Author Topic: 6 month old Early Morning Wake Up--ready for 3-2 transition?  (Read 2987 times)

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Offline jbdomen13

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Hi

My almost 6 month old (June 25) has been blessing us with very early morning wake ups for the past few weeks. (Anywhere from 4:20am on.) We recently moved him into his own room, into his crib, and he has been teething since he hit 5 months. He also goes back and forth from waking once at night to eat, to waking twice. No two nights are the same. He is breast fed. And, we recently started BLW.

He is pretty much an independent sleeper, putting himself down for the night and more recently for naps. When he wakes before 1/2am, he puts himself back to sleep pretty quickly with minimal crying. (Except last night. He was up screaming for an hour from 10:30-11:30. He felt warm, so we gave him Tylenol and then fed him for a few minutes to calm him down.) When I feed him in the middle of the night, I put him right back in his crib and he puts himself to sleep within minutes.

This morning he woke up at 4:20, I fed him at 4:30 (takes about 15/20 min), and then put him back in his crib. He proceeded to babble to himself for a half hour before he started screaming his head off. I then got him out of bed at 5:45. (Normally I wait until 6am but I just couldn't this morning.)

I am thinking he is showing signs of the 3-2 nap transition, but everything I've read says not to do it during major milestones (he is trying to crawl, and he is teething). But we can't deal with the early wake ups much longer! Are these early wake ups a sign? Is he perhaps getting too much day sleep? (I argue with my husband on this one, as he thinks you should never wake a sleeping baby so he lets him sleep as long as he wants during the day, which resulted in 3 long naps  yesterday.) When should his last nap--the cat nap--end? I think his critical bed time is about 6:30. But last night, since he slept from 4-5.25, he didn't go to sleep until 7:20. I would LOVE a 6:30 bed time with a 6am wake up. But I will take anything better than 4:20!

His schedule yesterday was wacky due to the 3 long naps, but here it is:

WU 5:36 am (left in crib until 6:00am)
E 6:45am
S 8:12-9:37 (my husband had a hard time getting him to sleep, he started at 7:40)
E 10:45
A 9:37-11:47
S 11:47-1:41
E 2:50
A 1:42-3:52
S 3:52-5:20
E 6:30
S 7:20
NW 10:20, until 11:30 (gave in and fed him, normally would have waited until after 1am)
NW 4:20, full feed

Thanks!

Offline katie80

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Re: 6 month old Early Morning Wake Up--ready for 3-2 transition?
« Reply #1 on: June 18, 2014, 02:16:12 am »
I'd say he's definitely showing signs of the 3-2 transition. Have you read through this link? ... All about the 3-2 transition- 5/6 months. I gather, however, that yesterday isn't a typical day for him? What does a typical day look like?

If you want a 6am start with a 6:30pm BT, you could try for something like this...
6am wake
8:30-10am nap 1
12:30-2pm nap 2
4:30-5pm CN
6:30pm bedtime (still may need to be 7pm with 3 naps at this age)

As you push the A times toward 3hr, you will then start to lose the CN.

It does sound like he's got a lot going on developmentally, 6mo is pretty classic for that. But, you're right in that you can't let him sleep too much during the day and expect him not to wake early in the morning. I don't know that I've read you shouldn't make the transition with other stuff going on... it seems to happen a lot around this age, so you likely won't have a choice. That being said, if the other things are playing a factor in his waking, you might not solve everything by transitioning to two naps, but at least it should help!

This morning he woke up at 4:20, I fed him at 4:30 (takes about 15/20 min), and then put him back in his crib. He proceeded to babble to himself for a half hour before he started screaming his head off. I then got him out of bed at 5:45. (Normally I wait until 6am but I just couldn't this morning.)
I also need to speak to this. Do you mean he is in his crib alone crying? We don't in any way condone CIO on this site, as it breaks the bond of trust between your baby and you. We'd love to help you find another way to help him settle at any time, however. Here are some links to read why BW is against CIO...
Research on why 'cry it out' and 'controlled crying' is NOT recommended!
Cry it out (CIO): 10 reasons why it is not for us

Hope that helps!



