Author Topic: 7 mo. up 2x a night....WHY?? Need some help, please!  (Read 1224 times)

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Offline Tru's Mommy

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7 mo. up 2x a night....WHY?? Need some help, please!
« on: November 09, 2005, 12:36:22 pm »
Before I get going on my sleepless rant, I will say that Rowan is finally taking two decent naps a day after hitting the 30 or 45 minute naps around 4 mo.  Yeah!

But, he's back to waking 2x a night--typically around 1 a.m. and 4:30 a.m., give or take 15 minutes.  I let him fuss up to 30 minutes.  I'll hear him sucking his thumb and sounding like he settling, but then it escalates, and I have to intervene.

The weird thing is, when I pick him up, he pushes away from me.  He's not crying.  He'll put his head on my shoulder but keep his legs locked (so his bottom is sticking out--if it weren't 1 a.m., it'd be funny).  He'll even try to turn around and face forward--kind of like he wants down!  He's a very snuggly baby and loves to be held with his lovey and thumb.  So, I wind up feeding him and he takes a full feeding from both sides and goes back in his crib happy as a clam.

What I REALLY can't figure out is the next waking about 3.5 hours later.  Same thing:  locks his legs and makes it hard to hold him.  I have put him back in his crib when he does this until he'll finally let me hold him and rock him.  Then he settles in with his thumb and goes to sleep.  I put him in the crib and he's awake 20 min. later.  Soooo, I feed him again because I'm so tired.  He eats okay, but more like because he has nothing else to do.

I can't believe he's actually hungry at the second waking.  What I've noticed is how restless and alert he is.  Fidgety is the word.  Moving his legs, his toes, just a wiggle worm.  If I get real desperate and put him in the guest bed with me, he will lay there and suck his thumb and fidget indefinitely.

He's on a 4 hr. schedule with solids 3x a day and snacks.  He is very distracted by my 2.5 yo., so sometimes I wonder if he gets enough at his feedings.  He is also a fast eater unless really hungry and then he'll take more time to eat.

The other night I bf him, followed by a dinner with a snack, then a 3 oz bottle of formula, then a bf at bedtime and added some Motrin in case he was teething...and STILL he was up at 1 and 4.   :roll:

Some thoughts:

 :arrow: He's been trying to crawl for over a month.  Could this be part of it?
 :arrow: Separation anxiety?
 :arrow: Real hunger at first feeding and then wakes again later looking for the breast for comfort?
 :arrow: Lost the ability to put himself back to sleep because I've intervened too much?

My gosh, I've written a novel, but a few more things.  He has always woken a lot at night since birth.  I think a lot of it had to do with me keeping him in our room too long and attending to every noise he made.  But, this improved at 4 mo. when he went his crib all night.  At 5 mo. my m-i-l kept him for the weekend and did half formula, half breastmilk.  He started sleeping through that weekend (11 or 12 hours) and did so for a month until his 6 mo. growth spurt.

Better wrap this up--thanks for reading if you made it this far!

Tru & Rowan's Mommy

Offline Susie-Q

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7 mo. up 2x a night....WHY?? Need some help, please!
« Reply #1 on: November 09, 2005, 13:40:12 pm »
Wow!  That sounds exactly like my son (but he's 9 months).  Our problems started at about the 6 month mark also.   His wakeup times are about the same - between 12-1 and between 4-5am.  And he's taking 6-7 ounces each time and going back to sleep.  If I let him fuss, it just escalates and I wind up giving him the bottle anyway.  I don't doubt he's hungry. 

I too don't think he's eating enough solids.  At 9 months, he should be eating more (I think) and I"m sure that's why he's waking at night to eat.  If he wasn't hungry, he would only take an ounce or two. 

That being said .... I need to figure out a way to push those night time feedings.  LIke the 12am feeding needs to be pushed back and the 4am feeding needs to be pushed forward.  He needs those calories during the day.  Once we eliminate those night feedings, his daytime calories HAVE to increase.   

I could go cold turkey or gradually do dream feeds or something to move those feedings.   That's where I'm struggling ....

Offline Tru's Mommy

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7 mo. up 2x a night....WHY?? Need some help, please!
« Reply #2 on: November 09, 2005, 14:51:41 pm »
I really don't want to do the dreamfeed.  I did it for about 2 months up until he was 5 mo.  My m-i-l didn't do it the second night she kept him, and he slept through, so I gave it up.  Plus, I like being off-duty at 8:30 p.m.  when ds#1 goes to bed.

And, now that Rowan is older I'm concerned that he will come to expect the df and wake up for it as opposed to when he was younger.

We do solids 3x a day plus snacks.  I'm wondering if his breastmilk intake is not enough as he just isn't interested in eating when my older son is around.  Or, lots of times at the 4 hr. mark, he's just not hungry.  So, I try to get him to nurse and he bobs on and off.  And, with the terrible sleep I'm getting, I think perhaps my milk supply is lower or lacking in quality.

I've really considered dropping the two mid-day breastfeeds and doing bottles of formula instead.  He can hold the bottle himself, so he could lay on the floor and drink at his leisure.

With two nightfeeds, I think he's just not that hungry for bf's until later in the day, so I'm wondering if his daytime calories are not adequate even with solids.  What a tricky cycle!

But, I'm still stumped on that second nightwaking when it doesn't seem like he's hungry.  Just restless and unable to sleep.  Maybe his brain is sending "crawling signals" to his legs at odd hours, I don't know.  I just want this resolved by Christmas when my house is full of guests.

:) Tru & Rowan's Mommy