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Anyone tried E.A.S.Y

Hi

I am interested to know if anyone has tried this method and if so whether you could share your rough routine with me. After feeding nearly every hour for 6 weeks, I was ready to give up breastfeeding when someone suggested the baby whisperer book. Having read it, a lot of the advice made sense in particular that my daughter was using me as a human dummy rather than feeding. We have given it a go over the weekend and she is able to go the recommended 2.5/3 hours between feeds, however i am finding that it is much easier if we are out and about as she drops off to sleep in her pram or car seat, but otherwise she really resists the S (sleep) and then the cycle of her wanting to suckle on me starts again. I 'catch the third yawn' but she still wont sleep. This morning I gave her a dummy just to delay the feeding and induce the sleep bit and it worked, but I don't want her becoming reliant on the dummy instead.

Any tips/ideas?

:\?

Replies

  • Hi what is the E.A.S.Y method, sorry to be clueless!!?
  • E A S Y stands for Eat/Actrivity/Sleep and You time(while baby is asleep) as a suggestion for a 'routine' in the baby whisperer book. It is meant to be more of a pattern than a routine but also to prevent negative habits such as baby snacking or needing to feed to get to sleep by separating feeding and sleeping.

    So far it has definately made a difference to me as baby was feeding every hour and then falling asleep on me and waking up wanting to feed again - very exhausting. This way I keep baby busy for a bit and then she doesn't want to feed because she is asleep so she now feeds every 2.5/3 hours when it works. The main problem though is that my daughter resists the sleep (book recommends that you have them in bed by the third yawn but it just doesn't work for her)

    I guess this approach would not be recommended by the midwives, but after 6 weeks I found that feeding on demand was just downright demanding. If this enables me to regain some of my sanity and start enjoying feeding my daughter again, then it will be worth it. Could just use some tips on getting her to sleep without the dummy or how to use it as a short term measure.
  • I now do the EASY routine. I initially started off on a much more fixed routine but have now moved onto the EASY routine as i understand lo cues better now.

    My lo is 18 weeks now but has actually gone backwards to 3- 3.5hrly feeds as he is a hungry boy.

    I found at 6 weeks he would only stay awake for 1hr so make sure your lo is not getting overtired. I would say intially just do what you have to to get lo to sleep for suggested time. This way lo will get used to sleeping during the day then you can concentrate on the self settling aspect.

    Make sure you have a good wind down period. I start this after the first yawn or if we have had 1hr 45 mins of A time. I take lo up to his room, close curtains and just walk around room talking to him about either what we are going to do or what we have done that day. Once i get the 3rd yawn i then swaddle him (the only way he will sleep longer than 45 mins!) and put him down in cot. He now self settles brilliantly with minimal crying and usually just a few shouts!

    My EASY routine is as follows (also BF)

    7.30 wake up and E
    A - quiet play
    S - 9am approx for 1.5 to 2 hrs
    Y

    E - 10.30 / 11am
    A - active play
    S - 12.30 - 1pm for approx 1 hr
    Y

    E - 2.30pm
    A - play
    S - 4pm for 45 mins catnap
    Y

    this is where it gets a freestyled!!!
    E - short BF as a top up at 4.45pm
    A - door bouncer and then naked kicking/bath/massage
    E - BF at 6.20
    S - 7pm

    HTH x
  • Thanks katstar. I think i might have been overestimating the awake time she was capable of and missing the cues. Also think i will keep the dummy until the routine is a bit more fixed and then hopefully i can take it away in a few weeks by which point she will have the idea that i want her to sleep.
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