Author Topic: EWs and how to fix it  (Read 1942 times)

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Offline Chloevalentine

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EWs and how to fix it
« on: January 29, 2017, 13:33:24 pm »
My 6 mo old consistently wakes at 5/530 am every morning. No matter what time he goes to sleep the night before or how much he's napped. I'm trying to figure out what's causing it. I even thought my husband leaving for work in the morning was waking him but he woke 530 both days this weekend. What causes the ews and how can I fix it. We were doing 2 naps but when he wakes this early we usually need 3 and the last one is tough and too late. Help

Offline jessmum46

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Re: EWs and how to fix it
« Reply #1 on: January 29, 2017, 14:01:51 pm »
Can you post your routine, or the last couple of days please? Is he an independent sleeper? Does he feed overnight and if so, when?

Offline Chloevalentine

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Re: EWs and how to fix it
« Reply #2 on: January 29, 2017, 17:59:35 pm »
Our usual preferably routine is up at 6 earliest

A 6/630 am
E 630 this depends on when he ate during the night
Solids an hour after
S 930-11 on school drop offs I put him down as soon we walk in the door sometimes he falls asleep in the car and I transfer him to crib. This nap can be 30 mins or 2 hours he's inconsistent with naps.
E 11 bottle one hour later a small meal we just started this third snack
S this afternoon nap is always hard he tends to need a longer A time at least I think. I've tried as short as 2.5 hours A time if his first nap is short up to 4 hrs if his morning nap is long. Most times he cries and resists and we try a few times not getting down until 330 sometimes 4pm! He usually only does 30 mins.
So his next bottle might come before nap at 230/3 or after at 4/430 then solids around 5
E another bottle before bed around 6/630
S then bedtime around 630/7
Sometimes he'll wake around 11 to eat sometimes he'll sleep until 430/530 and wake

If he wakes closer to 430 I can usually feed and back to bed until 6 but when he wakes at 530 he's ready to start his day which is way to early.

The days he's up at 530 look like this:

A 530
E 6 bottle solids hour later
S his first nap isn't until after school drop off if we have school otherwUse he's asleep for so by 830
So either 830 or 930 first nap today there was no school so he went down for nap at
830-855 25 mins!
E 945 bottle
E 1220 bottle
S 1230- sometimes he'll sleep an hour here up by 130
E bottle 4
He won't be tired again until 430 which is late and might sleep 30 mins in car to get us through until bedtime.
E solids 5
E bottle 615
S 630 bed
 
It gets real messy with the ews. But his typical day is a 4 hour easy A times 3-4 hrs bed around 630/7

Offline jessmum46

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Re: EWs and how to fix it
« Reply #3 on: January 29, 2017, 21:01:07 pm »
I'm not sure if he's an independent sleeper?  If not that can definitely affect things....but assuming it is I would say OT is probably the issue. 

The first nap looks like it happens after 3.5-4h A time (unless you don't have school run) which is pretty long for a 6 month old.  I think that's maybe why you see either 30 min (classic OT) or 2h naps (probably crashing out).  So regardless of the first nap I think probably he is OT when the second one comes around - 2.5h may be too long after a 30 mins nap, 4h is almost certainly too long even after a good nap.  Looking overall at the day he is potentially doing a 13-13.5h day on as little as 2 x 30 mins naps which I think has just got you in a bit of a spiral.

That said, I can see it's tricky with the school run.  I would stick with a 9.30 set nap, accepting that for a bit longer he will be going down OT, and then maybe pull your second nap a bit earlier.  Some people find they get consistency by waking LO from that first sleep to keep it a consistent length, and then having effectively a set second nap too.  Its not a standard BW routine but something like...

WU (whenever)
Nap 9.30-10/10.15
Nap 12/12.30-2/2.30
BT 6.30/7

...with a long last A time does seem to work for some. 

How do you handle the EW?  Do you get him up?