Offline jbdomen13

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Re: 6 month old Early Morning Wake Up--ready for 3-2 transition?
« Reply #2 on: June 19, 2014, 11:29:50 am »
Hi
Thanks for your response. The past two nights have been a little better, but not by much. (And no, we don't do cry it out…we do sh/patting, there is just only so much of it I can do from 5-6am when I know awake time is right around the corner!)

We decided to try and cap his naps. Does it make a difference if one of his two longer naps is longer than the other? Which should be longer? The first or the second? Or is it a trial and error thing? So yesterday, he went to sleep at 8:05 and I woke him up at 9:22. I think he would have slept much longer. He then did an hour and 16 minute second nap. And a cat nap later in the afternoon.

I feel like he is now chronically overtired with the early wake up, even when I try and get him in bed earlier. Which makes it hard to push him towards the schedule you recommended (which would be great). This was what we did yesterday:

WU 5:38 (he had woken up at 4:30, but I managed to get him back to sleep)
E 6:30
A 5:38-8:05
S 8:05-9:22
E 10:20
A 9:22-11:37
S 11:37-12:54
E 2:15
A 12:54-3:07
S 3:07-3:45
E 5:30
A 3:45-6:48
S 6:48
one wake up at 11:45, managed to get back to sleep by 12:15
one wake up at 2:45, eat
WU 5:10am (So a little better! He skipped the 4:20 wake up!)

I know his last awake time was long--3 hours--for some reason even though he was in bed at 6:15, he just would not fall asleep and I had to sh/pat him. My husband also tried extending his wake times during the day, but he wasn't having it and was falling asleep the minute his head hit the mattress.

So this morning he got up at 5:10am, and I know he is ready for a nap now at 7:30. I think I can push it out 5-10 minutes, but it feels cruel to do it any more than that! Do we just muddle through as he gets used to the longer wake times?

Thanks!

Offline katie80

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Re: 6 month old Early Morning Wake Up--ready for 3-2 transition?
« Reply #3 on: June 19, 2014, 19:10:57 pm »
(And no, we don't do cry it out…we do sh/patting, there is just only so much of it I can do from 5-6am when I know awake time is right around the corner!)
Gotcha... totally understand!

We decided to try and cap his naps. Does it make a difference if one of his two longer naps is longer than the other? Which should be longer? The first or the second? Or is it a trial and error thing?
I wouldn't cap the main naps at less than 1.5hr at this point.  I'd much rather a shorter CN, even 15-20min just to get to BT rather than capping the other naps.  If you wanted to let him sleep longer for the afternoon one, I think you could let that one go up to 2hr, but yes that might be a bit of trial and error.  I wouldn't let the morning one go too long as that, along with a shorter morning A, could encourage the EW.

I feel like he is now chronically overtired with the early wake up, even when I try and get him in bed earlier. Which makes it hard to push him towards the schedule you recommended (which would be great).
Yes, but you're making progress!  Keep pushing toward 2.5 hr A times before the naps and keeping the CN short and you'll get there.  It is a bit of a muddle through as he adjusts to the longer A times, but he will.

Keep me posted!



Offline jbdomen13

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Re: 6 month old Early Morning Wake Up--ready for 3-2 transition?
« Reply #4 on: June 21, 2014, 11:00:13 am »
So yesterday morning started good in that I got him back to sleep after the 4:45 wake up and he actually slept until 6:10am! But then by the end of the day, we couldn't get the third nap in, and this morning he was up at 4:30 and officially awake at 5 am…

