Can't figure out night wakings! Please help.

[Beata]

I'm reposting with update...please help.

I've had dd on EASY 1.5 weeks, and since the night wakings were decreasing to 2 maybe 3 per night. She usually wakes between 12-1 and the 4-5 and I feed her. She'll eat for 30 minutes, and usually drops back off.

But last 2 nights back up to 4-5 night wakings.

At 10ish, 12ish, 2, 4:30, 6...I feed at 10ish and late waking between 2-4.

Anyhow, what advice can anyone offer? Generally it seems dd is waking every 3-4 hours to feed. Could this just be habit? She rolls one way now.

Here is a typical EASY schedule:

W 7:30
E 8
A quiet activities
S 9:30
E 11
A Out and about
S 1
E 2
A
S 4
E 5
A Play with dad
S
E 6:30 - 7
A Bath, reading
E/S 7:30-8

She almost always goes down for naps and bedtime with no problems. AND PS DD is 5.5 mo.

I just started cereal again yesterday thinking she's ready. I KNOW she doesn'y eat much for breakfast, but the rest of the day seems fine.

It also got cold last night (relatively speaking...we live in Florida). Please help...I am so tired

[Katet]

Beata,
I think part of it is developmental... come & join us on the April/May05 babies in the EASY Forum & you will see many of us are suffering this too.

Also I think it is a bit of habit & from experience a fairly good sign that she needs to move to 4hour Easy. She needs to take bigger feeds less frequently so she can "store" some up for night time. i would start by stretching 1 feed to 4 hours & then 2 & then 3.

[Beata]

Thanks for the reply. I've been on that Apr/May 05 board and it does seem that way...I will definitely try extending her EASY starting today!

What's mentally taxing is friends who have let their babies CIO and rave about how great it is to sleep through the night. They argue that if it works for everyone who tries it, then it much be just the solution...ugh...I will never let my dd CIO unless she can clearly communicate what she needs. I just can't...for instance last night she woke up screaming, and after calming her down she let out the loudest longest toots I've ever heard! If I would have let her CIO she might have been in pain until she passed out. Sorry just venting.

See you on the EASY boards!

[Katet]

Beata, I have to agree with you on CIO... I did (under extreme circumstances & against my better judgement) CC with ds#1 & he still isn't a great sleeper & added to which has lots of attachment issues.
I think of CIO like shoving someone in a new job & not training them & expecting them to know what to do
yesterday I was talking with the director of my ds#1's childcare & her  sister actually did CIO with her lo (mother is a DR) The baby actually ended up with Brain damage, now it could never be proven that was the case, but she thinks as the baby actually threw up sometimes when it cried it probably was the case.

[Ilse]

I am at my wits end as my ds 5.5months has also been waking 4-6 times throughout the night for weeks now. I'm feeling so completely helpless and hopeless and was considering letting him CIO out of sheer frustration, exhaustion and pure stress :cry:  After reading this thread you've made me come to my senses! My ds wakes at about midnight for his feed and then again @ 5am. However between then he wakes at least 3 times - as soon as I go in and pick him up he falls straight back to sleep :!: I think I have a resettling issue and I don't know how to fix it!! Any clues?

[Katet]

Ilse
Can you post your day routine.
Also how does your lo fall asleep?
I can probably give some suggestions based on that
Also which State in Australia are you...most states have good sleep & settleing programs linked to the baby health networks

[Ilse]

Beata, I know what your going through, mine seems very similar to yours!
Kate, his schedule looks like this:

E - 5:30am (he has his last night feed @ midnight and is bf)
E - 7:30am (only sometimes if he is not too full from the 5:30 feed)
A - 7:45am
S - 9:00am (has reverted back to 45mins was doing 1.5hours)
E - 11am (2 tsp of rice cereal) and bf
A - 11:15am
S - 12:30/1:00pm
E - 3pm
A - 3:15pm
S - 4:30pm
A - 6pm bath time
E - 6:30pm (bf with bottle top up)
A - light activity
S - 7/7:30pm

These days he is falling asleep on me - he use to fall asleep independently and somehow we reverted to old habits :oops: We are in Western Australia.

Thanks.

[Beata]

Ilse - I think we are all in agreement this is a tough age, with all the developmental things happening, and the 6 month growth spurt is comnig up (I guess it could come a week or 2 early or late, but if you say ds is not hungry at night). All we can do at this point it be consistent and hope they get hrough this quickly - though it is taking it's toll on you.

I think it was at Katet's advice that I started switching to a 4 hour EASY, and it's working!

Last night we woke at 1 then 3:30, but that was it untile 7:15!

Well the phone woke her at 8:40 and then painful loud gas at 9:30 but I don't count that  :wink:

See what others recommend. Also on on the EASY boards I posted that I've been trying to go with the flow and not analyze too much for a bit, and I feel more rested and less stressed.