Almost 8mon old has set himself 2 schedules but has lots of WU times at night

[adkillip]

I son has set his own schedule since he was 4 months old. One at daycare during week and a different one at home. The daytime schedule seems to work for him and keep him happy, but at night he wakes to eat at least 2x a night some nights up to 4x. Can I do anything to help with this? I would love to get down to 1-2 WU.
His weekday schedule:
5:30: wakes, nurses 10-15 min.
6:30: i have a 45 min commute, he used to nap but rarely does now
8:30: 6.5oz bottle, 3-4 Tbs oatmeal
9:30: daycare tries for a nap but he never naps for them
11:30: 6.5 oz bottle, 1 jar stage 2 baby food
12:00 nap 1.5-2 hrs
2:30: 6.5 oz bottle
5:00: naps 45 min on commute home
6:00 nurse 10-15 min, 1 jar stage 2 baby food
7:30 bath and bedtime routine
8:00 nurse 20 min and falls asleep

His weekend schedule:
5:30 wake and nurse 10-15 min, falls back asleep
7:00 wakes
8:30 nurses 15-20 min, 3-4 Tbsp oatmeal
9:00 45 min nap
11:30 1 jar stage 2 baby food, nurse 15-20 min
12:00 45 min nap
2:30 nurses 15 min
5:00 45 min nap
6:00 nurse 15 min, 1 jar stage 2 baby food
7:30 bath and bedtime routine
8:00 nurse 20 min and falls asleep

[jessmum46]

Is he an independent sleeper? I notice a lot of falling asleep after nursing....can he settle without?  Do you feed at every NW?

On weekdays would he fall back asleep after the 5.30 wake? Could you let him then pick him up at the last possible minute before you head out?  His day is very long on weekdays and overtiredness may be a big factor in the NWs.

Would daycare put him down any sooner for his main nap? I think it's too late right now and he is crashing for an OT nap, then the nap on the way home prevents an early bedtime which is what he probably needs. How much flexibility do daycare have?

Hugs, I'm a working mum too and it's tough to juggle everything x

[adkillip]

Unfortunately he usually only falls asleep for me while nursing.  I have tried to lay him down while drowsy before but that was an utter failure. He screamed and pulled himself up in crib and tried to pull himself out. I have put him in the swing to fall asleep for a couple of naps and after crying for 5-15 min he will fall asleep. But he usually falls asleep while nursing. Should I wake him up? And yes he does nurse at every NW usually a good 10-15 min sometimes 20
On the weekdays this last week i have gotten him to fall back asleep after 5:30 wake sometimes and he will sleep until about 6:30, I transfer him to carseat for the commute while he is sleeping.
I will ask Daycare about trying an earlier afternoon nap since he wont morning nap for them. How would this change his lunch feeding though?

[adkillip]

I might add he is a very active baby, crawls very well, pulls to stand on everything and has begun cruising. He has only ever been comforted by movement or nursing. Patting or other soothing techniques have never worked. He also never wanted a dummy.

[jessmum46]

When naps are a bit unpredictable you do just have to be creative about when LOs eat, so offering an early or late lunch depending on what suits that day. Most day ares should be able to handle that ok, maybe they can give a big snack pre-nap then lunch after?

The biggest thing that will help is sleep training though, if he isn't an independent sleeper he will continue to wake at night however good his routine because he can't settle without your help.  Very few babies ever just settle on their own without help and practice, and resisting/crying when you do something different is totally normal - he's saying 'hey mom, this is not how we do it!'  If you'd like some help getting him to learn to self settle I'd be happy to help you . It will involve some crying and protest, but you will be there with him to reassure every step of the way until he feels comfortable going to sleep alone x