Author Topic: 7 mo old waking up different times of night  (Read 1643 times)

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Offline theladydeborah

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7 mo old waking up different times of night
« on: January 07, 2013, 19:43:09 pm »
My 7 mo old has been waking up every night at random times. This happens around 2-5 times each night.  We have been doing pu/pd for almost two months, and she is on a 4 hr EASY schedule, going to bed around 7-7:30 pm.  When she wakes, most of the time she is sitting or standing in her crib, and can't put herself back to sleep once she sits up.  Any suggestions?  She also gets up around 5-6 every morning (which is way too early for us) and takes about a half hour to put back down.  Sometimes it takes until 7 am to go back down, but then her schedule is behind. 

Also, she has a mantra cry, but never calms herself down.  If I don't go to her right away, her cry just escalates into a full out cry every time....??

Offline becj86

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Re: 7 mo old waking up different times of night
« Reply #1 on: January 09, 2013, 02:59:53 am »
When you say she's on 4hr EASY, what does that look like in EAS format?, eg.
7 - wake, eat
? - nap
etc...

Sounds like her daytime A times aren't long enough to make her properly tired for a good night sleep.

Offline theladydeborah

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Re: 7 mo old waking up different times of night
« Reply #2 on: January 10, 2013, 14:37:45 pm »
Here's her schedule:

E  7-8 (her wake up times are not consistent) She nurses, probably gets about 4-5 oz

S  I put her down around 9-10 ish but she always wakes up 30-45 minutes after her nap.  I do my best to get in her room around that time to soothe her back down again but I don't always make it in time. 

E  10:30- 11  wake, eat.  3-4 oz
A  has about 4 oz of solid food
S  1ish (she has been having a hard time going down for this nap lately, and again sleeps for 30-45 min.  The last couple of days she has not gone back down, even with an hour of pu/pd)

E  2-3 pm (depending on if she will go back down for nap) about 3-4 oz
A  has about 4 oz of solids
S  4:30- 5:30 She usually goes down well for this nap and again wakes up about 30-45 minutes later. 

E  3-4 oz
A  4 oz solid
S  7-7:30 down for awhile

Her wake up times during the night are inconsistent, but always happen.  Some nights she'll wake up around 1, 3, 4, 5, 6  and some nights at 2, 5, 6 am.  However, around 4-6 is the hardest to put her back down.  She'll wake up for a good hour to an hour 1/2 before going back down again, then up for the day at 7-8 am. 

Thanks for any input, we're desperate!!

Offline weaver

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Re: 7 mo old waking up different times of night
« Reply #3 on: January 10, 2013, 16:01:58 pm »
A big hug from me, cos my 7 mo has gone dippy too!

Had success today with naps when I extended her A times.  We are looking at 3.25 or 3.5 hours now, I think, not sure yet.  Is there any possibility that you need to do that?  Can you post EASY with times from one day, just to see. 

UT may be main cause of NWs.  The other thing with frequent waking is discomfort. Is something making her uncomfortable?  Is she still swaddled?  I think that's been bothering my LO.
*Anne*, loving mama to a honeybee (2010) and a sweetpea (2012).  BF for 4 proud years.


Offline theladydeborah

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Re: 7 mo old waking up different times of night
« Reply #4 on: January 10, 2013, 17:41:41 pm »
I'll definitely try extending her A time today.  I've been avoiding that because the book said if they're overtired, they won't sleep during the night well...but I'll try it and see what happens.  I don't think she's uncomfortable during the night.  She's not swaddled and is very mobile.  When she wakes at night she sits, or stands up in her crib, or just plays.  She has actually always been a tummy sleeper since she was tiny.  Now, she falls asleep either on her tummy or on her side, then when she wakes in the early morning we try pu/pd, and she rolls on her back and refuses to fall asleep and has a sort of tantrum.  It takes a long time for her to tire out and fall back asleep.  Then she's awake an hour later.... ugh  :'(  I wonder if she's hungry, but I'm scared that if I nurse her once, she'll fall into a bad routine?? I don't want to start all of this over from scratch, so it's difficult to experiment and take a risk at this point in the game.  We've been trying pu/pd and EASY for over two months now.  Yikes!

