4.5 month old waking at night again after 45 minutes

[heatherc4]

So after about a month of a good, consistent (sort of) routine of going to bed at 8pm, dream feed just before 11pm, feed between 530-630 of 4 ounces, and waking for the day around 730-8am, my 4.5 month old has just started to wake again 45 minutes after being put down for the night. Not sure if his schedule needs to be adjusted again or if this is just developmental. Here is his sample day:

Wake for the day at 0730
E: 0900 - 2.5 ounces. (Used to be 5 but over the last few days his appetite has been down). He also won't eat before this time as his last bottle was at 0630.
A: 0730-0930
S: 0930-1015 (we only have a cat napper)
E: 1200 - 2.5 ounces
A: 1015-1230
S: 1230-115 another cat nap
E: 300 - 3 ounces
A: 115-4
S: 4-445
E: 500 - 5 ounces
E: 630 - 5 ounces
Start bedtime at 730, another 5 ounce bottle then he is asleep by 8.

All of his bottles used to be 5-5.5 ounces up until a few days ago, now only his tank up bottles are 5 ounces. As for his current awake times we have tried adjusting the times, but then we fight for naps and only get half hour naps. His reflux is completely gone and he is no longer on meds for it.

Another thing that he does (and has always done) is that after bath he starts to have a meltdown as if he knows bed time is coming... He calms down pretty easily during snuggle time, but it makes the evening pretty stressfull knowing that he is goin to start freaking out midway through...

So basically I'm not sure if his schedule needs to be adjusted or if this is just developmental... Could it be related to the morning/early afternoon loss of appitite? Teething? Growth spurt?

Ugh. Just when I was seeing a somewhat consistent routine, he throws me for a loop!!

Any ideas?

[jessmum46]

I think he's probably overtired at BT from all the short naps, which is why he seems to have a meltdown and then wakes shortly after BT - both classic signs of OT.  As you probably know, catnapping is somewhat developmental - have you tried resettling or any techniques to try to extend naps?  What will probably help you until you start to get longer naps is shortening the A time after a short nap and trying to do four naps instead of three in the day.  That's quite typical when LO is catnapping and means your EASY looks more like EASAEAS for a while - that's ok too

You could do something like:

WU 7.30
Nap 9.30-10.15
Nap 12-12.45
Nap 2.30-3.15
Nap 5-5.45
BT 7.30

Does that help?

[heatherc4]

He has been a cat napper since birth.... We have tried every resettling method out there and the only way we will sleep longer is if I'm holding him but with a 2 year old its next to impossible....even with the cat naps, he has been sleeping well at night until this week when the waking after 45 minutes started up... There have been some days where he does have 4 naps and it has the same night time effect.
I would love it if he would nap longer, but this child is very strong minded and will often refuse to sleep longer even if being held... It can sometimes take 45 minutes to resettle him.
We have tried shorter A times... All the way down to 30 minutes and he ends up either struggling and fighting for an hour, or if he does fall asleep, he will wake after 45 minutes. I have been working on nap extensions for four and a half months, and I can count on one hand the number of times that he has slept longer than 45 minutes... I truly believe that this is all he wants. He is one of the happiest babies I have seen, laughing, smiling, babbling all day. His tired cues start up around 2 hours A time and he goes down easy for every nap.
I'll try to do four naps every day, but again, strong minded boy may resist!

[heatherc4]

Oh, and just to reiterate, the waking after 45 minutes started happening on the exact same day that his morning/mid-day appetite went down. Again, he used to be drinking a 5 ounce bottle every feed, but now half of his bottles are only 2.5-3 ounces. I read that loss of appetite can be a sign of teething, and he has some of the other classic signs as well, so part of me wonders if this 45 minute waking at night is related...

[jessmum46]

It could well be. Have you tried meds at BT to see if they help at all?

[heatherc4]

Meds? He isn't on reflux meds anymore because his reflux is gone... Or do you mean Tylenol for teething?

[jessmum46]

Sorry yes I meant something for teething.  Generally I've found ibuprofen (Advil) to be better than Tylenol for teething pain x

[heatherc4]

Tried Tylenol last night and he slept through.... Call me crazy, but I don't really like the idea of meds at bedtime... I'm worried that it might become a crutch? The whole lack of communication thing you know? In a perfect world I'd ask him if it hurts, if he said yes, cool I'd give him Tylenol... Otherwise it's a guessing game... Maybe I'll try it for a couple more nights and then not for a few just to see how it goes.

[jessmum46]

Absolutely, you have to do what you feel comfortable with x