Author Topic: 8 month old night wakings since returning to work  (Read 1290 times)

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Offline Reidun

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8 month old night wakings since returning to work
« on: February 21, 2006, 12:50:00 pm »
Hi, can anyone offer any advice?  I'm totally stumped about what to do and I am in deperate need of some solid sleep  :'(

My dd  has been waking between 4 - 5am for almost 2 months now and the past two nights has also woken at around 1am as well. 

She is 8 months old and two months ago I returned to full time work.  Previous to this she was sleeping through 7am - 7pm (in fact sometimes I had to go in and wake her so that she didn't miss the timing on her first feed!).  Over Christmas she had a horrible cold which threw out her sleep patterns and just when I thought we were getting back on track it was time for me to return to work  :(  I tried to keep the normal routine in place as much as possible but something has gone horribly wrong and I can't figure out where.  Everyone gives me conflicting views about feeding, sleeping, etc and I don't know which way to turn.  Her routine is:

7am     8oz Bottle
9am     Breakfast (porridge, cereal)
11am   3oz Bottle
Midday Lunch, then dessert
3pm    3oz Bottle
5pm    Dinner, then dessert
7pm    3/4 of 8oz Bottle followed by bedtime routine & remainder of bottle

She goes down into the cot with a paci and is asleep within 5 mins.  She has around 2 hours sleep after lunch (she's just not interested in napping before then and shows no signs of tiredness).

Am I feeding her enough (she's formula fed and at the max. recommended amount for her age)? Does she need more solids and are the timings right or should she be having the bottle and solids together?  Should she be sleeping more or less during the day?

I've had to resort to sticking her paci back in when she cries in the night to calm her down because I'm just so tired that my work is suffering because I can't concentrate :-[.  But now I think she's developed a dependency on that!!  I have accidental parent written all over me!

I'm sure there is plenty in her routine, etc. that could be tweaked to be made better but I just don't know where to start - PLEASE HELP  :'(

Offline Katet

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Re: 8 month old night wakings since returning to work
« Reply #1 on: February 23, 2006, 08:40:04 am »
Apart from the nap, your day routine looks great, offer more food at the meals if she will take it, but I don't think that is the problem.

I do think at 8months it is rare for a baby to only have one nap & if they do it tends to be about 3 hours long, so I think overtiredness is part of the problem, with my 9mo, we actually only dropped the cat nap 3 weeks ago, so he is on 2 naps & if he is awake more than 3.5 hours his night sleep suffers, he is best on about 3 hours & he is a month older than your lo

She is also at the age where developmental issues & separation anxiety play a big roll & I know with ds#1 I returned to work when he was 6mo & sleeping through the night & then he got sick & everything went pearshaped...

I think from my experience with ds#1 & now with #2, acceptance of it is part of the "cure"& that meant for me going to bed early most nights & napping on the weekend so I got sleep as it is "their way" of making sure you are there for them as they adjust to other people looking after them. The more you prove to them that you can respond to their needs the more secure they get... with you back at work & the cold, & her development in other areas it really is just a case of being as consistant as possible & riding it out.... at least it has been for me with both ds#1 &#2
dc1 July 03, dc2 May 05

Offline LŠuren

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Re: 8 month old night wakings since returning to work
« Reply #2 on: February 23, 2006, 17:58:31 pm »
Reidun
I am due to return to work soon and one of my main worries is that the person/people who I leave Calum with will not stick to his routine and do what THEY think is best. I have worked really hard through his night wakings, changes to this routine, etc. 

You say that the change coincides with your return to work, could it be that your child minder has different ways of doing things and your LO is following their lead instead?

With regards to giving more food, I think that you would need to read your LO cues to see if they are still hungry after feeding. Remember just because something is recommended for her age, doesn't mean to say she doesn't need more - it is only a guideline.

Lauren x