How to wean NIGHT FEED for a 19 month old

[KiusMum]

Hi Sianie

just wanted to update the progress so far..@ bedtime, the night before last, K went to sleep w/o any assitance from me..i was @ the foot of the bed singing his lullabies and just patting the rails, he was quiet for most of the time and in the end sang a lil song himself and dozed off..it was wonderful..last night though i put my hand on his back for a few secs (no patting) towrads the end and that settled him into his deep sleep.
so GW is definietly progressing @ bedtime.. NWS i m still having 1 or 2 , it takes around 20 - 25 mins to settle so its not a long time..howver i m getting EWs now..anywhere between 6 - 6.45 am. i think its because of his nap length. i m tryign to curb it to 2 hrs and see how it goes with an earlier bedtime..will let u know...

P.S... hes not had milk in the middle of the night for almost a week now

[sianie]

Well done! 

It sounds like you are making some great progress!

Yes, the EW could be linked to the nap length, I agree capping at 2hrs for a few days is a good idea to see if it makes any difference to his night sleep.

[KiusMum]

Hi Sianie..

yesterday his nap length was 1.45 mins and he had an activity time of 6 hrs , i had a NW of about 45 mins from 12.40 - 1.25 and he was up for the day at 6.25 AGAIN...so tired today...nt sure WHTS CAUSING THE EW..i did realise something today thugh..earlier whn he was hving his feed in the night..he used to sleep atleast till 7.30 or sometimes 8..wonder if its hunger thats making him wake up early?? although he does hve a decent dinner and around 220 ml milk before he sleeps..

[sianie]

What time was his BT? EW's are generally 10hrs or less of night sleep.

I doubt it's hunger TBH as he seems to be eating well.

[KiusMum]

Hi Sian,

Not good news on my side...past 2 nights hve been bad.. night before last..I had a NW for 1.5 hrs..he kept moving around, rolling in the bed and thrashing his legs all the time with his eyes closed..had a few sips of water..i tried walking with him, patting him rocking him , or just leaving him in the bed to do his thing..but nothing worked..he did finally fall asleep after @ 1.5 hrs and woke up for the day @ 7.30am.

now last night was even worse , he had a 2 hr nap( 12 -2) @ child care and was asleep by 8.35 pm for the night. his NW lasted arudn 2.5 hrs from 12 am - 2.20 am. tried everything from the abv, i also sort of tried talkign to him and waking him up..like resetting to see if it worked. i was thinking its his tummy or something like a stomach bug..bt not sure..newyas his dad somehow put him to sleep by 2.20 am..we were both thoroughly exhausted and tired and he was up @ 6.50 am today..so his night sleep was from 8.35 - 6.50 am with 2 hrs NW which is 8 hrs total night sleep..isnt that pretty low..i hve almost given up hope.that he is ever gonna sleep thru..i hve got a handful of nights where hes slept thru 9 or 8 hrs straight in the past 19 months now..bt thts it..i used to think it was cos he was so dependent on us for putting him to bed..but hes almost an independent sleeper now atleast at bedtime and naptime..

@ bedtime i hve moved the chair a foot away from the bed..and continued singing and patting the chair now till he falls asleep. hes doing v good for going down @ bedtime..its just those freakish NWS..if i only knew was was causing them...  

[sianie]

I would say an 8.30pm BT was too late after his nap (6.5hrs A-time from a 2pm nap WU is a long time). I think you need to aim to have him asleep by 7.30pm at the latest after a 2hr nap that ends at 2pm. NW's are usually caused by OT &/or some sort of pain/discomfort....are you sure he's not teething? Have you tried giving meds to see if it makes any difference?

I know it's discouraging when this happens & when you are very tired but consistency is what will help to get you out of this situation so hang in there the best you can! 

[KiusMum]

Hi Sianie,,

I hve given him meds today. THey told me he slept for 3 hrs during the afternoon nap at child care today..however he was ext. tired and cranky at just the 5 hr Activity  mark , which left me wondering if he did actually sleep that much @ child care..he does seem to be in some sort of pain..lets see what happens tonight.. i m hoping atleast the NW wont b very long..2 hrs is just too stressful for us...Thanks for all ur support and taking the time to ans. my qs..though ...

