HELP very very early wakings

[teezee]

a very good start - it is def a balancing act to get A time, naps, and night sleep to all coincide and may take a bit of tweaking here and there but i am sure you will start seeing improvements soon! just remember good sleep begets good sleep..but having too much naps (for 10 months i would say over 2.5hrs/naps per day is ok - but all lo's are different) could also contribute to night wakings. i also wouldn't go past 4 hrs A time in the pm...a.m A time 'should' be the shortest of the day. keeping my fingers crossed! 

[mumto5cuddlebugs]

 Teezee,

Sorry to bother you but do you have anymore advice re my last post. DD has resumed waking between 4:00am and 5:00am, since her teeth gave her that bother. Yesterday i thought it was getting beter as she woke at 6:00am, but this morning it was 4:45am. However yesterday i fed her at 6:00am and she did not go back to sleep and her nap was at 10:00am, is this to much A time, pehaps if she is awake and up early her am nap should be earlier? Whereas today although she was up early she has had actually had more sleep because she has gone back to sleep and i'll wake her at about 7:15am. I'm struggling as to know what to do next. Me and DH are sleeping downstairs to help the situation and we need to get her into DS bedroom. Also the easter hols are over so i'm supply teaching again and am absoloutely exhausted with working, looking after dd and running around after ds (who does not stop chatting!) Everything was great for a week and i don't know what to do to get that back. Any advice would be much appreciated, thanks

ps I have seen mention of wake to sleep but i don't really understand what this is ? Would it help my situation?

[olleezmom]

THIS IS NOT WORKING!!!  LO was up from 12:20-2 this morning, then up again at 5!!  Now I feel like not only is he not getting enough sleep at night, but by limiting his naps during the day he is not getting the sleep he is missing!  I am at a loss!  Those two teeth still have not  broken through, but you can feel his swollen gums.  I gave Tylenol at 1:30, then again this morning!  I'm not sure what problem I need to fix, or how at this point!

[KMH35]

Hello,

I wish I had some advice to offer but I also only have a question! I tried wake to sleep last night (1st of 3). I roused Jack slightly at 3:15 to hopefully bypass the 4:15 or 4:30 wake-up and it seemed to work as he made it until 5 this morning. What next? Do I rouse him again at 3:15 or do I move it to 4, an hour before he woke up today? Also, I know I should be looking for movement under his eyelids, but I can't see them in the light from the night light and I think turning the light on would be a little too much rousing. I tickled his cheeks a little and rubbed his tummy and he shifted position a few times. I hoped that would be enough...Not sure what cues to look for.

Thanks!!!!

[teezee]

wake to sleep may help if it is a habit that lo has now formed - you just go in a rouse lo a little but do not actually wake an hr before the usual wake up time. as far as waking early / later - when this happens i just go with it and give naps at the reg amount of time that lo is ok to be up for - unless she's not necessarily NEEDING a nap (if she got more am sleep than usual) then i will stretch it out a bit to try and get the day 'back on track'.  i do think in the am 4 hrs is a bit much - my 10 mth old is just starting to be able to do 4 hrs in the pm...you may want to cut back on that a bit and see if it helps - all lo's are different, and do remember there is always some sort of regression with any steps forward you take it just really sucks when something like teething comes up and throws everything off track again (it always seems to happen that way as soon as you make any progress too doesn't it?!) also, it looks like lo's 9mth growth spurt could be coming up - you may want to try adding more bm/formula during the day (pumping a bit now to get ready to up your supply if bfing) so it will keep those night wakings away when it does come. howmuch total naps is lo getting a day now? hth.

olleezmom- have you tried orajel when the wakings occur? when my lo is teething i give her tylenol before bed (a half hr or so, so that she still eats well ) and then at any other night wakings orajel usually puts her right back to sleep..can be tricky doing this with the lights of but i think i am getting the hang of it now! if she is continually waking after that i would offer more tylenol as long as it has been enough time since the last dose. again, how much total naps is lo getting/day?

kmh35 - i personally haven't tried wake to sleep - but did read about it in tracy's new book and it says for at least three days to do wts at the same time. if you then notice a later night waking, i would then do it an hr before that wake up for three days to see if that helps. good luck!

