I didn't think it could get much worse and then it did!

[neonneuron]

Hi All,

I posted a little wile ago in the PUPD boards about my problems with my 6MO son.
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=229843.0

He was taking short naps during the day (no more than 40 mins) and waking every two hours at night. I had been doing PUPD for about a month with little improvement but then, like magic, just after posting he started taking a long nap in the morning (1.5 -2hrs). 

NW never improved and recently have gotten worse in that before he would wake after 2 hrs but PUPD would only take 10 mins to send him back to sleep. Then he cut his first tooth. Now PUPD has stopped working altogether.

I don't think its teething pain that is bothering him as he falls asleep ok during the day and when he first goes down in the night. but its taking over an hour each wakening to get him back to sleep (he cried constantly and when he does calm down he can't seem to drop off) - eventually I think he falls asleep from exhaustion). I think he has started using me as a prop as now whenever I pick him up he only calms down my licking or sucking on my shoulder/neck.

Has anyone got any ideas about what I can do?

[becj86]

Has he been through the 6 month growth spurt?

What is your EASY? NW's like that mean that something is not right - maybe routine, maybe discomfort, I'm almost willing to bet overtiredness.

Is he hot/cold? DS was cold and kept wanting long cuddles to get back to sleep...

[katie80]

Hi there, just coming along to offer some encouragement. I agree it sounds like there's something up at those NWs. How old is he now, still 6 mo?

When you say PUPD has stopped working completely, you may need to tweak how you do it. There are lots of age modifications and even LO specific modifications that can go a long way in making PUPD more effective. I'm assuming you've read through these, but if not take a look. http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=208990.0

Also, PUPD isn't always as effective during teething and illness. Make sure he's been given some pain meds either topically or orally before doing lots of PUPD at night.

[neonneuron]

Hi becj86,

Our EASY usually looks like this

    6:30 awake for the day
E    7:00 feed
A  7:30-9:00
S  9:00-10:30
E  11:00
A  11:00 - 1:00
S  1:00 - 1:40 (always wakes up grumpy after this nap but I haven't been able to extend it)
A  1:40 - 3:00
E   3:00
A   3:00 - 4:30/5:00
S   only for 40 mins again
I get him ready for bed as soon as he wakes up from the last nap
E   6:30
BT 7:00 - 7:30

I think he must be overtired as he doesn't get enough sleep in the afternoon.

I'm starting to suspect it might be a growth spurt as last night he woke up after 2.5 hrs asleep and after about 20 mins of trying to calm him I gave up and fed him, and he went straight back to sleep (no comfort sucking as far as I could tell as he finished feeding and came straight off). He slept for another 3 hrs and then woke - I fed him and he went straight back to sleep again but then woke after 1.5 hrs. He was clearly tired but could not fall asleep again. surely he didn't need feeding only 2 hrs after his last feed??? Unless it has something to do with milk production being lower at night.

He woke up at 4:00 this morning and only started drifting off as I cuddled him but started screaming the minute I went to put him down - so perhaps he might have been cold too. I'll try an extra blanket tonight

I'm going to start weaning him this weekend - perhaps he needs more energy in the form of solids?

katie80 teething gel doesn't make any difference to his ability to fall asleep - sometimes baby paracetamol works but it calms him almost immediately which makes me think he's not getting pain relief from it - just getting distracted enough to calm down.

Thanks for posting the link to the age mods. I'll check it again to make sure I haven't missed anything



 

[becj86]

I'm going to start weaning him this weekend - perhaps he needs more energy in the form of solids?

Milk actually is higher in calories than any solids you can give him, so make sure he doesn't drop his milk intake. Also ensure you offer water/milk when you offer solids so there's some liquid to go through with it

S  1:00 - 1:40 (always wakes up grumpy after this nap but I haven't been able to extend it)

Do you think you could extend this A time a little? Do you think he could be overstimulated when you put him down for this nap?

1:40 - 3:00
E   3:00
A   3:00 - 4:30/5:00
S   only for 40 mins again

This is a long A time off the back of a 40min nap - shortening the next A time and putting him down for a nap about 3:20 may  help, but if you get another short nap, you may be looking at an early bedtime.

It is probable it is OT from the short afternoon naps.

[neonneuron]

Hi becj86,

Thanks for replying to me

"Do you think you could extend this A time a little? Do you think he could be overstimulated when you put him down for this nap?"

I have tried but generally I do wait until he is showing signs of being sleepy before putting him down and this short lunchtime nap has been going on so long now I've tried extending his A time and also shortening it and neither seems to work. When all his naps were short I had gave up on trying to extend this nap as it felt like he was just screaming all day - but now he's sleeping better in the morning perhaps I should go back to trying to extend his lunch time nap with PUPD...?

I also have some questions about short naps and feeding - so if he wakes up early from his 1:00 nap should I feed him at 3:00 (as usual) and then put him down for his nap? He seems to get energised when he feeds which is why I haven't tried putting him down earlier after his short nap before.

Also I usually feed him before BT, If he has an earlier BT do I feed him as usual even if it will only be 2hrs-ish after his last feed?

I'm planning on trying your suggestions on monday. The early BT is a little scary as I dread him waking at 4:00 and refusing to go back to sleep - but hopefully that wont happen.

Fingers crossed   

[becj86]

The early BT is a little scary as I dread him waking at 4:00 and refusing to go back to sleep

It is a little scary but the one time we had a wakeup at night, I took DS outside, showed him how dark it was, explained it was still sleep time and put him back in bed. He then slept til morning Last night, he went to bed at 5:30 and we didn't hear a peep til 6am I don't think that you'll get away without NF's... but I'm just trying to illustrate that you can get a longer night out of EBT.

Also I usually feed him before BT, If he has an earlier BT do I feed him as usual even if it will only be 2hrs-ish after his last feed?

Yes, keep the BT routine the same and if you're feeding earlier, it acts like a natural cluster feed

There is something wrong, like over/understimulation or undertiredness I think for him to wake up grumpy after that 40min nap every time.

I also have some questions about short naps and feeding - so if he wakes up early from his 1:00 nap should I feed him at 3:00 (as usual) and then put him down for his nap? He seems to get energised when he feeds which is why I haven't tried putting him down earlier after his short nap before.

I (and this is personal choice) would feed at 2 and then PD when he's showing tired signs.

What I would say about tired signs, though, is that they can be confused for bored signs at this age. It can sometimes be really helpful to change activities when LO grizzles and only PD for nap if LO continues grizzling after the change of scenery.