10 month old - EW at 5am returned....at a loss now!

[Bababoo]

DD was waking at 5am for several months - would get up and have a bottle but was wrecked by 2 hrs max, would put her down, she'd sleep for 30 mins and then up to start the day properly. It was suggested here that I extend the first A time to 4 hrs - fighting the urge to put her down when she got cranky after 1-2 hrs...and hopefully that would convince her bodyclock to stay asleep a bit later.

So, I increased DD's first A time to 4 hours and within a few days she was making it to a 6am WU rather than 5am...this helped her AM nap aswell as it's now an 1hr to 1 1/2..PM nap 30-45 mins.

This lasted maybe 2 weeks, then suddenly last week the 5am starts returned - meaning that she is only getting 10 hrs at night and 2 hours during the day.

She has teeth on the way but I'm convinced it's not the teeth waking her...she's not upset, just very awake...and sitting up in the cot ready for action! As the EW was ongoing for months, before the new teeth started to appear, it's a habit thing...I think anyway!

Sample day...
5.15 awake..put her lying down again in the hope she might settle, which she does occasionally and will fall back asleep independently....not today! Left her for @ 20 mins but she was in full chat mode and sitting up again so...
6am 7oz bottle
Playtime
8am breakfast
9.30 bed

10.45 awake
11.15 4oz bottle
Playtime
1.30 lunch (started, self-feeding so took 45 mins to finish it!)
2.45 bed

Sleep till 3.30ish
Dinner @ 5
Bottle @6 (7oz)
Bed (asleep by 7.30)

Some days she's asleep by 7 - the last A time is sometimes only 3 hours....last night she was asleep by 6.30pm as she was wrecked..and then started waking this morning at 4am...went back to sleep, woke, back asleep and made it to 5.30.

She is usually good for sleeping through the night and settling herself if she wakes..can usually find the paci herself.

I have no idea why the 5am start is back...was totally thrown the first morning it reappeared ..6am is still very early but does suit us both better, and I was hoping that 6 might slowly lead to 7!

Any advice very gratefully received!

[Lindsay27]

I think perhaps her day is a bit too long so she's OT which might be causing the EWs.  My DS had 5am EWs for a solid year so I know how frustrating they can be!  Have you tried and EBT at all - perhaps 6pm?  I would try to keep her day to as close to 12-13hr if possible

Have you given meds at all for the teeth just to see if it makes a difference?

[Bababoo]

Thanks Lindsay...I've given her Calpol going to bed a few times as she was a bit out of sorts but she's not upset when she wakes...just sitting up waiting for action!
Occasionally I have put her back lying down, given her a kiss and she settles herself for another 30-60 mins...but that's rare enough. She was at this 5am business long before the teeth were on the way so I am convinced it's something else..and when I initially increased the first A time to 4 hours she started making it to 6am and then 5am suddenly returned...

I did think that the days are long for her...but I find it hard to fit in 3 meals, 3 bottles and 2 naps in anything really shorter. I'm slowly cutting her mid-morning bottle so that might help bring lunch forward a bit. For now I might try bring her dinner forward a bit so she'd still have a break between that and bedtime bottle and see if I can get her down even 30 mins earlier. I think I'm also nervous that as she only sleeps for 10 hours a night that an earlier bedtime will mean a 4am wake-up!! 

[Lindsay27]

I think I'm also nervous that as she only sleeps for 10 hours a night that an earlier bedtime will mean a 4am wake-up!! 

It really depends on the LO - some tack on beautifully so an early bedtime can mean a longer night.  That said, my DS never tacked on, so eventually what I did was just set a BT (7pm) and stuck with it and rode out the OT. 

I did think that the days are long for her...but I find it hard to fit in 3 meals, 3 bottles and 2 naps in anything really shorter.

You may find that you are nearing the 2-1 transition soon, so when that starts to happen you'll find her day will shorten. 

[4isstillnighttime]

I could have written your post!! Nothing helpful to add but watching with great interest!!

[Bababoo]

My DS had 5am EWs for a solid year

Lindsay....did anything you do make a difference or did he just grow out of it as he moved to one nap - is he still an early riser? Just wondering if I have to wait until DD is a teenager to sleep past dawn again!!


