That has to be the explanation.
It is clear that she wriggled her way over to my laptop, checked out the blog, and read all about my efforts to get her on schedule.
And she laughed that great baby laugh.
"Ha, Mom! You think you know me? Think again!"
This time I was prepared for change, I just wasn't prepared for the when. Already? Didn't we just do this?
When your daycare teachers start to comment on needing a new nap schedule and they make jokes like, "See, she's telling you she doesn't like her schedule!", I guess it is time to give in.
I'm hesitant because it is the change to the FOUR HOUR SCHEDULE. This is 4 feedings. This is 2 naps. This is BIG. (Well, big in my exciting world of over-analyzing your 5-month-old). I do feel like it is significant - she will likely (!) be on this schedule for about the next 6 months and I don't want to rush it.
She isn't showing me the signs I am looking for that indicate I need to make the switch. She isn't sleeping through her feedings (rather, it is the opposite - she is up early and needs to be entertained before it is time to eat), and she isn't acting uninterested in eating (again, the opposite - she acts like she has never seen food before).
On the flip side, she has been taking 3-4 short naps and she really does need to move to 2 better naps. It is more restful for her and will make my life easier being home only twice a day instead of four times a day. Plus, her teachers will like me again.
I initially thought I would mess with her schedule to keep 5 feedings and 3 naps, but the math just doesn't work with a 6am wake time and a 7pm bedtime and a 430pm pick up at daycare. Not to mention that at 6 months she really should be at 2 naps and that is only a few weeks away.
I decided to take advantage of the Memorial Day holiday to move to the 4 hour schedule. She'll be home with me for 5 days in a row and I think we can set the stage pretty well. Between now and then I'll move her feedings around and try to get 2 good naps and 1 catnap in the afternoons. We'll end up with feedings at 6a, 10a, 2p and 6p. Lots of kids do well with 12 hours of sleep at night, but if she goes to bed at 630, her Dad will never see her. So, I think she'll eat and have a bath and be in bed at 7pm.
Who wouldn't like that?
After her 6 month check-up we will start to add solids, so don't worry, I'll still have something to hyper focus on.
1 comment:
It's slowly coming...I can see the progression-you are starting to accept that you will never have the same schedule for very long and they pretty much change when they want. Now that she is older don't feel you have to do this slow change to a new schedule-just do it. We figured that out somewhere around 6 months. Jack would almost adopt it the next day; Sam needs a little more time to adjust but it easier to just go with it. Time her "catnap" for the car ride home from daycare-you are going to lose that battle anyways so it may as well work for you.
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