Am I Doing Something Wrong???

[laurenhendo]

Hi All,

Wondering if the more experienced Mums can help with a gradual night waking problem i am experiencing....it's slowly driving me NUTS! 

My LO Paige is 5 months (textbook), and has been a pretty good night sleeper since around 2 months (bed at 6:30pm, bottle at 2am then back to sleep until 6am). I never did a df because she seemed to wake up more often when i did!
She has also had a dummy since birth and was very sucky. She only has it to go to bed at night or for naps. At first, when she fell asleep and it fell out she stayed asleep, but lately (past 4 - 5 weeks) she has woken many times (6+) at night to me to run in and pop it back in for her (she's still swaddled). She doesnt want to be rocked or patted, but pop the dummy back in and she goes off straight away (only to wake when it falls out... aiieeeeeee!)
I also started her on a small amout of pureed fruit and veg at 4.5 months because she was reverting back to a 3 hour routine, and was very very very hungry! The first few nights she had the solids we were getting 12 hours sleep out of her and it was BLISS!!! but it wasn't to last 

Here is her routine below.....

6am - wake/bottle
7am - fruit
8am - Nap
9:45 - 10am wake/bottle
11am - fruit
12am - nap
1:30 -2pm wake / bottle
3pm - fruit
4pm - nap
5pm wake
5:30 bath
6pm bottle
6:30 story and bed.

Im not sure if the recent night waking probs are developmental (she's rolling all over the place!), a result of the dummy and should i wean her? or maybe she's not getting enough solids??? Also... is there any accidental parenting i am doing? i dont rock her to sleep just swaddle, a bit of a cuddle, then into the cot.

Any advice would be great!!!!

Lauren H

[em_here]

Hi there, I am not so experienced in this area but it does sound like the dummy is a bit of a prop maybe if she needs it up to 6 times a night, how do you feel about weaning it using pu/pd. It could also be a developmental thing as that def affects sleep but if she is waking purely for the dummy maybe its time to wean?

Sorry to not be more helpful just my thought s 

[laurenhendo]

Hey there Emma * Lou
I was thinking the same thing, but when the dummy falls out during her nap times, she never wakes up? it only happens at night? strange huh! I have tried PU/PD about 6 weeks ago, and it never seemed to work...she didnt stop crying even when i picked her up.... just wanted the dummy!!!

[Bryony]

Naptime sleep and night time sleep are different - it may be that she comes into lighter sleep phases during the night and half wakes up, and then can't get back to sleep without the dummy.

It seems to be quite common to hit problems with the dummy around this age - many people find they either have to get rid of the dummy or put up with a few months of replugging until their LO is old enough to pick it up and put it back in by themself (so you'd also have to wean the swaddle by then).  I am not saying the dummy is definitely the problem for you - it's impossible to know until you try - but it may well be.

If she's 5 months now, and you tried PU/PD 6 weeks ago, she may have been too young. It's usually only recommended once your LO is 4 months old minimum - and even then some find it too stimulating until they are a bit older. She should be old enough now to try, but you might want to try shh/pat first.

Her daytime routine looks great by the way!

Let us know if you have any questions, and you might want to have a look at the FAQs on the props and PU/PD boards to help you decide what you want to do next.

Bryony x

[laurenhendo]

Thanks guys,

I am thinking about weaning the swaddle too now, since LO woke me up this morning, i went in to get her and she was on her tummy face down on the mattress still swaddled! YIKES! 

Lauren H

[Bryony]

Gosh, that must have given you a bit of a fright!  You may find her sleep is a bit "off" for a few days while you wean the swaddle, but she will get there.  She's about the age that most people wean, and she may like having her hands to suck on 

Keep us posted

Bryony

[kris dg]

Hi Lauren.  My 4-mo old is also frequently waking up at night now and she's always on her tummy in her swaddle, even with wedges!!  I am slowly weaning and it seems to be working.  

I just don't know how to stop her from rolling in her sleep.  I try to practice her during the day as the FAQs say in night wakings but she hates being on her tummy when she's awake.  She'd rather sit or stand.  

Does anyone out there know when rolling in sleep stops happening?

[Bryony]

kris dg - it's so variable!  Mine hasn't even started rolling yet and she's 9 months - I think whenever they start rolling they get phases of wanting to practice it. Mine has phases of rotating herself through 90 degrees and bashing her head on the bars of the cot instead...

Bryony

[laurenhendo]

HAAA Bryony! We were up all last night with the LO at 90 degrees to where we put her to sleep crying because she was banging her head on the side of the cot!! She went down around 6:45, was fairly easy to put down, tucked the sheets nice and tight over her. She woke at 1am..drank a full bottle... then again at 4:30 for a full bottle....do you think there is also a growth spurt happening? she is on solids... i thought once they started those they stopped night bottles??? 

[Bryony]

If she's only 5 months old - you would expect to have one night feed, possibly two in some cases...  how much solids is she having?  At her age you don't want to be giving much - a tummy full of milk has a lot more calories in it than a tummy full of fruit or veg.   Milk is the most important source of calories until they are about a year old.

And yes could be a growth spurt - you could try a cluster feed in the evening?

Bryony

Bryony