LilyRose....we can sympathise with each other early in the am!!! This morning she didn't do the usual bopping around at 4am which is the start of her coming out of her deep sleep - and a sign that she will be up at 5am...I woke out of habit and got excited that the silence would mean we'd make it to 6 at least...esp as she was a little later going to bed last night...but no, awake at 5.10, completely awake immediately.

Promise you'll share any breakthroughs with me!!!

[Lindsay27]

I think as he moved to 1 nap things got better, but then after going to 1 nap they got worse again and that's when the year of EWs started we honestly just got over it about 2 months ago by pushing BT back.

As I said, EBTs never worked for us as my DS didn't tack on, but I would give them a go for a few days to see.  If you find that it doesn't make a difference, then perhaps just do a set BT.  Does she typically go down easily for both her naps?  I think because her first nap is about 1.15hr and her second is 45mins that she's not getting a true restorative nap, so perhaps by stretching that first A time you can get a longer AM and keep the shorter PM one for a bit.

[Bababoo]

About a month ago I upped the first A from 3 to 4 hours and now she's out like a light when I put her down for that first nap  - she used to bop about for ages in the cot and then only sleep for an hour tops, so the current hour and a half is a bit improvement (today it was two hours, though that's rare). She also now goes down much easier for the PM nap..and any longer a nap would eat too much into BT.

A month ago we had EW and short naps so I'm grateful that the naps now do seem to be restorative - she never wakes crying from the AM nap now - which used to happen often enough.

I put her down at 6.30 today so we'll see what the morning brings!

[Bababoo]

So she made it to 5.45am...which is an extra 45 mins...it's either the slightly earlier bedtime...or because she was WRECKED going to bed but also I turned the thermostat down last night so when the heating comes on for a couple of small blasts during the night it's not as warm  - it's possible that with the improved weather she has been too warm in the morning and that's what brought the 5am starts back.

Won't know for a few days what works but grateful for the extra bit of shut-eye anyway!!

[Lindsay27]

Won't know for a few days what works but grateful for the extra bit of shut-eye anyway!!

Absolutely!!  Once her wakings start to get a little later you can begin to shift her day forward a bit which should hopefully help.

[Bababoo]

So yesterday was a fluke...DD woke at 4.15 this morning...hasn't been that early for a while now...spent @ 20 mins shh-pat to no avail and then I thought I'd try a small bottle and straight down again...worked in the sense that she went back to sleep for @ 40 mins..but at that stage she had been awake for an hour and a half...so we were up again @ 6.30...did 3 1/2 hrs A time rather than 4 then as she really was wrecked...went down fine for nap but only slept just over an hour...in grand form..playing away. I could sleep standing up!

[Lindsay27]

Sorry I didn't respond until now, how has the last day been going? Was the WU the same this morning?  I am wondering if you are getting closer to the 2-1 and you either need to extend those A times (though it will make her day long) or start capping one nap - so having 1 longer nap of around 2hrs and a shorter one of around 45mins - 1hr.

[4isstillnighttime]

We are still doing badly, so take this with a pinch of salt....but I find things are much worse if we don't have 4h A before bed. To do this they need a long pm nap so I have started capping the first nap, just like Lindsay says.

[Bababoo]

Well, because she was awake so early she was wrecked all day...AM nap was no more than an hour and PM about 30 mins...BT was 6.30...asleep by then.
Because she had been so wrecked during the day her appetite was off so she didn't take much solids...not like her at all..and having gone to bed at 8.30pm myself to try make up the lost sleep she woke at 11pm - 2 hours later got her back to sleep - gave her a bottle as I suspected she was hungry after the small lunch and dinner and took ages to get her back to sleep.
So at 1am back to bed...and she woke at 5.15am - was sure she'd make it to 6 or 7.

Despite having had so little sleep she was in good form yesterday,and ate well. AM nap no more than an hour and PM was 30 mins again, in bed asleep by 6.30pm and she made it to 5.45am this morning (she woke at 4.30 but settled herself back to sleep).

I don't think she's ready for 2-1 transition yet to be honest..she does need that snooze in the afternoon, even just the 30 mins.
She had 3 1/2 hrs A between nap and BT yesterday, I really wouldn't have kept her up any longer...and she was asleep in a few minutes which for her is a real sign that she was ready!

So, I don't know what to do...I didn't do anything different yesterday and she slept really well last night..11 hours is great for her.

[Bababoo]

And she is awake now after just an hour...standing up in the cot within seconds of waking...not a hope of getting her back to sleep!