Please Help-Bedtime Issues Worsening-ENW and NW

[lily_layne]

I did the top up and then offered again after the nap (usually 1.5 hours later). I found that he really didn't want milk after his morning nap so I ended up offering solids about an hour after the nap and then milk before the pm nap.

[JennVanessa1083]

Ok that makes sense. I am noticing he likes a top up before the am nap but usually not for the rest of the day. It's hard to tell because he is definitely teething; looks like two front teeth are coming in already! 

Which leads me to my next question: I have read that A times shorten around teething but is that when the teeth are cutting through?

He's not there yet just chewing and drooling a lot. I can see white bumps where the two front teeth are. He's definitely moody but at 20 weeks that can be due to a lot.
I was going to start extending A to 2.5 this week since his naps have shorten and NW have increased but wanted to wait until we are back home (away with family).

He seems to be irritable and tired before his usual 2.25 A but then short naps 37-40 minutes which is usually UT. Long NW have come back too. Maybe that's UT as well. So just wondering if there's any tips around this.

[lily_layne]

If you were planning on extending A times, I would stick with that plan.

[JennVanessa1083]

Ok should I extend gradually or just go for 2.5 in the am in one stroke? I figure that 15 minutes is not too far of a stretch. Then gradually extend A for the rest of the day if am nap is long enough.

[Shiv52]

Yeah it sounds like you are getting back into that UT/OT cycle. Id go ahead and extend the first A time and same as before if you get a decent nap then continue to extend the next A time. If not don't.

How often is he feeding now? Are you having any luck resettling at night without feeding?

[JennVanessa1083]

Oh boy...I thought it may have been that Shiv. Last night was terrible. Woke up constantly then at 3 am had an hour long cot party. He woke up 1-2 1/2 hrs all night long at first just awake no crying but in the early am agitated! I did manage to settle without feeding him.

Last two days feeding hve  been ok. He is doing on average 3-3.5 hour feeds but bc I had  wedding stuff all weekend (I was MOH)  my mom would babysit which for him meant not eating or sleeping well. So I know that a huge part is the cumulative OT from the last couple of days and loss of calories.

I am back home as of last night and wondering how to get back on track. He just ate and went straight back to sleep (he didn't actually sleep until midnight!). My plan was to wake him up at 9:30 no matter what to start getting him back to a fixed wake up. So I have to adjust my EASY since Feedings are whacked out.

[JennVanessa1083]

Is it normal for baby to wake up more than once during first nap when establishing new A?

I started 2.5 today and he woke up twice. I expected once but twice I assume is bc he's OT from the terrible sleep he's had in the last couple of days. Basically I held him for most of the nap.

[lily_layne]

I think its just accumulated OT. APOPing a bit to help him catch up sounds like a good plan.

[JennVanessa1083]

I haven't seen my LO this OT ever. Tonight he cried for an 1hr 1/2 despite me putting him down 1.5 after CN. Tomorrow I'll try for just an hour. In your experience when dealing with A before bed with s baby that's really OT, was a really short A like an hour or under best?

Also if my LO has cumulative OT should I continue to push out first A to 2.5?

[lily_layne]

I found an early bt always helped with accumulated OT (that and using whatever means necessary to get them to sleep )

Are you getting good naps on your current A time? If yes, I would leave it. If not, keep extending.

[JennVanessa1083]

Yes I need to extend. Today he did a 2:20 A and it was still shorter. 

Did you do an early bedtime when waking up later? Sometimes i let him sleep in bc he's clearly OT.

Sorry one quick question: if I extend A amd nap is still on the shorter side (1hr 22 minutes) should I keep at it for three days to see if it works then increase or increase again tomorrow?

[JennVanessa1083]

Ahhhh! I don't know what i could have done differently...thoughts? I am just so tired and I know LO is tired sigh. It will be over one day.

Here is my EASY for today;

NW 8:58-9:43 pm, 9:58-10:56 pm, 4:40 am

WU 8:30 am
E 8:48 am
A
S 10:57- 12:20 pm (A 2:27; self settle; took several minutes; sang and stroked his head)
E 12:29 pm
A
S 2:43- 4:21 pm (A 2:23;self settle with modified shh pat); cried on sleep at 46 minutes jiggled
E 4:29 pm
A
E 6:12 pm (spit it up; probably was nursing for comfort not hunger)
A
S 6:50- 7:25 (A 2:29; fussy crying couldn't settle had to jiggle him. Next time put him down 5-5 minutes in advance)
A
E 8:20 pm
S 8:33-9:19 pm (A 1:07; OT woke up crying)
E 9:29 (finished feed)
S 9:33-10:34 pm
E 11 pm
S 12:05 am

So basically he had two NW so far: one 45 minutes after bedtime.  The second time he was up for lore than an hour and a half...how can I help this situation ?

[Shiv52]

I think he treated BT as a CN and then got OT.

I think you need to get pushing to 2.5. 

How's today been?  Sorry I'm away for a few days with family so just popping on quickly. Saw your post earlier and didn't want you to think I was just AWOL xxxx

[JennVanessa1083]

Hi Shiv! I hope you are having a great time with your family. I appreciate you giving a quick look especially since you are away. I really do appreciate it!

I have been pushing for 2.5 which has been hard but I agree he needs it. Today he fell asleep for his first nap at 2:23 A. He settled faster than I thought. He didn't need resettling which was great but napped 1:18; not sure what that means in this case.

Second nap is right at 2.5 so we will see. I didn't shorten A bc I thought the first was a bit UT. I figured OT is better than another UT nap.

As for BT...he may be treating it as a CN. I shortened his A and he slept longer than 30 minutes so I think I may be getting somewhere. My plan was to do 1 hr tops after a 30 min CN and see how that goes. Of course last night he did a long A from 10:30-midnight. My thought was perhaps he was still OT since he seems to have accumulated OT and is very slowly catching up.

I guess my question is: do I push for 2.5 for a few more days even though I had a shortened first nap? Do you think in your expertise that the long awakening is OT related or still UT?

[lily_layne]

I think your best bet is to pick a set wu time and set nap times and stick with it for a week or so. At this point, it can be hard to sort out ut from accumulated ot.

Sorry, I have tendonitis and can't type much more.