Waking up at 45 minutes all of the sudden... I'm sooo frustrated!!!

[oilerbaby]

Hi ladies - just hoping for a few suggestions here...  my ds is 4 months today and this is our typical day...

E - 8am
A - about 2 hours
S - 10:00ish - 11:00ish (usually 45 minutes)
A - 1 hour

E - 12:00
A - another hour
S - 1:00ish till 4:00ish (which has now become my problem)

E - 4:00
A - 1.5 hour
S - 5:30 - 6:30ish (usually closer to 45 minutes)

Bedtime routine starts at 7:30 with cereal, bath, bottle then bed.  Dreamfed at 10:00 down to 3oz.

He was doing so great.  I thought perhaps I needed to extend his A time but he is SOOOO tired and rubbing his eyes and snuggling in and just want his crib.  I have just today started the wake to sleep.  Put him down, watched him fuss for a minute or two and then he's off to sleepy land - set my timer for 35 minutes and went in and roused him (enough so he turned his head to the other side).  45 minutes and he's up.  I stayed in there to watch him and he doesn't jolt or anything, just opens his eyes, props himself up on his elbows and peeks around, wide awake.  He did lay back down this afternoon and I thought he was going to go back down but he's been in there for about 40 minutes fussing off and on and just isn't settling. 

Last week he was sleeping through and if he did wake up he would fuss/cry for no more than five minutes and go back to sleep but not this week.  Yesterday he worked himself right up and I had to get him up, he was a grouch so I ended up putting him back down I was so frustrated and he went to sleep after 10-15 minutes of crying (not a hard cry though).  Oh, and the pat/shh thing es him right off (cries harder than he would if I just left him).

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[oilerbaby]

Update on this afternoon...  after the 40 minutes (right after I posted) he started the cry where I know he's not going back to sleep so I went in and rocked with him for about 10 minutes and put him back down still awake and he fussed for about 10 more minutes and went back down from 3:10 until 4:10. 

[KathrynK]

hi there
First, I wouldn't extend his A time. 2 hours is plenty at his age and any more you risk him getting overtired, which will just mess everything right up!
That 45min am nap is probably developmental- if it was 30 mins I would suggest he's overtired and shorten that first A time- but at 45 mins he's pretty normal.
I think that big nap in the middle of the day is causing you problems and will possible start to disturb night sleep and he'll start waking in the night. I would limit that nap to 2hrs max, which will bring your catnap earlier, say from 5 till 5.45 and then a 7.30 bedtime is still fine.
That's great that he went back to sleep this afternoon- it means he can do it. Persevere on extending those naps and he will get there. WHen dd started to sleep longer than 45 mins what would happen is that she would wake, but 15 mins later if I left her would go back to sleep (sometimes with a bit of moaning). Gradually over a few weeks that time taken to fall asleep again got shorter and shorter until eventually she didn't wake at all after 45 mins.
hope this helps

[oilerbaby]

It does help - thank you for replying.  I was wondering perhaps if he's just not that tired during the day as he's sleeping from 8:15ish until 8 the next morning?  But if he doesn't get the good naps in he's cranky during the day then.  He did go yesterday evening and this morning through the 45 minute mark and then this afternoon we had a bit of a battle again but it sounds as if he's settled down again.  Crazy kid!

[KathrynK]

Don't forget that when they are young sleep begets sleep, that is the more sleep they have the better they sleep! So he will sleep better at night if he has good naps and vice versa!