Thursday
WU 5:10 (tried to resettle, couldn't)
E 5:46 (1 side--this was during the hour I was trying to resettle him)
Officially out of crib at 6am
E 6:45 (both sides)
A 5:10-7:57
S 7:57-9:20
E 10:30 (breastfeed)
E 11:00 (solid--fruit)
A 9:20-11:45
S 11:45-1:28
E 1:50 (solid--sweet potato_
E 2:30 (breastfeed)
A 1:28-4:03
S 4:03-4:41
A 4:41-6:43
E 5:45
S 6:43
     NW 10:40
    NW 1:30 Eat
    NW 4:45 Eat (1 side only--had been long enough from last feeding, thought he might be hungry)
He went back to sleep! WU at 6:10

I don't have an EASY schedule for Friday as my husband had him and didn't write it down. (He normally does, but forgot.)
Here is my best estimate:
WU 6:10
E 6:45/7
E 7:20/7:30 Fruit
A 6:10-8:40
S 8:40-10:00
E 10:50
A 10:00-12:40 (needed help falling asleep)
S 12:40-2:42
WU about 35 minutes in, and needed help going back down--took about 20 minutes
E 3:00 bottle
E 3:30ish Vegetable
A 2:42 to 6:20!!!
S tried for a cat nap at 4:40ish, but he wouldn't do it. He tried for twenty minutes and then got him up.
I fed him right when I got home from work at 5:30 and then put him to bed at 6:15. He was asleep by 6:20.
NW at 8:45, put himself back to sleep
NW 2am, Eat
NW 4:30…fed him on one side again, hoping to get him back to sleep. He fell asleep on my and then again when I put him in his crib at 5am. But he woke up immediately. Sh/patted for a half hour and then left the room as he was calm and quiet. He then babbled to himself for a half hour before he started crying at 5:45. Got him out of bed then. So he has been up since 5am…and he is a wreck right now.  :(

I'm thinking this will be a three nap day? I was hoping we could do two naps again today, but am not sure he can handle it!


Offline katie80

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Re: 6 month old Early Morning Wake Up--ready for 3-2 transition?
« Reply #5 on: June 22, 2014, 04:46:47 am »
Oh bummer, so he got OT. Remember you can always APOP the CN by taking a stroll or going for a drive or putting him in a carrier. That is pretty common toward the end of transitions. I don't think the push to 2 naps will be quite so quick, though and sometimes you have to go back and forth a bit. It really works best when they can handle closer to 3hr A time.



Offline jbdomen13

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Re: 6 month old Early Morning Wake Up--ready for 3-2 transition?
« Reply #6 on: June 27, 2014, 20:32:01 pm »
We are still working on this, and I feel like we are not getting anywhere. He has flat out refused the cat nap for the past two nights, and even though I got him down early last night (6pm) without any fussing--he was so tired--he was up at 4:07am this morning!

Would the night feeding around 2am actually work to cause some of the early morning wake ups? Will he do better if I try to wean him from that feeding too? He is of healthy weight (very healthy!) and he is eating 2-3 meals of solids during the day. We have his 6 months appt on Monday, so I plan to talk to the Dr then, but am looking for another opinion.

Offline PuppyLuf

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Re: 6 month old Early Morning Wake Up--ready for 3-2 transition?
« Reply #7 on: June 28, 2014, 14:24:10 pm »
I'm going to comment on this so I can get notification on it by email! JBDomen, I know it probably doesn't help, but we are going through the exact same thing over here!  LO is 6 months today and has been waking up and partying anywhere from 4:00 on to 5:00 on.   He wants to take long, long naps, and then he can't sleep in the morning.  He's trying to crawl, he's rolling over, he's teething... seriously... we lead parallel lives except that I'm a husbandless adoptive parent so there is no one else to relieve me.  Blegh!

I've found, as mentioned by Katie, that LO drops his catnap and ends up OT if I try to have him sleep in his bed.  So I've been going out for an afternoon walk (16:30ish) with the dog and LO falls asleep in his stroller for about 1/2  an hour.  It's VERY warm out here in midwest US this time of year, so I tuck a few ice packs behind his stroller cushion and he sleeps very well.  The dog is happy, too.  I could do with a little more sleep, though.  I'm exhausted... I absolutely feel your pain!

