Author Topic: Sudden Early Wakings  (Read 1572 times)

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Offline Carter'sMama

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Sudden Early Wakings
« on: August 28, 2005, 15:11:06 pm »
I was hoping that someone might be able to help me!!  Maybe some of you ladies have been through this before.  My lo is 5 moths old and he has been sleeping through the night since he was 5 weeks old (10hrs).  Over the last month he has only been sleeping 8 hrs at night and all of a sudden he doesn't want to go to bed until 10:30 and then he gets up at 5:30 screaming.  This morning I woke up to him screaming and by the time I got to his room he was just making grunting noises so I decided to leave him.  Within a few minutes he was screaming again.  It is a scream that I have never heard before too.   I picked him up and tried to do our wind down routine but he was just going crazy.  So, I ended up feeding him and he took a pretty good feed and then fell right back asleep.  I laid him in his crib asleep.  He ended up sleeping until I woke him at 8:00 to start the day.  After 2 hours of awake time I put him down for a nap.  He usually goes down really well for naps but since he started the early wakings he is a bear to put down. 
   He isn't teething (I don't think, no signs of it), and he does seem hungry when he gets up.  Is there normally a growth spurt at 5 months?  I already feed him both breasts at every feeding and he gets Oatmeal cereal once a day (he is a big boy, was 9 lbs at birth).  Do you think he needs more food during the day?  Any help would be appreciated! 
TIA
Cathy - Mama to:
Carter Luke - March 29, 2005
Mason Henry - April 7, 2007
Daphne Catherine Grace - May 30, 2010



Offline SandyGal

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Sudden Early Wakings
« Reply #1 on: August 30, 2005, 19:00:30 pm »
What do you mean when you say that he doesn't want to go to sleep until 10:30? Are you still putting him to bed at his normal time?

Occasionally my dd wakes and just needs to be comforted before going back to sleep for the rest of the night/morning. It is not all that common, so when she does do it, I just see how long it lasts... if it would start to be day after day for a week, I might worry that we are starting a bad habit. Usually, we see a reason within a day or two... either sickness or teething. Other times, she just goes back to her routine, so I'm not sure if she is having nightmares or is maybe frightened by a random noise... who knows, but because she is an independent sleeper, we usually get right back on track.

How long has this been happening? Is it still going on or has it passed already?

If you start to get the feeling that he is waking because he is just plain hungry, then up his calories during the day and see if that helps him.  :D
Sandy-Mom to Kyra (1-7-04) and Kylan (9-20-05)


Offline Carter'sMama

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Sudden Early Wakings
« Reply #2 on: August 30, 2005, 21:12:30 pm »
Thanks for your response!  He usually goes to bed at about 8:30 but lately he has been fighting and it takes me until 10:30 to get him to sleep.  I could nurse him to sleep earlier but I don't want him to rely on that.

He has had early wakings 6 times.  Three days and then one day he slept through and then 2 days and thenhe slept through and then this morning he did it again.  It is kind of scary because he screams and screams like I have never heard before and he won't stop, even if I nurse him.  It takes a few minutes before he will stop.  We always check him all over to make sure that he isn't in pain.  I don't know if it is bad dreams or what.  I am hoping that it goes away soon!  He is taking his naps really well, he goes to sleep on his own and sleeps for 1.5-2hrs atleast twice a day.  He also generally seems happy all day, no signs of pain, or hunger ...  I guess we will have ot see what happens!
Cathy - Mama to:
Carter Luke - March 29, 2005
Mason Henry - April 7, 2007
Daphne Catherine Grace - May 30, 2010



Offline SandyGal

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Sudden Early Wakings
« Reply #3 on: September 01, 2005, 19:07:14 pm »
Does he seem to get more upset when you go to him? That is sometimes the way that night terrors happen. They seem to just scream out of nowhere and when you go in and touch them or pick them up, they get even more upset. If that is what you think might be going on... the only recommended thing is to make sure the baby is getting enough sleep. NTs tend to increase when the baby is overtired (perhaps the 10:30 sleep time is contributing?)

How are you getting him to sleep at night time?
Sandy-Mom to Kyra (1-7-04) and Kylan (9-20-05)


Offline Carter'sMama

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Sudden Early Wakings
« Reply #4 on: September 02, 2005, 01:23:41 am »
At night I do the same wind down that I do for naps.  Except at night I bf him and then do the wind down.  Many nights he is pretty drowsy when I do it.  I usually walk around the house a couple of times and then I sing one song in the rocking chair and then lay him in his crib and shh until he closes his eyes and then I leave.  Some nights I have to pick up/put down a few times. 
When he wakes in the night he doesn't get more upset when he sees me but he won't calm down either.  Last night he made it until 5:30 again but he wasn't hysterical when he woke up.  I could definitely tell he was hungry though.  Tonight DH gave him a bottle of ebm (5oz instead of usual 3oz)  in addition to bf (both sides) and we will see if that makes a difference.

Thanks for your help and good luck with labour/delivery!!  :lol:
Cathy - Mama to:
Carter Luke - March 29, 2005
Mason Henry - April 7, 2007
Daphne Catherine Grace - May 30, 2010