Offline Chloevalentine

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Re: EWs and how to fix it
« Reply #4 on: January 30, 2017, 01:37:01 am »
Thank you for all of that info! The morning is tricky but I have no choice with that long A time. I'm hesitant to wake him from that nap as it's my only free time without my toddler home. And with his naps being so unpredictable I just let him sleep if he acruallly does yk. Assuming he does a 1.5 hr nap 930-11 I'll try for nap 3 hrs later at 2pm or do you think that's too long and I should try for 130? He doesn't seem to be affected by the A time before bed and will get sleepy and cranky usually by 6/630 no matter what. I remember sticking to a 12 hour day with my first lo which means 6 wake up and bed by 6 but isn't that a bit early?if he sleeps ideally from 2-330 I don't think he'd be ready for bed until 630. When he wakes at 530 I've been trying to see I he'll fall back which he doesn't or I just don't go in for a while if he's just complaining or if he's crying I try to feed him and put him back in to crib but by that time it's 6! My husband wakes with him on the weekends and just gets him up and then he's back down for a nap at 8/830. What do you suggest? This is hard because he sometimes wakes my big guy.

Offline jessmum46

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Re: EWs and how to fix it
« Reply #5 on: January 30, 2017, 13:19:28 pm »
Sure I get the not waking them thing!  It was just an alternative to consider but if you want to stick with a (hopefully) long first nap then just make sure that first A time stays at a good 3h even if hubby starts the day early - if you allow a long nap after a short A time that can actually contribute to early wakings as LO uses the first nap as an extension of night sleep.  As long as you stick to a good age-appropriate A time though you should be ok. 

He doesn't seem to be affected by the A time before bed and will get sleepy and cranky usually by 6/630 no matter what. I remember sticking to a 12 hour day with my first lo which means 6 wake up and bed by 6 but isn't that a bit early?
I'd get him into bed when he's tired - no point in keeping him up later if he's clearly ready to sleep :)  I personally think 6pm is a fine BT for a baby, but some people prefer a later one - really it's up to you.  And of course if he naps 2-3.30, 6.30pm sounds fine.  12h day is a good guide, but do bear in mind some babies aren't really 12h night sleepers.  DD was, DS more of an 11h man on average.  So a 12h day for DD was great, for DS it caused issues and making the day longer was better for him.  That said, he did nap rather better than DD...swings and roundabouts hey?!

Sounds like you are handling the early starts just fine.  DS did very similar at about this age, and we would ignore him if he was awake and happy, or try a feed and put back down.  Sometimes I just lay on his floor to keep him quiet until an acceptable WU time, for us 6am absolute earliest, and ideally 6.30am. 

Offline Chloevalentine

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Re: EWs and how to fix it
« Reply #6 on: January 30, 2017, 20:02:35 pm »
Today he was up at 430 I waited a bit then went in and fed him put him back down he wouldn't settle had to go in sit with him a bit and he finally went back until 720! Fed him around 830 solids at 930 His first nap he went down awake slept from 1015-1130 so 3 hr A time 1 hr 15 min nap. Bottle at 12 solids at 1245 second nap went down awake cried a tiny bit but settled on his own at 2 so only 2.5 hrs A time. He's still asleep at 3! So when he wakes he'll get a bottle solids at 5 then up for last bottle by 6 bed by 630 hopefully. But tomorrow is school drop off and he most likely he will be up earlier so tomorrow will look different but I'll try to do the 2.5 hrs A time again for second nap.

Offline jessmum46

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Re: EWs and how to fix it
« Reply #7 on: January 30, 2017, 20:09:14 pm »
That sounds like a good day :D

Offline Chloevalentine

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Re: EWs and how to fix it
« Reply #8 on: February 06, 2017, 14:22:11 pm »
The problem I'm having now is he's not waking at night anymore to eat but he was up a little before 6 today and went down for a nap at 845 woke 30 mins later at 915! Which means his second nap will be at 1145 instead of 2 pm! How will we get to bedtime? He almost never naps past 3!

Offline jessmum46

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Re: EWs and how to fix it
« Reply #9 on: February 06, 2017, 15:53:10 pm »
Fingers crossed he will have a long nap somewhere to set you back on track :). If all else fails, early bedtime and remember tomorrow is a new day x