Offline katie80

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Re: 6 month old Early Morning Wake Up--ready for 3-2 transition?
« Reply #8 on: June 28, 2014, 15:07:25 pm »
Would the night feeding around 2am actually work to cause some of the early morning wake ups? Will he do better if I try to wean him from that feeding too?
I really don't think so, unless he's got a burp stuck from feeding. :-\ I also don't know of many BFd 6mo olds going a full 12hr at night (although I'm sure there are exceptions). Most still have a feed until solids are quite well established. Does he take the morning feed well? I'd say it's more likely to be digestive issues from the solids that would be causing an issue. 2-3 meals is on the higher side for 6mo... is he eating a lot at those meals? What types of foods is he having.

What is he doing developmentally? PuppyLuf has stated lots of other reasons for EWs as well. There's so much going on at 6mo, it can really be a time of disturbed sleep! :P

(((Hugs))) to you, PuppyLuf. We're happy to have you follow along, but don't be afaid to start your own thread if you want some specific advice! :)



Offline jbdomen13

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Re: 6 month old Early Morning Wake Up--ready for 3-2 transition?
« Reply #9 on: June 29, 2014, 11:53:07 am »
Oh yes, PuppyLuf, a lot of that here too--trying to crawl, teething, etc. He could nap for more than two hours twice a day if we let him…but after showing him my logs, I finally got my husband to agree that that actually makes the night sleep much worse. (He was of the mind that you never wake a sleeping baby. Ever.) Doing this all on your own--good for you! My husband is great and helps a lot, but there are definitely days when I feel like I am doing it a little on my own. And I work full time too.

Katie80, he doesn't take the morning feed very well anymore. That is also why I was wondering if weaning off the NF would be better. He does solids at least 2x, sometimes 3x a day--we are doing BLW so he normally does a vegetable and a fruit, sometimes a combo of the two…and then maybe a snack (mum mums) later in the day. He LOVES food. Not sure if he is eating a lot or average…yesterday he had cantaloupe and broccoli, the day before mango and zucchini, etc. He pretty much likes everything, and we have no history of food allergies so we introduce new foods regularly.

Yesterday was a 3 nap day, with the CN happening in the car on the way home from a family party. We did 2.75 WT all day except for the last one, which was 2 hours. Asleep as soon as he was in bed at 7:15. And no sleep cries or NW until 2:30 to eat, so I think that's good, right? But then he woke up at 5:15 and babbled away to himself in his crib until 5:45 before he started to cry. (He's been doing a LOT of talking these past few days too.) I'm trying not to put him down for his first nap until after 8am, but he is already exhausted!

Offline katie80

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Re: 6 month old Early Morning Wake Up--ready for 3-2 transition?
« Reply #10 on: June 30, 2014, 03:54:53 am »
Ok, so it doesn't sound like the solids would be an issue digestive-wise, as he's likely not getting too much doing BLW. When you do the 2am feed, does he take both sides? Could you start to reduce that and just offer one side to see if it makes a difference in the morning feed? I still don't think that would be causing the EW, but you could start to take some steps to eliminate it.

What has the routine looked like the past few days? It sounds like you're doing the right things to work toward dropping the CN. (((Hugs))), EWs are the pits!



