16wo, used to sleep through the night, now wake up at around 4:30

[iamumu]

My LO started EASY when he was around 8 weeks.
everything goes great,  since a week or two ago(about 14wo), he can sleep from 7pm to 7am with just one DF. and can fallen asleep independently. although when nap time, sometimes he got a little fussy, i just pat/sh for a while and he can fall asleep within 5 mins.
things changed recently, i think he got sleep regression.
fighting naps hard, i reuse paci to put him to sleep
also fighting bedtime, need to do a couple times pick up, but still can put him down awake then he fell asleep
and recently he woke up earlier and earlier in the morning,
6:30, 6:00,5:30, and around 4:30 for two days, and i feed him.

i read from BW that maybe he's on growth spurt and where i may start AP by feeding him between4~6.

but what can I do?

he drinks more formula during the day, and it's very hard to make him empty the bottle(6ozs), so it will be very difficult to add ozs.
and should i feed him if he wake up between 4~6? how can i avoid AP at this period?

following is my EAS

E:7:00
A: till 9:00
s: he can only get 30 min short nap so will do A till next feeding

E: 11:00
A: 12:00 (since he gets up early from last circle, less A this circle)
S: till 14:30 (i try very hard to extend his naps to 2.5, often works)

E: 15:00
A: till 16:30
S: till 17:00 (i'm hoping him to get 1 or 1.5 sleep, but he can only do 30min catnap and cannot be extended)

E:18:00(only a few ozs)
then bath
E: around 18:45 ( rest of the bottle)
bedtime: around 19:15

DF: 11:30

[becj86]

Hi, it's not AP to give a LO what he needs, ie. feed him when he's genuinely hungry. I'd say it is a growth spurt from the way you describe it, so definitely worth feeding at that waking. He will probably either push it out again in a week or so or you may find you're having to decide whether to wean that feed again. TBH, he's doing well sleeping from DF to morning at this age and it is to be expected that a night feed will come and go. The problem with AP comes in when you feed at every waking if LO is waking frequently.

The 30min naps are usually a sign he's overtired. Can you dial the A time back a little and see if that helps him nap longer? Sometimes babies just need a slight bit less A time when in a growth spurt too...

[katie80]

i read from BW that maybe he's on growth spurt and where i may start AP by feeding him between4~6.

but what can I do?

he drinks more formula during the day, and it's very hard to make him empty the bottle(6ozs), so it will be very difficult to add ozs.
and should i feed him if he wake up between 4~6? how can i avoid AP at this period?

Yes, there is usually a big growth spurt right around 4mo and if he isn't able to take more oz during the day, you don't have much of a choice but to offer some at night. (That being said, I've never FF, just going on my rationale here.)  If I were you, I'd feed him and if he goes right back to sleep, then it probably is a growth spurt.  If that waking continues for more than a week or two, then you may want to try to cut that bottle back and again try to add them to the day or work on other reasons for that waking.

Do you ever try to extend the morning nap?  That 2.5hr middle of the day nap is great, but I wonder if you were able to extend the morning nap, the sleep might even out a bit more.  As it is right now, he may be a bit OT and that could be adding to the EW.  Have you tried 15min either way of the morning A time?  Some babies like a bit shorter A in the morning, so he might sleep longer if he's down by 1:45.  But, his middle A is pretty long, so it may be that he could actually go a touch longer in the morning, like 2:15.  It might be worth a try, but stick with each option for at least 3 days to a week before noting if there is any true difference.  If that last CN is only 30min, I'd also pull BT back to 6:30-7pm latest to cut some of that OT.

One last note... Tracy suggested that the DF be done between 10-11pm.  Waking a baby at 11pm or later can cause disruptions in his sleep cycles.  So, I'd also pull that earlier and see if it makes a difference.

Hopefully, that gives you some things to try.  What do you think?

Oops, posting the same time as Bec.  I agree!