Need Help Transitioning 5 Month Old from 3 Naps to 2! - Penn Yan,NY

I think he's a little young for strictly scheduled naps and bedtimes. I didn't do that with infants, because their needs change so frequently. Every week or two may be a little different. I might give better advice if you gave his entire daily schedule. He might need his earlier naps to be at a different time so that he's not taking his last nap so close to bedtime, but again, I didn't schedule so young. For an infant, the right bedtime is when they are tired.

Stop the solids and breastfeed more. If the food is constipating him he is uncomfortable, which will affect his sleep. He is probably cluster feeding to get ready for a big growth spurt. He needs all the nutrition he can get from your milk, so hold off on the solids for a while and just breastfeed him on demand. It's not unusual for their sleep patterns to change around this time, so you just have to hang in there, and follow his lead. I never had babies that went to sleep for the night before 9pm, so remember that every baby is different and their needs change over time, especially the first year, it's almost like having a different baby every month lol!

This is a growth spurt time period, so he should be hungry. But he also sounds overtired.

As to the naps, I moved their bedtime early around this time, even as early as 5:30. My son would then sleep until 6 the next morning (with 1-2 nursings). If I was you, I'd try an early bedtime. If 5:30 seems too early for you, try 6, and just adjust by 10 minute intervals until he starts sleeping better.

Baby is going through the 6 month growth spurt and possibly teething. Drop the solid foods and nurse more. Eat more food and drink lots of water and take your vitamins. Get rest so that you can make more milk. Baby is nursing the way he is the bring in more milk for the growth spurt.

Do go out daily for exercise and fresh air in stroller. This will do you both good.

I tried the cereal with my daughter and it was the worst thing I could have done for her. She got constipated and it took about a week for all to get better. That is something you don't want your baby to experience and I felt bad for her.

You will do fine. Remember to feed on demand not on schedule at this age. Although their demand feeding schedule is usually every three hours or so.

All will be good.

The other S.

PS I used to drink a bottle of beer once a day while I nursed for the brewer's yeast and I am not a beer drinker but it worked.

I always increased my cal/mag (NOT oyster shell or calcium carbonate), but a GOOD calcium - a mix of anything else with magnesium. Growth spurts cause all of the symptoms you are describing, so I'd double my cal/mag intake and it made a WORLD of difference in a few days.

Not all calcium supplements are created equally. Trust me! Try this one and taking 4 at night should do the trick. If not, increase it by 1 or 2 for a few nights and then it'll happen!
http://www.vitacost.com/country-life-calcium-magnesium-co...

Maybe add 1/2 PB8 into his solids, but be sure they are veggies and only 1/2 as many fruit as veggies. Grains can cause issues with the bowels. Maybe start with avocado and sweet potato? And then add in the PB8 if necessary.

I never gave any of my kids solid food until after they had a tooth or two. I figured that was their body's way of letting me know they were ready for solid food. Just me and 4 kids speakin'. ;)

Late afternoon or early evening is a pretty typical witching hour.
My son didn't take to solids till almost 1 yr.
It's possible he's teething, too.
My son got his 2 bottom front teeth at 6 months.
A lot of changes and growing is happening right now.
Try taking him for a walk in the stroller in the afternoon.
Fresh air can help tire him out.
It'll settle out sooner or later.
Hang in there!

He is not ready for solids= he is getting constipated. That is the signal that his body is still developing and not ready for solids.

For the 1st year of life.... breastmilk is a baby's PRIMARY source of nutrition. Not solids. In fact, solids is not as nutritionally dense, as breastmilk.

A baby needs to feed/nurse on demand. Yes it is hard. Yes it takes most of the day. And it means doing it at night too.
The baby is growing.
Feeding or sleeping according to a "schedule" is not good. Because, a baby's appetite and growth-spurts, cannot be predicted, and it will not be, the same every day or every night. It changes all the time.
Hence, nursing on-demand is the healthiest way to feed a baby.

And, babies also do what is called "cluster feeding." In which they nurse every single hour. And this is normal. It reflects, their biological needs.

Both my kids had GINORMOUS appetites and I nursed them exclusively on-demand, day and night, for the 1st year. Yes it is not easy. But I did it. And they are healthy and grew like weeds.
My kids as babies, nursed... every 2 hours, sometimes less, and this was day and night, even though I had tons of breastmilk. They drank my dry, each time, and I used BOTH breasts per each nursing session.

Babies wake at night.
They also go through many developmental changes and teething and growth-spurts. It is not easy for them, either.

And, a baby's sleep patterns, ALSO changes all the time. It is never, static or the same all the time.
Their organs/brains/coordination/cognition is developing.

When/if a baby is over-tired as well, or over-stimulated... it makes it MUCH harder for a baby to sleep or to fall asleep or to stay asleep.
In other words, sleep begets sleep.

If your baby is hungry all the time, nurse him.
Also make sure that you are producing enough milk?
And that, he is latching on, properly.
If you are not producing enough milk or if he is not latching on properly, then a baby will not get enough intake.

There were MANY times, that my Husband would see me nursing my baby when he went to work in the morning. Then when he came home in the evening, there I was breastfeeding again. To him... I was nursing ALL ALL ALL day! And he'd ask me if that is what I do all day. And I would reply: 'YES, this is what I do all day. Your kids are babies. This is what they do. But they are healthy and developing well." Then he was proud of me. He knew it wasn't easy.

Contrary to popular belief.... solids does not make a baby sleep longer or better. It is not the answer. In fact, for many babies, solids actually makes more problems for the baby, if their body is not ready for it.

it sounds like teething/growth spurts.

You've got some really good advice here.

But to me, it sounds like a classic sign that he wants an early bedtime, especially if he is starting to drop his 3rd nap. For me, a new routine is where the change has lasted longer than 2 weeks and my girls were past 6months before they dropped their 3rd nap. We then moved their bedtime to 5.30 and this has worked for us. Sleep begets sleep and the first half of night sleep is always more restorative so it makes sense to get them to bed earlier.

A wonderful first food is avocado, as well as fresh stewed peaches and pears, sweet potato - all gentle on their little digestive system. Only add small amounts of banana, apple and rice cereal as these can be constipating. A great website full of helpful tips is : www.wholesomebabyfood.com

HTH!