EARLY WIDE AWAKE CLUB!! WANT SUPPORT? JOIN US!

[Kate72]

Hi everyone

I really need help from all you early risers...
DS is 4 months old, we usually get him into bed by 6:30/7pm, he always woke at 2 and 5am but now (since finding BW and starting a dream feed) he wakes at 10:30/11pm for a feed then at 1am, 4am and then seems hungry again about 6am (but that's another story...)
DS has suddenly (over the last 2 weeks) started waking between 4:30 and 5am, then babbles a bit, but in between he makes this wierd ehhhhhh sounds (like pushing to fill his nappy), but he doesn't. I don't know what to do - have tried:
Giving him his dummy
Feeding him
Changing him
Hanging a mobile above the cot so he has something to look at (in case he's bored)
Patting him, reassuring we are around and still love him
Leaving him to babble in the hope he will go back to sleep (happened once)

I really need advice as I just don't know how to interpret this new sound. I also thought that since I take him out the cot, unswaddle him to change and feed him, it can't be that he needs a change of scenery?! can it?
I don't think I've reinforced this behaviour as I don't smile/talk to him till I get him up for the day. I try to distinguish clearly between behaviour toward him during the day and night but it doesn't seem to do anything for this ehhhh sound/moaning...

please please help?! DH has to get up at 5:20~ish so being awake from 4:30 really messes with his last hour's sleep...

TIA
Kate

[rinajack]

Has this been happening since you introduced the dreamfeed?  Some babies wake more at night with a dreamfeed, as they wake too much when doing it and it interrupts their night sleep.

My other thought is could it be wind? are you burping after the DF or not?


Finally, NW can be a sign that your lo is ready for 4 hr Easy - which happens roughly at around the 4 mo mark.  If your lo does 2 hr A time OK then 4 hr Easy is OK - if lo can't quite make it, then move first to a 3.5 hr EASY, then later to a 4 hr EASY.

[Kate72]

Hi Rinajack

Thanks muchly for the advice... think you could be right about starting to shift him to 4hour EASY, though will try 3.5 first as sometimes he gets tired now before it's "time" to start winding down for a nap... Will go lurk around the EASY threads and see what I can do...

I also wondered about the dreamfeed but now I can't seem to get rid of it - I've tried stopping, but it's like he's programmed now to wake and feed at that time... but I'll try working on the EASY and see if it doesn't help with this too... (can only hope, right?!)

Thanks again! Have a great day!
Kate

[rinajack]

With the DF try beating him to it - try doing it at 10pm for example, so you can try to do it before he wakes.  Also are you BF or bottle - maybe it would be easier to express for that one if BF so you don't need to even lift out of the cot....?

Good luck with 4 hr, it could be the answer to your problems.

[Kate72]

I BF but had to introduce a bit of bottle at one stage as I got sick, now I try give him a bottle about 1-2 times a day so he's used to it when I start weaning...

that's a really good idea about the DF - thank you!!!

[legend_018]

I feel I belong to this group at least 1/2 of the week "lol". My LO is up at different times. 5am one morning this week, 7am yesterday morning, 5:30am this morning. She was averaging out to 6am/6:30am which wasn't so bad.  she wakes up in a super duper moods but just too awake for me to try getting her back to sleep. never mind the fact that I work on getting her to go to sleep at least 2-4 times a day between naps, bed time and her usual one wake up in the middle of the night. So here I am today at 5:30am downstairs while she plays. God is it early.

[Mamalou]

feel weird just jumping right in--but i'm going crazy and I've tried to find the answers in other posts, posted myself, and still don't know what I'm doing wrong!?

