6 Month Old - Same 3 NWs

[Lindsay27]

Hello!

DS will be 6 months next week, and has been have the exact same NWs for about 2.5 weeks now - 11:30pm, 1:30am, 5:30am...same time (within about 15mins), every single night!  I usually feed at the 1:30am waking and he takes a full 7oz bottle.  What gives!?

His BT is between 7 and 7:30pm and he goes down easily.  He can be easily settled at the 11:30pm waking, feeds at the 1:30am one, but the 5:30am, that's another story.  He never really goes back to sleep, just dozes off and on until I get him up around 6:30am.  This makes for understanding his first A time next to impossible...therefore, his naps have been a mess.  Last week we had 20min naps, but yesterday we had a great nap day, but unfortunately we still had the same 3 NWs.

I thought maybe it was hunger related, so today I tried feeding at the 5:30am waking to see if he would go back down, but he didn't want to eat at all (though, I had trouble feeding yesterday because I think his gums are sore, so him not eating this morning could be more related to teething).  He isn't on solids yet until next week if the doc gives us the go-ahead at his 6 month appt.

I just find it so strange that it is the exact same times each night.

[ArianaCR]

I've got a 6.5 month old doing the same except I am unable to comfort him any other way than nursing (everything else just makes him cry harder).  I've asked for help on other forums and because he's eating almost every time people tell me to increase day time feeds.  I started solids a few days ago but they eat such a small amount at first I think it takes a while to make a difference.  I also hear that waking the same time every night is often habitual instead of hunger so if you decide to treat it that way (sounds like you can definitely do it for the 1130 one at least), you might have to do some cry it out/leave him alone type deal so he learns 1130 is not the time to get attention from mommy   Or if you're not into that you could try more and more minimal settling till you have to do none. 

[Erin M]

The 1:30 feed would not be unusual at 6 months, so you're probably ok with that one.  As for the other two, is there anything environmental going on at that time that might cause the wakings?  Alarms?  Noises?  Other things going on in your house?  It it's truly habitual, have a read of this and see what you think: How to address habitual wakings (w2s and other methods)

You could also be in need of an A time tweak -- what does your day routine look like right now?  And, FWIW, teeth always brought EWs around here. 

[Lindsay27]

I don't think there is anything (ie. noises) that could be causing the 11:30pm NW - DH and I are usually in bed around 10/10:30 so our 'going-to-bed' noise would be over.

I wonder if the 11:30pm NW is actually a hunger NW, and because I am resettling him and not feeding he is automatically waking at 1:30 due to hunger because I didn't feed at 11:30?  The only reason I don't think the 11:30pm NW is hunger related is because he is so easily settled for this one, but I could be wrong.

We are for sure in need of an A time adjustment, I am just finding it really difficult with the 5:30am EW.  I don't just want to get him up at this time, but because he just dozes on/off until 6:30, when he does wake at 6:30 an A time of 2hr 45mins is near impossible to achieve because he is OT by that point.

[Erin M]

I wonder if the 11:30pm NW is actually a hunger NW, and because I am resettling him and not feeding he is automatically waking at 1:30 due to hunger because I didn't feed at 11:30? 

It could be, but when my LOs woke from hunger, they wouldn't stay asleep for 2 hours. 

The EW/A time thing is tricky -- they both affect each other so it's hard to tackle one when the other is causing you trouble.  I would work on those A times though.  Does he still have a cat nap?

[Lindsay27]

The only solids I am feeding right now is a little cereal, so yesterday I decided to give it 2 x times a day instead of the usual once I give it, and he slept last night from 7pm - 4am!  I fed and then he went back down, but had his usual EW.  Still, a vast improvement!  It could be a total coincidence but I think I will try that again today and see what happens.  I also pureed peas yesterday and gave him a few bites of that, so I think he was nice and full. 

Yes, he still typically has a catnap.  Because of our short naps during the day we pretty well still have to have it.  If I can tackle the A time/nap situation we could probably drop it, but at this point it is just a series of short naps.

[Erin M]

Yes, he still typically has a catnap.  Because of our short naps during the day we pretty well still have to have it.  If I can tackle the A time/nap situation we could probably drop it, but at this point it is just a series of short naps.

Makes sense.  I think if you managed to push through with increasing the A time, you'd lose that EW, along with the CN. 

[Lindsay27]

Yesterday afternoon we had a 2.45h A time which resulted in a 45min nap, I resettled and he slept another 45mins.  This morning we had the same A time (2.45h) and it resulted in a 20min nap.  What the heck!?  I resettled him with 10mins of patting and then stayed in his room another 5mins, and the second I walked out he woke up.  I resettled again...so not sure how long he will be down for.  I don't understand how the same A time can result in 2 completed different naps (neither of which are good!), and I think the A time is right around where it should be, so not sure why they are short.

We did not have the CN last night and his BT was 7pm.  His NWs were 8pm, 9pm, 12am (fed), 4am, 5:30am, 6:45am.  We had company last night which could have accounted for the 8pm & 9pm NWs.

