4 days and nights of pupd and still waking 10+ a night....

[Lou84]

Hi, Im new to this site and am here gratefully hoping someone, anyone can offer a word of reassurance or advice as to what i am doing wrong!

Read Tracys sleep book and many tips on here and sunday morning we started pupd for 5 month old who had never slept independently....rocked/walked. No dummy/occasional bf to ge bk to sleep but mainly rocked.

We are struggling in the day....nap crying time ranges from 10 mins-45 mins, trying to do easy but its not cracked yet as naps are difficult.

Bedtime...feed, chill for half an hour, bath, top up feed then bed. BREAK THROUGH last night    a little mantra crying and touch needed but he feel asleep after 20 mins in his cot without needing pupd. so i was cautiously was optamistic about the night....

he woke over 10 times...lost count in the end. 
he had a dream feed at 10pm so i ruled out hunger/nappy fine. there were only 2 occasions i needed to pupd (a few mins of crying) but otherwise some light tapping or hand on arm got him back off.i can see we have made progress already and im pleased as its hard work! i just need to know if this night waking on day 4 should still be happening?!
night 1 = woke 11 times
night 2 = 4x
night 3= 7x
night 4=10+
thank you for any words of advice you can offer to a shattered mum!

[brittanyalice]

Hi there I would suggest keeping track of the NW times as best you can, and to just keep going with the pu/pd for at least 8-10 days if you have been consistent and it's still not working after that amount of time then I would say revisit what you are doing. It sounds like your doing everything right tho:D What does your EASY look like during the day?
   Also when he wakes at night do you wait for him to actually start crying? Or do you watch and see if he will put himself back to sleep? When you go in do you Pu right away or start out with shh/patt? It does get easier so hang in there!

[Lou84]

Thanks for replying.Easy is really off although trying har to sort it.only transistioned to bottles 3 weeks ago so he doesn't take fullbottles well all in one go,it takes him an hour or so! Wakes up after naps at40 mins too so spend 45 mins trying to get him off again.tapping before he wakes to help him transition doesnt work.

at night I tend to leave it a few mins whilst he moans to see if he goes bk off but as soon as his cry changes from mantra I go in.should I not wait but go in straight away?
 I do shh pat first but if he doesn't quieten or cries harder I pu.

[brittanyalice]

Did you check the flow on the bottles nipple? if it is a slow flow that may be why it is taking him so long to eat it, if so i would switch to a med flow. Also the day time is the key to getting anything done at night so I would suggest starting his EASY during the day around the 6-7am waking whenever hes up at this point. If he wakes at 6am his first nap will be at 8am and should last 1.5-2hr if he wakes before then you use PU/PD untill the 1.5-2hr is up/ it has been 4 hr in between feeds. This way even when they are not following a guideline they are still getting used to being in their rooms during nap time.

[Bex09]

Hi there and welcome to BW.

It sounds to me like you are doing everything exactly right hun and well done on the progress so far. There is often a regression when sleep training around day 4 or 5, so I imagine this is what you are experiencing. Stick with it and keep doing the same each time and you will get there. I would do exactly as you are and leave DS if he is mantra crying but go in when his cry changes to an 'I need you right now' type cry. If you rush in too soon you won't give him enough time to see if he can work it out for himself yk?

Whilst I do agree with PP about your EASY this would only be appropriate if your DS can handle staying awake for 2 hrs and feeding every 4 hrs, not all 5 mo will be able to do this and it depends on what his current routine is like. It might be more like a 3.5 hr EASY that you need. If you want to post your typical day (however messed up!)  we can take a look and see if we can help.

[Lou84]

They are medium flow, i think 1) he needs time to adjust to having larger volumes at once 2) still bf feed at 10pm and 2.30am - i do this because i know he hasnt taken enough in the day and is hungry. maybe this impacts on his night wakings. also his  first tooth has appeared so maybe he was uncomfortable in the night although didnt seem in pain.
#
ok EASY!!....here goes...this is a good day!

      0605 up+changed
e+a 0630 feed 6oz
s     0740 (took upstairs for quiet winddownn0725)
      slept 40 mins + 45 mins pupd no more sleep

e     1030 feed 4.5oz
a
s      1130 40 mins + 45 min pupd

e     2pm feed 5oz
a
s     2.40 for 45 mins

e     didnt need any mpre too soon
a
s     4.20pm-5.10

e     6pm feed  6.5oz
a     7pm bath plus 4 oz
s     7.20 then woke 7 times during the night - breastfed 10pm and 3am (these feeds vary by an hour at night so also dont think they are habitual.he is easily settled with patting/shh at all othertimes except these. so pretty sure its hunger.

maybe i will try 3.5 hrs today....its so stressful trying to get him to sleep more than 45 mins it throws everything off and he crys so much more in the day now. before i tried sorting his night sleep by tweaking his day daytime was a happy time where he rarely cried!

thanks for taking alook.









 

[Bex09]

Ok hun, lets see if a bit of a routine tweak will help with the NW and lengthen those naps. I think the important thing to remember when tweaking is not to make sudden big changes to your LOs A times, some babies can handle this but most will find it too much and it throws your EASY right out.

You are on a 4 hr EASY as your DS is eating every 4 hrs. With this routine and for your DS's age you would be aiming for around 2hrs of A time and then a 2 hr nap. I noticed that your first A time is quite short, so the 40 min nap could be UT. But then after a short nap the second A time is over 3 hrs. This is really long for his age and will likely make your DS OT and again cause a short nap.

So... I would slowly try to lengthen that first A time by adding 10 mins every few days until you are closer to 2 hrs and keep your fingers crossed that this will lengthen the nap. If your DS takes a good nap of over an hour you can keep the next A time at 2 hrs again (unless he is tired before). If he short naps (under an hour) you will need to reduce his next A time, so keep a really close eye on his sleepy cues and see when he is getting tired. This maybe as early as 1 hr after his nap. Unfortunately short naps do mess up your EASY, but just try to stick as closely as you can to feeding every 4 hrs.

Also has your DS ever napped for longer than 40/45 mins? It can be a developmental thing that they have trouble transitioning and only take short naps. Do the NW tend to be before midnight, after or both? We will sort this hunnie, just need to get to the bottom of those short naps.