5 mo old - OT wakeups

[Rizzo]

After an absolute shocker of a night (woke 1.30, 2.30 - awake till about 3.30, 4.30 and then 6.15 for the morning), we were both pretty shattered. I put him to bed after a 1.5hr first A time (I know, but I couldnt stand the whinging). He not surprisingly had a 40min nap. His next A time was 2hr 5 min (by the time he settled), and he had 2.5 hrs sleep!!! I think the last time he napped like that was when he was 6 weeks old!!
The next A time was 2hrs 20min and he had a 1hr nap (waking at 4.15pm). I tried to catnap him at 5.40 and he was quiet for about 5 mins, but not sure whether he slept at all). BT was eventually 6.15 and he was asleep by 6.35pm.
He settled without a fuss but then woke 20mins later, resettled easily but woke an hour after that, and then another hour after that, and was difficult to resettle until I put him on his back and tucked one arm into his grobag. (he has been rolling onto his tummy during the night).
Am still pushing on with the solids - going to stick to the one thing for about a week or more.
His A times are getting longer but his nights are getting worse....

[jennyg33]

You are making progress. Stick in there. That 2 hour nap is such progress. I would have pushed bedtime closer to 7 with a wake up of 4.15. We were having wakeups of 1-1.5 hrs at 12am and 1 hr at 3.30am and they continued for quite a few days after we got the day sorted, they became shorter and shorter until they stopped 2 days ago. Do you do a DF? I reintroduced that to get rid of the 12am waking. I would make that first A time at least 2 hrs no matter what the night and lengthen if a good night.

[Rizzo]

I was hoping BT would be 7pm (hence the attenpt of catnap), but I assume the multiple wakeups after BT were him being OT.
The rest of the night was great compared to the previous ones. He slept from 10pm till 5.15am. I fed him at 5.30 and he slept till 6.45.
After a first A time of 2hrs, I managed to resettle him back to sleep after a 30 min nap
Am guessing the solids are ok with him if he slept ok after 10pm..
Will add the rest of EASY for day
6.45 woke. E 7am
S 8.45-9.15(resettled and slept till 10.05)
E 10.15, solids 11.15
S 12.05-1.05, tried to resettle
E 1.40pm
S 2.55-3.25 (pooed, couldn't resettle)
E 3.50
S 5.05/5.20
BT 7.10

Shorter naps again today.. Guess that means more A time?

[katie80]

Agreeing with all Jenny has said. And yes, he needs more A time (are you sick of me saying that yet? ). That 2hr nap after the short am nap the other day is just proof of it, IMO.

[Rizzo]

So after what I thought was an OT bedtime (30 min nap till 4pm then BT 6pm), he woke at 10pm, but then woke 12.30, 3.30 and then 6.15. He was grumpy when he woke, and in hindsight maybe should have treated that as a NW (even tho he had 12 hrs sleep). There was no way I could keep him up for anywhere 2 hours, so now today has been awful. Had 40 min nap first, then tried a 2 hr A time but he wouldn't settle after 30mins do decided to go out. Didn't want to hang around waiting for him to sleep.  Took ages to fall asleep in carrier. Has just had another 20 min OT nap after a just under 2 hr A time.
I have given him a few days of around 2 hr A time first thing, but he still is really
Tired within 30-40 mins of being awake.
I presume we are still UT/OT? His A times should only
Be a little more, right? About 2.25 hrs?

[katie80]

So after what I thought was an OT bedtime (30 min nap till 4pm then BT 6pm), he woke at 10pm, but then woke 12.30, 3.30 and then 6.15. He was grumpy when he woke, and in hindsight maybe should have treated that as a NW (even tho he had 12 hrs sleep).

I think it was right to get him up then.  After 12 hr in bed, it's unlikely he would've done a lot more sleep and wouldn't have helped the UT/OT issue.

I presume we are still UT/OT? His A times should only
Be a little more, right? About 2.25 hrs?

Yes, I think so.  Average A for 5 mo is 2-2.25hr, yes, but you mentioned that you couldn't keep him up anywhere near 2hr yesterday, so I do think that's still perpetuating the cycle.  There are some babies that are doing 2.5-3hr A at 6 mo (not saying yours is one of them, but just to give you some perspective). Is there any other way to AP him for a couple days just to get I'm caught up a bit and start fresh? Would he sleep in a swing, carrier, or car seat?

Could there be other reasons for him acting so tired and grumpy during his A time? Too much stimulation? Not enough stimulation? Any teeth working their way through?

[amayzie]

Hi Hon,

5 months is a REALLY tricky time! My guy was SUCH a grumpy bum at this age!! I think that they can't really do anything much- but their brains are READY!! I found with my guy too that his tired signs became REALLY hard to read. In that he was sort of like 'hmm- well this is boring- i think i'll just go to sleep!- For 40 mins!!' I would suggest that when you are seeing him tired at 30/40 mins after WU that he's really just bored/grumpy and needs something else. My guy would sometimes be grumpy everywhere but my arms- and sometimes even there too!