[sianie]

Hmm, what you are describing, the crankiness, being tired etc does sound like teething to me.....hope you have a better day!

[KiusMum]

Hi Sian,

I posted a reply twice however it has not come thru..Not sure why my messages are not getting posted... ..
out of the last 3 nights..kiyaan slept from 8.40 - 5.40 w/o waking up and then he was up for the day..milk, pattig rocking..etc nothing worked..
both those days he had like a 2 hr/2.15 hr nap in the afternoon and arund 5.5/6 hr A time before bed..now yesterday he had only a 1 hr nap
nt sure what woke him up..he was tired and cranky when he woke up and wanted to sleep..bt somehow culdnt..he was asleep by 8.10 last night..A time was arund 6 hrs..it took me arund 45 mind to put him to bed, he couldnt switch off.. bt he slept by himself in the end..he then woke @ arund 3.45 crying for milk (hes asked for milk after a really long time) and was crying realy bad..i was able to sootthe him w/o milk, however he was nt able to fall asleep..i ended up giving him some milk and it around 1 hr in all for him to get back to bed...he was up for the day today @ 7 am..

it almost looks like to me..that he is unable to sleep for more than 9 hrs at night..with a 2 hr nap in the day..capping the nap doesnt make much of a difference to the night time sleep.. and ohh hes having teething meds every night..doesnt look like hes teething thugh..no symptoms uring the day at all....really nt sure what shuld i b trying..?? wht do u think?

[sianie]

I do think a 6hr A-time is too long for him...I would aim for around 5/5.5hrs A-time depending on the length of his nap....if you know it's going to take him a while to go to sleep then start his wind-down earlier so that you can have him asleep by the right time.

[KiusMum]

Hi Sianie..

Past few nights things have been really confusing..He STTN 3 nights back from 9.10 - 6.55 which is almost 9hrs 45 mins and is a first and then refused to sleep after that..then the night after he woke up 3 times and I offered milk out of desperation to sleep..which he just sipped a little but it didnt help much and he was up at the 5.45 am mark again. then last night he slept by 8.10 pm and woke up @ 7.15 am with 1 hr NW from 3.45 - 4.45. I gave him milk in the end cos he hadnt had ne dinner and was hungry as a result.. so yeah i hve had to give him night feeds sometimes, esp if hes not had a decent dinner. i m still trying to have a perfect day with 5 hrs A time in the morning 2 hr nap and 5.5 hr A in the evening..which somehow never happens and its mostly 6 hr A both the times.. .. i will keep u posted on how the night goes when I have a day with the right A time..

on a different note, I hve moved the chair to the door now and he sleeps within 15 - 20 mins of me singing his lullabies. I hve stopped patting the chair as well,,he sometimes needs me to stroke his back or give him a couple of pats if hes OT, but mostly he falls asleep on his own..so proud that we hve got here..just hoping we can soon get to where I can post that he STTN 

[KiusMum]

Hi Sianie,

I finally had the perfect day yesterday..but last night was so far from being perfecttt ..here's what yesterday looked like

7.15 am - wake up
12.17 - 2.43 - nap (2 hrs 26 mins) {Morning Activity time - 5 hrs 2 mins}
8.20 pm - asleep for the night {Evening Activity time - 5 hrs 37 mins}
6.38 am - up for the day crying

NW  - 3.47 - 5.08 am ( 1 hr 21 mins)
Dont know what was wrong..he was just unsettled..i patted him in crib for 40 mins. many a times it seemed he was falling asleep..but then
he again woke up..he asked for milk..and i didnt want to give any cos he had a very good dinner so i knew he was nt angry..tried to calm him down for a while by distracting which is what i usually do..didnt work.his dad finally got him milk..he had like 2 sips and then refused to hve ne more...(told u..he was nt hungry.. ) neways i scolded him a bit, changed his nappy and took him in my lap and continued to pat him..for 20 or so mins and he finally dozed off to bed. he woke up at 6.38 am howling for milk.. ..

I am going to reduce the nap and try for 2 hrs with the same activity times and see if tht helps..do u hve ne suggestions??

[sianie]

Hi there...

Great news about getting to the door....you really have made progress! 

From looking at your posts I would say that a nap of over 2hrs is too long & is therefore robbing from his night-sleep, hence the NW's. I agree to cap at 2hrs for now & see if it helps.