Looking for advice on my 7.5 mo EASY

[Mom-of-boys]

I know someone else posted a question about their 7 mo EASY, but I didn't want to hi-jack their post so I started my own.  . Right now this is a typical day for us:

5:00-5:30 wake up
6:00 am bottle 8 oz
7:30 breakfast
8:45-9:00 am Nap (usually 1.5-2 hrs)
11:00 am bottle 8 oz
1:00 lunch
2:00-4:00 nap (1.5-2 hrs)
4:00 bottle 8 oz
5:00 supper
6:30-7:00 Pajamas, bottle, bed
10:00 pm df

Our naps are usually pretty good now, except for the odd 45 min. nap day, but I'm back waking up at 5:00 am.  Same thing happened with our first and I never figured it out, so maybe someone can help me the second time around???

He used to wake up at 6:00-6:30 when he was younger but his naps weren't the greatest.  I used to feed him at 5:00 and he would fall back asleep but now he's wide awake.  I'm not sure if it's better to feed him and try to resettle or not feed him if it will teach him to keep waking up at that time?  I try to keep resettling as long as I can and he's usually content for a little while, but eventually he just starts crying for me to pick him up.

Are his naps too long and maybe he's under tired?  Or does 5 am mean overtired?  Is it something related to teething (no teeth yet) or developmental that I really have no control of anyway?

TIA!

[nevinsmama]

Oh my. That is a lovely routine you have. I probably took years off my life trying to get my 2 to sleep like that! I do wonder if it is too much day sleep that could be contributing to the EW. How long has he been doing this routine? When did the EW start? Typical sleep is hereTypical Amounts of Day and Night Sleep
Is his DF a bottle? If so, I wonder if you wanted to try some teeth tablets in the bottle to see if that helps.
Honestly, it is hard to know if it is UT from good day sleep or if the long day is causing EW. Do you want to rule out teeth and see where that gets you? I wonder if trimming that 2nd nap to 1.5 hours and reducing subsequent A a bit might help...What do you think?

[Mom-of-boys]

Thanks for your reply.  We've battled the 45 min. nap for the first 6 months and things have finally settled nicely, plus I think have a bit of an angel baby this time around (definitely not like that for my first!) I  think the EW started at least a month ago.  That's a good idea about the teething tablets...do you think the effect would last until morning?  Yesterday he was up from 4:00-5:00 am - I fed him around 4:45 and thankfully he fell back asleep for another 45 minutes.  :/.  When he was first born, he seemed to be able to handle longer A times than normal and would only nap 45 minutes, but then he slept good at night.  So maybe he's capable of handling more A time than I'm giving him?  I'll try cutting down that second nap and see how it goes

[babybarr]

I think I would reduce the 2nd nap to an hr and see if that helps.

[Mom-of-boys]

Well yesterday's EASY looked like this:

6:00 am wakeup and bottle
Nap 9:15-11:15 (2hr)
Nap 2:30-3:30 (1 hr)
6:45 bt didn't fall asleep until 7:30 (he's been having trouble settling at bt the past few days although I think it's because it has been warm and bright here the past few days)

At night, he peeped at 3:00 and 5:00 am (gave him soother both times) and I think he fell back asleep at 5:00 and woke up at 6:00 am.

It seems like as the day goes on it is harder for him to settle to sleep.  His first nap he falls asleep practically as soon as I give him his soother.  Second nap is usually good, but sometimes he seems UT so I'm trying to give him a longer second A time.  And bedtime tends to take the longest to settle...tonight I'll try putting a blanket up on top of curtains to darken the room more and hopefully that helps.

I guess I'll keep trying the 1 hr second nap for a few days to see if it makes a difference.

[nevinsmama]

Sounds like a plan, it is so hard to cut those lovely naps! I know my DD needs a BLACK, or nearly, room to sleep in. You can tape aluminum foil to the window and it blocks light really well. Or, black trash bag curtains taped to the wall behind regular curtians if you don't want the more permanent black-out blinds that you buy. Keep us posted!

[Mom-of-boys]

Well yesterday we had a 2 hr morning and he woke up after about an hr afternoon nap from 2:30-3:30, and was much easier to settle at bedtime (7:00 pm) despite the heat. . He woke up at 5:00 am, I gave him a bottle, and he fell back asleep until 7:00!  Yahoo!  Now hopefully we can keep this up...although I am ready to accept the fact that my kids may just be early risers.

[babybarr]

Yay. Long may it continue.

[JamieD2013]

I'm having very similar problems with my 7 month old and just wrote a post! I'll be checking back frequently!