5 mo NW

[Pannee]

Hello, my 5 mo dd has been regularly waking at the following times every night for at least a week now.  Bedtime is around 6.30pm but often takes a little while to get to sleep and then shes awake either 45 mins or an hour later, 10.30/11.30pm, 12.30/1am (BF), 4.30/5am and then awake around 6 - 6.30am. 

I am using ssh/pat to get her to sleep and to re-settle.  BT is difficult because she likes a chat or is teary.  The first 2 NW's she resettles within 2 minutes and same after the BF.  But the last NW can be a bit difficult, I was wondering if she might be hungry or it is too close to her normal awake time?

Wake 6am
E 6.15am
A 6.15 – 8.30am
S 8.30 – 10am
A 10 – 11.15am
E 10.15am
A 11.15am – 12.15pm
S 12.15 – 1.45pm
A 1.45 – 2.15pm
E 2.15pm
A 2.15 - 4pm
S 4 – 4.45pm (catnap)
A 4.45 – 6.15pm
Bath, massage & pj’s 5.30pm
E 6pm
Brush & Book
Bedtime 6.15pm

Should I feed at the last NW?  Is it possible that she is undertired for the night time sleep?  I would dearly love to hear some thoughts.  The only advice I am getting from those around me is to put her on formula as my BM mustn't be enough or she goes to bed too early. 

Thanks in advance!

[katie80]

Hi again. So, you're routine looks really good, I think. There's a chance she could be stretched to 6:30/45 pm for bedtime if you think she's not quite tired enough.  Although, the waking 45 min to an hour after BT usually indicates OT, rather than UT.

I would actually feed at the 4:30/5 am waking. It's been 4 hr since she last ate, and it just might get you to a later wakeup, which would hopefully get you to a bit of a later bedtime too.  Not sure that's something you're going for, but at least then you don't have to worry about people saying she's going to bed too early (which she's not, btw, but I think you know that . If she still wakes around 6:30ish, then you can offer a top-up feed upon waking or just wait to feed her for an hour or so and eventually work your way back to routine by the end of the day.

I don't remember if we talked about this on your other thread, but the other thing to note here is that while she definitely doesn't need formula (unless you've had supply issues, I don't know why she wouldn't be getting enough), several EBF babies don't make it a full 4 hr between feeds until they are on solids.  So, if you think she's needing/wanting more milk in the day, you can always offer a top up feed an hour after the initial feed or about 30 min before a nap.

Try not to let the advice of those around you get into your head.  As far as I'm concerned, it looks like things are going really well.  It is totally common to still have two NFs at 5 mo with an EBF kiddo.

[becj86]

Wow, I think your routine looks great.

Perfectly normal to have the two NF's at this point - you can just offer a partial feed at the 4:30 waking and a full BF at wakeup around 6/6:30 or a full feed at 4:30 waking and a topup when she wakes for the day. It will just depend what works better for you and her - ie. some babies snack through the day if they take a full NF and then a topup and others won't go back to sleep after the NF without it being a full feed and are happy with a topup and still last the 3.5-4hr until the next feed.

I was told pretty constantly for a while that DS needed formula because I didn't have enough milk, meanwhile I was constantly engorged and oversupply wasn't even considered I don't think your milk is lacking, your LO seems to be quite happy with that routine and lasting a good time between feeds.

I think the NW's look like OT, so maybe BT could come a little earlier - only by about 10-15mins but she may be a little tired from 1.5hr A after a 45min CN.

[Pannee]

Thank you lovely ladies, not just for the advice but for the support too!  We visited the doctor yesterday to check her weight and she has put on over a kilo in the last month which the doc is very happy about!  So my milk is fine and I also think she needs a couple of NF for now.  I will keep tweaking the routine to cut out the other NW.

Thanks again!

[becj86]

she has put on over a kilo in the last month

Yay! Validation like this is really helpful, so glad you got it

I hope the tweaks help get rid of those NWs, keep us posted.

[katie80]

she has put on over a kilo in the last month

Yay! Validation like this is really helpful, so glad you got it

I hope the tweaks help get rid of those NWs, keep us posted.

Ditto!