Hi,
I posted a couple of weeks ago when my (then) 9 week old son's routine suddenly went all out of whack. He was following 3 hr easy like clockwork, sleeping from 7am til about 4am (with a DF at about 11pm) and then going back to sleep nicely until 7am. Absolute angel. Then at 9.5weeks he started waking earlier for his feed, then adding in additional night wakings. I thought it may be that he could go longer between feeds as he was feeding very quickly each time, but he couldn't stay awake long enough during his A time to make this work. My husband thought that maybe he was getting too much sleep during the day (although our son was following the routine to the letter) so we tried cutting down his naps during the day. That hasn't worked either. He is often over tired at each nap and is still waking during the night. I just can't understand how it was all going so well and he was making good progress, and now he is waking us up nearly every hour... So I'm answering the suggested questions in the hope that someone else's BW skills can help us!!
How old is your child?
11 weeks.
What’s his/her daily routine?
E 7am (feels like a small feed)
A 7.15-8.15 max
S 1 hr-1.5hrs
E 10.15/10.30
A 10.45am-11.30
S 1.5-2 hrs
E 1.15/1.30
A 1.45-2.30pm
S 2.45/3pm - 4pm (often take him out for a walk in the buggy during this sleep period)
E 4pm
A 4.15-5pm
S 5.15-6pm cat nap
Go straight to bath, as he often possets if I feed then bath him even when i lave a good half hr after a feed.
Massage, nappy change
Eats at about 6.30-6.45
Short spell of being awake before wind down to bed at 7-7.30pm.
DF at 11pm
Feed at 3-3.30am
Night wakings generally 1am, 2.30am 5am etc.
What’s nap routine?
As above.
How long are naps?
Morning 1-1.5 hrs
Lunch 1.5hrs-2 hrs
Often wakes after 30 / 40 / 60 mins and has to be resettled with dummy / reswaddle / turn over.
Afternoon have cut down to 2x 45 min cat naps.
What's bedtime routine? Time?
Bath, massage, feed, cuddle / quiet awake time, swaddle in darkened room, hold for 5 mins, put down and sit in room with him for further 10-15 mins. No problems getting him off to sleep at about 7pm - 7.30pm.
Do you bottle or breastfed??
Breast feed all day, then bottle feed DF.
How much? or how long?
Very fast eater - 10 mins, then he wants a wind, and won't go back on the breast.
If breastfed.. one side or both?? (at each feed)
1 side per feed.
How many wakes per night?
Several at the moment. 1 for a feed, and 2-3 additional wakes.
What’s your LO like when waking at night? How long is he/she up?
Sometimes just grumbly / grunty. We turn him over, give him a dummy. Other times he is really fidgety and frustrated and escalates to a cry. If he's like that we check whether he's wet / soiled, reswaddle him if necessary, hold and sit and put him back down. He generally goes back down quickly but will wake after a further hour's sleep. At the times he wakes after his feed, he is often quite smiley.
When you go to him/her is she fussing or crying? Or is it a mantra cry?
Starts with a fuss, escalates to grunt / whinge then to cry.
What have you tried to settle??
Reswaddle, turn over, dummy, hold and sit.
What do you do for A time and how long is it?
Generally he can only manage 1 -1hr15 awake. Start with nappy change, then usually have a sing and a play on the change mat, followed by some time on the play gym where I leave him to entertain himself for some of the time.
Are there developmental issues such as teething or milestones?
I think he may be teething, but the nightwakings have been going on for about 3 weeks now. Is this normal? Also, the teeth aren't cutting through (he's only 11 weeks) but is very dribbly, grumbly and his bowel movements patterns have changed. Possible growth spurt - but again shouldn't be lasting 3 weeks...?
Have you introduced cereal? Why, how much, and how many times a day? (for LO’s under 6 months)
No solids as yet.
Do they have a prop? If so what is it?
Has a dummy to soothe him to sleep. Usually resettles without it after his DF and night feed. Other times he is looking for it to help him back to sleep.
Do they have a lovie?
No...
Just can't figure out if the night wakings are to do with day napping - in which case why hasn't cutting down the day naps helped? Or if this is food related - e.g. is he eating so fast at each feed because he can go longer between feeds and take more? If so, shouldn't he be able to stay awake a little longer to make the routine feasible? Or is his inability to stay awake longer during the day a result of the night waking?
Sorry to bombard you with so much info but I am totally confused and losing the ability to see what's going on and how we can get back on track.
Thanks!