Author Topic: 2nd nap and night waking issues for 5.5MO  (Read 2269 times)

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Offline melloyello

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2nd nap and night waking issues for 5.5MO
« on: March 28, 2016, 18:17:41 pm »
Hello! I have a couple issues that I'm hoping to get some thoughts on so figure this might be the best place to post, but please let me know if otherwise :)

My DS is 5.5 months and we are struggling with the second nap and also the first part of the night. His first morning nap is almost always good (1.5-2 hours) but the second nap is consistently short. Sometimes I can resettle but often not so it ends up being just 45 min. I'm not sure if maybe he needs more A time than 2 hours 15 min? He wakes crying though and seems like he wants to sleep more.

Here is his current EASY:

7:15 Wake
7:30 E
7:15-9:15 A
9:15-10:45/11 S
11:30 E
11-1:15 A
1:15-2 S (sometimes can get another 20-30 min if he resettles with pacifier)
3 E
2/2:30-4:30 A
4:30-5:15 S
5:30 E
5:15-7:30 A
7:15 E
7:30 S

Then at night we are getting a wake up somewhere between 10:30-12am and he will only settle if fed. Then he's up again 4-5 hours later for another feed. He used to only have the one later night feed but for the past month or more we've had the earlier waking. He doesn't seem hungry at this first feeding either, just using it to soothe and get back to sleep. Anything in our EASY that could be contributing to this?

Any thoughts or advice would be really appreciated!




Offline becj86

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Re: 2nd nap and night waking issues for 5.5MO
« Reply #1 on: March 28, 2016, 21:48:15 pm »
Well, those A times do seem a touch low for his age, its probably worth increasing a touch.

Have a read of this: All about the 3-2 transition- 5/6 months

I suspect increasing your A times might help with that pesky NW - particularly the first A time, I have a suspicion its a symptom of the short first A time and perhaps he's slightly shifting his night, not completely since he's still sleeping that first bit of the night.

Offline melloyello

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Re: 2nd nap and night waking issues for 5.5MO
« Reply #2 on: March 29, 2016, 01:18:54 am »
Thank you for replying. He always seems so tired in the morning that even 2 hours A time can seem like a stretch and he settles for naps and bedtime easily but I will definitely try increasing A times. I'm not quite clear what you mean about his first short A time contributing to the NW and shifting his nights though... does that mean he's adding on to his night sleep with the first nap?

Offline becj86

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Re: 2nd nap and night waking issues for 5.5MO
« Reply #3 on: March 29, 2016, 19:47:08 pm »
does that mean he's adding on to his night sleep with the first nap
Yes, pretty much.


Offline melloyello

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Re: 2nd nap and night waking issues for 5.5MO
« Reply #4 on: April 01, 2016, 17:54:29 pm »
So I've been extending A times and naps have improved in the last couple of days. We had a couple better nights where he was making it until 1am before the first wake up but the last two nights he's been back to waking up around 10:30pm. One thing I'm wondering about is his feedings leading up to bedtime. Currently he eats at around 7:30am, 11:30, 3, 5:30 and then before bed at 7:30. The last couple of feeds are close together so he doesn't always eat well, especially before bed, it's usually just a few minutes. I'm wondering if these smaller feeds might contribute to him being more hungry in the night? It just hasn't been possible to get him to go the full four hours before bedtime. He's just starting solids a bit now but isn't all that interested yet.

Offline becj86

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Re: 2nd nap and night waking issues for 5.5MO
« Reply #5 on: April 01, 2016, 22:28:03 pm »
He could be heading for the 6mo growth spurt. Your supply is likely to be lowest at BT too, so taking care of your fluid intake and resting a bit in the PM when we're busiest getting dinner can help increase that feed.

Have you tried feeding at 3:30 and 7pm rather than keeping up the cluster feed?

I'd try to avoid solids in the evening as its a new sensation with solids moving through the gut and can disturb sleep initially - better to upset a nap than night ;)

Offline melloyello

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Re: 2nd nap and night waking issues for 5.5MO
« Reply #6 on: April 02, 2016, 18:43:29 pm »
Yes, definitely no solids in the evening. The two times we did that he woke up with a dirty diaper in the middle of the night, not good!  :)

I will give feeding at 3:30 and 7 a try again. He hadn't been able to make it past 6 or so without wanting to eat so that's why I did the cluster feeds at 5:30 and 7:30.

We're at that tricky stage where if he takes two good naps it's getting harder to fit the catnap into our day. Having to wake him from his other naps now to protect the catnap because without it, it's way too long until bedtime (even with an early BT). It seems like the catnap may be starting to interfere with night sleep to as we can't seem to get rid of this pesky 10:30pm waking no matter what I try! He's never taken a pacifier at night (although he does for naps) but I'm wondering if it might be worth a try giving it to him when he wakes around 10:30 rather than just feeding? I don't want to start a pacifier habit at night but am not sure feeding is the right thing to do either?

