Unsure of how to proceed with next stage of GW...long NWs

[KiusMum]

Hello All,

I started training my LO (15 months old) around a month ago now using the GW method. Hes never STTN and always has been helped to fall asleep (rocking, walking, patting , nursing..etc). He used to be brought to bed, nursed to sleep when he woke up in the middle of the night or rocked.  For bedtime, again he was put to bed using rocking , swinging etc. So, initially using GW I stopped rocking completely and after his lullabies, walk a little, then cuddle him and stand next to the bed, rubing his back for a few mins and when he was drifting off to bed , put him in the cot and pat him till he fell asleep. He took to the change fairly well and even for NWs, I had success with the above after a few days.
Then suddenly I started having multiple and long NWs, mostly waking up after every hour or two and then refusing to go back to sleep even after rocking, patting and the lot. He wouldn't cry, maybe grizzling nor would he want to get up and play, he was just unable to fall back into a deep sleep whatever I did. Also, if I left him alone, he would start crying. The NWs stretched so long tht it took sometimes 2.5 hrs for him to fall back to sleep. I tried milk, chaning nappy, teething meds, resetting him , but it would still last long. Then he fell sick and had fever for a few days, so I thought maybe the long NWS were a precursor to his falling sick. Hes just gotten well yesterday and I thought I would resume with my GW today. Also the long NW were back last night. He woke up twice , first at 12.45 and asleep by 1.15 , then woke up aroudn 3.30 and I think didnt fall asleep till almost 5 am.

I want to start sleep training again from today, however I am unsure how to proceed. I think the next stage should be him falling asleep in the cot with little help from me ( I pat the mattress or i pat his bump).  He understand and communicates very well so he knows when I say its sleeping time and lie down now. However every time I put him in the cot after winding down, he would try and lie down maybe for a minute and then just get up again and start playing in the cot.  I keep repeating its sleeping time and lie down and he lies down , then gets up again. This repeats and in the end I take him in my arms and pat him or sometimes need to even rock him to sleep. This happens even if he is very very tired and wants to sleep. So where rockign him to sleep would maybe take 5 mins, putting him in bed sleepy and awake just leads to him playing around , getting overtired and cranky and ultimately me cuddling him or rocking him to sleep. So I am not sure on how to help him to fall asleep in the cot. Here's his EASY

6.45 - 7.30 am - Wake up - Milk ( if he has not nursed during the night)
7.45 - Breakfast
9.30 - Light Snack
11.15 - Lunch
12.15-2.30 - Afternoon Nap
2.45 - Fruit
4.00 - Light Snack
5.45/6.00 - Dinner
7.15 - Bath and getting ready for bed, bedtime routine
7.45 - Milk
8.00 pm - Asleep ( this varies on how he is at that time of night, he might fall asleep in 5 mins or may take 1 hour )

Thanks Ladies, Appreciate all help.

~Angela

[~inbalance~]

I wonder if he is a bit OT by bedtime, what about trying bedtime at 7:30?

It also sounds like discomfort may be involved, possibly from teething.  Often by the time they wake it is too late to give meds and it still takes awhile to resettle.  Do you give meds before bed?  You could also try dream meds where you give them while he is sleeping which might prevent the waking in the first place.

At this point, are you putting him down and patting him to sleep?  I would continue with that for now and then slowly decrease the patting until he is falling asleep on his own.

[KiusMum]

Hi Martina..

Thank you so much for your reply..Hes a bit OT at bedtime, esp. during the days when he is at child care. I will try and put him down earlier and see if it works. Meds I tried giving him at bedtime, just when hes going to sleep , however it has not helped , he would still wake up and take ages to fall back asleep. I will try the dream meds and see if that helps. Its a little weird though that he is fine during the day and mostly good at bedtimes too..when he wakes up during the night..he cries out for me (never goes to his dad for NWs and EWS... ), and after I cuddle or pat him, seems like hes asleep, but then will wake up with a jolt and refuse to sleep again...

[~inbalance~]

So he's probably got a bit of an OT and SA thing going on.  In that case you would continue with the GW.  I know it seems like a slow process, but LO really needs to trust you and feel secure, so I think you will start to see more progress with time.  Hopefully if you can get him out of the OT rut that will help him settle and not be so jolty as well. 

[KiusMum]

Hi Martina..

So last night, I tried the dream meds, total disaster cos he got up and felt awful to have something in his throat in the middle of the night... and then he was flailing his arms and that toppled the medicine bottle on the carpet.. ..but I did manage to get atleast some med down his throat. He got up 5 or maybe 6 times (lost count) during the night. The good thing he was he settled fairly quickly after cuddles, some rocking and some patting for most of the NWs.  However, towards the last couple of NWs he didnt want to sleep in the cot, the minute I put him in the cot, it was like he was getting up from his deep sleep, so I ended up finally taking him to bed with me, even there he was a little unsettled and I had to keep patting him intermittently..so I don't think its a cot issue.

At bedtime and naptime, I cuddle and pat him in my arms for a while and when hes almost asleep , transfer him to the cot and pat him till he falls asleep. Do you think his NWs are totally SA based or there could be something else going on, its been a week now that he has been waking more than usual at night..this includes the time for which he was sick. 

[~inbalance~]

Well, most of the time SA is brought on by something else going on, whether it is teeth or sometimes from big changes or maybe developmental milestones.  Has anything happened recently you can think of that would make him more clingy?  So yes, I do think there is likely more than *just* SA, kwim?  We had wicked SA when DS1 started teething his canines, it was just horrid and probably the worst he had ever been.

Sorry about the dream meds.    I have never tried it for fear of waking LO, it's just I know a lot of moms have done is successfully and it has helped.