Help 4.5 mo LO multiple night wakings

[AndreaGr]

I am new to this forum but I have been following EASY since me LO was 4weeks. She has always been a decent sleeper but definately needs a routine and any change can disrupt everything and put us multiple steps back. Anyways a bit of history: my LO has always slept thru the night with generally waking at 1/2 am feeding then going back to sleep waking at about 5:30-6:30ish am. She was a good day mapper until about 3.5 months and then started the. 45min naps so I worked with her to help with the transitions and got alot better with only the occasional nap being 45 mins. And te rest at least 1.5 hrs-2hrs. After we did that she had her 4 month shots and had on really bad night and then they all went bad. She now sleeps 1-1.5 hrs and then consistently wakes for the past 6 nights (I'm exhausted) and so I wanted to nip it right away and so I tried to help her transition and it seems to make her worse. Heres her easy:
Wake 7 ( get out of bed after a fussy night)
E-7:30
A-walk dog
S-9-9:15
E-11-11:30
A-play do motor skills
S-1pm
E-3ish
A-jolly jumper or play or swing
S-5-5:30
E-6:30
A-bath, night routine
S-7:15-7:30

Now we do use a paci but I've tried to make sure it's not used as a prop and generally she spits it out about 5 mins into her sleep. We were also on vacation when this all started happening so I thought it was just a change in her enviroemt and hoped with a bit of work it would get better but hasn't
Any suggestions? Or is this a developmental blip? Help please

[Bex09]

Hi there, hugs for the rough nights, I know how tough they are. How long has your LO been on a 4 hr Easy? Just wondering if it is a recent change or if A times have just recently increased? Has your DD had the 4 mo growth spurt yet? That can cause NWs and sleep issues as it is a big one.

[AndreaGr]

 thanks for the hugs.
My LO has been on 3:30-4 h activity for a couple weeks now. Some days her sleep cues are early and others later. I never push her to the 4hr easy. If her day is more 3:30 that's what we go with.  We did already have the 4 month growth spurt. I think that mixed with the immunizations was a double whammy and may have gotten us into this mess. She has today though just started rolling over, moving legs and arms excessively and grasping toys firmly with alot more control. Do you think these NW might have to do with all these developmental milestones?
Thanks for your input I really appreciate it

[Bex09]

Sounds like you are doing great following your DD's cues. It could well be the GS and immunisations that started this sleep pattern. How are you resettling her when she wakes? Also how did you work on the transition through 45 min wake up? Is your DD an independent sleeper? So does she fall asleep on her own or does she need help? Sorry for all the questions, just trying to help you get to the bottom of all this.

It could well be a developmental leap that is causing the NW now. They always caused havoc for us in terms of NW. It worked well for us to give as much practise in the day during A time as possible.

[AndreaGr]

So last night was finally our break. Thank goodness!! I think you are right that it was her GS mixed with immunizations!!

She slept back to her "normal" woke at 1:40am for a feed and resettled back to sleep.

However, our day naps are a disaster. Its almost like she forgot how to settle and do her "transition". When she wakes i first wait a couple minute and try to let her do her thing. She moves her head side to side and throws her legs in the air (self settling?) and then she tries to break out of her swaddle and starts to cry. At this point i will go in and replace her soother if its come out and place my hands for physical contact to help settle. If this doesn't work (shes let out a cry or start fussing real bad) then i will pick her up. However, almost instantly she buries her head in my arm and falls asleep as I'm trying to put her back into her crib, then as soon as she hits the crib she wakes and cries and so i pick her up again and try the Pu/pd techniques but it seems like too much for her so i end up rocking with her briefly and she settles and at that point i can put her into her crib. Am i starting an accidental parenting that is going to cause problems down the road?

Sometimes if i catch her sleep cues really quickly and settle her (wind down really fast) and place her into her crib she will settle herself back to sleep but the past few days isn't doing the transition herself during her naps.

Any advice? Thanks so much for your help. Sometimes its just the simplest little things that someone else points out and it totally makes sense

[Bex09]

That is great that you had better sleep again last night. The rocking and cuddling to sleep could become a prop yes and then you run the risk of DD waking in the night and needing this prop to get back to sleep. PU/PD can be too stimulating for some LOs and your DD is still so young. Have you tried shush/pat at all to settle your DD? We also used to use white noise and when DD cried at being put in her cot if we turned it up quite loud it would stop her crying straight away! We then turned it down and rubbed her back and she would fall asleep. It does sound like your DD is struggling to transition her sleep cycles. She will learn how to do this as she matures and with help from you to teach her.

[AndreaGr]

Ive tried the shush/pat but my LO hates going on her side so i can pat her back but i use to just shh her but then since shes become more aware she actually likes it and watches me and coos but wont go to sleep (no matter how long i do it). so then i started using white noise and it definitely helps but i never thought to turn it up loud and then turn it down. That's a great suggestion thank you and thanks for all your responses i really appreciate it. I hope this is easier when a second child comes..so much to learn for the first

[Bex09]

Ahh it does get easier hun trust me. My DD was the worst sleeper as a baby and is great now, most of the time! Just try to remember everything is a phase and it will pass. Hope the white noise works, you could try stroking DD's head or patting her arm instead of patting her back. Experiment and find what works for you best, it is just a variation of shush pat really.