Wake to Sleep: He's Already Stirring

[kcamelia]

I'm wondering if anyone can help me out with this one: I've been setting my alarm for a 2a w2s for my 5.5 mo ds's 3a habitual wake.  I've done it 4 nights now.  It's working perfectly, but how do I know when I can stop?  Just hope?  He's usually already stirring a little when I go in, but I touch his cheek until he moves a little, just in case.  I'm wondering if it's working since he's already stirring, or does that mean he's about to wake up all the way?  Also, if you find your lo on his/her tummy at the df or w2s, do you flip him/her over?  I always put him down on his back after the df, but I hesitate to flip him at the w2s, mostly because he's already kind of awake.

Thanks!
Amelia

[RachelC]

Amelia,
The advice is do it for 3 days.  When I tried this, on the 3rd day she was stirring already, so it seemed that my lo had already reset her internal clock.  You may be the one to wake now 
I would leave ds on his belly... must be happy sleeping there!

HTH

~Rachel

[kcamelia]

Rachel, thanks for your reply.  Yes, I risked it last night, no w2s, and he slept through again!  This is the first 7 hour stretch of sleep I've had in weeks!  It sure feels different and wonderful!

One clarification, though: I definitely want to leave him on his tummy because he seems happy there, but when I find him, his face is sort of flat against the mattress, not turned to the side like I hear some mommies describe.  Does that make it too risky, in your opinion?

Thanks.

[RachelC]

Amelia,
That one, I don't know.  Can you gently turn his head slightly?

[kcamelia]

I think so.  I mentioned this on the birth club board, too, and they seemed to think it was pretty normal and safe since can turn over and has good neck control.  I'll just keep putting him down on his back.  Thanks!

[UNCMomma]

Kcamelia-I saw your post here, on how you do w2s.  Thanks! 

BTW, it looks like he's a swaddled baby from his picture (precious!)... DOes he flip over swaddled??!!

Amanda

[RachelC]

Amanda, I copied this from another thread.  It's from the 3rd book.  If you have more questions, please ask!  HTH
~Rachel

Wake to Sleep? Tracy, You’ve Got to Be Kidding


Parents are often shocked when I suggest the wake-to-sleep strategy for habitual night waking. Set your clock an hour earlier than your baby usually wakes and go into his room. Jostle him gently rub his belly a bit and stick a dummy in his mouth—all of which will help stir him to semi-consciousness. Then, leave. He’ll fall back to sleep. This gives you the control, rather than your sitting around hoping that your baby’s habit will magically go away. (It won’t.) By waking him an hour early you’ll disrupt his sleep pattern.

I can just hear your response: “You must he out of your mind!” I realise that wake-to-sleep is a shockingly counterintuitive suggestion, but it does work! Sometimes, in fact, it only takes one night to break the habit, but I recommended that you keep it up for three nights nonetheless. If it doesn’t work, you have to reevaluate whether her habitual waking is due to another cause. If you’ve ruled everything else out, do this wake-to- sleep technique for at least another three days.

[UNCMomma]

THANK YOU!  I wanted to try the W2S for my LO's 30 min naps that she's stuck in.  Do you know if it will work for that?  What time should I go in and do it?  I think I read that Tracy said this method works better for night time sleep, but I wanted to try it anyway, as I'm willing to try ANYTHING to lengthen these naps!  Thanks again for the info...

Amanda

[RachelC]

Amanda,
I know the technique is different for naps... check out this thread

https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=43311.0

~Rachel

[kcamelia]

Yes, he used to be a swaddled baby, but we stopped cold turkey about two weeks ago when I started finding him on his tummy, swaddled.  Plus, we think he's teething, and he really wants to chew on his hands to fall asleep.

[UNCMomma]

Did he do okay without the swaddling cold turkey?  My LO loves swaddling and I hope it's not becoming yet ANOTHER bad habit we have to break one day! 

Amanda

[UNCMomma]

Rachel--Thank you, that's a wonderful link.  I'm encouraged about W2S, I'm going to try it for this nap at 20 min.  Wish me luck!   

Amanda

[kcamelia]

Amanda: I haven't had as much luck with w2s for naps, mostly because if I went in 5-10 mins before he usually woke, he would be dead asleep.  I would pick up and shake arms, legs, with not even a stir from him.  Then, two minutes later, his eyes would pop open, and he was wide awake.  It doesn't hurt to be in there right when they wake, though, because at that point, I would pat/shh and it usually worked almost immediately.  Or, pupd if you have to.

I'm not convinced that any direct intervention helps extend short naps, although sticking to a routine, keeping the same wake up and bedtimes helps eventually.  When I did pat/shh or pupd to extend, though, once he fell back to sleep, he was able to sleep through the 40 min mark with no problem.  How old is your lo?  Hugo's naps seemed to get better around 4.5-5 mos, very inconsistently, but with the am nap improving first.  Good luck, and you have my sympathy during this rough patch.  It gets better.

[UNCMomma]

Amelia-Thank you so much, at least I can hope that these rough naps will be shortlived!  My LO is 12 wks old today, and 2 more months of this may kill me!  But at least there is light at the end of the tunnel!  It seems that once she is awake though, there's no going back.  She does NOT do well with pat/shhh.  Oh well, this too shall pass!  It sure is nice to have people to sympathize with while you're going through it, though! 

Amanda

[kcamelia]

UNCMomma: Forgot to reply to your swaddling question!  We swaddled until about 2-3 weeks ago.  We were still swaddling because he scratched his head and rubbed his eyes so badly when he was unwrapped.  The doctor seems to think he's itchy due to eczema (he really has a minor case compared to some I've seen); I think he's somewhat itchy but also was overtired.  By getting him on EASY and understanding his sleep cues, I was able to lessen the amount of time he spent frustrated, unable to sleep, and overtired.  During that time he also found his fingers and was able to suck on them.  He could also control his arms more and wanted to be able to move them as he was self-settling.  So, since he seemed more frustrated than comforted by the swaddle (he really used to love it), we decided to stop.  I would not have been brave enough to try it yet (you know how you find something that works, and as a mommy you're not ready to let go and realize they're growing up), but dh unwrapped him one night out of desperation, and he went right to sleep.  He has been a better sleeper ever since.  He doesn't get pushed up against the bars, he can cuddle his teddy, and he can position himself however he likes.  His daytime mood improved too.  He used to rub his eyes all day long, but not anymore!