6 month old night waking

[Jodielee]

My 6 month old has gone from sleeping 7pm - 7am to waking nearly every 2 hours help!
Our routine has recently changed as I'm soon heading back 2 work I have started wake ups at 6am which he seems 2 have taken 2 ok and I thought this may b the night waking trigger but it isn't improving it is worsening he now wakes an hour after being put 2 bed and does do several times prior 2 dream feed at around 10.15pm. He self settles at bedtime but when the waking starts he will only return 2 sleep by me holding and rocking shh shh he then settles quite quickly, however he is starting 2 want this occasionally 2 go off 2 sleep for day time naps and screams hysterically unless I do so, he would miss his whole nap time if I didn't do it tho sometimes he will go off 2 sleep alone?? I'm at a loss? Don't know where I went wrong?? Our routine goes:

E 6am breast solids 7.30
A
S 8 - 9.20
E 10 formula solids 11.30
A
S 12.20 - 1.20
E 2 formula
A 2.15 - 4
S 4 - 4.40
Bedtime routine
E solids 5.15 bath 5.30 formula bottle 6 pm breast top up 7 pm bed 7.15 -7.30 dream feed 10.15
Night wakings sometimes start at 8.20 or on a good night 9.20 it sometimes takes 40 minutes 2 settle he can b quite awake the after dream feed he wakes around 1.30 then sometimes 4.30 other times he wakes at 5 and won't return 2 sleep its quite random.
Also note he is still swaddled and sleeps well like this have tried without disaster and he isnt waking trying 2 roll or crawl??? I didnt think introducing solids or changing wake up 2 6 would have such a lasting affect, prior 2 now he was so happy and settled your advice please

[becj86]

It could be time to drop the catnap - naps are shrinking to 1hr20/1hr and he's waking early... thing is he's gotten OT from the short naps/nights. Pretty common at this age to move to a routine more like this:
6 - awake
9 - nap
10:30/11 - wake
1:30/2 - nap
3/4 - wake
7 pm - in bed asleep for the night.

What do you think?

[becj86]

I'm not saying go straight to that routine, but pushing that first A time will discourage the EW and hopefully get him longer naps that are restorative and help him sleep better at night again.

[Jodielee]

Thanks for info where do u suggest feeds fit into your routine? Would that mean he would b going 5 hours from one feed to another in morning? And r u suggesting dropping dream feed? I was trying to work my routine around your 4 hour easy do u feel this will help with night waking? I worry he won't lengthen daytime naps to that extent and he will have too much A time prior to E and b ready for S straight after E he sometimes will only sleep 40 minutes at his lunchtime sleep.

[becj86]

Have you started solids at all? Not pushing, just asking... it would fit something like this:
6 - awake, milk
7 - solids with water/milk
9 - nap
10:30/11 - wake, milk
12 - solids with water/milk
1:30/2 - nap
3/4 - wake, milk
6:30 - milk
7 pm - in bed asleep for the night.

or you could do this (if your LO will let you wait - mine wouldn't!):
6 - awake
7 - milk
9 - nap
10:30/11 - wake
11:30 - milk
1:30/2 - nap
3/4 - wake, milk
6:30 - milk
7 pm - in bed asleep for the night

Yes, I think pushing his A times during the day will help with the nights.

I worry he won't lengthen daytime naps to that extent and he will have too much A time prior to E and b ready for S straight after E he sometimes will only sleep 40 minutes at his lunchtime sleep.

Pretty normal worry - he may not lengthen them initially, in which case, you just shorten the next A time a little and your E's get a little closer together for a few days. Its not a schedule - its a routine so LO knows what's coming next. Sleeping only 40mins is typically from being undertired when he went down for the nap, so if you push the A time, the nap should extend (though if he wakes at 30min, jump in and resettle asap to give him a few days to get used to the new A time).

[Jodielee]

Yes he's on solids 3 x a day 7.30 11.30 and 5pm
Well he randomly slept thru last night from 7.20pm dream feed at 10.15 then woke at 5.45am but his day naps have been wonky...
Slept 8.20 til 9.30 tried to keep him up til 9 but was too grump
Then 12.40 - 1.20 woke still grumpy and I just put him down again at 4 as he wouldn't have lasted til bedtime but I wil wake him at 4.45 if stil sleeping.
Have I done the right thing today? I just can't get him to extend naps even with 3 hours of A time?
His sleeping thru last night was random as yesterday I did pretty much same as I have been previously and it was similar 2 2day tho he did sleep 1.30 in the morning where as today only 1.20.

[becj86]

Extending A times can take a few days to extend the naps.

Have the NW's started since he started solids? Just sometimes they can cause some discomfort (just a thicker consistency of food moving through the system).

