Need some help with EW

[Dovely73]

Hi,
My 9 month old had been waking up early for the last month or so. It's usually around 6.00-6.30am but the last two days were more like 5.30am. I'm sure it's a routine issue but I'm struggling to work it out. Our routine has been a bit up in the air lately. My mum died two weeks ago so we've been up and down to my parents and staying in different places. It's been a crazy time and the EW really aren't helping as I'm exhausted on top of everything else.

Anyway, I tend to put him down for his first sleep about 2.5 hours after he wakes. He will sleep for about 2 hours. Then up for 3 hours before afternoon sleep which lasts either 45 mins or 1.5 hours. If he wakes very early he will happily sleep for 3 hours in the morning or have 2 hours in the afternoon. He's usually up by 3.30.

He goes to bed at 7.00pm and he used to wake at 7.00-7.15am. I think he's tired when he wakes early. With all the upheaval over the last month he did get very tired but we're now back at home and I need to get back on track again.

He's breast fed and on solids. I currently do a dream feed at 10.30pm but want to phase that out now.

I'd really appreciate some help. I just need to get back on track.

Thanks

[nevinsmama]

Hi there. First off, big hugs to you on the passing of your mama I can't imagine how tough that has been and quite possibly LO picking up on the stress.
As far as routine I would start pushing that first A out to at least 3 hours as most 9 month olds are doing closer to 3-3.5 hour A. That lovely first nap too close to WU time could be encouraging the EW. A lot of LOs are doing a shorter 2nd nap so maybe do a 2nd nap at 45 minutes to keep the day from getting too long. What do you think?

[Dovely73]

Thank you for your reply. It's so helpful to have someone else's thoughts on the situation. I've tried a few different things over the last few days in an attempt to try and get him to sleep later. I've extended the morning A to 3.5 hours and restricted his morning sleep to 1.5 hours rather than 2 hours. It's unpredictable what he'll do in the afternoon. He's been resisting his afternoon nap, even if he's been up for 3.5 hours with trip to the park etc. He must be tired and yet it's been very difficult to get him down. Once he's down he'll sleep for either 45 mins (and won't go down any longer) or 1.5 hours.

I tried giving him a short sleep in the morning (45 mins) in the hope that he would do a long afternoon sleep but that was a disaster as he only did a 45 min afternoon sleep as well so must have been exhausted.

What ever I've done he's been completely exhausted by 6.30pm. I would usually have him in bed for 7.00pm and that would be fine but lately the last half an hour has been really hard for him. He's woken up at between 6.00am and 6.30am each day. When he wakes he calls out and sounds a bit naffed off but doesn't really cry and doesn't sound distressed. I usually leave him until about 6.45am when I go in and feed him. I obviously go in earlier if he cries properly.

Do you know how long I should persist with a new system? Should it work immediately or does it take a few days for them to adjust?

If you have any thoughts I'd really appreciate it. It would really help the whole family if we weren't all exhausted all the time!

[nevinsmama]

Good to hear from you, hope you are all hanging on OK.
I would let the AM nap go up to 2 hours if I were you.
PM naps can be very tricky to get at this age! I always had to AP ( buggy, carrier, carseat) the 2nd nap when DD was transitioning. Do any of those options work for you?
Yes, a new routine will take a while to settle in, I would give it 3-5 days to see how it goes.
I think your response to the 6-6:30 waking is quite appropriate. If he is out at 7 then that is 11-11.5 hours of sleep so it may be that he has slept "just enough" and perhaps working towards shifting to a later BT is in order? Just quite gradually as he can handle the longer A times. Hope this helps, keep us posted!