12 month old - A times wrong? Or Nap times?

[~*Nicole*~]

Is he possibly teething molars? They are notorious for being pretty tough ones that cause a lot of trouble/discomfort in los.

[Brodster'sMommy]

I knew that would be an issue one of these days but I thought he was too young to teeth molars? He only has 2 top teeth and 2 bottom teeth right now. He's somewhat a late bloomer on teeth. I posted something in Earing for toddlers to hopefully get help on the eating part. How would I know he's teething molars?

[~*Nicole*~]

IF you can get a look inside his mouth (DD would fight but if I held her upside down--something she loved and would gladly open her mouth in a big wide smile I could take a peek) you would see very red/swollen gums and or whiteness sort of like they are trying to push up and through the gums. You never know with teeth, they come in at all different rates and orders.

If he is UT and getting himself OT by refusing to sleep he could be whiny and extra clingy as well. OR he could be coming down with a cold. Ear infections also cause discomfort with eating. DD wasn't eating well and I didn't realize she had one until she spiked a fever but the tube in the ear doesn't drain and it hurts to move the jaw. You can check his temp as well.

[Brodster'sMommy]

Thanks. I actually ended up feeding him last night about 4oz around midnight bc he was waking up every 30 mins screaming. He sucked the bottle dry and cried for more but he slept straight thru till morning after that so I knew he was hungry. Poor guy. I wish he could talk and tell me what's wrong. I'm wondering about an ear infection as well...  Thanks for the tips.

[~*Nicole*~]

His schedule from the other day that you posted looks really good to me so I am thinking something else is up, ykwim? Other than tweaking to see if the pm nap could be extended a bit but you'll have to try both longer and shorter A times and see which it is. It's hard to tell what a lo can do on a short 30 min. am nap without trying it out and seeing. DD did about 3 hrs. but usually it's closer to 2-2.5 so it's hard to tell you what time to try.

[Brodster'sMommy]

Last night he was up every 2 hours. I decided not to feed him because I really want him to start eating during the day although it's so easy to feed him at night if he goes back to sleep indefinitely, kwim? Is it so bad to feed him at night?

Well, I woke up this morning with a horrible sore throat - wondering is DS has had that for the last few days and now passing it to me? If so, I can understand why he wouldn't eat!

Another thing - he uses a paci at night but has always spit it out and slept well without it. I think it might be becoming a prop? I had to repulg every time last night although a few times we came in, the paci was in and he was just screaming. What could that mean? I tried weaning the paci a few weeks ago but b/c I"m preg and have HG I wasn't able to handle it. He also refuses to replug himself so thats out as an option If it's not a routine issue, it has to be either a prop issue or he's in pain, right?

[~*Nicole*~]

It sounds like he may be having discomfort and if you're right about the sore throat thing that could definitely be why he is eating less. I think I'd try some pain meds. Tylenol or motrin about 30 mins prior to eating or sleeping, just make sure not to give him another dose until after the specified amount of time has elapsed. So maybe before breakfast, which should carry through his first nap and lunch etc. and then maybe before dinner which should carry through to bedtime. If you see improvement you may have to do a middle of the night dose to aleviate pain when it wears off during his sleep. He may be waking b/c he is hungry and/or because he doesn't feel well.

During growth spurts and issues like now where he isn't eating as much during the day, I don't see a problem with night feeds, but as he is older and has been an established eater and is a healthy weight I don't know that I would continue night feeding after the issue has subsided as you don't want to reinforce it and have it become habitual. Once it is not nutrionally necessary I would personally cut it, but that's obviously your decision.

[Brodster'sMommy]

Now I'm super confused. DS didn't nap well yesterday but he slept great at night! I'm so confused. Here was his schedule for yesterday:

7:10am - wake up
10:30 - 11:00am - nap 1
2:00 - 2:45pm - nap 2
6:30pm - asleep for the night

He woke up at 8:45pm and around 10ish and then I didn't hear him until 7:10am this morning! Not even a peep! The night before he woke up every 2 hours at least! Here was his schedule two days ago:

7:10am - awake
10:30-11:00 - nap 1
1:45-3:15 (ish) - nap 2
7:15 - sleep for the night

And he woke up every 2 hours that night. 9pm, 11pm, 1ish, 3, 5:30.

So am I reading his need for sleep wrong? Or do I have his A times wrong? I'm so confused why he slept so well last night.

[~*Nicole*~]

Did you try any pain meds for last night? He may have been OT a tad (the early wake ups) but then been able to sleep through b/c he was so tired. The wake ups the other night seemed to be discomfort based on his screaming and not being able to soothe even with the paci in.

I think I would try to stick with the routine that you have going for awhile longer and hope that if he does have a sore throat or other issue that when it clears up he gets back on track. Illnesses bother us all more at night (post nasal drip, coughing, sore throats, teething pain) are all more noticeable when you lie down and nothing else is distracting you. You're still getting later wake ups, his routine doesn't look like it would lead to OT (unless he short naps like yesterday but you compensated with early bedtime so that's good) so in general the only issue you'll likely find is UT if he needs A time extensions, but UT wakings don't tend to have much crying/screaming...more chatting/babbling until they're really bored and want attention. Your other thought, about it being a prop issue is a definite possibility. You may want to pop over to the prop boards and ask their opinion there.