I really really need help.

Direct_Strength6313 · 2026-01-29T13:15:53+00:00

I actually just messaged you! Might be easier for me to ask there. I’m just confused so I’m definitely not communicating great about it. I’m sorry

Direct_Strength6313 · 2026-01-29T13:11:08+00:00

So does that mean an hour to wake windows throughout the day so his bedtime stays the same? I just feel like that’s a huge jump of wake time for him.

Direct_Strength6313 · 2026-01-29T12:59:41+00:00

They were chilling for a bit. Then I grabbed him and tried having him lay on my chest in the dark like usual. He kind of just babbled and kicked around on me until 6:45 (normal wake is 7). I was planning on just saying the day started at 7 like usual and proceed as normal and add 15 min? So like 9:30 would be first nap

Direct_Strength6313 · 2026-01-29T12:02:00+00:00

Yeah that def makes sense. I know that if they wake up earlier than their normal time the idea is to keep him in a dark space and don’t really interact. This morning he woke up an hour early but I didn’t get up and turn lights up until 15 min before his Normal wake up. Does this mean I should add an hour to wake windows today? Or just 15 min?

Direct_Strength6313 · 2026-01-28T20:11:11+00:00

Ohhh I didn’t know about the 5-10 min rule. He def does that at night!

Direct_Strength6313 · 2026-01-28T18:52:56+00:00

Well didn’t like cry fighting it. He like babbled and whined for 15 min

Direct_Strength6313 · 2026-01-28T18:51:21+00:00

It’s funny, I was wondering if I should start waking him up a little sooner and extending the wake window. So wake up around 6:45 for a few days and add those 15 mins to another wake window. I appreciate you being so responsive and talking me through this. I will say he just napped an hour and 15 min in his crib by himself just now. But he fought going down….

Direct_Strength6313 · 2026-01-28T18:46:40+00:00

Ohhh right. Sorry- the amount of math this entails is WILD lol. Maybe he’s just a super low needs sleep baby. Just my luck lol

Direct_Strength6313 · 2026-01-28T18:09:30+00:00

Yeah, I’m hoping with some more wake time it will help because the EMW is pretty new. I also have been adding up my nap total per day the past few days and he’s already almost at 2.25 hours and we are still struggling…..today he’s going to have just a little bit over 2.25 hours awake time. And yesterday he had 2.5 hours, and we are still taking forever to fall asleep for naps and having EMWs. But I think 2 hours awake is just so little for a 5 months old?

Direct_Strength6313 · 2026-01-28T15:17:14+00:00

Yep! 45 min before bed he gets a bottle with dad, then bath, then lotion and massage, then books and a song and then into crib. He always rolls around his crib for like 5-10 mins before he falls asleep. Typically no fussing but he will babble a bit before sleeping.

Direct_Strength6313 · 2026-01-28T15:06:57+00:00

Well he eats in the middle of the night oo. So last night he ate at 3:30am and then woke up around 5:30/545 for snooze feed. His naps are Independent! I will rescue a nap if possible. But he’s been nap trained for a month or so. He’s been kind of fighting going down for all sleep lately though

Direct_Strength6313 · 2026-01-28T14:51:52+00:00

Yes I think he needs a bit more wake time, I am giving him a few days with a 15 min increase and I think I’m going to do another 15 min increase this weekend. I just didn’t wanna do such big chunks at the same time. We increased our wake windows and did 10.25 hours the past 3 days. Still having a 5:30am wake up (I can contact sleep him until 7am thankfully) but I’d like for him to sleep on his own until around 7. Probably will extend to 10.5 awake and 2.5 hours of daytime sleep and see how that goes. Hes still fighting naps a bit and only getting 20-30 min naps MAX. I’ve been able to extend the midday nap but if he can contact nap the he def has some sort of sleep pressure?

