Schedule Problem?

[Baby O&G's Mommy]

Hello, All...

I'm having some trouble with a really cranky baby in the evenings, and wondered if something's off in our schedule.  Would you kindly take a look, and let me know if you think this EASY is appropriate?  My dd will be six months old in one week and five days.

7:30 E
8:00 A
9:30-11:00/11:15 S
11:30 E
12:00 A
1:30-3:00/3:15 S
3:30 E
3:00 A
5:30-6:45 S
7:45 E
8:00 S

She wakes for one feeding around 3am, and has other, occasional wake-ups where she'll fuss for a bit, then go back to sleep on her own. (This took a LOT of work!)  Not usually more than a few minutes, and never more than twice a night.

You'll notice that the "catnap"  is an hour and fifteen minutes.  This is because she just keeps sleeping and I finally wake her at 6:45 so it won't get too close to bedtime. 

The problem I'm having is that she's cranky and seems tired sometimes from the time she wakes from her second nap, (3:15) until I put her in her crib for the night.  Other days, it's only after the catnap that she's really cranky.

I wonder if there is some schedule tweaking I can do?  I don't know if it's a bad sign that she wants to take such a long catnap?  It certainly seems that she's getting enough sleep for her age, but I'm just not sure....

Any ideas?

Thanks!

[* Paula *]

From the look of it you have a good schedule - and your nap times are fantastic.  When your lo wakes up after her npas (not the last one) does she wake happy or does she cry?

I see she is waking for a feeding in the early hours of the morning - does she wake for it at exactly the same time every night?  If so she could be waking out of habit.

Do you dreamfeed?

Are you planning to introduce solids at 6 months?

Attached is a link of the amount of sleep you could expect your lo to have

https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=3195.msg16728#msg16728

Paula x

[Baby O&G's Mommy]

Hi...thanks for responding.

She usually wakes a bit fussy, no matter how long she's slept.  Occasionally she'll wake babbling, but not often...yet.  (we've just "sleep trained", using our version of pat/shhh, and she's not CRAZY about her crib yet.  I think she's getting there, though.)  Usually, when I pick her up, she's full of smiles, and although a little fussy because she's kind of groggy, she's generally happy.  If I go straight to changing her diaper, she'll cry, but if I keep her in my arms for a few minutes while I go about my business, she'll wake up and then be cheery.

She does not wake at exactly the same time every night.  It varies quite a bit, actually, but is always the longest feed of the day.  As a matter of fact, I have to stop her sometimes because she'll eat so much that she'll throw it all up...not just a little spit up...really looks like most of the feed.

I don't dreamfeed anymore.  Had done so since birth, but it just seemed to disrupt her schedule.  She's EBF, and I just couldn't do it without waking her, (not even with expressed milk in a bottle) and I always felt like I was disturbing her sleep cycle.  She still wakes at DF time like clockwork, but I can either W2S, or can just go in and pat her back to sleep easily.  She then won't wake to eat for a couple more hours.

I am planning to introduce cereal, yes, but I'll probably do it pretty slowly, so not sure it will make much difference for awhile.

What do you think of the fact that she'll just keep sleeping and sleeping at the catnap if I don't wake her?  It seems like she's getting a LOT of sleep to me, (she's always slept a lot) could it be TOO much??

[rebecaq]

Hi Michelle,

Do you wake her from her naps or does she wake up on her own?

How grumpy is she when she gets up? You mentioned that if you change her diaper right away she gets mad. Maybe she needs a bit more time to wake up than other babies.

Some babies sleep more than other and it's ok. My ds was a champion napper for a few months. His am and pm naps were 3 hours each! Plus a full nights sleep!

I also found that cluster feeding him everyday worked for us. Maybe try the same to see if she drops that midnight feeding and gets her whole night's sleep. It may help her sort out her daytime sleep

HTH

- Beca

[Baby O&G's Mommy]

Hi, Beca,

Thanks for your response.  I don't wake my dd from naps, except for the catnap, because it goes on for so long, and gets so close to bedtime.

She wakes pretty happy from her first nap, grumpier from the second.  I do think she needs some time to wake up, and I give it to her.  I carry her around after getting her up, to give her a chance to wake up, or feed her if she's slept until feeding time, but she's often still grumpy for a lot of the late afternoon and evening, even if she takes two long naps, and even if she's slept fairly well at night.

I've tried cluster feeding, but she'd only eat for about half her usual time when I did that, so wasn't really getting any more than if I didn't cluster feed.  She just didn't seem hungry after only two hours, so wouldn't eat much.  So, I stopped.

I'm hoping that once she's established on solids, I'll be able to coax her to give up the night feeding. 

For now, I'm just trying to figure out if there's something off in our schedule...something not age-appropriate or something that's making her have a hard time making it through the evening without being fussy.

It's a mystery!

[* Paula *]

Michelle,

Do you think your lo could be teething?

My DS is usually grumpier in the evenings when he is teething - I think it has a lot to do with being tired as well as the aching gums.

Just a thought.

Paula x

[Baby O&G's Mommy]

Hi, Paula,

I do think that's possible. Although I don't see any obvious evidence, she has had two or three day spurts lately where she seems even grumpier than usual, and wants to chomp on everything in sight.  She's grumpy on other days as well, though, so I'm just not sure.  Thanks for the idea, though!  I'll keep it in mind as I'm trying in vain to figure her out!

[* Paula *]

It could very well be a teething problem.

When DS is teething, he does not really show many signs, except that he is grumpy, and when he is teething really badly he will not sleep very well.

Have you tried teething gel on her gums when she seems realy fussy?

Paula x

[Baby O&G's Mommy]

I haven't....I've tried Tylenol from time to time, and sometimes it seems to make a difference.  I'll try gel, though.  Thanks.

[* Paula *]

Let us know how you get on 

Paula x

[rebecaq]

Michelle,

Could it be her ears? Sometimes they may ahve an ear infection and not present a fever.

Just a thought.

- Beca