Please Help-Bedtime Issues Worsening-ENW and NW

[Shiv52]

Excellent news on last night!!! Hurray!!!

Hope the shots don't unsettle him too much.

Hugs!  You're doing great xx

[JennVanessa1083]

Awww thank you! I so appreciate that! I have been trying so hard and I'm just happy to see improvements! I know that it would not have happened without the advice and support of you and Lillian.

He was unsettled as it turns out but he's asleep (hopefully for the night). I will be getting him up at the regular time tomorrow to get back on track.

[Shiv52]

Keep me posted xx

[JennVanessa1083]

Hi!

So last night went better. After a CN of 35 minutes, did an A of 1:25. He was agitated and fussy but I suspect it was his leg bothering him since he was like that all day. He did sleep for nearly an hour before waking up. I had to resettle him as he was unable to get comfortable. Usually he rolls over and enjoys sleeping on his stomach, but the last two nights he has resisted. Again probably because of his shots on his leg. After resettling, he did sleep for nearly 6 hours then woke up for a feed and back in bed for another 4. So down to two NW. Hopefully, I can get him to a place where he can have his first waking after several hours of sleeping.

I am still unsure if the A after CN is right but it looks like it will be trial and error since I can't rely on his sleep cues ha!

Naps have improved with a 2.5 A. The first one is still slightly shorter than 1.5 but I am giving it a couple more days then may consider lengthening but I will ask about that should it come to that. Today his first A was slightly shortened due to a shortened night (he only slept 10 1/2 hrs not including feeding times). So we will see how the rest of the day progresses. I am feeling optimistic though!

[Shiv52]

Sounds good!   Yes don't change any for another few days.

Nights seem to be getting a lot better.  Phew!

[JennVanessa1083]

Yes!!! I'm so happy! Today was good. He napped for 2 hours this morning! Then slept for an hour and 10 minutes in the carrier at a friends house! He Had a CN in the car but it was too short of A so now I'm trying to get him to bed now. We will see what happens :-D

[JennVanessa1083]

Update: last night didn't go so well. He went to bed OT or perhaps UT. So he dozed off in the car for 25 minutes after an A of 2 hrs (half hour shorter than what it's supposed to be); he did have a shortened second nap (about 1:10). Anyways, I decided to keep his A at 1.5 since it worked pretty well the night before and because I figured his CN was a UT nap. Well perhaps that wasn't the right call haha!

He ended up waking up 40 minutes afterwards the stayed up for an 1.5 wanting to play. Not sure if wired or he was still UT. Then he dozed off at 10:15 pm after I nursed him. He had a NW at around 3 which is fine so I fed him. Then he woke up early at 6:45! I tried resettling with shh pat and nothing. So I tried APOP and nothing. Finally, he started crying out of hunger so I gave in at 7 (since by then it's been almost 4 hours). Now he's asleep. So I plan on waking him up at 8 for consistency and adjust rearrange his feedings for the day. My concern is that he didn't sleep enough and will be harder to not get OT by bedtime.

My question is whether there is a general rule of thumb or perhaps any tips should this situation happen again. After a UT CN, how do I handle the A before BT?

Also the day after a shortened night. Is there anything I can do to avoid a lot of OT by BT?

Thank you!

[Shiv52]

In general after a shortened nap you reduce the A time to keep on top of OT.   I think last night was a case of UT then OT.

I think you're right to aim toward a few days of consistent 2.5 A time to see can you get bedtime a bit more solid.

How's he feeding?  Is he taking full feeds through the day or still needing topped up?

[JennVanessa1083]

Yes that makes sense. Hopefully tonight will go better. My alarm didn't go off today  So DS slept until almost 9! Instead of making the day long and late; I'm trying an early BT and forego the CN. Hopefully it works out so that tomorrow we will be back on track.

As for feedings, he has been doing full feeds every 3.5-4 hours. Usually in the am, he will do one breast and then a top up an hour later. However, in the last two days he has been eating ALOT more. He is wanting more top up and today he ate 2 FULL feeds within 1.5 hours! I was shocked. So I asked on the breastfeeding board and it seems to be a possible growth spurt. I also suspect teething may be playing a part in it as well.

[Shiv52]

I think it's a good plan to just go for 2 naps and good 2.5 to bed. I'd have likely just fed right away at 6.45! I didn't do early morning starts though

[JennVanessa1083]

Haha neither do I!

Well we had four NW and an early rising at 5:45. I fed him and got him to finally g to sleep around 6 after he was fighting it. I didn't want to get him up bc he didn't sleep much. I'm at a lost, not sure where to go from here.

[JennVanessa1083]

I forgot to ask: what should I do to catch him up on sleep?

 I'm pretty sure he has done sleep debt to chip away especially with NW increasing and early wake ups. He seems overactive, irritable, and rubs his eyes a lot.

[lily_layne]

I tend to follow cues to get past sleep debt but my DS has pretty obvious cues. If 2.5 hr A is working I would stick with that (don't worry if that first nap is a bit less than 1.5) and don't cap any naps. If he's tired, let him nap as long as he needs. I would keep the consistent WU though because I think that will help solve the BT issues and NWs and he'll just get more OT if you don't. If he's very tired in the morning, I would shorten that A time if you think he'll do have a restorative nap (mine often did off of a short morning A following a bad night).

[JennVanessa1083]

Thank you!

Last night was s better night where he slept 11 1/2 hrs with 3 NW. One NW lasted for an hour but I expected it since he's really OT. Also I didn't do a CN so that probably contributed to the waking since he probably treated the BT as a CN.  The first nap was shortened (1:10) but that could be residual OT.

Unfortunately I have to follow a clock since he isn't giving off apparent cues. So should I maintain 2.5 A regardless of shortened naps or shorten A by 10-15 minutes?

[JennVanessa1083]

He is resisting naps!!!! He used to self settle really well and now he fights it, tries to roll around happily, then cries out of frustration while I attempt to shh pat.  I try to pu/pd and he cries harder. I put him down he's happy and rolling around again. Shh pat is barely working like it was. I have to rock to get to a point of real drowsiness then put down; this has been last 3 days or so. However today and yesterday he resisted afternoon naps and ended up going over his A.

Just now I finally got him to sleep after vigorous rocking. It was a nightmare. I aimed for a slightly shorter A due to the shortened am nap and ended up with going over regular A; 2:35. However, so far he's been asleep for almost an hour without a peep.

Needless to say, I was crying bc with bedtime being difficult and now naps, I'm exhausted and confused. I'm sorry for the crazy rant, I'm just at my wits end.

Is this the result of OT? He just hit 5months on Wednesday; does he need a longer A right? Should I just give up on trying to encourage independent sleep for a couple days until he is consistently getting rest?