Waking at 5.30am

[Kim Williams]

Litlle Jack has slept through the night for some time now, waking between 6.30am and 7am.  For the last 4 nights he has been waking between 5am and 5.30am and not going back to sleep.  I am lucky as he just sings to himself in the cot until I go in at 6.45am to get him ready for his 7am feed.

He gets on average 3.5 hours sleep in the day.  Does anyone have an advise, will it pass?  Could there be a reason for this?  Is he hungry (but he would cry if he was hungry wouldnt he?)

many thanks

[Mommy in Moose Jaw]

My dd is almost exactly the same age right now.  About 3 weeks ago, we started to encounter the same prob and then day sleep tanked also.  I realized dd was needing more than breastmilk and started solids.  That helped a little but didn't solve the early am rising.  My dd takes a df at 11:00 and I realized that 5 or 5:30 was at least 6 hours after last feed so maybe it was hunger??  I started to feed her at that time and she would take a full feed and zonk out until 7:00am.  I only resorted to that after a couple of weeks of sh/pat for 2 hours in the am, working to increase my day supply for bfing, etc.  So far, the 5am feed has solved our little problem.  HTH.

[Kim Williams]

thanks very much for the info.  I am reluctant to feed him as he doesnt cry....  to be honest the last few days have been a little all over the place in general.  He no longer seems to be in any sort of routine with his naps.  He seems to want to stay awake for 3 hours at a time.

If anyone has any more info let me know.

may thanks

[FrasersMum]

Hi Kim

What time is Jack's first nap?  I have read that sometimes a too early nap will exacerbate the early waking.  Stretching that first nap out might be rough for a little while but you can extend in 10 or 15 minute increments to get to an ideal time of maybe around 9 or 9.30am.

HTH
Jo

[FrasersMum]

Oh, one other thing, 3 hours A time does seem like a long time for a 5+ month old.  You might like to have a look at the sample EASY routines at the top of the EASY board to see if that might be causing Jack to be a little overtired - which could also cause those early morning wake ups.

The other thing is, what time is bedtime.  I know it sounds odd but sometimes an earlier bedtime will mean a later wake up time.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.
Jo

[Kim Williams]

thanks for your reply Jo.

Probably best if I give you a typical day.  Before I do that though I have a feeling I may have caused this.  I havent moved him to 4 hourly EASY but I have extended his awake time.  The reason I havent moved him is because I have never given him a df and I was worried that 4 bottles wouldnt be enough.  He always seems to want his food after 3 hours.

OK, here goes:

7am - bf
8.30 - sleep
9 wake
10 - feed - 7 ounces
11.30 - sleep
12.30-1 wake
1 - feed - 6 ounzes and started baby rice
2.30 - sleep
3.30 - 4 wake
4 - feed -  6 ounces
6 bedtime routine
7 - feed 7 ounces
7.15 bed

somtimes he goes to bed at 2pm and wakes early so he has a catnap at about 5 to see him through.  The reason I put him down at 8.30 in the morning is most days he is awake from 5.30/6am so is tired!

Hope this helps and you can help us

many thanks.