Sudden new EWs

[Padicindy]

I have a 16 week LO who has been STTN since she was 7 weeks old. She sometimes surprises us by having NWs once or twice a month. But rarely.

In the last 2 days, she has had 2 EWs, at the same time, straight in a row. I know she usually stirrs and wakes up at 5am even during the times when she STTN but she is usually able to resettle herself and to wake up at 6.40am or 7am. So I don't know what's wrong in the last few days, would appreciate help looking at her routine and suggest where we should make changes, before things go haywire? The EWs are also affecting her first feed. Sigh.

LO can handle A time of 2 hours, but rarely sleeps more than 1 hour and a half.

Day 1 of EW
E - 7am
A - 7am to 8.45am
S - 8.45am to 9.15am (I think she was UT here so she woke up after 30 mins)

A - 9.15am
E - 10.30am
A - 9.15am to 11.15am
S - 11.15am to 12.45pm

E - 1.10pm
A - 12.45pm to 2.45pm
S - 2.45pm to 5.15pm

E - 5.15pm
A - 5.15pm to 8.30pm (We went out for dinner at 5.30pm, returned home late at 7.30pm. She was fed, but was hard to put down for the night)
E - 7.40pm
S - 8.30pm (Definitely OT here?)

DF - 10.30pm

Day 2
EW - 5am (she fussed, we left her alone for 10 mins. It became increasingly loud. So I thought she might be going through a growth spurt, and fed her. But she did not want to go back to sleep. Left her alone in her cot. She fussed til she fell asleep at 6am)

E - 7.30am (I had to wake her up for this and she took only 5 mins. I think the EW feed affected her first feed)
E - 9am (she was fed again here but also, only 5 mins)
A - 7.30am to 9.30am
S - 9.30am to 10.45am (?? Not sure what happened here!)

E - 11am (she didn't seem hungry. Oh boy. 5 mins again! Snacking problem!)
A - 10.45am to 12.20pm
S - 12.20pm to 1pm (She fell asleep in the baby carrier as I had to visit someone in the afternoon)

A - 1pm (Was visiting a friend)
E - 2pm (She seemed hungry, but did not want to eat much.  )
E - 3pm (she took a full feed here)
A - 1pm to 3.30pm
S - 3.30pm to 6.30pm (ok I think I overdid this one. I thought she was so exhausted. Good to let her sleep more)

A - 6.30pm
E - 7pm
A - 6.30pm to 8.30pm
E - 8pm (Top up)
S - 8.30pm

DF - 10.30pm

EW - 5am! Again she fussed. We left her alone. Then it became cries and outburst after half an hour. I went to her, tried to soothe her and burp her. But did not calm her down. Fed her. She took a fair bit, I tried to only stop her midway, for fear of affecting first feed. After the feed, put her back in the cot and she continued to fuss, till she falls asleep, I think at 6am.

Day 3 (today)
Awake at 7am, did not take first feed. Not interested. 


Can someone advice what is wrong? And what I should do today?

[*Becky*]

Hi there,
Ok I have just had a look at your routine and think that you are letting your lo sleep for too long in the day! General advice is to let them sleep for 2 hours MAX at any one time as you need them to learn the difference between day and night sleep. I would also try not to let your lo sleep for more than about 45 mins at the end of the day i.e. a catnap. Both of these can rob night sleep and that is why she is waking early. She is trying to create more activity time.
Ideally you are looking for a 12 hour day with 2 x 1.5-2 hour naps and a short 30/45 min catnap at the end of the day just to get them through to bed. Also be careful how long your A times are, particularly at the end of the day. On day 1 she went from 5.15-8.30pm which is WAY too much and that could cause EW's too. They can be from UT or OT tbh.
I would imagine she is not taking a proper feed at 7am as she is having a feed at 5am. Try to give as small a feed as possible to see her through until you start the day.
Let me know if you have any more questions.
Becky x

[Padicindy]

Thanks Becky! Ok will shorten her naps to 2hrs max from now on! And also try to do a short catnap in the evening then. Will the routine then look something like this:

E - 7am
A - 7am to 9am
S - 9am to 10.30am

E - 11am
A - 10.30am - 12.30pm
S - 12.30pm to 2pm/2.30pm

E - 2pm / 2.30pm
A - 2pm/2.30pm - 4pm/4.30pm
S - 4pm/4.30pm - 5.30pm

E - 5.30pm
A - 5.30pm to 7.30pm
S - 7.30pm

I tried shortening her last nap and she did not do an EW this morning. Thankfully! But this morning she was way OT at church and but I resisted letting her sleep in for more than 2hrs in the afternoon, and gave her a catnap in the evening. Hopefully that works out.

Will monitor further and let you know! Thanks Becky!

[*Becky*]

Hi,
Yes that looks pretty good. You might find it better to keep the catnap to 45 mins max and just do bedtime half an hour earlier. I think that is what I would do. So...catnap 4.30-5pm. Bed by 7pm or maybe slightly earlier as a catnap is not restorative, it just gets them through to bed. Try your plan and if it needs tweaking let us know.
Keep us posted on how you get on.
Becky x

[Padicindy]

I was wondering, what would you think I should do should she not take a full nap in the first or 2nd nap - like 45 mins only. How should I adjust her routine so that she will get sufficient sleep, but still not affect her night sleep?