W2S help?

[headinoz]

I am trying to use W2S to help my 17 m/o past a 1030pm waking and an early waking at 530 (both have been going on for the past week, now that we've dealt with the transition to the big bed).  We've used W2S in the past with great success right from the first night - but unfortunately this time it hasn't worked.  She woke up at 1030 and 530 as usual, even with W2S.  I have a couple of questions:

- Do I need to fully wake her up each time?  I have been stirring her but not taking her out of her bed... so she comes out of a deep sleep but doesn't wake up.  Is that enough? Or should I get her out of bed and actually wake her?

- Should I try to fix both wakings at the same time?  Or focus on one and then the other?  Which one should I start with, if I try them one at a time?

Thanks for your help!

[Layla]

Hi Heather,

- Do I need to fully wake her up each time?  I have been stirring her but not taking her out of her bed... so she comes out of a deep sleep but doesn't wake up.  Is that enough? Or should I get her out of bed and actually wake her?

You don't fully wake her, just make her stir. Taking her out of the bed will wake her right up and you want to wake her enough to get her out of 1 cycle and into the next.

- Should I try to fix both wakings at the same time?  Or focus on one and then the other?  Which one should I start with, if I try them one at a time?

I don't think there is a difference if you try both the same night or not.

Are you sure these wakings are habitual (which is what w2s is used for) or from soemthing else? When she wakes at 10.30 & 5.30am, how do/did you respond to her?

Layla

[headinoz]

Hi, Layla:

Thanks for replying!  When she wakes at 1030, I put her straight back into her bed and leave the room.  There is no rocking, feeding etc... and no cuddles.

For the 530am wake up, I tell her it is still time to sleep, and put her straight back in her bed.  For the first three days she did this, I left the room, but she just got up over and over again until 630 (which is the earliest I will start the day with her) so we were both very frustrated.  The last four days I have put her back into her bed and laid on the floor  (out of sight unless she sits up).  I don't interact with her at all, but this way at least she stays in her bed!  Unfortunately, she doesn't go back to sleep - just plays quietly on her bed (lying down) until I tell her it is ok to get up.

Wake to sleep has worked well in the past - and in fact it worked well this time the first night we tried it at 1030 - I went in at 10pm and she slept right through until 530.  But the next night I tried it again (exactly the same thing) and she still woke up at 1030... and the night after that I did it at both 10pm and 445am and both times she woke up exactly at her usual times.

Any thoughts?

Thanks so much!

[Layla]

I am terrible with w2s - i've never tried it for early wakes up (only once actually) but I did try it for naps and it worked great for me as well.

Do you think she might be overtired and is waking so early?

Sorry, I am probably not much help here at all . All I can say is when I tried it for naps, I would make her just stir and not wake her right up.

[headinoz]

Thanks Layla... that's what we always did too.  I think we're playing a bit of chicken and egg - the early morning wakings are making her overtired so she doesn't sleep well and wakes up early!!  Yesterday we managed to extend her nap by an hour and thus were able to put her to bed later.  That helped get her past the 1030 waking... she still woke in the night but at a different time, and made it to just after 6am this morning.  So we may be able to get past it that way... and if not I will try W2S again in a few days.

Thanks for your help!!

[mumofoscar]

I have had success with w2s on a number of occasions also. But with the recent spate of EW's was not successful. I occasionally had a later waking and therefore later nap and later bedtime, but still the ew's continued. So then I tried a normal bedtime when we had either a later waking, or an extended nap, and the ew's dissapeared. I think in my ds case he was OT and I was perpetuating it by putting him to bed later. When he caught up the EW's stopped. Since working this out I have done this a few times when EW's have started again and have nipped them in the bud.

[headinoz]

Thanks!  That's a great suggestion... and I do suspect my DD is overtired.  I am going to try your suggestion for a few days and see whether we can get her to sleep a little longer in the mornings.  Fingers crossed! 

Thanks again.