7 month old - frequent night wakings - never STTN

[becj86]

Bex said it all perfectly Let us know how you go!

Oh, and I get where you're coming from with BF being hard at the beginning and wanting to just enjoy it. That's why we're still going with DS just over a year old and DH asking when I should wean  Feeding less frequently will help her get better feeds in during the day though and give you more confidence that she's not hungry at those earlier night wakings so you can start to reduce your night feeds.

[Carrie-12]

Hi, I've had a few busy days recently,
I have managed to increase her first A time to 3 hrs and 30 min, she still stirs during her nap (sometimes I can settle her and extend the nap to 1 hour and a half, and sometimes only 1 hour) I have been trying to extend her feeds as well, not always with success (it's slowly getting there, I have even tried solids first).
The NW are still happening, at the moment every hour from 12:00 to 4:00.  - I think this is do to her rolling around more during the day( her mode of transport now)  and she is starting to lean to the side and go forward to reach for toys. Also in her cot whilst she sleeps she now rolls from left side to back and then quickly onto the right and even her tummy, I think all these new skills are affecting night times at the mOment. So I will carry on  With the extended A time and feeds and see what happens.

[becj86]

I think all these new skills are affecting night times at the mOment

Yep, new skills can wreak havoc with sleep until they're mastered

[Carrie-12]

For the pass two nights she has woken up around 3 to 4  times between BT and 3:00a. But the real problem is she is waking up around 4 ish and is wide-awake as though she is ready to start the day, sometimes it can take 2 hours to get her back to sleep. And then she is up at 6:30/6:45 ish. am very tired now and don't know what to do. Should I DF her at 3:30 ish to stop this ?? Any suggestions would be good.

[becj86]

But the real problem is she is waking up around 4 ish and is wide-awake as though she is ready to start the day, sometimes it can take 2 hours to get her back to sleep.

Sounds like maybe her day is shifting. What's the end of her day like from 4pm onwards?

[Carrie-12]

Hi becj86

A - 11:45 to 3:15 
S - 3:15 to 4:45
E -  4:45 - milk,    5:30 - solids
A - 4:45  - to 7:10 play, bath 
E - 7:10 milk - soft singing etc
S - 7:30

Give or take 30 minutes
Today she has been awake since 4:30 and has only just gone to sleep at 7:45, so now my EASY for the day has gone out-the window. She has swimming at 12:30 so I want her to be rested for that, not sure how it will turn out. She did very well during the night and before the 4 NWshe woke at 2:00 and stirred once before as she got stuck on her belly.
Could she be UT and need to go to bed later?

[becj86]

She may need a longer A time to bed off a 1.5hr nap, though  I'd suggest capping the nap at 4:15pm if its more than 45mins long to preserve a sleep time of 7-7:30 so the night isn't getting too short.

I was more thinking you might have had a nap going for an hour from 4pm or something as some people still have a catnap at 7 months and losing that CN gets you back on an even keel.

[Carrie-12]

Hi, she doesn't have cat nap only 2 napa a day. So should I make the 2 nd nap shorter and only 1 hour or extend bedtime and don't aim for her to sleep until 8:00??

[becj86]

I would chop off the nap - keeping a long night has been key in our house. Every LO is different, but sticking to night being as close as possible to 12hr is a pretty good rule of thumb.

I did have a few rules to help keep BT from extending out too far...
* Don't allow sleep beyond 4pm if the nap is a 1.5hr one, or 4:30 if a 45min CN; bed by 7 but an early bedtime is ok when required.
* Push the first A time to what it should be or as close as you can get if the night has been really bad to guard against EW
* Resettle OT nap wakings, adjust A time if UT short nap occurs.

[Carrie-12]

Thanks I will give it a go, she had a good night last night ( as good as it has been for a week). DF at 11:30 and then she started to stir and rolled on her tummy, moved her back and she went back to sleep. She then stirred/ on tummy at 3:30 so I kind of DF her ( she was half awake) to try and get pass that 4:00 wake up. She went back to sleep and stirred at 5:00 stuck on tummy again. DH settled ber and she went back to sleep until 6:45. It's just the tummy thing that is disturbing her, she does know how to roll back but when sleepy I think she forgets. I'm wondering if her grow bag is getting in the way as it gets tangled around her legs, anyone else finding that??

[becj86]

Glad she had a better night last night. I never had much luck with a sleeping bag or blankets. Good thing its warm here

She will get used to sleeping no her tummy/rolling back as she gets more mobility. These physical milestones can mess with sleep quite a bit.