Wake time, naps, feeds... oh my!

[cam621]

1) Firstly, my dd is 7 months old, and is suddenly waking up at around 5am. She is sleeping through the night until then, but these early morning wakeups are killing me!  Anyway, I have noticed others posting the same thing and some of the advice was to put your lo down earlier for bed.  She goes down at around 7:30pm.  We start her routine at around 7--feeding her last bottle, bath, etc...However, if we decide to put her down earlier than that, how do we work her next bottle?  Should we just df her at the time she is due? 

2) Also, she has JUST started sleeping MUCH longer during her naps. It could be up to 3 hours!  She has napped like that for the last 3 days.  And it could be the morning nap OR the afternoon nap.  It doesn't seem to matter.  Is that ok?  Should I wake her up earlier?? Could this be the reason that she is waking earlier??  She is also teething--not sure if that is making any difference...

3) My last thing is, she is also not eating solids very well. I have to trick her into eating.  It is so frustrating.  I have been trying for about 2 months now, and it really hasn't improved.  SHe just clamps her mouth shut or turns the other way, clearly not wanting any part of it.  Is there any trick I should know about?  Or should I just be patient since she is drinking her bottles fine? 

Thanks all!  Sorry about the long message, but didn't really know where to post this!

[Colesmom]

Hi there,

Early wakeups are horrible!  Could you please post what a typical day is like before the early wakings?  She is likely taking a longer nap to compensate for the early wake time.  Once I see her schedule I can help a bit more.  Also-how long is she up from last nap until bed?  She may be going to sleep overtired which can result in early wakings.

As for DF, you can push it up a bit if her last feed is pushed up due to early bedtime. What time is it at now?  The DF is usually weaned around 7 months anyway...so you may wish to start that process.

hang in there okay!

[cam621]

Thanks for your reply!  Well, I will give you what yesterday looked like since it is different everyday now:
5 am wakeup/bottle feed
5:30-back to sleep
7:30 wake up
8-bottle feed
9- ("fed" pears and oatmeal)
9:30-nap (for an hour)
noon-bottle feed am feed (formula)
1:30pm nap for ~2.5 hours!
4:15pm bottle feed
6pm "fed" sweet potatoes
7pm bathe, change, etc..
7:20pm bottle fed
woke up today at 5am but then I let her stay in her crib until 6am (and didn't feed until 6) (She is in daycare today so don't know what is happening yet)

Also, I don't really df her, I was just wondering how to get her 4th bottle in (since she is on the 4 hour EASY schedule) if she needs to sleep before her last bottle is given.  That is the problem we had last night, as you can see.  I had to feed her 3 hours after her bottle but she wasn't that hungry so only ate half....Maybe that is why she woke up? 

Thanks again! 

[Colesmom]

Hi there-sorry-with notification not working it's hard keeping track of the posts!

Is there a reason you wait 30 min. to feed in the morning?  This would help your EASY schedule a bit towards the end of the day.  I often had to feed 3-3.5 hours for that last feed for it to fit in.

How many total oz.of formula are you feeding (assuming formula, or EBM if it's that you're giving)? If it's on the high end maybe she's not hungry enough for solids?

Her total day sleep doesn't seem too long.  That is a long pm nap, but I think that's okay as long as it doesn't interfere with a proper bedtime.  It does look as though she's awake a long time before bed though from 4-7:30.  Most babies don't reach 3.5 A time to close to 9 months.  This could be causing the early waking.  How is she towards the end of the day?  Does she seem to handle the extended A time okay?  Did she ever take a catnap?

As for solids, some take to it better than others.  There is no trick, just be patient.  Don't force the issue as you want mealtime to be a pleasant experience.  Teething can also cause los to reject solids.

i have to run, but i'll look for your answers tomorrow!