[Ginger Low]

Hi Emma,

Thanks so much for your reply, I love this plan and suggestions! I have some follow up questions if that’s okay?

Consistent wake up: if she wakes up before the wake up time of 7-730am, for example at 645am, feeds, then falls back asleep for first nap at 715 for example- do I try to keep her awake during this time? Or let her go to sleep at that time?

Full feed: sometimes she will appear like she’s done with a feed then I swaddle her or do a short play, then she starts shaking her head and appearing hungry again- I always just offer to feed more at this point, but is there something else you recommend doing? Similarly sometimes it looks like she’s fallen asleep at the breast but the moment I unlatch her- ‘guess what I’m awake and still hungry’ lol! Any tips for this? Or just keep unlatching and checking to see if she’s really awake?

Settling pyramid: When I’m starting the bedtime routine/ settling, she is typically drowsy but not asleep after the feed. Sometimes with the pyramid (this has happened both starting with her in my arms and starting with in her bassinet) she will settle to sleep, then 2,3,5,10 minutes later she is awake again (a lot of times it’s gas that wakes her up), then she passes gas, I resettle, then awake in a few minutes, and we will get stuck in this loop where I suddenly realize an hour or more has gone by! She probably has had 30-40 minutes of sleep but also 20–30 minutes of settling between all those little sleeps. Is there a cap for how long to do the settling pyramid? Is there anything you recommend to help link those little naps? When she falls asleep in my arms, how long should I wait to transfer her to the crib- right away or wait several minutes?

Gas discomfort: I have definitely used some of the purple crying techniques when she is experiencing extreme gas/tummy upset to help her settle until that passes, which could be an hour or more soothing her, then finally she poops and all is good again! During this time we get so off track from the cycle, basically doing whatever to just get through it, how do you recommend resetting after? When she is waking up from gas (happens almost every sleep cycle) are you recommending just doing the settling pyramid? Is the goal to try to help her sleep through it?

Thank you again for your help!

[Ginger Low]

Thank you so much for your reply and questions:

Gas discomfort- I would say she’s generally content following a feed and able to get ‘milk drunk’ 🙂 She definitely has times in the day she is content and no pain. The gas seems to come in waves and inconsistent timing- could happen before, during, or after feed, sleep, or wake times. When it happens she is squirmy, uncomfortable, and restless until she gets it out.

Swaddle- arms are down! If she squirms her way out of it we will re-swaddle her.

Sleep during feeds- Yes this totally happens with her when breastfeeding. It is tricky. I try to pay attention and listen to see if she’s still swallowing, and it not I will tickle her a little then delatch to see if she’s asleep. Yes we unswaddle her and change her mid feed plus burping to keep her alert.

Wake windows- She tends to be most awake mid feed so that’s when I will do a minute or two of tummy time on my chest. She gets sleepy towards the end of feeds and if play is introduced she tends to get re-activated and show hunger signs again. So we end up doing more of a wake-feed-short play-feed-sleep routine. But it then starts to feel chaotic when it’s time for the sleep part of the cycle. We will start the sleep routine with her, she falls asleep, 2 min later awake, resettle, 10 min later awake, resettle, etc So it starts to become sleep-wake-sleep-wake-sleep-wake-feed-sleep loop.

Wake up time- No consistent wake up time. The second longer stretch at night she wakes from between 4am-7am. Then we are getting into the short stretches of sleep.

Settling method- That’s a good question! It depends on how unsettled she is. If she is really crying and uncomfortable then I’m rocking pretty hard (maybe I’m using it to regulate myself too lol!) If she has the sleepy eyes and calm I’m either rocking gently or not at all and just singing until she is out.

Please let me know if there are more questions again thank you SO much for your time and advice!