6 month old waking after bed time

[Martika]

Hi Katherine,

I'll definetely try it, thanks a lot!
She's just down for her first nap after 3h A time, so FX

[jessmum46]

Good luck x

[Martika]

ok, here we go...

Last night she woke up a couple of times after going to bed but she didn't stay awake for longer than about 5min, so I'm fine with that .
The night sleep however was quite disturbed. She was awake just before 12am, than woke up 12.40ish and was wide awake playing and rolling. I waited for a while but finally got up. The problem is when she doesn't see me she's fine but can stay awake for quite some time. If she sees me she starts asking for food/attention. I fed her and she was awake for a bit longer (about an hour all together). She then was awake about 3am and started getting quite restles just before 5am. I decided to feed her again (she normally has 1 NF but I knew she wouldn't last until 7 with her previous feed being at 1am) hoping that she would settle after that and sleep until 7am. She didn't take much and got to sleep, only to be awake 6.15am. So, here is our day

WU 6.15am
E 6.45/ breakfast 8.00
A (3h)
S 9.15 - 10.25 (1h 10min)
E 10.45/ lunch 12.30
A (2h 45min following your advice:)
S 13.15 - 13.55 awake for some time, not sure how long, maybe about 10min and back to sleep until 14.30ish
E 14.45
A (2h) - wanted longer but she was desperate for some sleep
S 16.30 - 17.00
A (2h to BT)
E 18 & 18.40
S in bed for 18.55; asleep by 19.10
she then slept through 5min mark. She stirred at 40min mark and I was prepared to go in but no crying followed. When I checked a few minutes later she was asleep. She then cried at about an hour into her sleep but that was for the lost dummy, so straight back to sleep. So, I would say we've got some progress overall. So happy, but scared at the same time

Katherine, do you think I should stick with the same plan for a few days and see if she settles into 3h A time and maybe catches up with some sleep overall?
Can I also ask about her NF? She used to have her feed at about 4am and kept pushing it later and later with some feeds being as late as 5am- 5.30am. She now wakes up quite early for her feed and seems hungry. I don't really want to start introducing another feed at this age. Do you think she will start having her NF later again when she's less OT/well rested? Or do I need to consider some extra feed during the day/cluster feeding at night? By the way, she's EBF and dream feed didn't really work for us from the beginning.

[jessmum46]

How are things going?

With the night feed, how early is she waking?  There is a huge growth spurt at six months so that might be the reason.  If she's having at least 4 breastfeeds in the day and seems satisfied, it may be once she's established on solids that the NF gets later again and disappears (that's what happened here with DD).  We never did a dreamfeed either and I wouldn't bother introducing one now as you'd be aiming to drop it again in a month or two.  You could always try offering extra feeds in the day to see if it makes a difference though, plus add a bit of EBM to any solids you give her to get in a few extra calories

[Martika]

Hi Katherine!

Thank you very much for getting back to me and answering my questions.
We are nowhere close to 2 x 1.5h naps a day, but I've just got to get on whith it. After a reasonable day yesterday (1h; 1h15min and 30min naps & 1 short waking an hour after going to bed at night) we are back to a rubbishy day today with 3x 30min naps. It's so diffucult that 3h A time in the morning is followed by completely different naps each day. So, we are still trying to settle into some sort of predictable A time. I'll try a couple of more days following what we've decided on and then may ask you to look at our EASY again if you don't mind.
In relation to her NF she's been on 2 NFs over the last 4 nights. First night she was awake about 1am, then a bit earlier and the last 2 nights she was awake at 11pm. It's still 4+ h after her last feed, so I just feed her. She takes her usual amount and falls asleep on me, which she never does during the day. Then she's awake at 3ish for the second feed. I hope it is a growth spurt. Otherwise she seems happy with her usual 4 feeds during the day and is increasing the amount of solids she takes for breakfast and lunch. I hope to start dinner soon.
I also noticed that she does naps in the region of 1h these days (if not OT). Can it be developmental? I think she is not far from starting to crawl. She is on all fours and has started to move backwards. She's going to be 7 months in just over a week.
I am just so desperate for her to finally transition from 3 to 2...

[jessmum46]

Very happy to look at the routine again when you're ready

The 1h naps could be developmental, or could be A times need tweaking, especially if she's now closer to 7 months.  We got a lot of naps that length when teething too - could that be a factor?

[Martika]

Thanks Katherine!

I am positive she is teething, but I don't think it's acute teething she's going through at the moment. She's been the same for the last month. She's got her bottom 2 teeth and it's the top ones that are bothering her. But as I mentioned before I'd tried medicating and I don't think it made any difference. But I'll keep an eye for any changes.
I'll definetely ask you to have a look at her EASY again, just need to take a note of what's happening. I'll also try to observe her tired signs more carefully and see if I'm missing anything. Oh well, back to square one 

[jessmum46]

It will come right in the end

[Martika]

Hi Katherine! First of all I'd like to say thank you for your ongoing support. It's so important to know that there's someone there who can listen and give advice when it becomes too overwhelming. Thank you very very much!

Well, I've got something to report. Here is our EASY for Monday and Tuesday

WU 7.20
E 7.30/ breakfast 8.45
A (3h)
S 10.20 - 10.57, then awake for 15-20min and back to sleep until 12ish, so 2x40min
E 12/ lunch 13.00
A (3h - decided to keep at 3h as she didn't seem tired)
S 15ish - 16.05
E
A
E&S 19.10
NF 23.30 & 3.45
SO, FIRST DAY WITH NO CN!

WU 6.45
E 7/8.30
A (3h15min - decided to go for it
S 10 - 11.30 (couldn't beleive it!!!)
E 11.30/12.30
A (3h10min)
S 2.40ish - 15.15ish (pushed her to hard - 30min OT nap
E 3.45
A
E&S 18ish
My DH&me then left for our annivesary night out but we told that there was not a single sound from her:) so, happy mummy

Today though she was awake at 5.55am (that's where I was a bit concerned with EMW, but she had a good night sleep, so I can deal with it). I then tried for another 3h15m A time but she looked too tired. I decided not to push her too much as I was afraid of another OT nap. So, she whent to bed at about 3h7min mark and slept for an hour. I take it she is ready for 3h15min then? She's just down for another nap (I suppose, I'll have to do a CN today), so we'll see.
Katherine, do you think I should try for 3h15m in the morning and then maybe 3h in the afternoon after a good nap?
Oh, and yes, just wanted to say that the problem which caused me to start this post in first place seems to have been resolved (FX) - no wakings after going to bed (at least extended with crying and screaming). So, once again, thanks for highlighting the problem and working with me on solving it! I'm sure there always be questions at any stage of my DD's development but just wanted to say thank you for helping with this major problem. 

[jessmum46]

It sounds like you're completely on the right track well done!  I'm told the pm A times can take a bit of time to catch up after you extend the morning one so 3h15 then 3h sounds good to me.  Will keep everything crossed for you!  Even though you got a 5.55am WU, that was a great night, 12h sleep!  Yay