BabyWhispererForums.com

SLEEP => Night Wakings => Topic started by: erinsmum36 on June 30, 2006, 09:44:36 am

Title: what to do - DD wins every time at 5!
Post by: erinsmum36 on June 30, 2006, 09:44:36 am
so, they say a baby cant manipulate you, but I swear my beautiful 4.5 month old has learnt! She was sleeping thru for a month, bar a 5 day blip in the middle. Sleeping from 7pm - 6 or 6:30am. Just when i stopped waking habitually at 4am expecting to feed her (w2s for parents is needed!) she has started waking at 5 or 5:30am. This morning she was chatting to herself for 5 mins and then the 'calling' started. DH normally sleeps thru and has never got up at night to soothe (office jobs are so much harder than motherhood!!?) so I decided to leave her - it wasnt proper crying but a mixture of calling and frustration. I left it for about 5 mins.. even DH woke up and looked at me, wondering why I was still in bed.. he was even about to go to her. I said to leave it a little longer and eventually I decided to go in. I didnt go in cos I knew exactly what she was doing and KNEW she was not distressed. When I went in She threw her arms up and instantly squealed with delight and smiled. I knew it - no tears, not misery - just 'I won!'. So, I tried the dummy (not really a dummy baby, she sees it as a bit of a game but sometimes uses it last thing before sleep). She was indignant at being offered it and started to cry. Ipicked her up and tried to soothe and she realised I hadnt started feeding her and upp'd the volume. so I fed her. Im never really sure if shes hungry enough, but she always takes some and i am now trying to limit the amount in the hope that she gets fed up of waking up for less and less. After a quick feed I  put her straight back in the cot and left as usual. Or wake up time used to be 7am but i have to confess i am now letting her sleep till 8am as otherwise I am too tired to cope with the day (it takes me an hour to get back to sleep after the 5:30 wake up).
I dont df, dont really want to introduce one when i am only 6 weeks away from starting weaning, and she has previously managed much better than the 5am starts.
she is pretty much on a 4 hr easy, but sometimes I give extras (more like a 3hr easy in the afternoon to tank up due to no df). She usually takes a 2 hour nap in the am after 2 hours E/A time and usually another 1.5hr in the early afternoon and sometimes a catnap before bath at 6. bedtime is 7. Its a bit hard to post an exact routine as it varies a bit every day at the moment.

last 4 days:
5:00 nw - feed for 5-10 mins
8am E full bf
A
10 S
12 E
A
2S
3:30 A
3:45/4 F
try to catnap around 5 for 30 mins but if previous nap is laterr she often wont sleep again so might bring bedtime forward a bit
6 bath
feed
7 bed

sometimes i do a split feed if i dont think shes taken in enough (also very distracted eater at the mo) so I might give one side at the beginning of eat and then an hour lateroffer the other side. then A continues until the 2 hours is up and its nap time

would love some opinions.. ifthis is just her internal wake up time how do i change it?
Can anyone see any problems with me delaying get up time to 8am now whilst the 5-5:30 wake-ups continue?
Pat/ssh dosnt really work any more as she is so wide awake when i go in. I havent tried pu/pd for the same reason - you know when you just have that gut feeling that there is no way they will settle again so easily! And yet after i feed her she goes back to sleep quite quickly - is that because she was hungry or because im a comfort prop?
CONFUSED and knackered!!
Title: Re: what to do - DD wins every time at 5!
Post by: Colin Macs Mom on June 30, 2006, 23:04:38 pm
No worries about the 8:00am wake up - we start our day at 8 and always have. Well, now it's more like 7:30 but you get the point.

Am I correct in understanding that the 5:00am waking is the only one? If so, that's actually quite good!! At 4.5 months it is not at all unusual for a lo to still have at least one night feed. I know that's probably not what you want to hear, but that's the truth. If you're not already doing a DF I don't think it would benefit you to start now anyway.