*Groan*.  I am so confused.

[Erin M]

I don't understand how the same A time can result in 2 completed different naps (neither of which are good!), and I think the A time is right around where it should be, so not sure why they are short.

It could be that he likes different A times at different times of the day.  Some babies do their shortest A times in the morning, some do their longest, some like them consistent throughout the day (as if you're not already confused enough)!  Have you ever noticed a pattern?  If yesterday was more typical of his days, I'd say that he likes a longer A time in the morning.  It also depends on how his sleep was before that.  So if he's coming off a decent night's sleep, he'd need a longer A time than if he was coming off of a broken nap. 

His NWs were 8pm, 9pm, 12am (fed), 4am, 5:30am, 6:45am.

The wakings in the first half of the night are usually due to OT, the ones in the second half are more discomfort or routine related.  Any possibility of discomfort right now? 

[Lindsay27]

Yes I think the 8pm & 9pm NWs were OT related - he really needed to go to bed earlier but it was so chaotic with preparing dinner, having company & other babies over that it never really happened and we ended with a 7pm BT which I know was too late.

In terms of discomfort, he is teething and on the days it seems bad I give him Advil before bed, but it doesn't make a difference with the NWs.  This pattern of NWs has been continuing since he had a really bad cold 3 weeks ago and he is still battling some congestion at night, though I am not convinced that is what is getting him up because his NWs are the exact same times each night (I could be wrong though?).  I have his humidifier going and I use the nasal aspirator.

After his messy AM nap yesterday (he slept 40mins after I resettled him), I shortened his next A time to 2.5h which resulted in a 30min nap.  Did I not shorten enough?  I got him to sleep another hour with me in bed (I was in desperate need of a nap too!)  We didn't have a CN yesterday and I put him to bed earlier at 6:30pm.  Our NWs were bad last night - 7:30pm, 11:30pm, 2am (fed), 4am, 5:10 (he resettled himself), 5:50am - I didn't bother trying to resettle him after this, I figured it might be better just to get him up, so he will need to go down for a nap pretty early, but oh well.

Sigh, I am just feeling pretty lost at this point.  Will try to extend/keep consistent his A times again today and see what happens.  I will post later to see how his naps went (...not confident lol).

[Erin M]

ITA the messiness with having company, sometimes you just have to have some trade offs.  The nap yesterday, it could be that with him getting 1.5 hours of sleep with the resettlings he wasn't quite tired enough after the shorter A time.  with my LOs, how the woke up always made the difference -- if they we chatty, I knew they were UT, if they were crying, they were generally OT.  Of course, the teeth might change that too.  With the meds before bed, if you're giving them at 7ish, before bed, they're going to be worn off by 1 AM, so the teeth still could be causing your wakings in the later half of the night (generally when we see discomfort related wakings). 

Let us know how you get on today with naps.

[Lindsay27]

Okay so, today was so-so.  His first A time was only 2hrs, but he was seriously tired by this point because he was up at 5:50am, and I wasn't willing to push it.  He slept 45mins but I was able to quickly resettle him down for another 45. 

After this I fed, then we went to the pool for swimming which we normally do on Monday's.  It's a 40min drive there and he was awake, but happy the whole time just playing with his toys in his carseat.  Swimming tires him right out, so afterwards he fell asleep immediately on the way home (it worked out to be about 2.15 of A time).  Usually he is so tired after that I just bring him in the house still sleeping, and let him finish his nap in his carseat (he typically would sleep another hour) but upon my arrival home my dog went bonkers barking and woke him up (grrrrrr dog!!!!).  So, that nap only ended up being the 40min drive home.  I kept him awake for 2.40h before putting him down again (ended up being pretty late in the afternoon - about 3:40), but he slept for an hour!!! Yippee   Not a huge sleep, but hey...it wasn't 45mins so I'll take it. 

So, we didn't need a CN because the last nap was so late.  I think tonight I will try W2S for the first NW because it will be around the time I am heading to bed anyway.  We will see how tonight goes...

[Erin M]

Good luck!

[Lindsay27]

I tried W2S last night.  His 'normal' NWs are 11:30pm, 1:30am, 5:30am, so I did W2S at 10:30pm - I rubbed his head until he stirred and rolled over.  His first NW was at 12:30pm (so, an hour later than normal), and I fed and then he slept until 5:30!  Woot!  So, our first NW was extended by 1 hour, and we skipped the 2nd NW altogether.  I actually got 4.5 hours of straight sleep!  Now, this said...I would love to think that the W2S was working, but it could all be coincidence as we did go swimming yesterday which always poops him right out, and he had an okay nap day yesterday.  Nevertheless, I will try again tonight...can't hurt right?

I also want to make sure I am doing it right...I assumed by him stirring that this meant that he had reached some level of consciousness?

[Lindsay27]

I also topped up his Advil at the 12:30am waking, so that could have helped eliminate the other waking as well.