Where did my text book baby go?

[Georges' mama]

Hello all,

My ds has been waking at 5am the last week and I believe it is becoming the new normal. He is 6.5 months and about to give birth to his first 2 teeth. He has also been on solids for about 3 weeks and is starting to eat more and sadly has less bowl movements.

Here is his easy: (prior to 1 week)

E: 07:00 (bf)
    08:00 solids
A: 07:00 - 09:00
S: 09:00 - 10:30/11:00
E: 11:00 (BF)
    12:00 SOLIDS
A:11:00 - 13:00
S:13:00-15:00
E:15:00 (BF)
A:15:00
S:17:00-18:00 (45 MIN CATNAP)
E:19:00 (BF)
A:1915:19:30 (BATH)
S:19:30

Now , he wakes at 05:00, I had been leaving him in his crib (he wakes happy/playing) in hopes he falls back asleep. At times he does but no longer than 20min. However , last night (nightmare) he was up all the time (due to christmas party, my fault) and still up at 05:00. I deceided to follow the advice in previouse posts and start all over. His easy started at 05:00 and I will do increments of 15min to hopefully get back to 07:00.

Finally my concerens:
1. I am scared that putting him to bed at 17:30 will make him get up earlier than 05:00. Is this something that I should worry about?
2. And is it bad if I try and lengthen the increments from 15min to 30min right from the get go?
3. Is it possible , that his early wakings are due to his teeth coming in?
4. I know that by keeping him up until 19:30 will cause even more over tiredness but should I give it one last attempt in hopes that tomorrow morning will be different?
5. Should I cut out the cat nap?

I would love your thoughts.

Thank you

Angela

[Love, laughter, & PJs]

Hi there and welcome to BW!

This can be a really tough age since this is when most LOs drop the CN.  It looks like your DS is going about 2h of A time?  Most can handle closer to 3h at this age, and that's where they need to be to drop the CN.  I think if you gently start to push out his A times, starting with the first one of the day, by 5-10 min every 2-3 days, that you'll be better able to drop the CN.  I think once the CN is gone that the EWs will go with it.   That's generally how it goes (although often easier said than done, I'm afraid! )

Doesn't sound like teeth are the culprit if he's waking happy and not having other NWs. 

What do you think?

[Georges' mama]

I think your right !!! I was toying with the idea of cutting the CN but wasnt sure how. I am a bit confused about the easy and extended A time.
Ie:
E:07:00
A:07:15-10:00
S:10:00-12:00
E:12:00

ETC. Does the 3 hour A time not prolong the E. Instead of 4h it would be 5h between the E. Or does the 4h remain the same and S becomes 1h? I am not sure if this is clear, if not just let me know.

Also , if he wakes happy at 05:00 should I just leave him until he is unhappy or until 07:00 and start the E from there? If so, I find he is exhausted through out the day from the extra A time in the crib.

Thank you so much for replying, everytime I think I have it figured out he hits a new MS.

[Love, laughter, & PJs]

Thank you so much for replying, everytime I think I have it figured out he hits a new MS.

This always seems to be the way!!

E gets tricky when you're dropping the CN.  Some people do like a half lunch before the nap, and the rest after.  It can be kind of awkward, but it passes quickly as you sort through it.  But don't be afraid to add in a snack here or there or just play with it to make it work.  Does that make sense?  The S should be 2x2h ideally.

Usually we just leave them in the AM until they're unhappy.  Most people find it works well to count that time in the crib as 1/2 A time, since it's less stimulating than being awake but not the same as sleeping, if you see what I mean.  Try that for a while but if he's still super tired from his pre-dawn gymnastics, you can start the A time when he wakes.  Another trial and error thing, I'm afraid.

Does that help?

[Georges' mama]

He is back !! Slept until 07:00. Probally due to his long day yesterday. I have taken your advice and have started to increase the A time. I was only able to go 10 min , he seemed so tired and was rubbing his eyes like crazy. But I will keep increasing by 10 min every 2nd day until we are up to 3h A time.
I do find the E a bit tricky , are you able to give me an ex. of EASY at this stage with the half lunch. If I am understanding , I would have to break up my feedings for both the naps in order for him to go 2h? Or am I giving him more? Meaning , instead of him having 32oz a day, I would include a few snacks making his intake more like 36oz. Or should I be increasing his solid intake?

Thank you for your help and your patience.

[Georges' mama]

I should probably change my subject to "Dropping the CN"

[Love, laughter, & PJs]

Here are a couple of links that might help:

http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=64837.0 - this one has a sample routine in there.   So it would look something like this:

7am: up, eat
9:30/10: sleep
11/11:30: awake, eat (so it isn't much more than 4h if at all)
1:45ish: snack
2/2:30: sleep
3:30/4: awake
dinner sometime in here
7/7:30: bed

So you can see there's some wiggle room in there as you stretch out the A times, but hopefully that will give you the idea.  I would hold a bit of the midday feed and give it as a snack before the PM nap.  Unless you think he needs more, in which case you can increase.  You can also play with increasing solids.  I would definitely not drop any milk but you don't necessarily need to increase, either, maybe just move it around.  Does that make sense?

[Georges' mama]

Thanks a bunch for your help. Happy Holidays.

[Love, laughter, & PJs]

Happy Holidays.

You too!    Keep me posted on your progress.