How long do I wait?

[bwsjohnson]

When our little guy, almost 16 weeks, wakes up in the night or too early in the morning ( like 5ish and we KNOW he's not hungry ) and starts babling, then starts mildly crying, how long do we wait until we go back in? Once he is hysterical? But then he is wide awake, and then what? I really dont' want to start the day at 6, especially when he only fell asleep at 9-9:30 pm. How do I "convince" him that it isn't time to get up? I have tried putting my hand on him, giving him his soother, but he just seems to be wide awake !!
Thanks for any input, just sooooooo tired!!!!
Oh, and we are working VERY hard on the daytime naps too, so that he isn't over tired.
Sigh,
Heather

[Florencia]

Hi Heather!
You say he does not wake hungry. So you just wait and pick him up until it's time for the bottle (even if he's happy babbling). If it is this waaa waaa crying (not hysterical) might be the so called mantra crying and that might even help him to soothe and go back to sleep.

In case the crying escalates, go to him and do whatever is on hand to get him back to sleep or at least stay in his crib till the time you think is good to be up. Around the age of your lo is a good age to start Pu/PD so you might want to check into that forum for advice on that.

The thing is not to feed him until the hour you're ready to start the day. Because if you start feeding him early, then he's going to associate that hour with his usual wake up time.

Hang in there! good luck!

[bwsjohnson]

Thank you for replying!  I do what I can to get him to go back to sleep with his early wakings, but he never really goes back to real sleep.
This morning for example, he was up at 5ish, babbled, then cried a bit until dh put the pacifier back. Then it was off an on and since I had just fed him at 3:15 I knew that he couldn't be that hungry, if at all! I listened to him babble, then shout then fussy cry then back to hard crying, so I try with the ssh/pat and the pacifier, and he won't take the paci, and I finally pu/pd a few times, then put back in the paci once he calmed down, but he just laid there and sucked for a while until it was time to get back up.  Then of course he is exhausted before his first nap, and I feel bad! But I want to keep the same nap times everyday. He has done this early waking for quite a few days now....Oh, so frustrating, soon he will be in college and then what??  :shock:  :cry:
Thanks, your ideas are helpful!

[Florencia]

Oh early mornings are so tricky. Do you have Tracy's new book? she explains quite well the wake to sleep method for early  mornings. THat way you get to break the bad habit. Since he's so young and you've got him on a routine, it shouldn't take more than 3 days to fix him...

If you dont have the book, i could try to explain the method if you want me to.

In order to keep your same nap times, maybe you can get him to take a catnap somewhere in the day to balance for the time lost? that catnap could be 1 hour after the early morning (say 6 am) by putting him on the swing or taking him for a short stroller ride (if weather permits). IT shouldn't last more than 20 mins in order to recharge him and allow him to be fresh until his real naptime comes.

Another thing that comes to my mind is that winter makes lo's mucoses drier, so maybe he wakes because he's cold or in discomfort because of the dry weather? some saline drops on his nose should help there.

Good luck tonight!

[bwsjohnson]

Thanks for replying, I do have Tracy's newest book, but I am scared to try to sleep to wake, but I am sure everyone is at some point!'
He does have a chronic cough/phlegm problem which he is going to see a specialist about in a couple of weeks, that may be keeping him up, and we do have a humidifier in his room as well......
oh just soooo tired. Can't get him out of the house for a cat nap as his sister is still asleep and dh has left for work already.....

[Florencia]

Sorry it took me so long to reply you... I'm just trying to figure out this new configurationLOL

That cough/phlegm problem sounds to me as reflux. He doesn't need to be spitting up to have reflux. my ds has (until now) silent reflux and he's been doing ok with Zantac.

Please let me know as soon as your doc finds out what is causing his restleness.

As for the wake to sleep, I understand you're hesitant to try it but it really works! but perhaps you might want to have all health issues adressed before trying it.  Also you might find helpful checking in the colic/reflux board, there is one announcmet (I beleive it's from Theo's mom) i think it's called 101 reflux where you can check for all the symptoms to have a hint.

[Kimberly®]

At 16 weeks it is possible your LO is waking due to hunger. If you've tried everything to get him to help him go back to sleep but he's fussy and wont sleep he may actually need a feed.
Also if he's having a cough then you could try sleeping him at an angle for the time being, it will help him breath and he'll feel more comfortable. Try the car seat for example.