EW spirited LO

[blondie91582]

Hi! I just found this thread & it was like a light bulb turned on for me. DS has had issues since he was born & being our first, we didn't know what was going on. Friends & family members commented & acted like we were crazy for "letting him be so particular" about everything. He has reflux, food allergies/intolerances & has had trouble sleeping since we brought him home from the hospital. After finding this thread yesterday, I bought RYSC & have been trying to read it as much as possible. It seems like I can't get through it fast enough with my DS having such a rough past few days/nights. So, I was hoping maybe someone will read this & be able to help me out a bit, just so I can get through the next couple days & find some more time to read & try to figure it out.

Hunter is a week shy of 11 months old. A couple weeks ago, he decided that he was only going to take one nap a day. I kept offering the 2nd nap & even tried pushing it... but to no avail. We've tried extending his A time & that went really well for about a week, until we had an off day due to a long dental appt & his schedule has been totally off since then. He was napping for 2-2.5 hours, but now it's more like 1-1.5. I want to have a set schedule for him, but it's hard when his sleep is so erratic. He's been having to go to bed around 5 since he gets up at 545. Before he dropped his 2nd nap, he was waking at 645 & BT was 730. Now... everything is all over the place!

When he wakes at night, he always wants to BF. I've had DH settle him any time that I don't think he really needs to, but sometimes he gets really frantic & I give in. He's been BF'ing 3 times a night, which throws off his day schedule for eating. I'm having trouble trying to fit in 3-4 BFs & also 3 meals. This is a rough look estimate of what our days have been like:

545 wake
600 solids
800 BF
930 solids
1015-1145? nap
1145 BF
145 solids
445 BF
500 BT

We just stopped giving him naps before BT after reading RYSC. He's been doing 4.5-5 hrs of A time. I was trying to split it evenly, since someone suggested that on another thread, but I think maybe he needs to do more in one half of the day than the other. He also might be teething again (he's got 8 teeth already) & was taken off of his reflux meds 3 weeks ago as well.

I'm sorry this is such a long post that jumps around a lot. I'm so exhausted & I feel so lost & helpless. If anyone can give me any advice/help, I would be SO grateful! Thanks

[*Ali*]

Hugs Blondie. Do you think his reflux meds stopping may be contributing to the sudden onset of the sleep and eating issues?

[blondie91582]

Thanks They might be. I called his ped & am waiting on an appointment with the gastroenterologist, but they said it might be up to 28 days His ped was no help at all. Her recommendation was to put him on whichever med was cheapest/easiest to get with our insurance (not fantastic medical advice there).

We had one really good day yesterday & the night before that wasn't bad, but today is the exact opposite. He just fought me for an hour at nap time & I eventually just nursed him to sleep. I usually only nurse him right before he sleeps for NWs, but I figured it would work & nothing else was working. He cries when I lie him down, but also when I hold him. He seems totally content to stand in the crib & play as long as I'm close enough for him to grab me, but I know he was tired.

The wanting to BF all the time is just at night. He's not as interested during the day (probably full from the night before) & he's far too busy to stop playing. He also just started standing by himself & wants to do that all the time.

[roimata9]

Blondie, what reflux meds was he on? My LO was on omeprazole which was great and you can get it over the counter in NZ - as Dr Reddy's or losec. Might be an option to try while you wait. He's 21 months now and still on it, but I just give him 6 granules a day ( I split up the capsule which has about 60 in it so he's only getting 1mg) according to my GP that's not enough to make a difference, but whenever I've tried to take him off, he screams blue murder that night with the classic reflux symptoms. So I'm happy just to keep him on this low dose for a while longer.

[blondie91582]

He was on both Prevacid & Zantac. They took him off of the Zantac about a month & a half ago. Then off the Prevacid 3 1/2 weeks ago. He was fine on just the Prevacid. I have some that I'm going to start giving him tomorrow. It's so hard to find a good time to give it to him since he eats all the time & it has to be given on an empty tummy 30 mins before he eats. He was taking half a tab once a day before.

[*Ali*]

It also sounds like the move to one nap is making him OT since he isn't doing a long nap. Is there any way you can give him his nap earlier and then another nap later on? Even if you had to AP one. Did you try a short am nap (like 30mins) and then longer pm nap before moving to one nap? Have you read this link? 10 to 12 mth old Sleep Gone Wonky, and the 2 - 1 Nap Switch

[blondie91582]

I tried everything to keep him taking 2 naps, but nothing worked. He always refused the afternoon nap, even if I cut the morning nap short, which then led to a VERY OT baby! I got him to take a few naps in the car, but he only sleeps if I'm on the highway. If I have to slow down, he wakes up. If he took a car nap, he was cranky the whole time until BT. It's been really difficult So, I finally just stopped trying to force the 2nd nap. He's been napping for 2 hours for the past 3 days & then only did 1 hour today. I'm having the most trouble figuring out how much A time he can handle & when his BT should be. He goes down pretty easily for his nap, but it's more of a struggle at BT. He typically wakes up about 1-1.5 hours after he falls asleep & then a NW 3-4 hours later & another one 3-4 hours later. I've been BF'ing him for the 2 NWs, but I'm working on dropping one feed now. I think it might help if I completely night weaned, but he hasn't seemed ready for that yet (still has some SA issues at night).

[*Ali*]

Any hope of resettling him if he wakes after an hour?

[blondie91582]

For the nap, no. I even tried nursing him to sleep the other day when I knew he was super OT & definitely needed to nap longer, but he didn't go for it. At night, I send DH in if it's only been an hour or 2 since he went to bed & he settles fairly easily. He had a great day/night last night. Only 2 NWs! He woke once at 11 & once at 345. I wonder if it was because he went to bed later? I tried putting him to bed at his normal 545 (since he's still getting used to just one nap, he goes to bed early), but it took him until 645 to fall asleep. Maybe he's actually low sleep needs? He usually does about 4.5-5 hours A time right now, but I try to keep the afternoon time closer to 4.5. Maybe he needs to be up a bit longer before bed?

I'm hesitant to change his routine at all because I think it's a cycle. He gets really OT, then sleeps well for a night or 2, then back to early wakings & short naps. So, I can't tell if something works better, or if he's just trying to make up for lost sleep.

[*Ali*]

Have you tried wake to sleep for the EW?

[blondie91582]

Which EW?

[*Ali*]

Early waking as in when he gets up and starts the day. I think you said it was 5.45am typically. It might work better when he has had a later BT like he did the other day when he went to bed at 6.45pm. Otherwise if he has already had almost 12hrs sleep he may not go back to sleep.

[blondie91582]

Right. I thought it didn't count as an EW if they've had 12 hours of sleep? He actually just started napping longer & sleeping better at night... until we all got the flu 2 days ago... blah. Oh well I guess. There will always be something!

[*Ali*]

Yes you're right is isn't technically an EW but didn't you just bring BT forward because he was waking so early even on a later BT?