Offline becj86

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Re: 2nd nap and night waking issues for 5.5MO
« Reply #7 on: April 02, 2016, 21:23:43 pm »
You could well go to 2 naps, its definitely the age for it. What's your EASY at the moment? Its really important he's getting at least one long nap from which he isn't woken before 2hr - you can cause OT just by waking at 1.5hr for both naps...

If you don't have a paci at night, I wouldn't start now. Its worth probably just feeding for a week or two the re-evaluating if he's still waking at 10:30, he's the right age for a GS to be happening and with the lower supply in the afternoon/evening, he's quite possibly just stimulating your supply.

Offline melloyello

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Re: 2nd nap and night waking issues for 5.5MO
« Reply #8 on: April 03, 2016, 23:31:44 pm »
OK thank you. That was my initial thought with the night waking as well, to give it another week or two.

Here's our current EASY:
7am Wake
7:30 E
7-9:15 A
9:15-10:45 S
11:30 E
10:45-1:15 A
1:15-2:45/3 S
3:15 E
2:45-5 A
5-5:45 S
7:15 E
7:45/8 S

I didn't know that about possibly causing OT from waking at 1.5 hour naps. 3 days/week I have to pick up DD from nursery school so I have to wake him from his morning nap but the other days will let him sleep up to 2 hours. This is his best nap, the afternoon can still be hit and miss. Will work to extend A times over the next couple of weeks to hopefully drop the catnap soon as bedtime is creeping later with keeping it. Is it ok to wake from the catnap at 30 min to keep bedtime around 7:30?
« Last Edit: April 04, 2016, 01:19:10 am by melloyello »

Offline becj86

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Re: 2nd nap and night waking issues for 5.5MO
« Reply #9 on: April 04, 2016, 05:48:45 am »
Is it ok to wake from the catnap at 30 min to keep bedtime around 7:30?
Absolutely :)

Good luck, keep us posted :)

Offline melloyello

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Re: 2nd nap and night waking issues for 5.5MO
« Reply #10 on: April 15, 2016, 23:42:09 pm »
Hello! Back again :)

DS is now just over 6 months and we are still dealing with nighttime issues - waking up basically every 3-4 hours. I'm thinking of maybe trying to wean one of his feedings (currently 2, once in awhile 3)  by reducing the amount and then using another method to help him settle. Right now he usually wakes and nurses between 10:30-11:30, and 2:30-3:30. Which do you think would be the best feeding to tackle first?

We're also running into issues as we are getting close to dropping the catnap. His first two naps are good with 2.5 hours A time but in order to fit in the last catnap I really need to wake him from his previous naps to fit it in and sometimes he just refuses it altogether. When that happens we get OT by bedtime and it's harder for him to settle. Do we just need to take the leap and deal with some OT for awhile until her adjust? Or should I be shortening his other naps to keep the catnap for the time being?

Here's our current EASY

Wake 7
E 7:30
A 7-9:30
S 9:30-11
E 11:30
A 11-1:30
S 1:30-3:30
E 3:30
A 3:30-5:30
S 5:30-6 (try for a catnap here, sometimes doesn't happen)
A 6-8
E 7:30
S 8pm

Thank you!

Offline becj86

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Re: 2nd nap and night waking issues for 5.5MO
« Reply #11 on: April 16, 2016, 01:42:10 am »
Are those first two naps still reliably 1.5hr? I think you can probably increase those A times a bit. Here's a link about the 3-2 nap transition: All about the 3-2 transition- 5/6 months

Those 2 night feedings are still within normal at this age. I know that's maybe not what you want to hear ;) Probably best to reduce the first one, maybe to one side for a few nights and let him increase his daytime intake, then resettle with shush/pat or whatever has worked for him so far. You could also try a BT bottle of EBM/formula topup wince supply is lowest at the end of the day.

You can bring BT earlier if he's not taken the CN.

Offline melloyello

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Re: 2nd nap and night waking issues for 5.5MO
« Reply #12 on: April 16, 2016, 11:36:22 am »
Thanks for your reply. I'm actually ok with two night feeds if he needs them but would think he could space them out a bit as he's waking more frequently and we are sometimes getting a third feed now in the early morning or he won't go back to sleep. He's never taken a bottle but maybe I'll try bringing back a feeding around 6pm and then a top up feed before bed to get some more calories into him?

Yes, naps are pretty reliably at least 1.5 hours now which is great. Sometimes the afternoon nap can be short but getting better. We did no catnap last night and still ended up with 3.5 hours till bedtime even with EBT because he had a hard time settling and then we had 4 wake ups and an EW :(

Offline becj86

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Re: 2nd nap and night waking issues for 5.5MO
« Reply #13 on: April 17, 2016, 04:25:06 am »
maybe I'll try bringing back a feeding around 6pm and then a top up feed before bed to get some more calories into him?
Definitely worth a try.

Yes, its a catch-22 with these transitions - to do a long day with an extra little nap or a short day without until they can manage a longer A time.