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

[Kimberly®]

I don't think there is anything wrong with what your doing. Sounds to me like you've found a way that works for you. If she is drinking 6oz and then sleeping better then she is deffinitly hungry. Good for you for listening to your LO's ques.

As for the food issues. Have you tried just giving her the spoon? or just finger foods? 
DD refused the spoon at about 9.5 months and it was a hard road untill I thought to just give her the spoon. I used to give her a spoon for each hand, she would "help me" then I would sneak a spoon into her mouth when she was trying to eat.
Make the food thicker (add cereal) so that it sticks to the spoon, then let hre go at it. Its her fighting for independence.
When she wont eat any more with the spoon then give her finger foods. Cheese, cheerio's, bread, bits of meat, bite sized fruit, what your eating, what ever she'll eat.
Add in 2 snacks now too. A morning one and an afternoon one, of just finger foods.
how many bottles does she have now?

Again though if you feel the need to feed her at night then by all means do so. We still give DD a sippycup if she wakes after 4am, usually just water, but she usually is thirsty.

[texasmom]

Hi all,

How are you?

I haven't written on here in a while, but not because we've been in sleep heaven or anything.  For a while DS was sleeping 7-5:45ish, which I didn't think too bad.  But then he got sick, and things have been terrible since.  Almost two weeks now.  I feel like I have tried everything with him.  I think I'm just getting to the point that I must accept that I just don't have a good sleeper.  Today he was up at 3.  I am almost positive that this is happening b/c he is overtired, but I don't know how to get out of the cycle.  I have been working very hard to try! 

Mostly I just wanted to say hello and get in touch. 

 
Brooke

[andibig]

Brooke
nice to hear from you
sasha always takes a while to get back on track after illness.took us 3 weeks last time.i'm sure he will improve his sleep really soon.

[texasmom]

Really?   Wow, did not know that.  We have had so many illnesses this winter.  It seems like he is sick more than he is well.  We went to the doc today for his 9 month, and he has an ear infection,    and she said he is about to pop a mouth full of teeth.  (so far he only has 1).  So that could explain the terrible sleeping, thus causing him to get overtired.  Exhausting.  But I am going to just try to think of the positives.  He is such an awesome baby, and he won't be little like this forever.  I need to cherish this time.     Thanks!

[rinajack]

Hi Brooke

Colin really is Zara's long lost twin! Ear infections with teething, lots of teeth coming at once etc etc. 

Just try to be consistant, provide the cuddles when he needs them.  Lots of pain relief, ear infections hurt, and so does getting that many teeth all together.  When Zara got her top 4 through together, her ear infections stopped, her NW improved marvellously.  But leading up to that we had about 2 months of dreadful sleep in our house.

Watch sleepy cues - they may be much earlier than you expect, or much later, we couldn't find any pattern with Zara, but by watching her cues got the most sleep we could out of her.  Her A times when she was unwell were as short as 1 hr...and then on better days with no ear infection, but still teething, they were as long as 4 hrs.  I am guessing since he is so overtired, they will be shorter than you could possibly have thought for this age.

Hyland Teething Tablets were helpful for us - they are a major mood improver, then we used those, AND panadol at night.

[texasmom]

Rina,
Yes, long lost twin he is! 

Thanks for the reassurance.  Honestly I did not know why the sleeping was so horrendous again until going to the doctor.  It's really good to know that this can be normal.  That may sound weird, but sometimes I FEEL alone in the struggles. 

What do you do when Zara wakes?  If Collin wakes after 3, he has had enough sleep not to go right back down, and I don't know what to do with him.  He's usually up an hour and a half.  DH lets him play out of his crib.  Yikes!  I know that is not a good idea, but he will cry with anything else.  I stay with him and let him cry, but it's hard.  He doesn't cry the whole time.  It's just hard staying with him.  I just keep hoping he will go back to sleep. 

Sleepy cues... you are right.  They are unpredictable.  But he goes amazingly long sometimes for the little sleep he is getting.  I don't get it at all.  Sleepy cues, as you know, are hard to read, but similar to Zara - clingy, grumpy...  But he's actually tired before that and shows no signs.  So that is actually a little late when he gets clingy.  Hard too b/c he's clingy when he doesn't feel well.  So we do the best we can.   

[rinajack]

Watch for the slightest yawn, eyerub, ear pull, even being slightly rougher with toys, showing signs of impatience when trying to do things like stack blocks, or declining coordination.  Also watch for him seeming to be getting more hyper or energetic.

With those wakings, you might have to try PU/PD, depending how bad the crying is. Our personal favourite, but it took a couple weeks to become really really effective is WI/PD/WO. Letting him out of the cot is a bad idea.  I actually give a top up of medication for pain relief, and sometimes if she won't settle take her to bed.  Rather she is in some kind of sleep environment, than playing.

