Early morning wakings

[Mom1129]

Hi all, I'm new here, so bear with me while I get the hang of this.  Have been lurking/reading and getting lots of lovely tips.  I have read BW cover to cover and it is my bible.  My ds is 4.5 months old, and a spirited feisty angelbaby all in one.  I say that because he is a perfect angel as long as his physical , needs are met, smiling, happy, contented, plays independently, but lets you know if something is bothering him at ONCE and LOUD! My problem,  is that he wakes consistently every morning at 5.45 and then will dose at 20 min intervals till 7am which is when  I give him 1st feed.  And even then he only takes about 5 oz.   This started about 2 weeks ago.  And it's not like he's hungry because he used to take between 7 and 9 oz...  Could it be solid intake related?  Which is about the time I started solids I guess.  Here is my sked for him.

E7am Bottle
APlay in crib
Cereal 8am
AFloor/tummytime
S9-9.15am-11am
E11am Bottle
AWatching BabyEinstein/watching me vacuum, massage and bath
S1pm-4pm
E4pm Bottle
APlaytime with Gramma while Mommie goes to work parttime
Catnap somewhere in there, 30-45 mins.
E(solid)6.30 when Mommie comes back,
AStorytime, cuddles, change
Bottle at 7pm, and in bed and asleep by 7.30pm (I just put him down, after a kiss and say bedtime now, he moans a bit and falls asleep in 5 mins)  No nightwakings. 
Oh, and DF at 10pm
So what's up with the early morning wakings, or is that just a phase?  If I've missed some info let me know. 
I should mention I went through what I personally term as "Hell Week", about 6 weeks ago, 5 nights of ssh/pat, all night long, when I stopped the night and early morning feeds, because he was taking about  40oz a day and I knew he didn't NEED the nutrition.  On the 6th night he slept 11 hours straight and we haven't looked back since.  Till now.Hugs to everyone.  This is a great site with some fabulous advice.  Thanks for listening

[teezee]

with your lo being only 4.5 mths now, i would honestly wait til about 6 months to start the solids. i started early as per my dr's advice and it is my biggest regret...her tummy wasn't mature enough to be able to digest it and it turned into a gas, constipation, tummy ache nightmare for us.  it really didn't take any effect until about a week after i started the cereal also. that COULD be related to your problem.

what time is your catnap? do you have any other night wakings at this point?

[Mom1129]

Catnap is sometime between 5 and 5.30 and he is woken up at 6 regardless.  Somedays he won't nap at all, which is fine, since he is such a great napper.  No other nightwakings, most times if he DOES wake, I'll wait a couple mins before going in,( if I don't get what I call a "distress" cry, which is very rare),  and he soothes himself back to sleep.

[teezee]

absolutely agree with stacy about the naps. every few months routines need to be tweaked as they grow.

[Wiki]

I am glad to see this is happening to other moms as well, my 17 week old started this early wakeup thing about 2 weeks ago, and I've tried everything to fix it. How much daytime sleep should they get at 4+ months, I know Gina Ford (which I don't follow, says 3 hours). Caspar usually has 3-4, spread out into 4 naps.

[Mom1129]

Y'all.... (yes I'm from Texas), thanks for the advice.  I will definitely tweak the day naps.  Maybe longer A time, then I can more or less stick to sked, then see if it's not that eliminate 1st evening solid then mornings, as suggested. I find the evening catnap expendable too.  He's a easy fall asleeper, and maybe that's why I've let it go on.  Something interesting Tracy said in BW that when YOU, i.e We Mommies/Daddies/caregivers are ready to change you'll create change in whatever isn't working with baby.  Of course I'm mangling what she wrote, horribly, but ykwim, it was nice initially to get through those 3evening hours by having a catnap in there, now we've got to move nap time up or find something to keep him going for 3 hours in evening.  (I don't do massage bath in evening, because sometimes he gets very stimulated and has to have a long windown and he's exhausted, won't take a bottle or anything, but afternoon works great, and he doesn't get overtired, but that's something I could try switching too, if all else fails.   I was reading some early posts, and one of the things suggested was a later AM nap.  I'll experiment.  And yes, I agree the routine does need tweaking from time to time.  Will let y'all know how it goes.  Wiki good q, how much day sleep on average does a 4+ mth need? On one of the lists I've seen, I think anywhere from 3 to 5 hours total.