[mumto5cuddlebugs]

Thanks for reply Teezee, we are keeping you very busy!
I am feeling more positive now my days teaching is over and it's the weekend! You are right, as soon as you feel you are progressing baby begins to teeth or gets a cold or something! I was so proud for the first week when this was working!

Dd is sleeping for upto 2.5 hours a day. Her morning nap is limited to 45mins and then she sleeps from 1 hour to 1hour 45 in pm. Today she woke after 1 hour 15. (But then she did get that extra sleep after her early waking this morning)
I think if dd wakes between 6:00-7:00am and does not go back to sleep then i will put her down for nap earlier in am (and maybe for 15 mins longer?) As i agree, 4 hours is a long time. However if she wakes up before 6:00 (fingers crossed that she won't)  and goes back to sleep as she usually does then i will wake her at 7:30 and  put her down at normal time for 45mins(about 10:30) Sorry-just thinking aloud and organizing my thoughts, does it sound like it makes any sense at all?
I hope she is not going to grow too much! The health visitor measured her at 73 cm yesterday and said that she is very long for her age! I will begin to prepare for growth spurt though as am bf.

[teezee]

no problem - that's what i am here for!

you should still be proud of the progress that you and your lo made - it just shows that it is possible and that you guys can do it!!

you said that 'she got extra sleep from the early waking this morning'...could you elaborate on that some? it could be you are getting early wakings due to the fact that she is in fact getting extra sleep in the morning and therefore not NEEDING it at night..

[mumto5cuddlebugs]

Hiya, Well, she woke yesterday at 4:45am i left her in her bed because she was gurgling happily until about 5ish and then when it turned into the inevitable cry because i was working yesterday i bf her and she went back to sleep about 20 mins later so because she had lost almost an hours sleep i left her in bed until 7:45am (which is when i had to leave the house. Whereas she is normally got up at 7:00am.
Yesterday she slept for an hour 10:00-11:00am and then for an hour 5mins from 2:00 until 3:05 (when she woke and did not want to go back to sleep.)

I know it is not rational but i feel like a complete failure this morning, dd was awake at 4:30am. She again was happy gurgling for about 20mins and then she started to cry so dh tried giving her some water which upset her even more, when i tried to bf she was not really interested (but then i was quite emotional by then so it probably put her off!) She eventually went back to sleep at about 6:00 and then woke at about 8:00. I did not wake her earlier as this time she has lost an hour and a halfs sleep.  (In fact i went grocery shopping at 6:10 this morning just to get out the house! Atleast the supermarket was quiet!)

I'm begining to feel quite helpless. I think it is because my ds was such a great sleeper and also i have friends who are doing accidental parenting and so have a hard time but i have always tried to do it right iynwim. I do not pick her up unnecessarily, i always put her to bed awake and i have never let her sleep in our bed. Although i do not let her get to distressed i do not run as soon as she makes a sound as i know that she may settle herself. I try to do best by Molly rather than by me, so at bedtime i do not pick her up if she cries as i know that although it will make me feel better it won't help her. (which has worked because we have no problem with her settling)
I'm sorry-i am ranting now but i feel that it must be something i'm doing wrong and in some way that i am letting her down.
Like you said it worked for a week so we can do it i'm just not sure how.
Thanks ever so much for all your help, i don't know what we would have done without you. You give us somthing positive to work on and i always feel better when i have a plan. (It must be the teacher side of me!)

[teezee]

imo i think that consistancy in what you choose to do will help your lo alot as she will then know what to expect no matter what - i know with working and being woken so much (early) it is hard - but do your best.

also, i think you may be making it worse by letting her 'catch' up on sleep - if she lost an hr..or anything - don't let her sleep past her normal wake up time as it may get worse and she may wake earlier and earlier as she is able to 'catch' up on the sleep later in the morning kwim? if she is able to make up sleep, then why sleep through the whole night?...hth

{{{{{{{{{{{HUGS}}}}}}}}}}}} you are doing a great job - and keep up the great work - there are always roadblocks - it's just getting by them! 