I'd have trimmed the second A time back to 2hr40 or so after a 1hr10 nap.

Do you think he could be in a wonder week? http://www.thewonderweeks.com/index.php/about-the-wonder-weeks/your-babys-10-leaps/mental-leap-5 They can really mess with sleep...

[Jodielee]

Yes the solids prob do coincide with the night wakings I hadn't really thought of that?
He has rice cereal at 7.30am
Custard or similar at 11.30am
Vegetables at 5.15pm
Should I maybe do vegies at lunchtime instead? Do u think 3x a day too much?
Bedtime last night was 7.20
He woke at 9.55 so I did dream feed he then woke at 11.30 and 12.30 but then slept til 5.50am?
He doesn't seem in pain when he wakes but is quite wide awake sometimes?

[becj86]

The solids thing can just be, you know, like when he was just born and getting used to having milk go through his system, now its a new consistency going through and just feels different, not necessarily painful, but different. It could be he just needs to get used to it.

Has he dropped his milk intake at all with the solids starting? Milk is higher in calories, so you want to keep solids for tasting and fun at this stage as milk is meant to be the main source of nutrition til 12 months. If he's dropped his milk intake, he could be waking hungry.

Rice cereal can be constipating with the extra iron in it - how are his poos?

[Jodielee]

I have only just started formula feeding so I'm unsure if intake has changed, I actually think he's having more milk now tho. I breastfeed at 6am then 10am 2pm 6pm r all 180ml bottles which he drinks all of I also top him up with breast at around 7 b4 putting to bed then his dream feed is breast. His poos r good quite a bit firmer now we r on solids but he goes every evening b4 bed. I decided to give vegies 4 lunch 2day and custard 4 tea.

His day sleeps 2day have improved we got 2 hours this morning from 8.30 - 10.30 then an hour at 1.30-2.30 but I then wasn't sure what to do as I knew he wouldn't last til bedtime from 2.30 so I gave him a catnap at 4.50 and woke him at 5.15. Was this the right thing to do? I'm thinking maybe not as he was difficult 2 put down at bedtime and didn't fall asleep til 7.50 instead of 7.20ish and he just woke already and hour after falling asleep he was quite distressed I had 2 rock back 2 sleep! I just can't seem 2 get it right, poor little man :-(

[becj86]

I would say to bring bedtime earlier after the one hour nap, rather than lengthening the day further with the catnap. FWIW, when DS was that age though, I often threw in a catnap and got a fight at bedtime

[Jodielee]

Well last night was odd again his BT was 7.20 he settled beautifully straight off to sleep then woke at 9pm crying I cuddled then laid back down he then woke at 10pm same I resettled and waited and then did dream feed at 10.30 he then woke at 11.30?? But slept thru til 5.50 am after that Very random. His day yesterday
E 6am breast 7.30 rice cereal
A
S 8.30 woke at 9.20 rocked back to sleep 10.10
E 10.15 180mls formula 11.45 solids vegies
A
S 12.20 - 1.20
E 2 180mls formula
A
S 4.20 - 5
E 5.15 solids custard 5.30 bath 6.00 210 mls formula 7.00 breast top up
S 7.20
I feel I have to do catnap in arvo as his day naps rnt long enough to get him to BT from his afternoon wake up at 1.20
I stil can't seem to get night right?

[becj86]

Those two shorter naps are probably undertired - I'd push the A time more towards 2:45-3hr, as 2:30 is just not enough for him to get long naps.

The nights are often off when the day routine isn't right for the LO, once you get the day sorted, the night usually falls into line pretty quickly.

[Jodielee]

Does this mean he will miss a feed tho if he's on 4 hour easy I don't get how it wil work say if he wakes at 6am and feeds goes down at 9am til 11am he would have been due 4 feed at 10? Then up at 11 and if A time is meant to b 3hours back down at 2 when if fed at 10 he would b due 4 another feed? If slept from 2-4 if he ate at 4 would he b Hungary 4 bedtime feed? Which on my 4 hourly easy would b at 6?? 6, 10, 2, 6? Sorry confused how 2 extend naps whilst keeping same amount if feeds at 4 hourly intervals?

[becj86]

Feeds push out a bit once solids are added into the mix and you end up with a natural cluster feed or a DF being the 4th feed. So he's not going more than 4hr without a feed, just more than 4hr between milk feeds (with solids 1-1.5hr after milk).

Like this:
6 - awake, milk
7 - solids with water/milk
9 - nap
10:30/11 - wake, milk
12 - solids with water/milk
1:30/2 - nap
3/4 - wake, milk
5 - solids with water/milk
6:30 - milk
7 pm - in bed asleep for the night.

[becj86]

This thread has been locked as Jodielee has a thread on EASY about her routine: http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=231149.0