a few issues

[cherrymama]

Hi,

My DD will be 6 months in a few days.  She is normally a good sleeper (through the night).  As of the past week or so, she's back to taking 45 min naps, sometimes refusing the last catnap and waking at 5 or 5:30am.  When she wakes in the wee hours of the morning she chats for about an hour and then gets fussy.  I usually go in and can get her back to sleep for about 40 min, until 6:30 or 7am.

Any ideas what's causing all this?  We finally conquered the 45 minute naps at 5 months and they have arrived again.  I just started solids today, perhaps that will help.  Do you think I should drop the catnap?  Any ideas?  She's super chatty in her crib - it's like she now knows she'd prefer to be out with us. 

Thanks!

[blessedbear]

Hi dropping tha CN is a delicate process our has taken at least a month and I am not convinced it is totally gone yet.  EW and 45 minute naps are usually UT.  Soo you need to push A time and maybe opt for a earlier bedtime vs CN.  But yeah EW could mean they need more A time so they make it up early in the AM.  You may want to post your EASY.   

[cherrymama]

Here is our schedule:

6:30 wake
7:30/8am bottle
9-9:30 sleep (40 min - 1.5 hours)
11:30 bottle
1pm nap (1.5 hour)
3pm bottle
4:30pm nap (20-40 min)
6-6:30pm bottle
6:30/7pm bed
11pm dreamfeed

Sorry, but I'm unclear what you mean by "EW could mean they need more A time so they make it up early in the AM."  They are not as tired so they wake earlier?  

Do you think the dreamfeed is causing sleeping disruptions?  I've heard that when people drop it the baby sleeps better.

Thanks!

[~Sara~]

Hi there!  I have to put my LO guy down for a nap, but we were going through something similar and thought you'd like to read through the advice I received:
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=159873.0

I think it's the catnap, too, like pp.  Will be back to expound...

[blessedbear]

Hi EW = Early Waking.

If she doesn't get enough Awake time throughout the day she may wake up early to make up for that.  She could babble, play, practice new things she is learning etc...

Also the dream feed could actually interrupt your LO's sleep.  Looks like she is taking 4 bottles throughout the day so maybe you could drop the dream feed and see if that helps the EW.  How much is she taking during DF?

[cherrymama]

She's only drinking 2 or 3 oz at the DF.  I think it's time to drop it.

Do you think we should be aiming for a 3hr wake time?

[blessedbear]

oh my yes I would say no more DF if she is not taking that much and you maybe disrupting her sleep so she EW's.   I believe you can do this cold turkey.  How many oz does she drink during the day?  

There is a link about how much A time a "typical" 6 month old is doing.   Was your LO full term?  I will find the link and TRY and post it.  Now that I am thinking 3 hours maybe a bit long for a 6 month old but not sure.

[blessedbear]

http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=64158.msg689373#msg689373

hope this woks

[cherrymama]

She drinks about 28-32 oz a day.  Is that enough?  We've just started solids as well.

So, do you recommend going cold turkey with the DF?  I should then move her wake time to 2.5-2.75 hours and that may help us drop the Catnap.

Thanks for your help!

[~Sara~]

I wouldn't make the full jump from her current 2.5h A time to 3h all at once.  Try letting her do 2h40 and see what her naps look like.  If she gets a good 1.5h nap for both naps, then leave the A time there.  If she's still giving you 45 minute naps, then increase again.  If you suddenly get 30 minute naps, scale back by ~5 minutes.

Still offer her a catnap in the pm, just to see her through until bedtime.  She'll probably be UT as it won't fall in her sleep window anymore, but from what other moms have said, they will APOP to get the zzzs in  If she refuses to go down, move her bedtime forward.  If after about a week she is still refusing to catnap, then start increasing her A time more.  You can also keep gradually increasing A time by 5 minutes here and there, allowing that she doesn't become OT.

Also, I would consider dropping the DF, especially since it sounds like she's not taking that much anymore.  You can drop it cold turkey, if you think it will be okay.  Or there's a gradual way, too (link below).

HTH!

http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=54662.0

[~Sara~]

She drinks about 28-32 oz a day.  Is that enough?  We've just started solids as well.

That's exactly how much my LO is taking (and they're the same age), and he doesn't do solids yet.  She should be okay; and you'll probably notice her making up for those couple of ounces during the day somewhere.