Offline Erin M

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Re: 7 mo old waking up different times of night
« Reply #5 on: January 10, 2013, 19:12:51 pm »
I've been avoiding that because the book said if they're overtired, they won't sleep during the night well...but I'll try it and see what happens.
This is true, but it's a different kind of waking.  If she's UT, that could be causing her NWs because she's just not tired enough to sleep.  Average A time at 7 months is around 3 hours, so I'd totally agree with *Anne* that she's probably due an increase.

Offline theladydeborah

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Re: 7 mo old waking up different times of night
« Reply #6 on: January 10, 2013, 19:57:09 pm »
Thanks ladies!! Well, she went down easier for her second nap after having almost 3 hrs of A time, which is great!  :)  Should I skip her 1/2 hr nap at 5, then put her down at 7?   Also, I'm curious... is it possible that she's hungry when she wakes up around 4-6 am?  Should I nurse her?   

Offline weaver

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Re: 7 mo old waking up different times of night
« Reply #7 on: January 10, 2013, 20:03:04 pm »
Should I skip her 1/2 hr nap at 5, then put her down at 7?
This may be your main culprit.  Drop that catnap immediately!!  If LO can get to 3.30 or 4, then you don't need a catnap.  Most babies drop them around 5 months, I think.  And then a nice stretch til bedtime - 3 or 3.5 hours, you judge.

s it possible that she's hungry when she wakes up around 4-6 am?  Should I nurse her?   
You'll have to go with your gut feeling on that.  My preference would be to avoid night feeding and avoid getting into a habit but that is not my LOs preference... I do everything I can to avoid it! 
*Anne*, loving mama to a honeybee (2010) and a sweetpea (2012).  BF for 4 proud years.


Offline weaver

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Re: 7 mo old waking up different times of night
« Reply #8 on: January 10, 2013, 20:03:42 pm »
If LO can get to 3.30 or 4, then you don't need a catnap.
I mean, finish a nap around that time.  Just to be clear :)
*Anne*, loving mama to a honeybee (2010) and a sweetpea (2012).  BF for 4 proud years.


Offline theladydeborah

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Re: 7 mo old waking up different times of night
« Reply #9 on: January 11, 2013, 14:07:37 pm »
Well, I have good news!  :)  She had her second nap around 1:45 instead of 1, and slept for about 1 hour 15 min.  She didn't quite make it to 3:30 but I kept her up anyway.  I gave her about 5 oz of milk and 4 oz of food all about 45 minutes before bedtime.  By the time her bath was done in the evening she was pretty fussy but went down right away and stayed down until 3:30 am!  She uses a pacifier right now, so she only needed me to help her find it and put it back in her mouth, and she was asleep again until 5 am when she did the same thing.  Usually at that time she acts like she's up for good and it takes another hour to put her back down....but not this morning!!  I however didn't get much sleep because I'd hear her every once in awhile make her little baby noises which usually mean she's waking up so I anticipated getting up also, however she just kept on sleeping and woke up finally around 6:40 am!  I'm so proud of her. 

Thank you so much for the advice.  I guess I thought the book taught that at her age she still needed three naps until about 9 months, but I can see now that she can stay up longer than that.  Boy, what a difference a day makes!

I'll continue to keep you updated.  I know every night might not go as well, but I'll do my best to stay consistent...here's hoping!!   

Offline weaver

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Re: 7 mo old waking up different times of night
« Reply #10 on: January 11, 2013, 20:17:34 pm »
  :)

Great stuff!  Glad things have improved.
*Anne*, loving mama to a honeybee (2010) and a sweetpea (2012).  BF for 4 proud years.


Offline Erin M

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Re: 7 mo old waking up different times of night
« Reply #11 on: January 12, 2013, 02:54:00 am »
This is about the 3-2 nap transition, if it helps at all: All about the 3-2 transition- 5/6 months

Glad things are improving!