7mo 9:30pm NW - OT?

[NZ_Mum]

Yesterday he was still shattered by usual nap time so I put him down at 10:15am.
Then he slept till 12:30 because I went out and DH didnt wake him at 12 as instructed

So he still had too much morning sleep and the rest of our day was a bit off and we had another 9:30pm OT NW, where he cried and I tried to resettle but couldnt and by 10pm I just fed him and went to bed myself! Then he woke at 1:50am for another feed and then woke for the day at 6am. That's another EW in my book!

See if I can do a bit better today...

[Erin M]

Good luck!  Those "sleeping in" days always wrecked our days completely too.  So hard to get them up tough when you know they need the sleep!

[NZ_Mum]

So hard to get myself up after a bad night more like!

So today he napped for only an hour and a half 9-10:30 (after waking at 6am) and he woke up all by himself, which is actually unusual for him
Then I kept him up till 1:30 (3Hr A) and then he napped until 4 and I tried to do a "usual" A time till bedtime at 6:30 but he just didnt seem tired, but not OS but for whatever reason he was awake in his bed for ages not falling asleep till 7:15pm which is probably a waaaay too long day for him and then of course he woke at 9:30pm to have a cry...
(I tried to settle him in his bed, the crying only escalated until I picked him up, thumped his back a few times and talked to him for a bit and then put him down and now he's trying to settle himself again (not crying anymore) Hmm so not that hungry...

I'm getting pretty tired of this. It seems like I'm always doing the wrong thing!! And not knowing what the real cause of this crying is isn't helping!!

[Erin M]

Undertired for bed after that long nap and then OT by the time he finally fell asleep, I guess.  The tweaking is hard, especially at this age when things change constantly.  It sounds like you got 2 good naps out of 3 hours A time -- would you try 3 hours to bed on a good nap if to happens again?

[NZ_Mum]

That's the thing, he ALWAYS naps well, it's just the night time I cant fix!!
Actually last night although he tried to settle he woke up again and just cried. By then it was 10pm so I just fed him and went to bed too. Then he woke up at 1:50am and up for the day at 6:30am.
So not too bad really but I still wish he'd just STTN already! A 7.5mo who's doing well on solids and napping well during the day, and generally otherwise on a good routine 'should' be able to STTN...
Tracy always said you cant fit a baby into a clock but I swear this baby has a clock inside him!! How else does he know it's 9:30pm? LOL
 
Today was good, he woke at 6:30am, I ignored him for half an hour then fed him at 7am, breakfast, back asleep by 9:30. Woke all by himself at 11:15am had a good feed and then lunch, a trip to the park and then home and into bed by 2pm. Slept till 4pm when I woke him and then BF/Dinner/BF and bed by 6:45pm but he took a half hour to wind down and was asleep by 7:15pm. (There goes that clock again! Same time as yesterday LOL)

He was a bit maybe too tired going down for his naps today, like 3hrs is just a tad too much. He's just on the verge of getting upset about it, but manages to get to sleep before he winds himself up. Maybe I should try slightly less tomorrow? You can see today he only lasted 2:45hr A after his morning nap which was only 1:45hrs... maybe I really should be shooting for a much shorter A before bed if he's getting more tired as the day wears on?

I think he will cry again tonight... I'll let you know in an hour and a half! LOL

[NZ_Mum]

Cried from 9:05pm till 9:25pm when he finally decided to go back to sleep. I didnt feed him this time, just tried to settle him in the cot, picked him up a few times to help him settle, and sometimes while he's crying he chokes back air so needs to burp it back up. Then I got him settled in bed and rocked the cot for a bit till he starts to rub his head. Then I left and let him do the rest...

*sigh*

[Erin M]

That does sound better, though I'm sure it doesn't feel better to you!  It takes a few days to fully get used to new A times, but if you think it's too much, you can cut it a bit.  NFs are ok at this age, some babies still need them (though I know th feeling of hurry up and sleep already)!

[NZ_Mum]

Yeah you're right it doesnt feel much better to me! LOL

Last night was terrible, he woke again at 10:20pm when I went to bed so I fed him, then he cried again at 12:40am but only for a little bit and went back to sleep by himself (I didnt get out of bed just said the usual sleepy-time words) and then he woke at 2am and had a feed, I got woken at 4am by someone letting off fireworks outside our window (which of course ironically DS2 didnt even stir for!) and then he was awake for the day at 6am. Ugh feeling like trash today...

This morning he's ended up having a 3:15hr A time because that's just how long it took to get everyone up, dressed, fed and back to bed. He was pretty grumpy all morning, just moaning and whinging in his bed until I got him up, refused BF after about 3 sucks but did have some porridge and pears before bed. So I'm thinking maybe teething was not helping today/last night. That said, I think I will try a little less A times for the rest of the day and an early BT.
Last time he started EWing, I limited his daytime sleep and brought BT forward and then he started sleeping in again. That was when I thought that I'd discovered that 6:30pm was his 'magic' bedtime. Since I stopped doing that he's gradually gone back to OT & EW - as opposed to just OT

Deep breath - and - patience!

[NZ_Mum]

Well we had a good day, he slept well and did a second A time of 2:50mins and then he slept a solid 2hrs. (1:30-3:30pm)
Although DH said he was fussing in his bed crying a bit (of course he didnt actually go up to get him! ) he was ok when I got home and went to get him, and had a nice feed at 4pm.
Unfortunately, then he ended up having a 4hr A time till bed because while I got him upstairs, changed and ready as he was feeding at 6:15-6:30 (which would have been perfect 3hr A) we was all sleepy and I was trying to keep him awake and got him into bed where he woke up completely, started wriggling, couldnt get to sleep and was just restless but not crying. Then he did a poo (I heard it down the baby monitor LOL) and so I had to change him & resettle etc and try again, but no, still more wriggling. So I finally gave him some ibuprophen and he was asleep in 10mins
Boy I wish I'd done that before the feed but DH doesnt like me giving it and so I try not to. But there's a point when baby just needs some rest - and me!

Expecting another 9:30pm cry after that!
Oh when does it end...

[Erin M]

Eventually!  Hope your night is ok.

[NZ_Mum]

Well our night actually went ok!
I think the ibuprophen helped him sleep through the 9:30pm NW, so he hardly stirred last night at the usual time. But still woke at 2am for a feed and then up for the day at 7:30am which is MUCH better! (Especially on a saturday morning )
He's been teething pretty bad today and didnt get an afternoon nap until he'd cried for an hour and a half (!) and then I finally was able to APOP a nap at 4:30pm with F2S
So more ibuprophen tonight and he eventually settled and has slept well this evening - through the 9:30 mark too!
I'm hoping although the teething sucks that the use of ibuprophen may at the least break the habitual waking pattern if it was one.

There's always an up side right? LOL
Just going to bed now (10:25pm) and will feed him if he wakes...

[becj86]

Fingers crossed for you. Teething can really throw a wrench in the sleep patterns

[Erin M]

Crossing my fingers too!