My LO is 9 mo old.  He was waking during the night, got rid of nwings but still have early wake ups. It was 6, so I finally decided to make 6 our wake up time, and now he's at 445/5 so my 'routine' now is :
445/5ish he wakes, try to leave him to work it out, go to him if he won't stop crying, pat him to get him back to sleep , sometimes he sleeps up to 30  min thenwakes at 6, or I stop trying and feed him 545/6
6 E
  A and breakfast at 7
 S 9 (sometimes earlier if more tired) usually sleeps 1.5 hrs
 E 1030 bf then snack (biscuit or fruit)
A and lunch at 12
 S 2ish sleeps 35-45 min
E when he wakes, then biscuit
A and dinner at 5
   bath
E bf
S usually 6/630-depending on when he wakes from last nap (usually 3.5 hrs after)

was playing around with bedtime (we were at 7/730, have gone earlier, that was working, but now not), today I tried to wake from first nap at 1hr, then try for longer pm nap, but it was just 45. 

Any suggestions?

Thanks
Kristi

[litomi]

Kristi,
To extend 45min. nap, you can try W2S (Wake to sleep). Does your LO use a prop to fall asleep? You can try to check 45min. nap for support. 

[rinajack]

Kristi -did you see my answer to your Q in the birth club thread - that is working for me anyway, but it is not an instant fix, it has taken a few weeks to get on top of it, but, like you, I was prepared for that, because I was sick of the schedule she was keeping, and wanted one that suited our family better.

[Mamalou]

litomi-thankyou, no he doesn't usually have a problem with nap lengths, one is 35-1hr the other 1.5-2, just trying to switch them to long afternoon nap (instead of am)

Rina-yes, I did. Gave it some thought, feel like i'll try anything! but right now I'm gonna try to switch the naps, see what happens...It's been so long since Kubko had a catnap (3rd nap) and when I tried last few times there was just NO WAY.  But thankyou, I will keep it in mind.

[rinajack]

Kristi - because that third nap was not a permanent fixture I took it with her in my bed, so keep that in mind.  Zara also would NEVER go to sleep for a 3rd nap in her own cot!

[legend_018]

so how about 4am for a wake up??. unbelievab le. usually if she wakes before 5:30am I try darn hard to get her to  go back to sleep. She slept from 7pm last night until 4am straight and she's 10 months old. at 4am I gave her 3 oz of formula mixed with 2 oz of water and tried real hard to get her back to sleep. at 5am I gave up and brought her downstairs. I don't even remember the time she woke up for good at 4am. I almost feel mad about it "lol". The night before she slept a good 11 1/2 hours, which was a little more than usual and yesterday I had a hard time with first nap but 2nd nap was about an hour and 15 minutes from 2:30pm until 3:15pm. I brought her up to bed at 6:30pm last night. Night time sleep I guess ranges from 9 hours to 11 hours. 4am unbelievable is all I can say.

[andibig]

Mary
early wakings are a killer!!
you've been doing really well with her sleep training.this is just a little setback.
what is her routine now?maybe we need to get some consistency with times and nap lengths?

[legend_018]

I don't know..everything was going well and she was taking 2 naps a day averaging about an hour to an hour and half. Usually at least 1 nap is an hour.  Usually still getting up between 2am and 3am for bottle of which I dilute. I think her solid intake is getting a LOT better so yesterday I tried dropping a bottle. She had one at 6:30, noon, and 6pm. Note 2 of them were big 8 oz. She also had breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. Although she did just start eating better and doesn't eat great at every meal. but the last 2 days, I've had some problems with sleep sort of. The day before yesterday she ended up skipping her 2nd nap. The poor girl was up from like 11am until close to 6:30pm. She than slept like almost 12 hours with the exception of waking up for a bottle at 3am. She than skipped her first nap but napped yesterday from 2:30 until 3:15pm. I brought her upstairs at around 6:30pm. I try not to keep her up much past 3 1/2 hours usually at a time. 2 nights ago it took her a little while to fall asleep and was sleeping by 8:30pm and slept straight until 6pm. All over the board huh? Today she's going on her 2nd nap already and it's only 12:21pm. I dont know if we can both deal with a 3rd nap today "lol". 2 is enuf for both of us. She napped this morning from I think around 7am until 8:40...it could of been a little later than 7am.

[legend_018]

by the way I had to bring her up for her 2nd nap already and she fell asleep in like 10 minutes flat. Of course who could blame her starting her day at 4am "lol".