GS or Time for PU/PD?

[theu.s.lees]

My 6.5 mo baby girl, S, just won't stop with the NW! I'm not sure, really, what to try. I've been looking at the sample EAS and it seems that she needs more A time. I've been working on extending that, so here is her EAS from yesterday:

WU - 7:25
E - 7:35 (BF)
A
E - 9 (solids)
CN - 9:45 Fell asleep for 5-10 min in the car on the way home from dropping brother off
A
S - 10:20-11:20 (a bit of a battle going down)
E - 12:30 (BF)
A
E - 1:45 (solids)
A
S - 3-4:30pm
E - 4:45 (BF)
A
E - 6:30 (BF)
S/BT - 7

NW - 10 (BF), 3:10am (BF), 4:30am (resettled)

I tried to resettle for both of the NW but she wasn't having it. So I ended up nursing. The first one she really seemed to eat a decent amount. I felt that her EAS was so much better for the day, just not sure why she woke even more than usual.

[katie80]

I felt that her EAS was so much better for the day, just not sure why she woke even more than usual.

So, what does a typical night look like? If it wasn't for the 4:30am waking and resettle, I'd say that looks pretty normal for a 6.5mo old. It seems like they often need one NF still at this age and some still have 1.5-2.

I think if you can keep stretching that EASY out and get two solid naps, you should see some evening out in the NWs. Those car runs can be so tricky at this age!

[PaulsMom]

Neyssa, was S really up from 11:20 to 3 pm?  That seems to be a monster A for her.  Was she OT in the afternoon?  Just wondering if the OT lead to the nw's.

[theu.s.lees]

Sorry, I mistyped. Her nap was from 10:20-12:20.

Things have gotten worse at night as we extend her A times. She was up 5 times by midnight, so I gave up and brought her into our bed where she slept the rest of the night with one or two cry outs. I think she was OT from a long A to BT, but it was my son's birthday and we had family and friends over and lost track of time. But here was our schedule:

WU - 6:40
E - 7 (BF)
A
E - 8:40 (solids)
S - 9:20 - 10:40
E - 10:55
A
E - 12:10 (solids)
A
S - 1:25-3:15 (had to resettle at 2:20)
E - 3:20 (BF)
A
E - 5:30 (solids)
A
E - 6:45 (BT)
BT - 7

How does the rest of the day look? Even with the extended A time she would've had to have BT around 5:45-6 and that still would've been a long A time before bed, I think. But if I went earlier her day would be even shorter. I just don't know. She seems to be getting a lot to eat during the day, but I'm not sure. Her reflux is acting up a touch, but I think its her EAS that's causing all of the NW.

[katie80]

Maybe she's just not fully ready for the longer As, then. Has she always been on the shorter side? Some LOs don't get to two naps until 7ish mo. I think you're right, yesterday it was the long A to bed that was the cause (all those NW before midnight sound like OT to me). I'm sure yesterday would've been tough due to the bday party, but can you AP a CN with her on a day like that to get her to a decent BT?  She might just need a little time to adjust to the longer As.

[theu.s.lees]

Okay. Yesterday was worse for naps, and took me 1.5 hrs to get her to sleep. But she only woke at 5 am for a feeding and so I will take that, I guess. Today I will try to stick with just 2.5 hrs A time and do a 30 min CN if needed to get her to a decent BT.

[katie80]

You can always push one A time at a time too, so she can settle in, rather than pushing them both. Likely once you get to the two solid naps, things will settle into place, but it can be a bit back and forth with a CN when needed for awhile.

Also forgot to say the other day that PUPD isn't generally recommended for a LO with reflux, so that would probably not be the best option for you. There are other ways of resettling, though.

Keep us posted...

[theu.s.lees]

Thanks, that's a good tip. Today she did better for her naps and BT.  Now let's just see how her night goes. Usually that means several NW but we shall see.

Thanks for the information on the reflux. I didn't realize. We haven't done it with her as she's been such a good sleeper, but it was seeming like she was waking several times at night for food out of habit or something. What other methods are suggested? I guess we can just hope that the NW go away as the days get back under control. It feels like she can't do the A times that others her age can, but I think its getting better. Today the morning A was 2 hrs 10 min, the mid-day one was 2.5 hrs and then 2 hrs 15 min to BT.

[katie80]

It feels like she can't do the A times that others her age can, but I think its getting better. Today the morning A was 2 hrs 10 min, the mid-day one was 2.5 hrs and then 2 hrs 15 min to BT.

Did she still do good naps after them?  If so, then maybe she's just a lower A time kiddo.  But, if the nights aren't as good with the lower A times, then she probably does need to be stretched.  Just take it slowly and do one at a time.

What other methods are suggested? I guess we can just hope that the NW go away as the days get back under control.

Yeah, hopefully they'll go away on their own.  If not, you can use shh/pat or whatever method you would normally use to settle her when she needs help.  Basically, you just don't want a lot of up and down action, as that's what will aggravate the reflux.

[theu.s.lees]

No NW last night! She slept from 7:15pm - 6:40! It was wonderful!

She did have good naps after those A times. She had one 2 hr nap and then one that was 2.5. DS (who is now 2) is also a big sleeper as he takes one 3 hour nap, and then sleeps great at night.

Hopefully we can repeat this with a similar A times.

[katie80]

Sounds great!