Author Topic: 10 months and sleep TOTALLY changed! Please help!  (Read 2145 times)

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Offline Aking

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10 months and sleep TOTALLY changed! Please help!
« on: February 04, 2016, 21:35:28 pm »
Hi there,
well, I'm at a loss. I have no idea what to do with my schedule or how to adjust it to make my little one happy. He was perfect before... he is now 10 months and the bad sleeping has been for about 1 week. Before that he was sleeping through the night, waking up once for a feed around 4am (maybe not needing a feed, but would cry and cry and then if I fed him, put him back to bed AWAKE... he would settle fine on his own without crying).

He was napping twice a day for 1.5-2 hours a day. My schedule was a bit off with feeding sometimes, but otherwise it'd look something like this:
Wake up at 630am

E-645am
A-645-945
S945-1145

E 12pm
A- 12-3pm
S 3-430

E 430pm
A430-7
S 7-330am, feed, 330-630am

He is breastfeed and eating solids.

Now he cries and cries before naps. I go to check on him every 10 minutes but it makes it TERRIBLY worse and he amps up and wails and wails. He is not in pain that I know, he is dry, fed and just NOT happy about me putting him to bed.
Often after the crying (it lasts about 30 mins for naps... then he sleeps and wakes at the 45 min mark and will not settle).
Today for example, he woke at 630- I put him down a few minutes after 10 as we were at my son's swimming lesson. He cried for about 12 mins, then slept for 45 mins.
Then he wouldn't settle... he got up happily and was awake until 220 when I put him down for his second nap. He didn't seem very tired though and so I more watched the time than his signs.

Could he be transitioning to one nap already? IT seems so early. Or do you think he's just stimulated by learning to move and shuffle around? I'm totally at a loss. He's been crying already 15 minutes and I hate it but he is slowing down and I hate to go in and amp him up even more again.
But I fear that he is starting to get overtired if he only have 45 mins and then only 1.5 nap ALL DAY.

What can I try?

Thanks so much for any help.
Ali

Offline Aking

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Re: 10 months and sleep TOTALLY changed! Please help!
« Reply #1 on: February 04, 2016, 21:37:08 pm »
I forgot to say that I feed solids around 8am, 1230pm, and then 530ish. (with a couple small snacks in there somewhere)

Offline becj86

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Re: 10 months and sleep TOTALLY changed! Please help!
« Reply #2 on: February 04, 2016, 23:34:08 pm »
Hi :):

Your routine looks amazing for a 6-7 month old baby! From what you've written, its really just not suitable for him any more. I'd suggest he's crying because he's not tired when you put him down for a nap, that's supported by the length of time he takes to settle and the 45min nap from which he wakes happy.

He is almost certainly TRANSITIONING to one nap, this is absolutely the 'normal' time for this to be happening, I more often see posts such as yours at 8-9 months, so it may even be a little on the late side. This transition doesn't happen overnight, nor does it have to involve one nap days at this stage. I'd imagine an increase in his A times (possibly even as high as 4hr, so be ready to really hike them up as it may be necessary) will be in order, as will capping one nap to ~45min (or intentionally doing an UT nap to yield 45min WU).

If he's taking 30min to settle, I'd just jump your A times up by 30min now and see how he goes settling to sleep for naps then.

One 45min nap and one 1.5hr nap is actually totally normal at this age.

Offline Aking

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Re: 10 months and sleep TOTALLY changed! Please help!
« Reply #3 on: February 05, 2016, 03:52:40 am »
ok great. I will try that. I actually have adjusted him to 3.5 hours awake. I will try to 4 if I don't see signs of him being tired. I wasn't sure what the "norm" was for this age. It's amazing how quickly you forget from your first! He did much better in the afternoon. I actually did put him down almost 4 hours from wake up from his morning nap and then he almost woke at the 45 mark, but re settled for 1.5 hours. Then he went to bed tonight about 3.5 hours from his second nap and didn't cry (only a minute).

So... I will definitely try that and see how it goes. The problem is often then the feeding is mixed. How often should you be breast feeding at 10 months?
So for example.., if he wakes at 7am tomorrow.

E7am
A7-1030/11
S-11-1230 (is this a good stretch 5.5 hours?)

Thanks
Ali

Offline becj86

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Re: 10 months and sleep TOTALLY changed! Please help!
« Reply #4 on: February 05, 2016, 05:30:18 am »
Four times per day is pretty normal for BF/day at 10 months (WU, after each nap and BT). You'd typically do solids 1-1.5hr after milk and offer either milk or water as a drink (I did milk at this age to keep up the calories and help deal with NWs). He's then only going 4-4.5hr max. between feeds.

Offline Aking

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Re: 10 months and sleep TOTALLY changed! Please help!
« Reply #5 on: February 16, 2016, 06:13:19 am »
Hi. Just to update you that change in routine totally helped. He's doing one long nap and one cat nap. However I have another question, he is still waking once a night and I am still feeding him as I have tried to soothe him by just checking on him every few mins and not picking him up but reassuring with gentle touch and telling him it's sleep time but he continues to cry for almost an hour!!!! He did it three nights in a row and after that I didn't continue because I didn't want to let him cry when I know I can feed him and he is awake and settles right back to sleep after being fed. I just also don't want to create a bad habit. My first son slept through from about 6.5 months. My son now is 10.5 months, breastfed and eats solids well. He wakes usually around 230-330 if he goes to bed at 630-7. I have tried the dream feed which makes him sleep through that feed but he then wakes at 5am and will not go back to sleep, even after feeding.

My question is.... Do I keep feeding him or do I need to sleep train now before I make the waking more of a habit (if that's what it is, and not just true hunger)
7-8 hours without a feed is quite long so I just don't know what to do.
Thanks for any advice on this as I'm getting very tired with my broken sleep every night for the past almost year now.

Offline becj86

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Re: 10 months and sleep TOTALLY changed! Please help!
« Reply #6 on: February 16, 2016, 10:10:00 am »
I just fed - it worked fine for me but it lasted til DS was about 15 months, I think. If its really bothering you, you can try to increase daytime calories by offering milk rather than water as a drink with solids - that certainly helped us for a while around this age.

He could be teething - have you tried pain meds? When you did try resettling through that waking and he cried for an hour, did you feed eventually or did he go to sleep without the feed in the end?

Offline Aking

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Re: 10 months and sleep TOTALLY changed! Please help!
« Reply #7 on: February 16, 2016, 17:26:24 pm »
He won't takefluids really. A couple of small sips of water here and there but it's a struggle.
I will try to introduce milk soon.
Yes he settled but likely out of exhaustion. But I likely will continue to feed too.
I will see how it goes. No he's not teething but when he is I give meds.
Hard to know if I'm creating a habit or if he is hungry

Offline becj86

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Re: 10 months and sleep TOTALLY changed! Please help!
« Reply #8 on: February 17, 2016, 19:47:46 pm »
Yes he settled but likely out of exhaustion.
Did he wake again shortly after? If not, unlikely it was hunger. Does that make sense to you? If he was genuinely hungry, he'd have woken again within an hour or so of going back to sleep.