"Night" wakings at 5.30am - becoming a habit?

[Wiki]

Hi all, I need some advice!

My son is 17 weeks now, and at about 15 weeks he started waking up about an hour earlier than usual. I thought it was a growth spurt as he was rising 4 months as he did the same thing at 11 weeks, we got him through it, he dropped the dreamfeed and started sleeping 7.30-6.30 from then on. But this new waking is going on and on, and he would never take any extra food during the day so I don't think its growth related? It started BEFORE the clocks changed too!

The day before yesterday he was up at 5.30, so that messed up the whole day. I put him to bed at 6.15pm in the end and he slept until 6am. So last night, I put him down at 7.15pm (no catnap in the afternoon as he had a big afternoon nap and can stay awake 2+ hours now), but this morning it was 5.30am again! In the last week we've had 5.30, 6, 5.30, 6.20, 6.10, 6.45 (that one was OK!)...so I'm not sure it there's a habitual waking pattern starting. He can talk to himself for 15-20 mins before he calls for us, so I'm not sure its hunger waking him. This morning he went 40 mins (!) before he started crying for food.

My husband works long hours and as such wants to see me too when he gets home. I can't deal with the day on this little sleep! I feel ungrateful posting as I know lots of people have babies who don't sleep through, but I can't work our why things have suddenly changed (and I know he can do 11 hours most nights) and if I can get that extra hour back?

I'm also trying to get him from 3 EASY to 4 EASY slowly but its hard when we're up so early, the day is off track.

Here's an example of yesterday, he has 8oz bottles and usually drinks 7oz or the whole thing. He weighs 15lb:

Woke 6am
E 6.20am
A
S 8.15-9.45am
E 10.20am
A
S 20 mins on way to supermarket in buggy
A
E 1.30pm
A
S2.15-4.40pm
A Bathtime 6.30 onwards
E 7pm, old cold by 7.15pm

Normally he will have 3 naps plus a catnap a day. Yesterday I left the catnap out and he wasn't grumpy. His sleeps are normally 1.25-1.5 hours long, sometimes I get two of those and a 45 minuter.

Can anyone think why he might be suddenly waking us up over an hour earlier than he used to?
Putting him to bed later makes no difference.

Thanks in advance,

A very tired Wiki

[brightside]

we're having the exact same problem here! I'd try w2s at 4.30 to see if you can break the habit. I was going to do it last night but the little monkey woke 2 mins before I was going to do it! then we had the whole party in the cot thing an hour earlier than usual! 

[Wiki]

I have been wondering about wake to sleep. Are you meant to do it half an hour or an hour earlier. Will have to really convince my H to let me set the alarm for then! Well, he had much less sleep today, due to my antenatal group coming here for lunch, and he was knackered at 7pm, so I guess we'll see what time he wakes up. Maybe its too much daytime sleep...

Am not sure about the blackout blinds. I wonder if its the birds rather than the light waking him up. He's always had a vest and a sleepsuit under his grobag so I think I can rule out cold (unless he's hot?).

Today we had:

Woke 5.30am
E 6.10am
A
S 7.15-8.10am
E 9.30am
A
S 10.15-11.30am
A
E 12.30pm
A
S 1.30pm- 2.15pm
E 3.30pm
A
S 4.20-5.15pm
A Bathtime 6.00 onwards
E 6.45pm for bed at 7pm

[brightside]

I've done w2s before at night and it worked brilliantly. Worked first night but kept it up for 3 nights as Tracy said. Fingers crossed for tonight. Guess it only works though if its truly a habitual waking and nothing else. Do it 1 hour before usual waking.

[Wiki]

Oh man, I don't think I can cope with a 4.30am start! 

[rosie and joe's mummy]

my dd has been doing this too at 4 am for the last week.

she's 18 weeks old now

she goes to bed at 7 after a bath feed and a story and still has a dream feed at 10.30. she then wakes at 4 am, coos to herself for half an hour then screams until someone goes into her. she's not crying, there's no tears, it's a cquealing noise she makes when she's excited, or when she's wanting someone to notice her!

she doesn't actually want feeding though until about 6.30am. she wants to play and have time with mummy.

i'm not sure what to do about it either.

we've had problems with daytime naps since she was 6 weeks old, and i wonder if getting her to nap better during the day will solve the problem.

