Should I do PD?

[kdawson]

My 13 month old son started waking up early 2 weeks ago. It started off at 5:40, just 20 to 40 minutes earlier than normal so it was annoying but not something we were really concerned about.  Then it eventually got to be 5:00 and this morning it was 4:20.  He woke up with chest congestion so my husband got him out of bed.  When he wakes up in the morning I bring him into bed with me and bf him while the lights are off and while we are lying down.  It's just too early to be fully awake so that is what I've always done.  He's never fallen asleep when I've done that but I'm beginning to wonder if that is what is causing the earlier and earlier wakings?

He's generally asleep berween 7:45 to 8:00pm so he's getting around 9 hrs of sleep a night which just isn't enough.  At first I thought it was a phase that will pass since so many of my other friends said there little ones did the same thing and then it just ended.  But now I think it is becoming a habit, especially since it is getting earlier.

I am wondering if anyone found that this just passed or should we do PD?  Should we do PD if he's sick?  If not PD, what should we do?  Also, we were going to try w2s but I'm just not sure how successfull it will be because he's not really waking up at a consistent time as it keep creeping up. Thoughts?

Thanks! 

[anna*]

It might be worth having a look at his routine, because even if he was waking at 6.15am before, that's still only a 10ish hr night which is really low.

Yes, though. He's unlikely to start sleeping later if he's expecting to come into your bed for a nice BF and some sleepy cuddles, so I would stop that. PD, or WIWO would be the way to go, assuming he is already an independent sleeper?

[kdawson]

Thanks for the fast response!  His routine for the past two weeks is the followoing:
5:00'ish wake
12:30 Nap 1 - this last anywhere between 40 min to 1.5 hrs
7:45'ish Bedtime

We used to be worried about him only getting 10 to 10.5 hrs sleep but he's just never been a long night sleep and he wakes up happy when he gets 10 hrs.  Less than that he certainly wakes up fussy. 

[anna*]

Wow that is really not much sleep! Has he always been low sleep needs? How long has he been on just one nap? Would you be able to get him to take two?

[katie80]

Hi there, just going to move this over to Sleeping for Toddlers for you as your LO is now over 1.

[kdawson]

Should I be reply to this on the Toddler section??

Yes, he has always been on the low side of night time sleep;ever since birth.  His naps I would say have been average to lower end as well.  He's been on 1 nap since 12 months when he started daycare.  It was earlier than I would have liked but he was forced into it.  The do offer two naps; one at 9:30 and the other around 12:30.  They've tried to get him to go down for the 9:30 nap but he's never wanted to.  I'm sure he goes down for his 1st nap OT sometimes.

Were you thinking he it OT during the day and that is why he is getting up earlier and earlier?

[anna*]

Yes I have to think OT. He's only getting 10.5-11 hrs sleep in 24! My daughter is 18 months old and gets more like 14. I'd want to see him getting at least 12.5-13, even that would be considered low for his age.

[kdawson]

Do you have any suggestions to fix it?  It started all of a sudden and at the time that it did start his sleeping patterns hadn't changed.

Last night was the absolute worst.  He got up at 3:15 am and we did PD with him until 6:00am until we decided that it obviously wasn't working.  I bf him with the lights on and sitting upright.

Note, I just found out last night that I'm pregnant.  Is there something in the breastmilk that is changing him or something?  I was thinking about it and he started waking up early right around the time that I would have conceived???

Also, I understand you child gets a lot of sleep but my son got 13 hours of sleep in total on a good day when he was 4 or 5 months and it usually averaged 11.5 hrs.  I do believe some children just need less and I do remember readin gin the bw that 10 hours sleep is considered a full night for some.  Not to say that his early waking isn't being caused by OT now.

Any help would be great or if anyone else had this experience crop up literally out of no where..??  I desperately need some sleep.

Thanks!

[katie80]

Is he working on his premolars? Did anything else change in the last couple weeks that might cause him to be waking early? I don't know much about BFing while pg, but I know that BM does change at certain points of pregnancy, so it's a possibility.  You could check out this thread to get some support: Pregnant and Breastfeeding/Tandem feeding Support Thread part 2. He likely is also in a developmental leap, as there's usually one not long after 1yr. http://www.thewonderweeks.com/mental-leap-8/

As for varying sleep needs, that is true, however as Anna has noted, your DS is quite low and OT is likely playing a part. At this age, if he's only getting 10hr at night, I would expect him to be getting at least 3hr day sleep over one or two naps. Here's a chart of average sleep needs based on a number of resources...Typical Amounts of Day and Night Sleep. Regarding suggestions what to do, if he won't fall asleep for two naps at daycare, there might not be much you can do about it. Can you put him to sleep earlier for the night, so at least he's getting more night sleep and will eventually start making it to his nap time better, so getting better sleep overall? 

Is he an independent sleeper at other times of the day? How are you doing PD? 

(((Hugs))) and congratulations on your pregnancy!