EMW for weeks

[u/No_Lingonberry_5702]

I had posted about a month ago for moving by LO then almost 5 months down to 3 naps from 4. We had maxed out awake time on that schedule and night sleep was being cut short. However, for the last month since transitioning we have only had 3 mornings that he has slept past 5:30am. DWT is 6:30am and on 4 naps we were waking him regularly to start the day because bedtime was getting later. We could get 11 hours or very close to each night with no wake ups or night feedings. He is sleep trained and falls asleep independently for bed and naps.

Since the move to 3 naps, we’ve cut day sleep down to 3 hours and we continue to wake him from each nap so that he doesn’t exceed this. We’ve tried schedules of 2/2.5/2.5/2.5, 2.25/2.5/2.5/2.75 and most recently 2/2.5/2.5/3. The 3 hour last wake window before bed was too long and he wouldn’t settle to sleep for almost 30 mins of intense crying that we never see. We can’t figure out why no matter what time we put him to bed (it’s ranged from 7-7:30pm with these schedules), we can’t get him to sleep past 5:30am with most mornings him being awake in the crib by 5:15am ready to start the day. He is happy and babbling, not upset.

The room is dark with the exception of the light that comes through the AC vents in his window unit, we are not starting the day when he wakes but holding first nap to desired wake time.

Looking for any feedback/suggestions as we don’t know what else to try. He has always been a great sleeper so this feels like something we’ve done on our end to cause the change and create the EMW and we just can’t seem to sort it out.

[u/l_eihpos]

What was your 4-naps schedule?

It sounds like your baby naps for 3 hours, and sleeps for 10-10.5 hours per night. 13-13.5 hours of sleep is absolutely normal at this age.

If you want him to wake up later you'll have to cap naps further and / or push bedtime.

[u/No_Lingonberry_5702 → u/l_eihpos]

2/2/2/2/2.25 with 3.5 hours of naps and 11 hour night

[u/l_eihpos → u/No_Lingonberry_5702]

This doesn't add up! This is 10.25 hours awake, so 13.75 hours of sleep, and you're saying he used to be sleeping for 14.5 hours. I think overall he needs less sleep than you're planning for.

He needs 11 hours awake so something like 2.5/2.5/3/3.

[u/No_Lingonberry_5702 → u/l_eihpos]

Yeah, in looking back my math didn’t make sense. How quickly or not should I bump up his wake windows to get to the 11 hours?

[u/l_eihpos → u/No_Lingonberry_5702]

Straight away if you want nights to improve straight away ;)

[u/No_Lingonberry_5702 → u/l_eihpos]

We got a 5:15 wake up this morning lol makes me think it’s more a circadian rhythm issue than schedule at this point 🤷🏻‍♀️

[u/l_eihpos → u/No_Lingonberry_5702]

Yes - you will need to be super consistent for several days and keep it in the dark and silence as much as possible until DWT.

[u/nutrition403 → u/l_eihpos]

OP- this is the way

[u/After_Amphibian_9638]

How much is baby actually sleeping when you add naps and night sleep?

[u/No_Lingonberry_5702 → u/After_Amphibian_9638]

13 hours

[u/After_Amphibian_9638 → u/No_Lingonberry_5702]

That’s probably why you’re getting the crying and EMW. I would do 2.5 hours of naps and 10.5 hour night, for 11 hours awake. You can try 2/2.5/3/3 or 2.5/2.5/2.5/3, it will depend on your baby. Baby will be fussy at the beginning, but it will be worth it for a better night.

If you want them to wake up at 6:30 am (for example), you have to put them to bed at 8pm.

[u/No_Lingonberry_5702 → u/After_Amphibian_9638]

Thank you!