[mumto5cuddlebugs]

Thanks! She is definately keeping me on my toes! She slept until 6:45am this morning, which is fantastic but it sort of feels like she is testing me! Fingers crossed it was not a one off. I will not let her sleep past 7:30am any more then no matter what happens. Should i adjust nap times if she loses sleep and is overtired? For example i normally put her down at 10:00 for 45 mins, should i put her down a bit earlier if she has lost sleep early in the am or try to keep her up, and should i extend the nap by 15 mins or be strict and keep it the same as usual (45mins)
ITA about consistency so obviously i woudn't want to make any drastic changes. I just really want her to sleep through for another night. She seems to randomly sleep through every now and again-giving me false hope!
Thanks again for your advice, i'm feeling a bit better about things today (sleep helps!). It's working that is making it hard i think, i did not work until my ds was over a year old so it is all new to me.
Hope things are going well with you and your little one and the weaning in the early am is going well.

[teezee]

if lo wakes early def try to keep on track WITHOUT letting lo get overtired - extend an extra 15 min if possible by doing low key A time kwim? tracy always stresses that TIME isn't the most important thing when it comes to our lo's rather - routine and reading lo's cues. keep the nap at the same amount of time, if lo NEEDS to make up the lost sleep i think it would be better to let lo get 15 more min in the pm rather than the am.

i just have to give you props as i had a hard time with night/early wakings and i don't work! so good for you for being so diligant and receptive with your lo!!! (pat on the back for you!!! )

thanks for asking, things are actually better with my lo...she is now sleeping til about 7:30 (average lately) and that is soo ok with me! i am glad to hear you got a good night's sleep - i used to always think when my dd would have the odd good day...night's sleep that 'i must be getting close' ! always gave me more hope and more determination for the next night! keep up whatever you are doing..it must be right!

[mumto5cuddlebugs]

Ok, thanks that  advice will come in handy today as dd woke at 6:15am (yay! Another full night!) so it is a long time until her 10am nap. I will do as you suggest and watch out for her signals and maybe put her down earlier if required but not for a longer amount of time. I'll probably need to extend pm nap slightly.
I'm glad to hear things are going well for you and LO. 7:30am is great and is what i'm striving towards! I'm now struggling because i have tonsillitus! It's one thing after another! Luckily i have a very supportive dh who is taking day off work to look after ds and dd. (My ds is such a chatterbox that a sorethroat makes life very difficult!) Fingers crossed dd sleeps for a third night.
Thanks again for your help.

[KMH35]

Hello Teezee,

I also have to say a big thank you for your advice! DS slept until 6 AM this morning (after a few weeks of 4:30 AM wake ups). I started wake to sleep on Thursday night. On Fri. night DS woke on his own at 3:30 AM but wasn't upset - just sitting in his crib, and I was able to help him back to sleep in 15 mins. Phew! He made it from then until 5:30 and nursed and then went back to sleep for a bit. Sat. night he made it until 5 AM, so I nursed him and then he napped until 6 (our goal wake-up time). Last night (Sun. night) I didn't set my watch for 3:30 AM. DS woke around 4:00 but wasn't crying. I could just hear him moving and talking some over the monitor. He seemed to play for a little bit, made a few little settling cries and then got himself back to sleep within the 1/2 hour, and then slept through until 6AM! Yay! I am prepared for set backs but that was a great sign. I'm also starting our wind-down routine 1/2 earlier so that Jack is asleep by 7, and his naps at school are going a bit better. They're not always able to get him down easily but have had much more luck since they've been starting nap time earlier. We'll see what happens but we're making progress... That 2nd molar is almost in, too, so hopefully teething pain is behind us for a little while.

Thanks again!
Karen

[teezee]

so glad both of you have made so much progress!! keep up the wonderful work!!!!!!!! 

[mumto5cuddlebugs]

I am whispering this because i don't want to jinx it but.... she slept through until 6:45 am and it is the third night now, yay!
Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you!