Any help to stop this EW cycle

[*Liz*]

This has been going on for as long as I can remember - we fix it for a week or so - then for some reason or another the EWs come back again. And it will now take me 2 weeks to fix it (essentially he will get OT, and then catch up on some sleep, then OK for a week or so, then back to the EW).

He is getting 10-10.5hrs sleep per night ATM. He is an 11-11.5hr night sleeper at best.

It is dark in his room - obviously the ligher mornings will be impacting a bit as it is impossible to get rid of every crack (although I have tried, trust me  ). And I guess the birds are starting to sing again.

He is a restless noisy sleeper as well, and we still get random NWs. But he is almost always easy to settle (find lovey, say its OK its just sleepy time, and he lies back down and goes to sleep). I do the same at the EW but it never ever works. He will just roll around for 10 mins or so, then babble a bit, then cry. So I do the same and we can carry on like this for an hour or so.

This morning he stirred at 4.30am, nodded back off again and woke fully at 5.30am  . I know I am in for this for the next week or so as well, and I just feel like crying at the thought.

Thing that is really stressing me out is that I CANNOT manage night feeds with number 2 in a few months AND cope with 5am EWs off J as well.

Routine yesterday was
Awake 5.45am (took out of cot at 6.30am)
Nap 12.30 - 14.00 (PD at 12pm but took 30 mins of singing to get to sleep ?OT ?UT as kept in cot until 6.30am. Usually this nap would be 12-2pm)
Asleep 7.15pm (was aiming 7pm but he got hiccups with his bedtime milk  )

Brief NWings at 9pm, 11.45pm, 4.30am and up for the day at 5.30am (kept in cot until 6.30am)

Sigh. I just don't know what to do with him really. Only thing I have really changed since he went to 1 nap at 12 months is to increase the A before the nap. It was initially 5-5.5hrs and now it is 5.5-6hrs. Any less than 6hrs makes him short nap. But the final A to bed is much the same as it always was. He has always preferred a longer am A.

ANY ideas at all??

[scucci1979]

I wish I knew the answer Liz. Madison is like J. Ews settle then creep up again. Thinking it is because OT creeps in. Do you think he is getting a little OT? Madi was an early teether, is it possible that his molars are shifting?(guessing here) I don't think his nap is ready to be dropped!
Being pregnant myself, I can give you lots and lots of hugs and hope eventually J will sleep in one day. 
Now that the temperature is getting warmer here in Toronto, we are spending more time outside and I am sure all her stamina is being used up there.   
I too don't know how I am going to manage a newborn and her waking waking up early, especially since hubby works nights. 
Hang in there. 

[*Liz*]

Oh no, he certainly isn't ready to drop his nap, I think it would finish both of us off  .

It is something to do with that final A time - I'm sure of it - but I've never ever ever been able to figure it out.

I do think naps longer than 2hrs cause me issues as well now - and I think I agree with you in that he gets OT (how?!!) BUT then catches up through long naps that then rob the night and the cycle continues.

I doubt it is teeth really as all his canines have just finished and he has tended to be an 'on schedule' teether. I gave some dream meds last night just in case and it didn't help at all  .

I didn't realise your DH did nights - mine does at least one a week as well - but long day shifts a lot of the time as well.

[babybarr]

Would an earlier bedtime be worth a try?

Or the other option I guess if you think he gets a little OT is to do 5days of 1.5hr nap and then throw in a longer one.  But do it regularly

[scucci1979]

I was also thinking of an earlier bedtime and give him a longer nap every 3-5 days-if he will do it. I have noticed a pattern with Madi. When I reduce her nap to 2.5hours after 4 days the EWs creep in. I was planning to throw in a day of a longer nap to see if that makes a difference. Funny thing is, the majority of the time she wakes up on her own.   

Another thing that popped in my head is I think she is outgrowing her crib. Wondering if she needs more room. Maybe our little ones are just early risers.

If you find any answers please let me know!  I hope little J sleeps in for you tomorrow.

[clazzat]

We're in much the same boat, Liz.  Following along in the hope of a magic answer!

[*Liz*]

Thanks for the support - he has got OT - his nap today was rubbish and he was very tired this afternoon.

I just put him to bed at 6.40pm with no bath  . But I doubt it will help much - I think I needed to go lower.

I will catch him up though - its just how to stop having a good week followed by another bad week  .

I suppose I need to figure out what is making him OT really - days when naps cut short or days when I work and his final A is 15 mins too long.

[clazzat]

FWIW, E had 2h30 at lunchtime today and has fallen asleep in less than 30 mins for the first time this week - not sure if it will result in a later wake up, but it says to me that she is less OT than she has been all week.

Unfortunately the other one is calling me now because she is OT and not going to sleep...

[*Becky*]

How are things Liz?

[*Liz*]

We have been getting short naps and long nights but very restless sleep. Totally got OT, but I really don't know how it happened  .

Anyway - did a 12pm nap today after a 6am wake-up and he slept for 2.5hrs so should be all caught up again - so now the question is how long to bed? And I think that is the issue really.

We have always done 5-5.25hrs since switching to 1 nap and have always cycled back into the EWs. So the question is whether to try earlier or later. I'm going to try earlier I think, as the morning A is 6hrs.

[Mashi]

Hi Liz....sorry to hear you are still battling this   About 18 months or so I had to stop worrying about the A time length on its own and look at the bigger picture - even more than I had been before. So if he's up at 6, and 2.5 hours of a nap, then I would not expect him to be in bed any earlier than 630 and 7pm is probably more like it. If he's done 2.5 hours already, then he's only going to need another 11 I would suspect, before he's had enough sleep. But at the same time if he goes for 5 hours after his nap, that makes it 730 for bed and that makes too long of a day with not enough time to sleep at night, kwim? I really had to start looking at wake up and bed as the main factors and nap time as just nap time, existing on its own!  Is that making sense or does it sound like I am talking nonsense?  (I say this knowing full well that I do talk nonsense a lot of the time.... LOL )

[scucci1979]

I am glad he has caught up on some sleep! Madi woke up at 6:30am today. Don't know if it was UT or OT? I put her down 4hrs and 45min after a 2.5hour nap.  I too can't figure out the last A before bed.

I also would do an early bedtime.

[squeakersmum]

I know Ben is younger than J but we sort of have a similar problem every now and again.  We'll have a few days of EW for no apparent reason - oh and we generally have random NW - I think we always will  !

May be way out in left field but what about putting him down for an earlier nap on the day he starts his EW cycle - so at less than 5.5hr A- letting him sleep a little later than the 2 hr - maybe an extra 30 mins - if he will, and then aiming for a normal bed time.  Then he would have caught up (theoretically) on his OT and should be able to give you a normal wake up the following day.

I know that this works for Ben - but as I said he is younger than J so that may be why.

XXX

[*Liz*]

Thanks guys  .

J does like a long am A - so anything less than 5.5hrs will lead to a 1.5hr nap and then a mega A to bedtime. But I do often go down to 5.5hrs rather than 6 hrs. TBH though it is pretty much a set nap time, and often if I try and extend after a later than average wake-up it goes wrong. Migt be a body colck thing I guess  .

Mashi - I think there is something in that really. After a 2.5hr nap I am often only expecting a 10.5hr night as he seems to average 13hrs total now.

I put him down at 7.15pm and he was out within minutes. And had asked to go to bed after his bottle as well. So that will be only 4.5hrs A. We will see, hey?

[~Emma~]

What happened Liz? I've been following along as we too get intermittent EW. I just roll with it tbh but the more I think about it the more frustrating it becomes what with no 2 on the way.