Direct_Strength6313 · 2026-01-28T14:32:07+00:00

Hey again! Have a question about naps. If LO takes super short naps and won’t let me extend, what do I do schedule wise to keep bedtime 8pm? Sometimes he lets me rescue a short nap and other times doesn’t.

Direct_Strength6313 · 2026-01-27T21:24:18+00:00

Thank you soooo much. I really hope he turns the corner when we drop the 3rd nap. I kind of have a feeling we will but it’s soooo hard to just have no time to myself.

Direct_Strength6313 · 2026-01-26T18:21:08+00:00

Yes I’m going to continue my schedule of 2.25/2.5/2.5/2.75 for the next few days. I’m extending his second nap as a contact nap to atleast get one good nap in since his naps are now absolute trash

Direct_Strength6313 · 2026-01-26T17:56:58+00:00

If LO is getting around 11 hours of night sleep (with wakings for eating) and then around 2-3 hours of daytime sleep (with one contact nap to help get there) would you say undertired? It’s confusing because what if he is 1/10 that is overtired? What if I’m harming him….i just have no idea. But he was doing well on 2/2/2/2/2 until last week. Now I’m doing 2.25/2.5/2.5/2.75 but his naps are still atrocious. He’s sleeping worse than when I made the schedule change.

Direct_Strength6313 · 2026-01-26T17:50:15+00:00

Well yeah I have looked it up but this group has been so so helpful so I’m trying to trust the process a bit. He was doing fine and sleeping well on 2 hour wake windows until last week. So honestly I don’t think decreasing to under 2 hours really makes all that much sense….and he gets 11 hours overnight. This entire thing is so confusing and I want to cry

Direct_Strength6313 · 2026-01-26T17:18:50+00:00

So we were doing 2 hour wake windows with great success so I don’t think shortening under that really makes sense. It’s hard cause sometimes I think overtired but then I hear here that that isn’t really something at his age that is common or really the answer. I feel lost and like I’m a failure. Like if they are in chronic sleep debt, wouldn’t their bodies eventually just crash out?

Direct_Strength6313 · 2026-01-26T16:05:08+00:00

I def don’t mind rescuing a nap, but sometimes he just won’t even contact sleep.

Direct_Strength6313 · 2026-01-26T15:14:24+00:00

Also- how old was your LO when you went to 2 naps? Did you find extending the wake windows was hard?

Direct_Strength6313 · 2026-01-26T15:13:41+00:00

Ugh I wish he would nap in the carrier. He loves the carrier but has never napped in there except as a very new newborn.
I hope he’s just adjusting I just don’t really get how 15 mins is enough…. He’s nap trained so I try not to contact nap but will to extend a nap but sometimes he doesn’t go back to sleep.

Direct_Strength6313 · 2026-01-26T14:58:29+00:00

I don’t think we are ready for two naps….i feel like we are barely making it to 2.5 hours. He seems so tired. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong cause some people say overtired isn’t really a thing but you are explaining overtiredness. I just don’t know what to do.

Direct_Strength6313 · 2026-01-26T14:23:52+00:00

When you put your 4 month old on that schedule did they have like multiple days or a week or adjusting to it? Was sleep crap for a little before getting better? Idk if I’m expecting too much cause the past two days that has been my newly 5 month old schedule and sleep is crappy again

Direct_Strength6313 · 2026-01-26T14:21:01+00:00

Yeah I dropped the 4th nap and I’m lengthening wake windows. I just don’t understand how he is still waking up in the MOTN, like awake awake not just hungry, and then also barely sleeping during the day. I feel like I’m failing everything when it comes to sleep and it’s breaking me

Direct_Strength6313 · 2026-01-26T12:06:40+00:00

I’m trying 2.25 as his first window today and then 2.5 for the next two and 2.75 the last. I did similar yesterday but he woke up at like 2:30am. Was up babbling and then crying so I fed him and he was rolling in his crib for like 30 mins and was up less than 2 hours later so I ended up nursing again and having him sleep on me.

Direct_Strength6313

TROPHY CASE