[Wiki]

Caspar makes that "hello, hello, come here please" noise too when he wakes. 

Today he had 3.5 hours worth of naps, and has gone out at 7pm. Again, he was OK after his last nap so I didn't do the catnap. I think if he makes it later tomorrow morning, then maybe I have got some idea of the problem - too much day sleep - even just 45 mins too much. I have always been worried about leaving him up too long (after a week of screaming before every nap 3 weeks back) but today, after 2 hours 40 mins (which included a trip to baby music class), he went to sleep totally fine, after his normal wind-down routine...

Maybe wake to sleep would work for your DD at 4am though, that's just too too early to start the day. What other sleeps does she have?

[rosie and joe's mummy]

i've put my routine up on my post about not getting her to sleep during the day. it's a real pain that one!

actually  i've discovered (having been woken by her at that sort of time) that it's really cold at 4 am, and since i've set the heating to come on for an hour at 3.30, the 4am wakeups have stopped!!    So the last week she's been back to her usualy 6am wakeup time (which i would prefer to be later, but DH gets up then to go to work so there's not a lot i can do about it!)

[emsandmegan]

My lo started waking at 5am last week. I've been doing w2s for the past 3 nights and it has worked so far. I did it an hour before she usually wakes. I am amazed at how easy it was. Lets hope she doesn't wake early without it tonight.

[Wiki]

Well, Caspar's nearly 21 weeks now, and we've still got this problem. Thing is, can I assume its habitual if he wakes at any time between 4.50-5.45am, depending on the day. So not sure what time to try W2S. I have ruled out everything else that I can (apart from the light, we are getting B/O blinds), I think he just comes to during that hour and can see interesting stuff to look at, and then when he gets bored (10-30 mins), screams. He can be up for nearly 2 hours before he's hungry, with or without a DF.

Mind you, DH is not going to let me wait until C is screaming before I go in, but I do leave it at long as I can. It messes up the day so much, and now he's also not finishing all his bottles in the day, so started waking in the night for food, we had to reintroduce a DF. But he will still wake between 5-6am even if he wakes up at 3.30am to feed, it doesn't push him through til 7 - is that the sign that hour of waking is habitual? He's getting about 3.5 hours sleep in the day, sometimes less than 3. And the transition to 4 EASY is going OK, bar the bottle refusals!

If I do W2S, how would I do it? For example when I pick him up for his DF (can't do it in the cot easily), he kinda flails his arms and moves his head from side to side in his sleep, would just lifting him up a little like that at 4am be enough?

I want to start solids in a few weeks and I can't see when to do it when his feeds are all over the place!

Vic

[Kimberly®]

At this age drop one long nap and just have 2 long and one cat nap and it should help balence things out. With 3 long naps you LO will be getting to much daytime sleep which then makes him wake early, otherwise your routine looks pretty good

[Wiki]

Thanks Karita. Normally when he's up at 5am, I try to get him to sleep from 7.45-8.30am (H doesn't know this, but I've been told not to let him nap too long first thing?), and then he probably gets another couple of hours around 11.30-1.30, and then a catnap for 30-40 mins around 4-5pm. He can stay up 2.5 hours fine now.

I've been doing this for a week or so now and things aren't improving, so I'm wondering if its habitual...or if I blacked out the room he would sleep through, or at least resettle?

[Kimberly®]

I'd let him sleep as long as he needs to in the AM, especially on the day's he's awake early.Within reason of course You don't want him having 3-4 hours in the morning or he wont nap in the afternoon. But 1.5-2 hours is not to bad. He'll need it. Maybe try for a 8am nap, and a 1pm nap, then a 30-45 minute nap about 4:30 or 5pm, and bedtime of 7pm. This should give you the proper balence of sleep for his days. He'll also have 12 hours of daytime, and 12 of night time. A good patern to establish. If the wakings continue then you can try PU/PD, Pat/Shhh, or W2S, depending on the situation.

[Wiki]

Won't that mean about 5 hours daytime sleep - I thought he'd need about 3-4 tops at this age?
I am not sure if he can stay up from 5-8am but I can try. He's sometimes only had 30 mins when I've tried that...
Will see how it goes.

[Kimberly®]

The cat nap is optional Base it on his mood. Sometimes they need more sleep then othertimes.