From what point do you count "A" time?

[katriona]

DS had a grotty night last night (and so did I), and it doesn't show any signs of being a good day He's getting over his six month shots, plus we suspect he's teething a little more.

We're trying to stretch DS' awake time to longer periods atm. My question is, from what point do you start counting "A" time?

e.g.

5.10am: I hear DS waken; he's fussing a little.
5.15am: back to sleep
repeat every 15 minutes or so through 5.55am. normal wake up time is 6am, so I figured I'd get him up.

Do I start counting his "A" time from 5.55am or one of the earlier wake-ups? I ask because we're shooting for 1 hr 20 mins of "A" time currently, and normally he can do this. But this morning he yawned at 6.40am  nowhere near his normal sleepy signs time of 7.10am or so. That seems to me that the period from 5.10am wasn't really restful.

He seemed to get a second wind, and I wound up putting him down at 7.15am for his nap, but he's now crying up a storm in his room, and I think I missed his window. 

Poor guy. I feel so bad for him, and for not being able to tell what he wants/needs. Off to try and quiet him.

Thanks!

Mrs. B.

[Erin M]

I usually start counting awake time from the time I get Katie up in the morning (not from the time I first hear her) - so in your case, I would start counting at 6 AM.  Probably for this reason, our morning awake time is usually a bit shorter than our afternoon one (actually I have also read that many babies need shorter awake time in the morning anyway).  However, if you've had a rough night and he's showing you all his tired signs, there's nothing wrong with adjusting a bit to put him down earlier.  The shots might be making him a bit sleepier than usual anyway.  Hope your day works out ok!

[lawnseed]

I'd agree - I would usually count from getting up, but I often found that when dd had had a fussy early morning, she'd be ready for her morning nap a lot earlier - still holds true now that she's older too. Don' feel bad for missing his window, though, when you're trying to make sure you catch it - it's a learning process and the fact that you're trying at all will make a huge difference to his ability to settle now and in the future - we can't be perfect! (I would beat myself up exactly the same - in fact still do on occasion!)