Offline jbdomen13

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Re: 6 month old Early Morning Wake Up--ready for 3-2 transition?
« Reply #11 on: June 30, 2014, 11:45:34 am »
Hi Katie80, yes, at the 2am feed he does take both sides and does about 10 minutes on each side. Which actually longer than he feeds during the day, but it is pretty relaxed so I have always felt that maybe he needed the longer time? But maybe it is also comfort nursing? Last night however, I did 9 minutes on each side, with the thought that I could do a little less every 2-3 nights. He also didn't wake until 2:45, which is later then he has been waking…and then he slept until 5:20ish. He just babbled away in his crib until 6-ish when I got him up. His schedule the last two days has been like this:

Saturday
WU 5:56 (not sure how we lucked out here!)
E 6:45/7:30 solids
A 5:56-8:39 (a little OT here, needed some help with Sh/pat to get to sleep)
S 8:39-10.07
E 10:40/11:30 (solids)
A 10:07-12:55
S 12:55-2:04
E 2:20
A 2:04-4:45
4:45-5:13
E 5:33
A 5:13-7:16 (tried to extend this wake time, but he wouldn't have it!)
S 7:16
NW 2:40, eat
WU 5:15, babbled in crib until 5:50

Sunday
WU 5:15, out of crib at 5:50 (started WT at 5:50--is this right?)
E 6:20/7:15 (solids)
A 5:50-8:25
S 8:25-9:35
E 10:00
A 9:35-12:40 (we went to the Zoo so his WT was a little longer here…but he handled it well)
S 12:40-2:00 (I woke him so as to get the last nap in…)
E 2:20/3:00 (solids)
A 2:00-6:15
E 3:45 (he ate another almost full feeding here, which he never does! But, I guess he needed it.)
**We tried for a CN with a PD at 4:35--he was tired but wouldn't go to sleep--I gave him until 5:05 and then got him out of his crib**
E 5:20 (another full feed!)
S 6:15 (Got him down as early as I could. He fell asleep almost immediately.)

I was fully expecting some SC or NW since he had a 4+ hour WT, but he slept soundly until 2:45am! Ate 9 minutes on each side and then back to sleep. Woke up at 5:20, and babbled happily in crib until 6/6:10 when I got him up.

I still don't feel like he is getting enough sleep--when I look at him, he just looks tired.  :(

Not sure how today will go as we have his 6 month Drs appointment (and shots) in the middle of the afternoon!

Offline jbdomen13

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Re: 6 month old Early Morning Wake Up--ready for 3-2 transition?
« Reply #12 on: June 30, 2014, 15:04:45 pm »
So this morning he straight up refused his first nap--and that NEVER happens. I am wondering if it was severe OT due to extra long wake times yesterday??? I do think in hindsight that I maybe tried to put him down too early, which resulted in a lot of crying and ineffective sh/patting. I then finally got him up and let him hang out next to me with a toy or two for a half hour, and tried again. And he refused again! At this point he was hysterical and it was close to his next feeding time, so I actually nursed him for ten minutes and he fell asleep. (I have not nursed him to sleep for months.) I then got him back in the crib and although there was some protest crying he fell asleep and has been asleep for the past hour.

I have no idea what is going on. ???

Offline katie80

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Re: 6 month old Early Morning Wake Up--ready for 3-2 transition?
« Reply #13 on: June 30, 2014, 19:07:35 pm »
Hmm... do you think he's working on teeth at all?  Those can definitely cause EWs, along with other issues.  Don't worry about nursing him to sleep today... as he's an independent sleeper already, a time or two won't hurt, especially when OT.  If you think you're pushing too much, then hang back with the A times for a bit. 

I did notice this...
Sunday
WU 5:15, out of crib at 5:50 (started WT at 5:50--is this right?)
At 6mo, I would still count A time from 5:15. Some people will say different, as they're still in their crib 'resting', but I think it still makes a difference at 6mo.  Once you get closer to 9/10/11 mo, I think is when you can start counting from out of crib.  They can still be quite active in their crib at this age, stimulating themselves.  So, yeah, that was over a 3hr A time on Sun morning and he probably is getting a bit OT. 

Also, I wouldn't be capping naps to fit in the CN.  It's going to be better to let him have a good, restorative nap and do BT a little earlier, than to cap a nap and do a CN.  Even with a long nap, you could do a short 15min APOPd CN in order to make it to a decent BT, if needed.

(((Hugs))), you're doing great... I know it's tough when they throw you curve balls!