Hello!
DS2 is almost 6 months old (Sept 5) and has never been a good sleeper. He is MPI and has bad reflux. Reflux and gas have always disrupted his sleep, but sleep has seemingly improved (from horrendous to just bad/not great now lol), so I'm not sure if the NWs are being caused by stomach discomfort, teething or something else.
M can put himself to sleep if he is drowsy when put down, which usually is the case because most of the time he will not catnap before BT and is tired by then. He can get through sleep cycles in the first half of the night. For naps, he usually needs minimal patting/sshh to get to sleep (unless OT) and can get through his sleep cycles. Naps have been good, lasting for about 1.5 hrs each.
He had been waking every 1-3 hours, sometimes eating, sometimes not, typically having a hard time settling again so I would have to assist. It could take up to 2 hours for him to go back down. That seems to have gone away (I pray that I am not jinxing myself). So the night now ends up going something like this -- BT at 7 (eats 5-7 oz) and then wake to eat somewhere between 11 and 12, eats 6oz. The NWs after that are habitual in that they follow the same pattern, but they are not at the same time iykwim. For example, if he wakes at 11:30 to eat, he will wake around 1:30. He can usually be settled by my voice alone (through the monitor that has a microphone) at this first NW after the NF. Then he usually will wake at 2:30 and I need to go in and pat and shh and sometimes pick him up. I don't rock him, I just quiet him and then go back to pat/shh. If he were to feed at 10:30, he would be up at 12:30 and then 1:30. If he were to feed at 12, it would be 2 and 3. Not exactly on the dot, but pretty close to 2 hrs and then 1 hr later. The next waking is almost always between 5:20 and 5:45. I feed him then, but only 3oz because even that amount affects what he eats in the morning (I had to eliminate NFs because he was taking in most of his calories at night presumably because it was more comfortable with the reflux, however, he's doing better with taking larger feeds during the day). Sometimes he goes back to sleep until 6/6:30, sometimes he's up for the day.
To summarize the night looks something like this:
BT 7
NW/NF somewhere between 11-12, he usually settles pretty easily after this but sometimes it takes 1-2 tries
NW 2 hours after NF, 1-2 - usually settled by voice
NW 1 hour after last NW, 2-3, needs shh pat, sometimes picking up, usually takes a number of tries. Have reduced the length of the NW to 30 minutes or less versus 1-2 hrs
NW between 5:20 and 5:45, E 3oz, sometimes doesn't finish the bottle, sometimes up for the day, sometimes back to sleep until 6/6:30
Believe it or not, this is way better than what had been going on. I'm not looking for it to be perfect, but maybe a touch better?
I don't think it is OT because I think OT NWs occur during the first half of the night and we get those when he is OT! It seems like it is discomfort because when I observe him when he first wakes he is squirming in his crib like he's trying to get comfortable. When he can't be settled, it's the same thing. Usually he will not burp during this time or pass gas. With that said, it could be that the gas bubbles break up when I try to burp him or bicycle his legs and that's why he goes back to sleep. I feel like it's either his teeth or gas, but not sure. I think I see two white lines on his bottom gums, but I remember with DS1 that didn't necessarily mean that the teeth were imminent. He is chomping during the day and seems to get irritable as a result, but not sure if that would just affect the second half of the night.
I guess I'm asking if it seems like it's discomfort to you all or if it's that he doesn't know how to put himself back to sleep at these times. And also, has anyone seen a pattern like this where the LO wakes at habitual intervals but not habitual times?
TIA for any thoughts!
