can't beleive I am back on this board....help....

[Mama2boys]

Hi all,

Most of you know about our amazingly long history on this board. And things had gotten a zillion times better...but then suddenly, DS has taken to waking up at 4/4:!5 for about 1.5hrs every night. he tosses, turns, is sleepy, wants to be carried, asks for milk and so on.

I literally have to force him down into bed and press his legs (not hold him down just as if his legs are hurting and I am pressing them) to calm him and then place my hand on him till he falls asleep.

This has been happening for the last 2/3 days non-stop. Happened once or twice in the previous few weeks as well and unfortunately he did get some milk once each week, and fell asleep right after...Anyways have put a full stop to that.

Any ideas/thoughts on whats wrong.

Schedule at present looks like below:
Normal wake-up 6/6:30 milk on waking (on bad nighht days will wake up at 7:30 but rest of the day folows exactly the same)
7:30 bfast
11 lunch
11:30 nap
1:30/2 (sometimes 2:30 when bad night) wake-up and snack
5:30 lunch
6:30 milk
7/7:30 sleep

he goes donw for the nap much better than he goes down for the night...

[Vicku]

Hi hun,

Lucky I saw this so quick... logging off soon.

Could it be more teeth??
Another thought was he might need longer A in am (although he does seem to nap REALLY well) so that pm A doesn't get so long... not sure hun, these are just some ideas

[Mama2boys]

Hi Vicku,

I thinking teething could possible be a huge reason, I can see 2 canines trying to pop though, but then why is it always the same time?

can't change the morning A time, as DS is almost half asleep by the time he finishes dinner, maybe will try getting him into be earlier so make sure he is in bed before 7? what do you think?

Thanks a ton.

[Vicku]

The only thing I can think of is that at that time (4-5 am) he is sufficiently rested to not be able to sleep well if his teeth are bothering him. At nap time and nighttime he's so tired he'll sleep anyway just a thought I had...
DD was the same when she was teething last time, always woke in those early hrs.

I wonder if limiting his nap would help him sleep longer and go down more easily in evening, but then again if it's teeth that won't help. Have you noticed a difference at bedtime the evenings after he's had a really long nap? 2 hrs might be enough, but if you're saying he only has those long naps after a bad night then maybe he does need them.

You could try earlier bedtime to see if it imroves things as that can be a cure for LOs who are having EW due to OT. It never worked for us (tried it loads) and only caused earlier wakings as DD seems to have a maximum nighttime sleep need of 10.5 hrs and wouldn't do any more no matter what or when we put her to bed. Might work for you though so could always try and see what happens.

I would be careful of too much routine changes though as it might confuse him more. Especially now after the move and all, and your routine is very good. You could always just wait things out a little and see if it goes away, try meds for teething as soon as he wakes up (might settle him sooner). A slightly earlier bedtime to stop OT from accumulating shouldn't change his routine too much though and might be wise if he's losing a lot of nighttime sleep.

Big hugs to you hun! EWs aren't fun!

[Mama2boys]

Hey Vicku,

funnily enough he must have read your message before I did as today woke up at 1 so only about 1.5hrs nap, lets see how tonight goes, will try and get him out before 7, early bedtimes dont work for us as well as hunger wakes him up even earlier then, viscious cycle..hopefully shorter nap might do the trick...fingers crossed!

btw how are you doing now?
Mukta

[Vicku]

Sleep wise things are really good at the moment Lois has STTN all summer apart from a few nights when we were away. She's also slept later in the mornings, til 7 or 8 and will usually play in her cot for 30 mins at least before we have to get her. A real summer treat after a winter of EWs at 5am! Her naps are usually 2 hrs these days. She's not started teething for the 2nd molars yet though and I'm expecting them to start bothering her at any time now. She has one lower canine left which is looking a bit swollen. She always teeths really bad, gets grumpy and NWs etc. but for now I'm enjoying my extra sleep...

Let me know how last night went on the 1.5 nap. Sounds unusual for him to take such a short one. I promise, I didn't tell him xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[Mama2boys]

disaster..sums it all up.

Ds was up at 1:30 right threw to 3:30 and its amazing how after 2 hrs of middle of the night awake time he goe sback to sleep its like a clockwork. And then woke up at 6:45!

Anyways lets see how tonight goes...his nap was a 2hr nap so a bit better today.

Glad Lois has been STTN..muts be a wonderful feeling, but lets not jinx it the mean molars are yet to come!

Have a good weekend!

[Sima]

Hi Mutka:
Sounds like teething to me.....my lo is 19 months old and also has a hard time when cutting molars.  I gave her Motrin and that made her sleep through the night. 
Another thing I have done to avoid early wake up is moving her nap from 12 to 12.30 fixed (before went by A times..too confusing).  That has worked so far.  This was Vicku's suggestion!!!  Thanks Vicku.  I am aiming for 1!

[Vicku]

Hey Mukta,

Hope he slept better last night! 2hr NW are no fun at all! Poor you!!!
2hr naps seem to be the best length for most LOs at this stage, so hope that can continue. Teeth does sound like a likely cause of the wakings, but whatever's causing them try to stay strong and consistent in your approach so you don't end up with AP problems afterwards. Is meds not helping then?

Siria, lets hope it keeps working well!

[Mama2boys]

Hi Siria and Vicku,

well it got worse, but then last night was bearable, took him hrs to sleep (extreme OT since we were out and he refused decent naps)  but he STTN, lets see what tonight works like.

I agree A times is very confusing at times....
Thanks ladies
Mukta

[Vicku]

Hope you get another STTN hun! Hugs to your little monkey!

[jess, lukeys_mom]

aw man! just posted on your other thread and then saw this, sorry you've had some rough nights mukta. how wqas last night? fingers crossed for more sttn. just dropping off some hugs for you. 

[Mama2boys]

Thanks Jess,

last night was weird....Ds slept fine for the first 2 hrs and then the pain kicked in again...so to avid too much heartache I broke a cardinal rule by bringing him into our bed. After an hr of tossing, turning, wanting to sleep over my face, cuddling me in a death like grip (very cute for the first 1 hr and then its a killer)  etcetc DS did sleep through to 7am..yippee!!!

Not ideal but hoping the rest will get him back on schedule.

he had pain in his feet and wanted me to massage them for a long time, but will post separately on that.

[Vicku]

At least he slept in the end. Poor little guy! Lots of hugs for you both! Will look for your other thread about his feet

[jess, lukeys_mom]

hi again girls i feel like we are bouncing around bw talking to each other lol!!

i'm glad to hear that you got him to sleep too. every now and then, it makes a big difference to just catch up. luke has never, ever slept in my bed, he just can't settle there, and i am sometimes jealous of those who have been able to do it - it is the cuddliest of all secret weapons. he's been through so many big transitions recently that it is not surprising that he is going a little wonky again with sleep but i do hope it also has to do with teeth and will get better soon!! big hugs sweetie xxx