Night wide awakings!

[First Time Mom]

First, a quietly secret congratulatons on her sleep! Hope that it continues for you!!

My guess is that your dd is getting enough sleep when she goes to bed so early so she is waking that early and not needing more sleep. My ds does the exact same thing. The odd time he misses his catnap (which he still needs- he's only 6 mths) I put him down at 6pm to prevent OT and he wakes at 5:30ish. Oddly enough he ends up needing an extra morning nap from 7-8. If he gets his pm cat nap I put him down at 7pm and he wakes closer to 7. If he wakes slightly early, he doesn't fuss, so I leave him alone. I used to run in to "rescue" him thinking he couldn't go another second without a bf but now I know he can wait until 7 without a fuss.

I would slowly start delaying the bedtime by 10-15 minutes at a time and hopefully she will start sleeping longer in the morning. Let us know how you do!

[Flossie's Mum]

Thanks ever so much for your help, last night she STTN completely without even waking and settling herself, she just slept quietly and contentedly (and then woke up at 5.20am!). I'll try leaving her longer in the mornings and I guess I know I need to push her bedtime back, its just that her last A time is too long already, but I've posted a message on the naps board for help with that, so hopefully that should do it and I won't take up any more of your time! Thanks again

Louise

[First Time Mom]

That's great that she STTN! Good luck with the daytime adjustments!

[Flossie's Mum]

Ooops! Back again - I spoke too soon. Last night we had a bit of regression in the form of a NW at 2.10am which lasted until 3.50am! It was her fifth night of sleeping through and I've checked the BWSAYP book and I can't find it, but I'm sure it said regression after 5 nights is to be expected. I'm not sure what to do though - the only reference I've found to it in the book says 'go back to square one' so does that mean I should stop expecting her to settle herself?

She was gripping onto my finger for dear life last night (never done anything like that before) and crying whenever I took it away so in the end she pretty much fell asleep holding it, so I'm sure that was bad as it was a prop, albeit a new one. What do I do tonight if she wakes again? I managed to resist picking her up or feeding her but she's OT now because she was awake for nearly 2 hours and then woke up at 6.00am for good!

[First Time Mom]

Sorry to hear she had a long nw like that. Not sure why, nw could be from so many different reasons. I know you're trying to wean her from having so many nws but are you trying to wean from feeding in the night too? It's not unusual for a lo this age to need a night feed or even 2. I would feed but if you're trying to wean from the feed I'm not sure as I've never done that.

[~Sara~]

Hi Louise...sorry I've been MIA.  I'm thinking you might need some help with her overall EASY.  Bad nights come and go in general--for everyone.  I wouldn't get upset about one bad night or try to redo everything and second guess all the hard work you've been putting in simply because she had an off night, iykwim.

Other than not changing how you're settling her at night, if you're still feeding her, I think it might be time to wean and/or go to PU/PD.  What do you think about those?

[Flossie's Mum]

OK thanks, maybe I should just chill out about a couple of NWs, after all, they are nowhere near as bad as they used to be. I think I can't quite believe it that she's actually STTN and keep waiting for it to go wrong! Last night she woke again at 4 but settled much quicker than the previous night and then slept through until 6.25am, which is a huge improvement.

Its 6 days ago now since she first STTN and when she did that, I didn't feed her at the usual 3am time because she slept until 5.30ish, so I've never fed her in the night since, and I consider her to be now night-weaned! She kind of chose that herself by sleeping through, so it was unexpectedly easy, and even now she doesn't seem that hungry when she wakes, and I never feed her before 6.30am.

If the NWs get worse I guess I will have to use pu/pd, so I know there's another board for that. I have avoided it up to now but its my plan B. Anyway, I really will stop posting on this ENORMOUSLY LONG thread now! Thanks loads for all your help, Louise

[~Sara~]

I think it's great that you've both made SOOOO much progress!!  I mean, many LOs will wake up at night and fuss and then go back to sleep.  I think it's wonderful that she's shifted all her calories to the day (makes it easier for you, too).

All I can say is: don't be afraid of using PU/PD if needs be.  It might be that you use more of just putting back down (less stimulation).  If it comes to that, it might be a rough few days, but don't let yourself fear it.  Just breathe deeply and take it as it comes, right?