Hi everyone!
First off, thank you so much for taking the time to read this, I can't tell you how appreciated it is! The lovely ladies in bottle feeding have helped me immensly, and now that we seem to have our eating issues sorted out, I'm ready to try to tackle these persistent NW. (or at least try to figure them out!)
I'll start by answering these:
How old is your child? -
5 months as of 2 days ago. 18 lbsWhat’s his/her daily routine? -
just got onto a good 4 hr easy the last week after quite a rough transition phase.What’s nap routine? -
currently 2 x 2 hour and 30-40 min CN. still swaddle.How long are naps?-
^What's bedtime routine? Time? -
wake from CN 5:40ish, bottle 6:30 (never makes it to 7) bath, massage, jammies, story, top up, bed.Do you bottle or breastfed?? -
bottle nowHow much? or how long? -
up to 8 or 9 oz feeds, 7, 11, 3, 6:30/7:30 TU (I make one 10 oz bottle), 10:30 DFIf breastfed.. one side or both?? (at each feed) -
N/AHow many wakes per night? -
average 2-3What’s your LO like when waking at night? How long is he/she up? -
it varies, lastnight he woke at 3:00 AM and laid in his crib talking to himself and cooing, slamming his legs on the matress until 4:30 when he fell back asleep (I watched him on the video monitor, but didn't go in, I was hoping he would settle himself and go back to sleep faster than he did) but then he woke again at 5:00 crying and wanting to be settled so I went and got him. (bad habit we've gotten into- he comes to bed with me most mornings if he wont settle right away... i work from home and am so tired as it is i've justified it in my mind... about half the time he will settle in his crib and stay there until 7 am but the other half i bring him to bed and shush him back to sleep until 7 when he keeps waking) other nights he'll wake at completely random times, 1 am, 2:30, 4:30 etc. most times he'll resettle with his sucky but he rarely stays asleep for longWhen you go to him/her is she fussing or crying? Or is it a mantra cry?-
i only go in if he's fussing or crying, i leave him if he's cooing/talking to himself. To be honest, I'm not sure I can really tell his mantra cry, i do know he's looking for attention though, it's a 'come here now please' cry most of the time.What have you tried to settle?? -
most of the time he'll settle with his soother and a bit of shushing/face touching unless something is wrong- ex: teething pain/hungry What do you do for A time and how long is it? -
he goes between 1.45- 2 hours A time right now, I've been gently pushing him closer to 2 hours every stretch but he still peters out at 1.45/1.50 sometimes. He has a very distinct OT line that I don't cross, he's never made it past 2 hr 5 mins without losing his mind. (devil baby emerges. poor little guy!) our A times at home are jolly jumper, excersaucer, walks outside in the sling, floor time with toys, reading stories, etc. I always start to wind him down 30 mins prior to sleep, move to lower key activity, carry him around in the sling while i tidy up etc., he wants his sucky always about 15 mins before sleep timeAre there developmental issues such as teething or milestones? -
he hasnt cut any teeth yet but is definately teething, a few times when he's woken up full blown crying and wont resettle i've given him tylenol, some times it helps, others not so much. he still hasnt mastered rolling over for some reason, he really doesnt seem to want to yet!Have you introduced cereal? Why, how much, and how many times a day? (for LO’s under 6 months) -
we've just started with a tiny bit of rice cereal, mostly to get him used to the texture. We started it before his feeding issues got sorted becasue I was scared he wasn't getting enough milk (silent reflux! the meds made an incredible difference overnight with his eating) he's not too interested in it yet, and only swallows about half a tbsp - 1 tbsp once/day. I've been giving it to him either at 8 am as breakfast after his 7 am bottle, or at 6 pm after his CN and before his bedtime bottle as dinner. he's really not taking enough to make much of a difference yet i dont think.Do they have a prop? If so what is it?-
his sucky and he's swaddled still for all naps and night sleep (when at home.) he really needs his sucky to sleep, alot of wakings from naps happen becasue he's spit his sucky out and wont resettle until he has it again. sometimes if it's loud in the house i'll put on white noise for naps Do they have a lovie?-
not yet, we've been encouraging a stuffed toy but he hasnt latched on to one yet. aside from all of that info, here is our current easy-
E- 7am 8-9 oz
A-
S- 9am- 11am (when he makes it to 2 hours, sometimes its 8:45 or 8:50. I wake after 2 hrs either way)
E- 11 am 8-9 oz
A-
S- 1pm - 3pm (or 1.45-2 hours after woke last)
E- 3pm 8-9 oz
A-
S- 5pm- 5:30 or 5:45 (depending on how fussy/tired he was, how his earlier naps were)
E- 6:30 7-8 oz (never makes it to 7, always hungry right after CN. has always clusterfed in the evenings)
A- bath, massage, jammies, story
E- 7:15/7:30 2-3 oz top up CF
S- 7:30 or 7:45 (or 1.45-2 hours after last wake up)
E- 10:30 9oz DF
Is it possible that he's getting too much DT sleep (4.5 -4.75 hours) and that's causing his NW? I dont know how to decrease his DT sleep without him being able to go longer A times yet though, thoughts? Also, when he naps his first nap is always his best, he rarely needs to be resettled but his second nap he wakes at 45 mins, then again at 1.5 hours and needs to be resettled. i think his internal clock tells him to wake at 5, (he seems to wake after 10 hours of sleep like clockwork, so 5 or 5:30 depending on bedtime, that is assuming no earlier NWing. when his BT has been pushed to 8 or 8:30 before he wakes at 6 or 6:30) I do know that he isn't waking out of hunger so we can rule that out at least.
Ok I think that's probably more info that you need
Thank you so much again for taking the time to read through this... I'm looking forward to your replies!
All the best,
Kati
