Three-month old waking after one hour at bedtime

[dandlsmommy]

I am new to BW, as I just stumbled upon the book at the bookstore last week. I began reading it immediately and implemented the EASY routine. It was amazing, as I had spent the first 2+ months co-sleeping with my LO and I thought it would take so much more to get him out of my bed. The first day/night of EASY was hard, but the next day he took his naps, ate well and slept through the night! I am a believer! My problem is that night before last, he woke up an hour after going to bed. He cried and screamed. Since I was at the grocery store, my husband called me and asked what to do. I told him to pat/shh, but not to pick him up. I realize now that it was wrong to tell him that. When I got home, my husband had taken him out of the crib and had laid him on a blanket in the living room, with toys. My husband talked me into feeding him again and then putting him down. It worked and he slept until 3:30, at which time I fed again and he slept until 7:00.  Last night, he woke up again, after being in bed for one hour, crying and screaming. My husband again thought he was hungry (he had just eaten less than 2 1/2 hours prior).  Have I completely messed up by feeding him again after he woke up? I don't want to have him waking up after an hour of being in bed. How do I fix this?

[teezee]

could lo have been overtired or overstimulated before bed? often times this will result in an waking within the first few hrs of a lo being put down for bed..

[dandlsmommy]

Maybe thats it, because both nights that he woke up after an hour of sleep his daddy had played airplane with him and put toys around him after his feeding. Maybe it was too much. I will try tonight to keep activity low key before bed and see if that helps. Thanks!

[teezee]

def keep things lowkey before bedtime..sorry daddy!!

keep us posted on how things get on

[dandlsmommy]

Just read the the post that said "Please read before posting" and here are the answers to those questions. LO is three mnths old today. He is on a three hour EASY routine, eating, having activity and sleeping well throughout the day. He is breastfed exclusively, only one side a feeding for about 10-20 min at a time. He is at least 14 lbs, in the 85th percentile. We have only been on EASY for a week. 

[teezee]

if you want to post your actual daily routine we could take a closer look:
e
a
s
e
a
s....

but i do think that if you try the low key time before bed it will (hopefully) answer your problem.

btw happy three months to your lo!! 

[Kimberly®]

It would also help to know what time you put your LO to bed and what your bedtime routine is.

[dandlsmommy]

Well...he did wake up again last night, but I did PU/PD, pat/shh for about five minutes and he went to sleep until about 2:00 AM. I fed him and he went back to sleep until after 5:00. I fed him again and he slept until 8:00.

His normal routine is:
E Wakes up and eats at 7:00 AM (usually about 20 min)
A He plays with his fishy gym and his big brother talks and sings with him
S Gets sleepy at about 8:15-8:30 (I try to catch his first yawn, since he is a touchy LO)
E Wakes up and eats at 10:00 (about 10-20 min)
A We do tummy time and play with toys together
S Sleepy at 11:00ish, takes longer nap at this time
E Wakes up and eats 1:00
A Plays under fishy gym
S Sleep at 2:30
E Wakes up and eats 4:00
A He sits in swing while I fix dinner
S Short nap from 6:00-7:00
E Wakes up and eats 7:00
A Hang out with daddy, bath
S Sleep at 8:00

Bedtime routine is a bath, massage and then I hold him for a little bit, lots of kisses, then I put him in his crib so that he can watch his pastel-colored mobile, which he loves, and he starts to get sleepy. He is a thumb sucker and when the thumb goes in his mouth that is when I know he is ready to sleep. Its pretty much the same every night.

When we first started, he would sleep until 3:00 or 4:00, with no 10:00 feeding. Then he started waking up an hour after going to bed (see above).

Thank you all so much for your advice. I've been reading message boards for a while, but never actually posted until now. The message boards at BW seem very comfortable to me. Thank you all for being so nice and helpful to the newbie.

[teezee]

i think that the short nap at 6pm could be interfering with the sleep...maybe a 6:30 bedtime would be better than a late nap and then bedtime??
also, do keep in mind that lo's 3 months growth spurt could also interfere with sleep.

[Kimberly®]

I agree cut the 6pm cat nap and make it a 6:30-7 bedtime instead. Your LO is going down just a little too late.

[dandlsmommy]

Thanks for the idea! It makes a lot of sense and I will try it tonight. I'll keep y'all posted (I just moved to Kentucky, so I'm tryin' out the southern thing!)

[teezee]

  good luck!!

[dandlsmommy]

I put LO down at 6:45, and he went right to sleep. Someone rang the doorbell around 7:15 and woke him up, so he needed PU/PD, pat/shh until 8:00. He slept until 2:00 AM with a DF around 10:00 PM. Then he slept until 7:00 AM. So, it was better and probably would have been great if not for the doorbell. Thanks for the advice!!

I do have a question about the the last three-hour cycle. Should he eat at 4:00 and then again at 6:30-7:00, right before bed? Should I try to keep him awake during that last cycle? I am afraid that he will get overtired and then wake up again like before. Any thoughts?

[Kimberly®]

Yes if he'll eat at 4 and you can give him a feed at about 6:30 before bed then do so. This will give him a full tummy before sleep time. Try not to keep him up after his tired signs to avoid the risk of overtiredness.

[dandlsmommy]

Just wanted to let y'all know that it is going great! We had some nap problems, but those are working themselves out and LO is going to bed around 6:30 with very little difficulty. Thanks for the advice!!