Why is he started waking early and at 3am!!!

[big bear]

Hello

Would be grateful for some advice please.My LO is 5 months old he weights 18 1/2 lbs is bottle fed and has been on easy since birth. He is a text book baby and scored high as an angel baby as well.

My son has recently become unsettled from 3am, first of all he started waking at 5am about a week ago then in  the last 3 nights he has started waking at 3am them 4 am then waking at 5am.
He doesn't want a feed as we settle him back down again by ssh/pat we do have to lift him out of his cot as I think he also likes the cuddle then settles.He also doesn't polish off all his bottle at 7am. He feeds them most at his 11am feed. He doesn't have a lovie yet and I stopped the dummy at 12 weeks as it became more of a hindrance to his sleep.
I wondered whether it was because in the last 2 weeks I have been extending his day time naps as he was only having a 20 min nap every 2 hours and was screaming everytime he went down.
He used to go to sleep at night about 9pm and wake up about 7am or even later.
This is his new routine

Wake 5am resettle until
E  7am feed 6/7oz
A  dressed nappy floor
S  9am for 30Min's/45Min's

Sits in high chair on floor etc whilst i do housework

E 11am 9oz
A activity varies
S  Between 11.45- 12.15 depending on how quickly he gets tied would like 2 hours but does 1 1/2 hours sometimes 1 hour at the least

E Feed 2pm/2.30pm usually fully between 6/7oz
A we spend time singing etc before school run at 3.30pm
S Gets tied between 4pm and 4.30pm so has 20/30 sleep

E  5pm/5.30 feed about 6oz
A Play on floor in the nuddy then bath ready for bed
S gets tied by 7pm has to have a 20 min nap as he won't take a feed when he is tied and we always used to cluster feed him so he wakes again wanting a feed has most of bottle about 8oz falls asleep taken to bed as fast asleep before 8pm.He gets about 3 1/2 hours of sleep a day.

DF at 11.30pm he has not taken  as much in the last couple of nights could be a clue to wakings not sure. But he doesn't drink all his 7am feed, we have not given him a feed during the night as he has been sleeping through for the last 6/7 weeks or more.

We don't seem to do as well after 6pm because he is tied but is hungry as he has been waking at 5am in the last week he has also been used to being cluster feed early evening. He sleeps well until his DF and until 3am. He feeds well having 6 feeds a day and always having 6/7oz or more.I have been unsure as to when to start solids as recommendation is waiting until 6 months now. He does watch us all eat intently and feeds very well, he has been teething but it does not seem to be bothering him. He has just started to roll over fully in the last week also. He is very alert and is on track with all his developmental milestones.

I hope I have covered all bases as requested and would enthusiastically welcome all and any insight and advice on how to do things even better. We are both really tied again with the early wakings, by the way he sleeps in a crib in our room. It is lighter in our room than his but it is pitch black at 3am when he wakes. He sleep in his big crib during the day and until his dream feed. My husband then puts him in his crib in our room after that. Could this be why we have always done it this way so we could keep a better check on him. I would like him in his own room all night but don't feel confident yet as under 6 months. His room is only next door to ours.

Many Thanks in advance.x

[Susy]

i know how you feel!  ::)my lo is nearly 5 months and has been waking habitually at around 2am and then 5ish for a while. we have found that wake to sleep seems to be helping. i set my alarm for around 1am and go in and stir him by stroking his head and slipping his dummy in. this has helped when he starts to stir at 5/ 5:30 as well.
also, i don't know if it helps you, but i feed my wee man at 7am, 11am, 3pm and then his bedtime routine is bath at around 7pm and his feed right before he sleeps. (he gets his dreamfeed at 10:45pm.) he also naps for 1 1/2 hours in the morning, then 1 hour and then 45 mins- 1 hour for the two afternoon naps. maybe if your lo  had a longer nap in the afternoon  and an earlier dreamfeed it could help, as 11:30 seems very late (you may be breaking his deep sleep)?
i hope this helps even a little, as i know how frustrating it can be!

[Colin Macs Mom]

Sorry Big Bear, since the site was down for several days it's taking a while to catch up!

A few suggestions for you - like Susy said, doing the DF at 11:30 is quite late. Tracy recommended between 10 and 11 to avoid interference with sleep patterns/biorhythms. I would definitely do it earlier as you may be affecting his sleep. Along the same lines, I think that maybe by moving him from his own room into yours so late is affecting him as well. I would consider using one or the other but not both.

The rolling milestone can really affect sleep as well, and if he's just got the hang of it that could very well be contributing as well. Since he's waking at the same times each night, as Susy said, W2S might be something to try.

[big bear]

many thanks to both of you,sorry i have taken so long to acknowledge.

[Colin Macs Mom]

No worries - how're things going?

[big bear]

Hi there

After a bout of teething seems to have calmed down again with a good few doses of homeopathy he seems to have settled. The last 2 nights he has woken up at 4am for a feed and polished off a full bottle. I had just started to give him baby rice so I have now introduced him to some sweet potato at his 11am feed and today some pear at his 6pm feed and he has slept much better this week.He woke this morning at 6.30 and talked to himself for 20 mins so all is getting better.

They have so many changes going on in such a small time frame you forget they are allowed to be unsettled and give them plenty of time to adjust. It has been an 8 year gap for me so I have forgotten so much, but reading through other posts has been brilliant and given me so many ideas and ways to help my lo adjust

Many thanks again

[Colin Macs Mom]

I know what you mean! They do go through a lot in a very short time. Sometimes there's not a lot we can do except to get through the phase, but often we can at least help it! 

[big bear]

Hi Susy

Just a quick question for you, at what times does your lo sleep? As your lo has very similar feed times to my lo, it might help my passing throughout the day.

Many Thanks again

[Susy]

hi!
sorry i havent replied sooner, i have just logged on for the first time in about a week. to answer your question, my lo sleeps from around 9am to about 10:30ish and from 1pm to about 2pm (ish!). his last nap is from about 4pm to 5pm. his body clock is amazing- dead on 2 hours after he wakes he is ready for another nap!