10m old always wakes up at night

[Vsta]

Hi ladies,

my 10m old baby always wakes up at night crying. Time is around 2-3am. I give him water in a bottle, sometimes cuddling required. I haven't fed him at night for 4 weeks or so but it seems it doesn't help with these night wakings.
Could the bottle of water have became a prop?

There is probably teething involved and I always give him drops before BT.
I think he might be overtired but I don't know how to adjust his routine, his EASY:

6-7am WT
around 7:30-8am breakfast (just not hungry earlier)
9-9.15am bottle
10:30am nap1 (today he went to sleep around 10:45 but I don't know when he woke up) usually takes 1.15h-1.30h (the long activity time is fine for him, otherwise he had EWT)
12:30pm lunch
2:00pm bottle
activity time close to 3.45h
3:30-3:45pm (nap2 time depends on a wakeup time from nap1 and it's always only 30 mins and wakes up crying. Most of the time it's finished around 4pm) I tried to put him after 3.30h but not without struggle, had to help him by rocking.
5pm dinner
6pm bottle
7pm another bottle just before bedtime routine - this is my ideal plan I've managed to follow it just once. Currently he has a bottle after bath and before BT and becomes very sleepy but anyway it's very difficult for him to fall asleep.
last activity time close to 3.45h but sometimes 4h.

Then he wakes up at night around 2:30am or it may be 4:30am. But he's never slept through the night. And I think he never needed a recommended sleep time for his age.

Any ideas how to change his routine so he doesn't wake up in the middle of the night?
thank you

[lolsyb1982]

Hi there

The day you've listed below doesn't look too bad. I wonder if he might be a little OT for that 2nd nap and is why he's waking crying after 30mins. Have you tried putting him down a little earlier to see if you can get 45min nap. Also you mention he's sleepy at BT but then can't settle could be due to OT again and you might like to try a slightly earlier bedtime. Maybe 15mins or so.

How does he fall asleep? By himself or does he need help? Does he have a dummy?

[Vsta]

hi lolsyb1982
thank you for your reply, was gathering information about a couple of days

Have you tried putting him down a little earlier to see if you can get 45min nap.

before I was putting him after 3.30h for a nap2, in the last 2 days it was 3.15h and 3h - the same result. He woke up after 40mins totally unhappy so I was rocking him and gave a dummy to extend the naps. We got about 1.15h of sleep and wake up time for nap2 at 4.15.

Also you mention he's sleepy at BT but then can't settle could be due to OT again and you might like to try a slightly earlier bedtime. Maybe 15mins or so.

the same for BT. Yesterday it was 3.30h (BT at 7.45) and today 3.15h (BT at 7.30). I try to put him in the cot 5mins earlier BT. But we ended up with the same result - he went to sleep at 8pm.

How does he fall asleep? By himself or does he need help? Does he have a dummy?

I use a dummy only to extend his sleep and it was very rare. He was weaned it off once a couple of months ago and it was quite easy. For day naps he usually falls asleep by himself. For BT I wait for some time then rock him a bit (when he already too tired) and he constantly falls asleep.
Right now his dependance is me - separation anxiety I guess.
When he's overtired and can't fall asleep for some time I rock him.

This morning he was already cranky at 10am though I was planning to put him to bed at 10.15 at least (10:30 later) and he woke up crying after 40 mins - that for the first time since he turned 8 months.
Moreover in the last 2 nights he woke up around 11pm-12am - last time it was when he was 5 months old in 3-2 transition. 

The one explanation I have is developmental issue cause he's started "walking" with a push walker and imitating sounds.

I can't imagine putting him to nap2 in less than 3h, it's far less than recommended for his age. But it seems to me this is what I should do?

[lolsyb1982]

Hi

I'm not sure putting down for the 2nd nap before 3hrs will work as I'd imagine he won't be tired enough to sleep past 1 sleep cycle and you'll then have a longer stretch to BT. At this age many LO are on 1 long and 1 short nap

I would aim for something like this (which is practically what you're doing already) and hold for a few days to see how he does. If you keep adjusting A times it can become confusing and being consistent can get onto a more predictable routine quicker.

Wu 7
Nap 10.30-12.00 (if nap is consistently shorter than 1.5hrs push A a little more)
Nap 3.30-4.15
BT 7.30

If the NW has been around for sometime and always at a similar hour it could be habitual and you may find this useful to read through How do I address habitual wakings? (wake-to-sleep and other methods)

HTH x