget that!
ReplyDeleteLydia always had short waketimes and a 4-hour schedule didnt work for her until she was 6 months old. Did you do the dreamfeed at the beginning? Perhaps you dropped it too soon? I would see how tonight works out with her sleep but I also wouldn't be afraid of trying out the cat nap. I know at that age I was messing around with Lydia's schedule a lot since I was trying to push the 4-hour schedule but I don't remember what her exact schedule was. not sure if you know about the babywise blog but maybe it would help! http://www.babywisemom.com
ReplyDeleteI know this post was a month ago so you're probably past this but here's my 2 cents: 1) Don't be too quick to take what "they" say as the final say-if your baby needs to nurse (be it for sustenance or comfort) then nurse them regardless if "they" say you're not supposed to before a nap. 2) You could try putting her to bed earlier. It seems completely counter intuitive but Ethan actually started sleeping longer when we adjusted his bedtime to an earlier one. These are my thoughts but just remember-you're the mama!
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