Is he eating normally during the day?  Have you tried feeding?  Those long wakeups for us ended up being hunger, because she wasn't eating normally during the day.

[texasmom]

Rina, I think you were absolutely right about him being hungry those nights he was up for a while.  I just wasn't used to him taking a feeding at night. 

I am going to have to do pu/pd or some variation of it.  We can't go on this way.  I think your thing - wi/pd/wo might work for us too.  I've done that just a little at bedtime, and it worked quickly. 

[rinajack]

Brooke

When we had those long wakeups, it took me about a week, and a VERY long post on here til someone suggested it to me - I never even thought of it!

When we do WI/PD/WO it goes like this.

Put her to bed, say good night, walk out and shut the door.  Listen on the monitor.  Wait til her talking turns to fussing (we dont wait for real crying, we can tell when she is yelling for us to come to her....and if we wait for real crying, she is hard to settle down).  We go in, no lights or anything, make sure she has dummy and lovie (often these have been thrown on the floor), lay her back down and say " No Zara it is time to go to sleep now" walk out and close the door.  Repeat if necessary.

When we first started, it took over an hour to work.  Now, when I go in, as I pick the things up off the floor for her, she sits down already .  Often we don't need to do anything, she is going to sleep quite well most fo the time, and I can't remember the last time we had to go in more than 3 times.

The best thing about this, is she has words she now associates with being told to go to sleep, so as she gets older, she will learn to do it herself when I say it.  And these words should also work when we change to a big bed, and have to keep putting her back in there.

[texasmom]

Yeah, I don't think I would have either...  I'm glad you said that.  I know it will help tremendously in the future.  Like last night - I just fed him, and he was asleep quickly.  (Not that I want to start feeding at night, but with this sickness, I may have to for a bit.) 

wi/pd/wo - We will use this when he wakes in the middle of the night.  Gotta stop the rocking!!  I have to say, it scares me a little!! 

This morning he is acting differently.  He woke at 5:05, and it's now 6:05, and he is still in there.  He'll be really quiet for a while, then I'll hear him, then quiet, etc...  Usually after he wakes, he's happy for about 30 min max, and I have to go get him.  I don't know if he's dozing in and out or what. 

I am ready for the time change, and I'm ready for sleeping to get better.  More than that, I'm ready for him to feel better.     Have a good day/night! 

[rinajack]

In the mornings, if he isn't making you go and get him, don't. Wait until he means it, or it reaches a time of day that is acceptable to you.  If you go too soon, you don't give him a chance to work it out.  Listen to the cries/noises - you will know when not to leave him to it.

It will get better, it is just going to take tonnes of consistancy.  And some acceptance that your lo doesnt' do everything by the book.

[texasmom]

Yep you are right.  I just want him to fit into the sleep box that other babies seem to fit into, but he's not going to and never has!   

Yeah, I might try leaving him longer.  I say if he sleeps 10 hours (which really isn't long enough, but I don't think he'll go back to sleep), I just get him when he starts to sound cranky.  If you don't agree, let me know.   

You know what, though?  After today, I just wonder if I feed him if he WILL go back to sleep.  Hmmm...  (i explained in EASY)

[rinajack]

I replied to the hunger issue on the other post.

Regarding the wakeup - choose a time that is OK by you - say 6am.  Or later.  Or earlier.  Then go out of your way to make him stay in the cot til then.  WI/PD/WO.  Or, if only fussing, not really crying, leave him to it.  It will help.  Not instantly, but it will help. You cannot force sleep on him.  But if he learns to at least lay in there quietly when he does wake in the morning, you will get more rest than you do now.

[Carys' mom]

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!! This child is driving me batty! Today she commenced screaming at 4-something in the morning and continued until 5:20am when I gave up and brought her downstairs. Sometime during that time, she did fall back asleep for maybe 10 minutes - or at least was quiet. But that's it. I know she is cutting a tooth (one of her 2nd-year molars finally!), but sheesh! We gave her pain meds before bed last night, and gave her some shortly after she first woke this morning, but it didn't seem to help at all this morning. Sorry - just needed to vent. I feel like this early waking is a prison sentence that will never end and only gets worse, never better .

[andibig]

Mel
((((((((((((((((((((((((((hugs))))))))))))))))))) and lots of them for you!!!.
sasha's sleep has gone bonkers lately.we've got NWs and early wake ups .when she wakes early in the morning i've been getting into bed with her.i know i'm AP but i refuse to start the day at 5.30am!!!!!!!!
shes teething again and we've given her meds but makes no difference.AGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!
i swear the toddler sleep monster has visited our house and has no intention of leaving!!