Night Waking/Staying Awake

[LoveToBeMommy]

We are having issues with our 5 month old and her night waking.  She wakes up once during the night to nurse, but will not go back to sleep.  She will take a full feed and then is wide awake for the next 2-4 hours.  We do not turn on any lights when I feed her.  She is happy and nothing seems wrong with her.  She just won't go back to sleep.  This has been going on a little over 2 months now.  

Has anyone dealt with this?  How did you handle this and possibly solve the issue??  We are EXHAUSTED!!!!!!!  

Here is a rough outline of her daily schedule...
8:00 am ~ Wake up, change diaper, & nurse
8:15-9:45 am ~ Playtime
9:45-11:45 am ~ Naptime
11:45-12:00 pm ~ Wake up, change diaper, nurse
12:15-1:45 pm ~ Playtime   
1:45-3:45 pm ~ Naptime
3:45-4:00 pm ~ Wake up, change diaper, & nurse
4:15-5:45 pm ~ Playtime
5:45-7:15 pm ~ Naptime
7:15-7:45 pm ~ Wake up, change diaper, & quiet playtime
7:45-8:15 pm ~ Change diaper, get jammies, book, prayers, nurse, & bed

Any help/advice is greatly appreciated!!

Here are my answers to the questions for this forum...
How old is your child? 5 months
What’s his/her daily routine?  see her daily schedule above
What’s nap routine?  see her daily schedule above
How long are naps?  see her daily schedule above
What's bedtime routine? Time?  bath (if needed), change diaper, put on jammies, read short book, sing song, say prayers, sit
Do you bottle or breastfed?? breastfeed
How much? or how long? both sides, abotu 15-20 minutes (at most)
If breastfed.. one side or both?? (at each feed) both sides
How many wakes per night? 1-2
What’s your LO like when waking at night? How long is he/she up?  see above post
When you go to him/her is she fussing or crying? Or is it a mantra cry?  no, happy, just cooing
What have you tried to settle?? no, she seems very hungry and feeds very well
What do you do for A time and how long is it? not sure what this is (still learning the lingo), but I am thinking it is awake time...   during the day, we play together, either on her playgym, in her exersaucer, or bumbo chair with toys... at night, I feed her and put her back in her bassinet, no playing
Are there developmental issues such as teething or milestones? she rolled over a week ago
Have you introduced cereal? Why, how much, and how many times a day? (for LO’s under 6 months)  yes, suggested by ped. to see if is helps... she gets about a tablespoon in the mornings only... she devours it! 
Do they have a prop? If so what is it? no
Do they have a lovie? no, just a pacifier

[Tweakster]

HI there, at her age it sounds like she's getting too much sleep and not enough A time.  It depends on the LO but typically at this age she only needs around 3.5 - 4 hours day sleep and 11 - 12 at night in a 24 hour period.  During the day she should be staying awake for around 2 hrs - 2 hrs 30 mins.  There will be 2x 1.5 or 2 hour naps + a 30-45 min catnap to take her to bedtime.  I think she's up at night because she wants more playtime.

I would extend her morning awake by 10 or 15 min increments to start.  So she's at 1 hr 45 now, extend her to 2 hours and see what nap you get with that. 

[LoveToBeMommy]

I was thinking the same thing, but she gets so fussy toward the end of each of her A times.  I think I will give it a try and see what she does.

[Mom to M&M]

DEFINITELY sounds like she needs more A time to me. I'd slowly bring it out to 2.25 hours A time - like PP said, going slowly - maybe 5-10 minutes every other day even. If she's getting fussy, do something calming with her to extend her - go for a walk outside (weather permitting), look out the window, read books, sing songs, etc. I think ideally you'd want her to be having naps (assuming 8am wake) from 10-11:30, 1:45-3:45 and from 6-6:45 before bedtime of 8:15 or so.

[Cats]

My DS2 (now 7 months), did the same thing nearly every night for almost 3 months.  It was sooo frustrating.  On most nights, I'd feed him when he woke, and put him back in his crib. He'd babble/lightly fuss for anywhere up to 2 hours.  About half the time, he'd put himself back to sleep; on other nights, we'd have to go in there and offer a little help.  He was a chronic cat napper at the beginning, never sleeping more than 30 minutes or so at a time, so I knew that he wasn't staying up in the middle of the night because he wanted more playtime.  Ironically, at 5 months, he suddenly started taking long, regular naps all on his own and about 2 weeks after that, the long night wakings also suddenly stopped.  Maybe it's just a developmental thing with some kids?  He still gets up once a night to eat, but usually goes straight back to sleep now.

[LoveToBeMommy]

Thanks so much for your thoughts!!!  She has actually been doing much better over the weekend!    She is waking once to feed and going right back to sleep!  I lengthened her A time between each nap and cut each nap by a little.  It seems to be working much better for her!

I also agree with the developmental thing though... the more I talk to people, it seems to be a very popular thing, unfortunately.  I am just hoping the lengthened A time is actually helping and not just a temporary thing. 

Thanks again!!