6 month wakings

[wiggleworm]

Boy, do I need some help and advice? 
My lo is 6 months old and was doing great on the 3 hour eating baby whisperer and then at about month 4 1/2 she just stopped sleeping good. We tried the unsaddled thing a week and she would wake herself in the night by getting on her stomach and rolling. So we still continued the swaddle.  Then at 5 months gave in to rice cereal she was taking too much milk and seemed to root for more afterwards. Rice cereal did not help the sleep (not that I thought it would)/ So we finally got her to sleep more at night by Pu. pd and working with her. She still would wake anywhere from 4:30 to 6:00 am. and we would get her back to sleep.
Now she is 6 months Friday, she has many developmental things occurring, she for the first time got in the crawl position two nights ago and then her nights went down hill and she was up every hour, she would bust out of the Velcro swaddle as well?  She has backed off her milk a lot during the day because of solid foods. I would say she Had been taking about 24-26 ounces a day of formula and a jar of fruit and 3 table spoons of rice cereal a day.
Today I realized her bottom gum felt a little swollen, she also in the same day had a runny nose and has been drooling, and having Rosy cheeks. So I started giving her teether's and origel and Tylenol tonight before sleep and she got up at about 12:30 fussing, we didn't have to do PU. PD we just applied paci and she went back down an hour later.
Naps go great she gets swaddled and she still does her full naps anywhere from an hour and 45 min. to 2 hours.

I also feel that my baby is a spirited baby? Should I break the swaddle? I have been trying to increase milk intake to 32 ounces a day.

This is how our day goes.

7:00am morning feeding
7:30am diaper change and activity
8:30am walk in stroller
9:00am morning nap
11:00am wake, feed some fruit and 1tbs rice cereal
11:30 am activity
1:00pm afternoon nap
3:00pm wake, feed
3:30pm activity
5:00-6:00pm evening nap
6:30pm feed, play bath (2 1/2 tbs of rice cereal and half jar of fruit)
7:30pm sleep
11:00pm dream feed

Thanks for any help or advice anything will be greatly appreciated!!! 

[Colin Macs Mom]

Oh my GAWD do I love your avatar!!!! So adorable!!!!       

I think you're right, lo does have a lot going on right now!! 6 months is a really tough time for sleeping. They start reaching all kinds of developmental milestones, plus most have a huge growth spurt at that time too. So here are my thoughts.... Your routine looks really good for the most part  , but I would make some small adjustments. At 6 mo. she should be ready to give up the evening nap and have a bit longer A time during the day. I think she's getting too much day sleep and that is likely at least contributing to the night wakings. I would just add about 15 minutes A time on and either eliminate the evening nap or turn it into a cat nap of 30-45 min until she adjusts.

With all the developmental stuff she's learning (yay!!) that often does lead to wakings - they want to practice! Make sure that she gets tons of time during the day to practice and she will hopefully not be as inclined to do it at night. It also does sound like you've got some teething going on too! 

[Kimberly®]

I agree with PP

I would add that though, that when you loose the evening nap move bedtime to no later then 7. Also your morning nap is pretty late and it may be part of the cause for the short AM nap. Move nap time to 9am do the walk before lunch, its a great way to transition from sleep to lunch as she'll be up before she's ready for her next feed.  Your first PM nap is perfict, move the cat nap to 4-4:30. The goal is 2 naps of 1.5 hours, and 1 nap of 30-45 minutes. You want your LO's day to be in a 12 hour rotation. So 12 hours of night 12 of days. That doesn't mean your LO will go 12 hours of sleep woth no feed, very few do. If you can get a 7-9 hour strech at this age then your going in the right direction.
Most likly what your running into is a combo plater of things.

Teething: this is very hard for LO's. Especially when its a first tooth. Try motrin and tylonal, yes you can do both at once, Motrin can only be given every 8 hours, give that first and if 3-4 hours pass and she seems to be in more pain give her the tylonal. If she'll take a paci they have a wonderfull one that is a paci teether. Its a soother with a jell base and just like teething rings you can put it in the fridge and it'll last for hours. It can help sooth teething pain and its safe for the crib.

Growth Spurt: They just never end  This will make her more irritable but combined with the teething it makes it harder for your LO to eat, bottle/breast or solids, not sure if you bottle or breastfeed, and then you get more night hunger.

Time for a 4 hour EASY if feeds are to close together then LO's tend to "snack" and it makes them need to eat more often. It may be time to transition to 4 hour EASY. Do it 10-15 minutes at a time so its easier for your LO.

Swaddle/prop dependency So far it doesn't sound like the Paci has become a prop. If your LO starts waking for it repeatedly then you'll need to look into that. I would say, however, that the swaddle is a prob. I think its time to wean that. Try taking a blanket and putting it across your LO and tuck it under the matress (best you can) so that your LO is still snug, lossen it slowly untill its no longer needed.

needs more solids I know you don't hear this much, but if your LO has been on solids for a while then its time to do 2 meals a day, do fruits and cereal mix in the morning and a plain veggi + fruit at lunch. It 2-3 weeks start a dinner feed aswell of veggi cereal mix. Always make sure you feed milk first as that is where most of your LO's nutrients come from, eventually she'll start to drop feeds on her own.

HTH