Confused???

[TSartain]

My DH and I went on vacation over a week ago and my brother and his wife took care of my kids.  My DD who is 2 years old and my DS who is 5.5 months old.  I pumped enough BM for the week for my DS to follow this schedule:  He was taking 5 oz bottles of BM while I was gone.  He slept through the night 5 nights in a row for them, however the first night I came home he woke 3 times and hasn't slept through the night since.  He will go back to sleep on occasion on his own when he wakes, but a majority of time I have to go in and give him the paci and he rolls over and falls back to sleep.  He does however put him to sleep when we lay him down for bed.  Could it be that he was getting more milk with the bottle vs. me nursing him?  Could that be the cause of NWs or teething perhaps?  He has also starting waking up 5 min. before the DF should I start that earlier?  I'm at a loss of what to do?  Naps are not good either this past week, sometimes I will get the 1.5 hour nap, but at times I barely get an 1 hour.

Between 6:00 - 7:00 am wake and bf (try to get him back to sleep and wait until at least 7 to feed)
9:00 am cereal
9:30 am nap (use to be 1.5 to 2 hours), however this past week it's only been 45 min.
10:20 am wake
11:00 am bf
1:30 pm nap (again use to be at least 2 hours), however now only 1 hour tops.
3:00 pm bf
4:00 pm try to get a cat nap due to poor naps during the day if napped well doesn't cat nap.
7:00 pm bottle of BM (5 oz) - DH feeds him
7:30 pm bath, books and bed (able to put himself to sleep)
10:20 pm DF

[*Nicola*]

Hiya

Is the paci a prop?  Does he wake when it falls out? Do you feed him at NWs or just resettle? 

Also, his NW's could well be due to him being OT.  Did he sleep well at night when his naps were better? When are his NW's and what is he doing when he wakes?  Crying/fussing/happy?

With regard to the DF, yes I would bring it forward by 5 mins or so

x

[TSartain]

Hi there,

When he wakes either myself or DH goes in and gives him the paci, and he turns over and goes right back to sleep.  He doesn't wake though if it falls out.  He will wake and then cry for it. but the paci as been out for quite some time by then.  I don't feed him unless the paci just doesn't calm him down then I take it as if he is hungry which he usually isn't in the middle of the night.  If he wakes at 6 am it's usually because he is hungry and I feed him then.  So far with his NWs he has taken the paci and went right back to sleep.  When he napped well he did sleep through at least until 6 am or so. 

His NWs are all over the place some nights it one waking other nights it can be 3 times, there isn't a consistant time.

I did DF at 10:20 last night (he didn't wake before it this time), he then woke at 11:40 crying/screaming.  I usually try to wait a few min. to see if he goes back to sleep, but he never does until one of us goes in and gives him the paci and then he rolls over and sleeps.  He then slept until 6 am this morning.

DD was such an angel baby, followed the routine like a book and slept through at 3 months so I'm so confused as to why DS won't get on a good routine.  She also gave up the paci at 4 months on her own so we are in new grounds here, I don't like using the paci, but his cries wake up DD if they go to long and I don't get him to resettle.

He has two bumps on the bottom so he could be teething as well, but what confuses me is that he slept 5 nights in a row for my brother.

Thanks for the help, I'm at a loss!

[*Nicola*]

Hi

I'm a bit stumped to be honest.  It's really strange that he slept through at your brothers but not when he got home. Did he STTN before going to your brothers?

Here are my thoughts anyway (and some from Bryony)

1) Paci ... It looks to me like the paci is a bit of an issue.  If he goes right back to sleep as soon as you replace it then it seems likely that it has become a prop.  If you replace it and he goes back to sleep how long is it until he wakes again?

I did DF at 10:20 last night (he didn't wake before it this time), he then woke at 11:40 crying/screaming.  I usually try to wait a few min. to see if he goes back to sleep, but he never does until one of us goes in and gives him the paci and then he rolls over and sleeps.  He then slept until 6 am this morning.

This also makes me think that the dummy might be an issue.  Does he need it to fall asleep with?

2) Environmental factors .. could it have been warmer/cooler/quieter/darker at your brothers .. maybe something like this has been impacting on his sleep. 

3) Routine ... His A times and nap lenghts are a bit far from the 'average' for a 5 month old.  Most 6 month olds are doing around 2.5 hours of A time and are having 2 x 1.5 hour naps and a catnap of around 45 mins.  The long A times and short nap times are likely causing him to be OT, which often leads to NW's as I mentioned in the previous post.  Most 5.5 month olds need that catnap to prevent them being OT by bedtime so I would definately encourage it.  If he does take it how long does he sleep for? 

Not sure if that is helpful at all!!