tricky night wakings

[amayzie]

Hi- my guy has started night waking fairly consistently again.. It's hard to tell if its the 2-1, his cold, the weather cooling down, or hunger! He will often wake at 11pm and i take him out for a drink of water and resettle.. he often will resettle easily at this point. He then will sometimes wake again later in the night- so last night he woke at 2am.. crying.. i gave him some nurofen in case it was teeth as he was really unhappy... we then cuddled for a while and i put him back down. Then came the pattern thats been happening a fair bit- after about 10-15 minutes he woke again... Now last night i fed him at this point as i had work this morning... but i usually dont, and this settling to sleep, then waking every 10-15-20 minutes to be resettled again happens for a period of sometimes up to 1.5-2 hours! (i get lots of BWing forum time in!) Could this pattern be hunger? He's a really independant sleeper- it's just come up recently... We ditched a night feed that came with tonsilitis about a month ago.. but it seems odd to me...

Thanks!

[becj86]

More likely OT I'd reckon, Katy. What's his 2-1 looking like at the moment?

It could be thirst - with a cold if he's breathing through his mouth...

[amayzie]

hmm... it could be OT... yesterday he had no where near enough day sleep- like 1.20 all day... but he has been waking for a while- sometimes this funny wake, settle, wake, settle, pattern.. Should i just offer him water? or should i offer a feed? At least while he's got his cold...

[becj86]

You're not due a wonder week or anything at the moment, Katy? Sometimes that can mess with sleep

I'd try to go with water...feed is so much easier in the MOTN though At least if you do water, you know if its hunger or not...

[amayzie]

I've not really been keeping track of wonder weeks- but this has been happening for a little while.. I'll try the water... I'm hoping it improves over the next month or we'll be back at the night feeds- i'm back at work at the beginning of june and don't think i have the resolve to do a 2 hour settle session with work in the morning!!

So- do you reckon i should try water, and then if he wakes again after not too long feed him?

[becj86]

So- do you reckon i should try water, and then if he wakes again after not too long feed him?

I think so. Once you know how that affects the nights, we'll have an answer either way on thirst/hunger issues anyway

[*Becky*]

Just seen this Katy. I agree with trying the water first. M always gets SA which comes out at night when she is sick, even just a cold and we get similar wakings.

[katie80]

I also agree with trying the water, Katy.  Do you really think he could be hungry?  It seems like from what I remember, he's a pretty good eater, unless his cold is hindering him during the day (as the tonsillitis did ).  Usually I'd say that frequent waking like that is either discomfort or hunger, but Becky has a good point with the SA as well.

Oh, btw, I love your new avatar.  H is such a cutie, and you're likely making all the Canadian ladies on here so happy.

[amayzie]

Thanks!! I figure there isn't much call to wear a canaga jumper here- but on line!! YES!

I don't THINK he;s hungry.. The last 2 nights i've fed him on the second waking- so last night woke at 2am or so... faffed around with water, cuddles, nurofen and a jacket till about 2.30/2.45 at which point he settled, quiet- apparently asleep for 20 minutes- JUST enough time for me to drift off to sleep- and then crying again! So i fed him and then that was it for the night... I get the feeling that if i didn't feed him then it would have continued for another hour...

His cold is getting better though.. so i should toughen up and just say NO to milk over night? I can do that- the night wakings don't bother me THAT much (yeah- i LOVE being up for 2 hours in the erly AM!! ) he;s been a little off his food- but not that much really...

[becj86]

Its up to you, I've still got a NF if over 11hr since BT feed and DS is ~1 month older than Hamish. I'm a softie though - he does usually sleep without waking us for those 11hr... but we're dealing with 3-5 night terrors per night for the last 3 weeks, so that's almost enough to have me committed to an asylum.

How long is his night? Has it gotten longer to deal with 2-1? If so, maybe keep the feed but if not, I'd say toughen up

[amayzie]

How do you know it's a night terror at this age?

His night is about 12 hours- we haven't managed to get an early bed time to work... (fusses..) But the night wakings are happening at about 2-4... so not THAT long after bed... I'll see how we go tonight

[katie80]

Yeah, I'd probably try not to make feeding a habit around that hour, but it's so hard when you know it gets them back to sleep.

The last 2 nights i've fed him on the second waking- so last night woke at 2am or so... faffed around with water, cuddles, nurofen and a jacket till about 2.30/2.45 at which point he settled, quiet- apparently asleep for 20 minutes- JUST enough time for me to drift off to sleep- and then crying again! So i fed him and then that was it for the night... I get the feeling that if i didn't feed him then it would have continued for another hour...

I'm just throwing this out there... Do you think they're becoming habitual at all? Like, he wakes up and thinks, ok... now it's time for my water and cuddles? I ask because when I read this I thought about a story (I think it's in BWSAYP) where mom and dad rush in the first night LO wakes and they continue to do so for a little while until its become a habit.

Is your EASY pretty consistent these days, or lots of changes due to the 2-1?

[amayzie]

Still a bit up in the air with 2-1... I do wait till he's really crying till i go in... I might try waiting longer.... He often isn't having the water the last couple of nights... pushes it away.. He MIGHT suspect that mummy will feed him soon if he holds out!! I was wondering if that could be a habit... I'll try to just settle in bed tonight rather than cudding.. He goes into bed awake- but perhaps i just need to keep him in bed. And i'm planning on going to bed at a reasonable hour so that even if 1-2 hours is out with a night waking then i'm still able to function in the morning...

[becj86]

i'm planning on going to bed at a reasonable hour so that even if 1-2 hours is out with a night waking then i'm still able to function in the morning...

Good plan

NT's... basically for DS, he will sit up in bed screaming as if in awful pain. Pain meds made no difference. He would fight us (so violently we were concerned we'd drop him) if we picked him up and the screaming lasts longer if we touch him, getting louder and louder. He's not awake, he doesn't know we're there and doesn't lift his arms to us. They are more numerous and more intense if he's OT. He has had at least one every night for the last 3 weeks, usually 3-5.

[amayzie]

Poor poppet!! I'll see how we go tonight. My mum decided that he's probably getting cold so went out to buy him a new warm sleeping bag- so now he's all rugged up in a bag that looks like it's big enough to wear when he's 8!! We'll see if that makes a difference! I don't think he's cold- the wakings are too early for that really...