Moving DF earlier to try to eliminate early waking???

[gwc1023]

I've posted before about my dd's waking in the early evenings.  She goes to bed around 7ish, and consistently wakes and cries between 9:15 and 10.  I've been doing check and console during this time (and actually it's improved as she was waking every 20-30 minutes all evening).  I have always done a dreamfeed around 10 or 10:30.

After the dreamfeed she sleeps pretty well, usually up only once between then and waking for the day around 8.  I'm just not sure what to do about the crying every day between 9 and 10.  It doesn't seem to make sense that she'd be hungry already then, as she never eats more often than 3hrs during the day and she is fed right before bed so it's only been 2 hrs, maybe a little more.  And after that feed she sleeps well.  I'm thinking of maybe moving up the dreamfeed to 9ish and try to head off the crying before she wakes.  Does that sound like something that may work?  I'm not sure what else to try at this point. 

She is exlusively breastfed, and we've started solids, just now moving to 2x a day.

[Kimberly®]

my recomendation would be to give it a try. See if thats what it is. It just might be hunger. She may wake earlier but you may eliminate the crying or fussyness at that time.

[gwc1023]

Thanks.  I didn't get to try it last night as she went to bed at 8:10 (we have to be out on Wednesdays, so it was a little late) and cried immediately, I fed her again at 8:30ish, she was quiet for a short time, and then cried off and on until 10:30 when I fed her again, and finally after a short fuss she settled.  Was up twice in the night (3 and 6:45) but otherwise slept fine.

Maybe tonight will be better and I'll actually get to try the earlier df!  I'm also trying leaving out solids today (we've just started recently) to see if maybe it's her tummy bothering her from the new foods.  That's grasping at straws as she was doing this long before we started solids, but I'll give it a try.

[FrasersMum]

Hi Dawn

The other possibilty might be overtiredness - waking in the early hours after bedtime often is an indication of overtiredness.

How long is the A time before bedtime? 

Have you tried bringing the DF forward yet?  How did that go?  And what about eliminating the solids?

Cheers
Jo

[gwc1023]

Jo - Yes, I also thought of overtiredness.  That might be part of it some days but I don't think it's the whole issue as we have tried a whole range of A times before bed and it didn't seem to make a difference.  She also fights her last nap of the day and often just won't take it at all so ends up being up much longer than I would like her to be.  On an 'ideal' day, she would wake from her late afternoon nap around 5 or 5:30 and she goes to bed 7 or 7:30.  However, like i said, that 'ideal' rarely happens either due to 45 min naps earlier in the day or refusing her catnap.

Yesterday I just nursed her and didn't offer any solids, and she went to bed at 7:15, fussed just a bit and then went to sleep, and there wasn't a peep out of her!  We were doing some other things during the evening, so I forgot that I was going to move her df, but she didn't stir and I did her df at about 10.  She slept through til 6, when I fed her and put her back down.  I don't think she really went back to sleep, though, probably so well rested, lol, and I got up with her at 7.  (She had woken early from her catnap due to a poo, so had been up from 4:40 until bedtime @ 7:15)

It may have just been a fluke, but I'm going to hold off on the solids again today and maybe tomorrow and see how she does.  I'm fine waiting a few weeks to try the solids again if it will help her sleep better in the evenings!

[FrasersMum]

That's great Dawn!!  Now, if only I could have a night like that, we'd all be happy 

Here's hoping that you'ved cracked it!  Good luck