habitual waking

[james mummy]

my son is 6 months old and waking two to three times a night.

 im just wondering what habitual waking would be classed as. would two nights in a row be classed as HW or should i wait and see if he will do it again tonight? he has nights when he doesnt wake and that may go on for two or three nights no more than three tho and then he will wake again. is it just habit or could he be hungry? he's getting three meals of solid a day and a dream feed of approx 8 oz at 10pm so technically he shouldnt be hungry, some nights im able to settle him and others im not. if this is HW should i do the wake to sleep trick? could he be starting to suffer from separation anxiety?

[Colin Macs Mom]

6 mo is too early for SA. I personally would not call what you describe habitual, since it's not consistent exactly.

But, 3 meals a day of solids is a LOT for his age, how long has he been on solids? I wonder if he's filling up on that and not formula/BM and is in fact hungry.

[james mummy]

he's been on solids for about 5 weeks, in new zealand our plunket nurses recommend offering BM before solids so i do that he he takes a full feed (about 10-12 mins) then eats approx 120gms. he's still getting 5 BF a day and a dream feed which is formula of about 8 oz (210mls) maybe he is eating too much and getting a sore tummy? he's quite a big baby always has been so has always eaten more than anyone else's baby's that i know. on the odd occasion i have fed him and he's always just used it to go back to sleep never eats for more than 4 minutes

lately he's been waking at 5 and taking a full feed which i do in my bed coz im still tired sometimes i put him back in his cot and other times i fall asleep and so he does as well.

he's getting three 1.5/2 hour naps a day could this be causing it? ive tried keeping him up but he just gets more and more tired

[Colin Macs Mom]

maybe he is eating too much and getting a sore tummy?

Yes, solids can cause gas and tummy upset. I would recommend cutting back on the solids, but the choice is yours of course.

he's getting three 1.5/2 hour naps a day could this be causing it? ive tried keeping him up but he just gets more and more tired

YES! Absolutely. Can you post your full day's routine? I think you need some adjusting.

[james mummy]

our routine is a bit funi but this was todays

6.58 E approx 10 mins
7.30 got up and got dressed
7.40 ate approx 100gms of cereal not as runny as it normally is and he managed fine
8.40 S
10.24 E approx 8 mins
10.50 ate approx 110gms
11.07 have him outside in his rocker is still a little fussy
11.35 attempting to put him down still screaming his head off
11.43 wouldn’t settle so fed on left side until he fell asleep approx 4 mins
11.52 have left him in my bed in the middle with the duvet over him
12.30 woke so moved him to his bed and am trying to send him back to sleep
12.35 dad got him up happy in dads arms
12.40 sat in his highchair and had some of dads ice cream and instant pudding
1.45 attempting to put him down
2pm drank approx 230mls fell asleep half way through
3pm getting ready to go for a swim in the river
4.25 got home and put him down had fallen asleep in the car so was nice and compliant,
5pm woke so gave him his dummy and rewrapped him
6.40 drank approx 200mls
7.17 happy on the floor
7.45 ate approx 120gms
8.20 bath time
8.35 wind down with mum, read a book in my bedroom
8.42 attempting to put down
8.50 didnt sound tired but wanted attention so got him up and have him in his rocker

we have been doing a few car trips lately as well. today was a bit of a wierd day after waking 4 times last night before i fed him at seven, had one feed at 4.30 otherwise just gave him his dummy.

im not sure about the wind down and when to start it or what to do he's quite a talkative little man and talked all the way through tonights wind down, am i doing something wrong or is the timing off?

also if i dont give him those meals he gets very cranky and wakes more often hungry has always been a hungry boy

[yaya]

hello! Sorry to have to ask but could you post your routine like this:
E with the appropriate times
A  "
S "

This way I can see approximately how much A time and S time he is getting and see if it's approrpriate for his age or whether his routine could need tweaking

Thanks!!

[james mummy]

6.58 E approx 10 mins
7.10 A
8.40 S
10.24 E approx 8 mins
10.30 A
11.43 S after feeding him as he wouldnt stop screaming
12.30 A
1.45 S tried to anyway
2pm E approx 220mls
2.20 A
4.25 S
5pm woke so gave him his dummy and rewrapped him
6.40 E approx 200mls
7pm A
8.20 bath time
8.35 wind down with mum, read a book in my bedroom
8.42 S first attempt
8.50 A quiet activity walking around outside with dad
9.10 S attempt two
10pm S finally didnt get him up just perserved

also he feels the heat really badly and this interferes with his naps if he is too hot he wont sleep at all

[yaya]

Hmm looks as though he's having about 1h30-1h40 A time is that right? I would look to increase this a bit to see if it can help to even out naps. Many LOs move towards dropping the catnap at this age so to do that you'd need to be getting 2 long naps out of him. The first one looks good but I suspect a too short A time before the next nap resulted in a 45min nap then knock on effect to bedtime.
Try to aim for 2 hr A time and see how you get on...

[james mummy]

how long should these naps be? if he's theoretically on 4hr easy then shouldnt the naps be 2 hours? thats what i try and aim for anyway and when do i start wind down? when he rubs his eyes? sorry bout all the questions

[yaya]

yes 1.5- 2 hrs is good, just try to have more A time between them

[bombedier]

I wonder if the forumla is upsettig his tummy - I would probably recommend switching back to BM to eliminate that from the mix.