Waking up at 4:00am - help!

[jmartinelli]

Hello,
My daughter who is 2 years old is waking up at 4:00am and wanting a bottle of milk. We just weaned her off of bottles at night (that was a struggle!) and now she is waking up a the crack of dawn and wanting her milk. This monrnig I gave in and gave it to her so she would go back to sleep, which she did, and slept until 6:00am. She is not really crying when she wakes up, but calling out my name and whining. I want to ignore it for a while and see if she goes back to sleep, but I am not sure that is the right thing. Maybe I could get up and offer her water and cover her up, then go out the door. The other night she woke up at 5:00am and would not go back to sleep. She was so tired that night when I picked her up at daycare, it was not a good night for us as we came home and I put her right to bed. I want to prevent that from happening as I know she is not getting enough sleep when she wakes up that early. I am putting her to bed around 7:30pm. Any suggestions would help. Thank you! 

[Florencia]

Was your dd a refluxer as a baby/young toddler?

My ped explained me that refluxer kids have a problem keeping an empty stomach for periods longer than 8 hours. That's exactly what happens with my ds. He'll starve at the 9 hour mark and if i don't give him a bottle (he's almost 2 now) at the 8.5-9.5 mark, he'll wake after 9:45 hours of sleep, cranky and not going back to sleep (which is what happened with your dd). What i do is sort of a "feed to sleep" (instead of wake to sleep) and i go to his room at the 9 hour mark, sip a bottle while he's asleep (which he drains complete, so I'm pretty sure he still needs it). He takes 3-5 mins to drain it in his sleep, so i pick the bottle and leave. It is the only way i can get him to sleep 11-11.5 hour intervals at night. Without the bottle he'll do the dreaded 9:45 and will not go back to sleep if he wakes from hunger. He's crabby and cranky until naptime then.

Is your dd taking the full bottle? I think it's ok to give that to ehr if you're positive she needs it and it is not a habit. If she's only taking a few sips/ounces then that's pretty indicative that she's waking from habit instead of hunger and it should be ok to water down the formula or offer plain water until she gets rid out of it. I guess this would be a problem if she asks for it before the 8 hour mark.

HTH and good luck!

[jmartinelli]

She didn't have any reflux problems as a baby or toddler. She usually takes the whole bottle. Last night I think she might have been hungry because she didn't eat any dinner. She had a few bites and that is it. What I am wondering is if it is ok for her teeth to give her an early bottle of milk? That is my main concern. I brush her teeth around 6:00am when she wakes up so I don't think that would be a problem. You just hear so much about teeth problems that I am trying to prevent that.

[Florencia]

It is my understanding that teething issues related to bottle are frequent in cases of kids that have the bottle "hanging around" throughout the day (that is, they sleep with the bottle latched on, are given juice or sugary beberages etc). A quick sip and brushing teeth in the 2hour following period should be enough. At least that's what my dentist says, there is just so many info on this that you might want to ask your dentist better.It's also a genetic component, like the one in stretch marks, some people get them by gaining 2 pounds, some people don't get them at all. But if you're concerned about this, ask your ped/dentist the best way to deal with it.

Also if you're relating this to her eating poorly during daytime, you might want to increment calorie intake during day.Tough business with a toddler, i know, but is doable!

 

[jmartinelli]

Thanks so much Florencia, I appreciate the feedback. I am going to continue to give her a bottle if she wakes at 4:00am for the time being, and will talk to her doctor about it next time I see him in August.