21 mo W2S SUCCESS on day one - so hopeful!

[tahiranisa]

My son has always been an early waker (we are talking 530 on most days) but after coming down with a cold this season its been more like 5 and I finally had had enough!
So, today I did W2S at 340 (when my four week old had me up anyway!) and he slept until 615! He still had the NW at 5am but he resettled immediately without me even really realizing he had woken!

Hope you mamas trying W2S have just as much luck! And I hope it works tomorrow and the next night just as well. (Or, heck, lets be honest, BETTER would be even more amazing. Someday, someone in this house is going to sleep till 7 and it will be a miracle!)

[Truly Blessed]

LOL  keep the faith!  Sending good luck and sleepy vibes your way!

Let us know how tonight goes.

x.

[tahiranisa]

did w2s at 4am. Same success! He still had a NW at 530 but resettled himself in a minute and woke at 615 again. Seems positive that its the same time both days.

Then for nap though, he didnt go down till 1. Woke after anhour and a half, played for 15 minutes and went back to sleep. All alone in his crib. We are going on 2 hours and 15 minutes including the wakeup. Should I wake him at some point? Its 3:15 here in Texas! NOt sure when bedtime is now! THinking 7:30 for a 6:15 wakeup but its getting late for his nap. Should I wake him?

[Truly Blessed]

Hi Hun, that's super. As a rule of thumb I would recommend you keep the nap short enough to prevent his day from going over 13 hours as this is a common cause of NW and EW, which obviously you're trying to counteract.

x.

[tahiranisa]

Thanks for the advice.
I wasnt able to W2S this morning because he had a NW at 330 that was very short, maybe 1-2 minutes. I am not really even sure that he is fully awake for these. Are these something I should be worrying about?
At 6:15ish he stirred and was crying but didn't stand up in his crib. Normally, though, he calls for me when he wakes, so I went in and patted his back. He asked for milk (how he starts each morning) so I left for 15ish minutes until he called me back. He might actually have stayed in bed longer but DH wanted to see him before he left for work, so we got him up and had our snuggle/milk in my bed for 5 minutes before starting the day.
So, I guess I am done right? The EASY I am working towards looks like this now:

6:15 WU
12-1:30 or 2 Nap
7: BT

Look good?

[Truly Blessed]

I am not really even sure that he is fully awake for these. Are these something I should be worrying about?

Usually it is enough for a LO to move/stir, so if he turns over for eg. I used to remove DS dummy and this was enough.

6:15 WU
12-1:30 or 2 Nap
7: BT

Look good?

Yes, on the whole, except I would do 7.15/7.30 on a 1.5 nap or a 13 hour day on a 2 hour nap, but, only if he is handling the afternoon well and doesn't seem to be getting severely OT. So for now, I would trust your Mother's Instinct on that one, as you know him best and his behaviour when he is going past the point of no return.

HTH.x.

[tahiranisa]

Yeah, we are having trouble getting naptime early enough to make bedtime reasonable. TOday went like this:

615: WU
1-3 Nap
7:40: BT

I think I could have made it earlier for naptime. But either way, really no complaints here.

[Truly Blessed]

Honey, this is an age where long am can still over ride long pm, so maybe pushing the nap out will get your a more decent BT. Just something to bear in mind.x.

[tahiranisa]

Today was a bit rough. He had a nightmare that led to a 5am waking. Did 30 minutes of back patting and then left him to fall asleep independently. NOt sure if he went back down but he was quiet until 6:15 though occasionally stood up or said Mama calmly.

Nap was good 12-2. Very tired by BT. Asleep by 6:45, 7 at the latest.

[Truly Blessed]

Hi Hun, ah bless him (and you!). With EW if he is really tired I would keep his day at 13 hours, so I would have done a 6.00 BT, IF he seemed shattered and it looked likely that he was awake from 5.00 without resettling  .  Scary I know, but often the best way to avoid NW repeatedly. Does he tack on sleep yet 

(Hugs)

x.

[tahiranisa]

Arg. Another early morning. So, it seems that on days I do W2S he sleeps till 6:15 but as soon as I stopped sneaking in to wake him, he went back to 5:15.

I see your point about the 6pm BT. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to do the 13 hours from his EW or when he got out of bed, but I am clear now.

So, how many days could I try to do the W2S? I think I need to do more than three to really make it a habit. Or do you think it was just a problem because the nap got too late and then BT was messed up that one day and then OT-ness? I have no problem doing W2S for MANY days since I have a one month old and am up all night anyway. Thinking about trying again and going for five days. only problem is we are going to my parents this weekend so we would have two nights here and two nights there...

Though he usually sleeps later there so maybe it is a good time to try...

*frustrated and I am definitely OVERTIRED!*

[Truly Blessed]

Bless you Hun, Motherhood is wonderful but hard.

Lots of people do W2S for a week, so I would definitely say that it is worth keeping going. Sleeping elsewhere may change things anyway though, so to be honest, I would be tempted to just see what happens when you're at your parents  .

When DS was EW but possibly resettling, I used to split the difference, so if he woke say at 5 am with a possible resettle until 6 am I would take WU as 5.30, so that way I couldn't be too far out WRT to trying to figure his A times, does that make sense  I'm not alone in using this tack  .

Good Luck Hun, hang in there, this too will pass 

x.

[tahiranisa]

THanks for the advice. We seem to be back on a 530 wakeup, which was his typical (before the extra early wakings of 5am but not as good as the W2S). I tried to W2S last night but accidentally kicked a wooden car across the room and it turned into a comedy of errors.

I think I am also going to order the gro-clock. Then I can use W2S for a week and reinforce it with the clock. I think he is old enough at almost 22 months.

[tahiranisa]

Haven't posted in a while because things went from ok to mediocre to terrible but we are dealing with a cold...

So, in the full throws of sickness and he pretty much started his day at 2:30 this morning with a catnap at 3:30-4:30. Ugh.

Its 8:30 now and I know he needs a nap. He wants to lay with grandma and grandpa who are visiting. At first I said OK, but he isn't even sleeping. I think I might try to do it our conventional way and then put him in the car - where he always falls asleep. Should I shoot for any type of schedule?