I'm so exausted with night wakings

[PaulsMom]

wow, that's really great! 

WRT to extending sleep, you can try shh-pat as a means to soothe them back to sleep or you could feed, if you think he's hungry.  At 5 am, I would feed and put him back in his crib to see if he will make it until 7 am (that's actually what I do with my DD when she wakes early as 5 am is too early for me!).  It usually works.  It gets trickier if it's after 6 am so some days we are up at 6 and I just have to accept that.

[Masonf]

Thank you. If he wakes at 5 am I will feed. I know what you mean about waking after 6. When he woke at 5.45 I didn't know what to do. It puts th e whole day off when he wakes too early. If he wakes at around 6 should I feed me a little bit or not. You have been a great help to me .

[PaulsMom]

When he woke at 5.45 I didn't know what to do. It puts th e whole day off when he wakes too early.

Oh, I know what you mean.  I have two and when my DD wakes too early, it starts to conflict with a school run!  with a 5:45 wu, I feed and put her back (with my fingers crossed).  Sometimes it works and she sleeps until 7 or so and other times, she just chats away and then starts to call me.  I'm so glad that I've been able to help!

[Masonf]

Hi paulsmom, so I don't know what to do. His naps are worse than ever. Yesterday he only slept 1hr 30 mins total. I put him to bed early at 6.30 cause he was so tired. He slept to 2.15 with the dream feed, I fed him 5oz and he woke at 4.55am, he was on his belly so I turned him and he woke again at 5.30. I tried shhh but didn't work. I fed him at 6.50 and I put him down at 7.30, he fell asleep at 7.40 and woke 30 mins later. He took a total of 42oz yesterday. The 5.30 am waking are too too early. And the short naps are throwing everything off. Not sure what do do at this point.

[PaulsMom]

His nw's sound better but I agree that's not enough DT sleep for a 4.5 mo old.  What does his routine look like?  And how long are his A times? We might be able to tweak something to get his naps back on track. 

Are you able to APOP a longer nap?  I hate being a slave to naps so when my dd short napped her first nap, I'd APOP the next one (eg, out in the stroller or car ride, etc) so at least I wasn't stuck at home getting frustrated. 

[Caitlyns Mum]

((Hugs)) My LO is a little younger than yours, but I think we're going to run into the same issues! I'm fearful too that if we wean the dummy in time, getting him back to sleep isn't just 'plug it and walk out' process. Also, when you're out and need them to be quiet, the dummy is fabulous. I'll be following your progress - good luck!

[Masonf]

Sorry for taking so long to write back. I'm sorry I don't know what APOP means. So he did better on Friday and Saturday his total day sleep was around 3hours 30mins. What is the least amount he should be sleeping in the day time. Yesterday was bad again only slept 1hr 35, I put him to bed at 6.30 and was sleeping at 6.38. He woke when I was changing him for dream feed but went ought back when I started to feed. He woke at 12.30am he was on his belly again. I took me 1 hr of shhhhing to go back to sleep. We woke again at 2.15 on belly. He went back to sleep in a few minutes himself when I turned him. He woke then at 4.30 and I fed him 5oz, he stayed wide awake til 5.15, kept rolling onto to belly. He fell asleep at 5.15 and he slept to 7.55 which is really unusual, but he was sleeping on his belly the hole time so I don't know if that's making a difference. I'm so scared when he rolls as he can't get back over. He has very good head movement and can lift up his chest and he does put his head to the side.

Today i put him down at 9.45, he fell asleep at 10am but only leapt 30 mins. His Atime was from 7.55 - 10am. So I didn't think he was overtired. I tied shhh but nothing. I got him up then.

He is 19 weeks on Thursday should I be trying to extend his A times or hen do I do that. It's frustrating because I hate his day to go bad. I love to keep a schedule. Maybe I shouldn't be high strung and just go with the flow. Thank you

[PaulsMom]

Sorry, APOP is accidental parenting on purpose.  So knowingly using a prop to get your Lo to sleep.  With both my kids, this would usually be a car ride or a walk in the stroller.  I'm glad Friday and Saturday were good. 

Here is the average amounts of day and night time sleep by age. 
Typical Amounts of Day and Night Sleep. 
You probably know how much DT sleep he needs based on his behaviour.  I'd agree that 1 hr 35 is not enough though. 

So he's rolling onto his tummy?  I'm assume that he's not swaddled.  If he is, then it's time to take his arms out.  Rolling in their sleep can cause nw's.  like other milestones, they will usually practice in their sleep and often wake up for it.  Give him lots of opportunity to practice during the day so he doesn't need to practice in his sleep! 

Wrt tummy sleeping, yes, it's a sids risk but if they are able to roll themselves, then this is generally alright.  In the long run, you may not be able to prevent him from tummy sleeping but once he has the rolling skill down pat, I'd be less concerned (my dd tummy sleeps.  I always put her on her back but as soon as she's in her crib, she's rolling over).

Wrt to A times, it looks like you are around 2 hrs.  Given the rolling at night/disrupted sleep, I'd hold his As for a week or so and once his nt sleep improves, then try a slightly longer A.  I agree, it's hard when their As change all the time especially if you have stuff scheduled.  Try to go with the flow....

[Masonf]

Thanks, I'll keep ou posted