Ella,

I agree, I think you are doing a great job reading her “I’m too sleepy” signs.
To help her with that transition, here’s what I recommend: Try a “dream feed”. Get her up with no extra noise or light 20-30 minutes before she usually wakes up (3:40ish) and give her a feeding. It doesn’t have to be a full feeding, just enough to fill her little tummy so she won’t wake up at 4-5:00. If you can give her the feed while she is sleeping or almost asleep then after a couple days of this you can try dropping it all together. The idea is to help her transition from the 4 wake time by filling her tummy enough to get past it. When she breaks the habit (it usually only takes a couple of days) then she should be able to sleep through. Hope this will do the trick for you!

Hannah,

If I am understanding what you have written, I agree, she does sound like she needs to go down sooner, like she is getting over tired. However, she is still so young that I would do whatever gives her the most opportunity to sleep. Another way to say it is that you want to avoid the “too tired to sleep” downward spiral. I’m sure you know this since you have other children.
I guess, to be clear, I would try not to worry too much about a sleep routine yet, only enough so that she gets the sleep she needs, not thinking that you will be stuck with whatever you try to set right now. When she gets through the 4 month milestones then she will have the skills to self soothe and you will be able to work along with that to help her get into a more solid routine (until teething starts, right?!)

My question is, should I try putting her down earlier? Or should I scrap all routine and let her nap as she wants after 3 pm? (which would probably be three forty minute naps). Or should we just hang in there and wait for her to mature a bit? I want to establish a bedtime routine by 3 months but it’s just not possible at the moment because she is so tired by bedtime.

Lisa,

Absolutely! I think it’s smart to think ahead! 🙂
Right now we encourage sleep shaping more than sleep training (she’s a little too young to self-soothe at this point). This article is a good one in helping you know what she can handle right now. Once she reaches her 4 month milestones then she will be better able to self soothe. When you think she is ready you can try the Sleep Shuffle. Lot’s of fun! 🙂
So, back to your original question: try the crib transition first.

Danielle,

She is almost 5 months, but she was born 10 weeks early, so her corrected age is 11 weeks.  I know it’s too early to be expecting her to sleep through the night or to start sleep training.  I’m just trying to get it all figured out for when the time is right so I can have a loose game plan. 🙂