Night Waking Protocol

[Aromy]

My husband and I have been practicing EASY with our LO since she was 5 mo. Now she is almost 1yo! We've fallen into some accidental parenting, so we're doing PU/PD again. This time around it's a lot easier! But we seem to be confused sometimes about how we should proceed during a night waking.

This is what we've been doing:
- LO wakes
- Wait three minutes, or for cry to escalate (whatever happens first)
- PU/PD

But if she wakes up after 30 minutes:
- Offer water.
OR
- Check/change nappy.

If she wakes 30 minutes after AGAIN:
- If teething, medicate.
- Offer breast.

Just wondering what everyone else does. We can also use some other ideas.

[nevinsmama]

Hi there! I would decide when you are going to feed LO ( time of night or after so many hours) and NOT feed before then, no matter what. Persist with your chosen method of resettling until LO goes back out. Even if it is past the time when you would feed them. This way they know that just "turning up the volume" won't work but that you are there for them.

I would not advise waiting 3 minutes, I would just listen to LO. If LO starts out with an "I need you cry!" then get in there! If LO does mantra cry or is grumbling then I would wait indefinitely.

Can you practice in the day time with the water cup so she can do it on her own? Maybe she would need a nightlight for that.

If you suspect teeth, then I would offer earlier on in the night, to hopefully eliminate other wakings. Hope this helps!

[Aromy]

Thanks nevinsmama!

These are some good tips! The wait time of 3 mins or so mostly depends on my husband. He really can't tell the difference.

We also wait to medicate her sometimes because some teeth have popped out with a fuss, whereas others wrecked our nights for weeks. My husband also fears over-medication. So we usually wait until there are more wakings.

Even though she's almost 1yo, I still give her a dreamfeed because she's really tiny (little over 7kg) and needs the calories. So I think my goal would be to not feed her between the hours of 11pm-5am. Even with a growth spurt she should be able to make it that long... right?