7.5 Month Old Now Waking ???

[Jenifer]

My DD is now waking around 11 pm.  Her bedtime is 7:30 - 8:00 pm.  She will wake at that time when she naps poorly AND when she naps well during the day - so it doesn't seem to be related to her day sleep.  When she wakes, she starts crying and will not settle down herself.  When I go in I will rub her belly and she will sometimes calm down - most of the time she will just lay there staring at me.  If I walk out she will scream.  If rubbing her belly isn't working, I end up just picking her up and rocking with her.  Sometimes she will fall asleep quickly - other times she will talk, fidget, fuss, etc.  for up to a couple hours.  Last night I ended up putting her down after a little while when she did this and walked out.  She would be quiet for about 10 minutes and then cry again.  I ended up going back in and rocking her 3 times before she settled.  I ended up putting her back down wide awake (because she was not looking like she was going to go to sleep) around 1:15 am and she went to sleep on her own.

I see a very SLIGHT bump where her teeth are coming .. but its been like that for weeks, so I don't really think its teething.

She used to sleep through the night and knows how to put herself to sleep.  I've fed her a couple times in the past week when she gets up and she eats but not a lot - so I don't really think its hunger related either.

What is going on and how should I handle it when its happening?   

[Colin Macs Mom]

Often putting LO to bed a little earlier, like 30 min. will rid that strange waking.

[Jenifer]

For how long?  A couple weeks - couple months?  Is it something to do with her age right now and that we've dropped the catnap?

Do I put her down earlier even if she's napped well / long that day?

Also, I know I've read this question before - but won't she then wake earlier in the morning?  How wouldn't she?

[Colin Macs Mom]

Indefinitely. Dropping the catnap is sort of a big deal to a LO, so earlier bedtime can help a lot for a while.

But yes I would put her down earlier even if she's napped well. Believe it or not, oftentimes an earlier bedtime will solve a problem of early wakings. No idea why, but whatever works!

[ethan's mommy]

wow - we're going through something very similar and our lo is almost 7.5 months! must be something about that age!

ethan goes to bed around 7/7:30 (at the very latest) and lately has been waking through the night. we went away about a month ago (just for one week) and life hasn't been the same since! then we were away last wknd for 3 nights and he woke every few hours! we've been home for 3 nights now and what he is now doing is waking anywhere from 3-5 hours after bedtime and then again somewhere around 5am. he used to sleep 7pm - 7am! the last 2 nights he woke just before midnight and i ended up bf'ing both times b/c he wasn't settling. i figured if it was teething he wouldn't settle so quickly once i had picked him up, right? then tonight he woke at 10:30 (was in bed at 7:30), cried on and off, fell asleep on me but then woke in the crib, and i finally fed him at 11 and he ate like he hadn't been fed all day!!!!

here's his schedule (i'll use these times as guidelines but they're not accurate for what he's been doing lately b/c of early waking, going right back to sleep for a few hours, etc. etc.)

7am - breastfeed and 4tbsp baby cereal

11am - 1 jar veggies, 1/2 - 1 jar fruit, a few nutrios or mum mum cracker/ bf about 30 min - 1 hour after lunch unless showing signs of hunger right after solids, then bf right away

3pm - few nutrios/mum mum and bf (perhaps i should add more food to this snack time???)

5/5:30pm - 1/2 jar protein, 1/2 - 1  jar veggies, 1/2 jar fruit, 3-4tbsp cereal

7pm - breastfeed and bed

how many jars of fruits, veggies and protein are most babies this age getting? my doc was concerned that ethan wasn't gaining enough weight so we upped the solids and he's put on a pound in the last few weeks. he's 17lbs, 14oz, about 28" and almost 7.5 months old.

he's down to 2 naps/day and they're no more than one hour each. but the last few days he's awake at 5am or 6am, and after breastfeeding goes back to sleep for an hour or two. i guess that could be considered another nap? what's the max amount of time they should be awake at this age? he can sometimes go 5-6 hours but i'm wondering if that's pushing it too much??

thanks! lots of questions in there but i appreciate any insight.

jenny

[Jenifer]

I BF my DD 4 times a day, so 7:30, 11:30, 3:30 and 7:30 (roughly).  I feed her breakfast, lunch and dinner solids as well - approx. 4 - 6 tbs of food (either cereal, veggies, fruit or meat / veggie mix).  She also drinks a little bit of water after her solids - maybe an ounce a day.

DD was asleep at 7:30 pm last night (earlier) and she still got up - this time at 10:30 pm.  Plus she woke early (at 6:30 am).  Should I be putting her down even earlier than that? 

This all seems so ass-backwards after so many months of such good sleep!  She was a great night sleeper and an ok day sleeper .. and now ALL her sleep is messed up!     

[Colin Macs Mom]

It will likely take more than one day of change to see results, so hang in there.    It's hard, I know. If it makes you feel any better my lovely teething DS was up screaming ALL NIGHT last night. soooo tired...   

I forgot to mention before that she's probably going to drop a BF feed before long. You might start increasing her solids a little bit as well.

[Jenifer]

So, then what will her day look like in terms of feedings? 

7:30 BF
8:30 breakfast (solids)
11:30 snack (solids)
12:30 lunch (solids)
3:30 BF
5:00 dinner (solids)
7:00 / 7:30 BF

??

I figure you keep the first and last BF -- but where does the 3rd one go?

How much do you recommend increasing her food to?  And what do I start giving as snack?

Also, what time do you think she should be asleep at bedtime?  7 or 730?

Thanks for all your advice -- its much appreciated.

[Colin Macs Mom]

She will decide which feed goes, but most LOs refuse the third feed of the day. Don't worry so much about the routine, just follow her cues and she will let you know what she needs.

Good snacks are stuff like Gerber puffs, cheese, fruit, anything you want really.

[Jenifer]

We've moved her bedtime up to 7:15 - 7:30 pm and she's STILL waking in the night.  Before it was always before midnight and now its any time during the night.  And, the last couple nights she's wanted to be fed ..

What's going on and what can I do to fix this?   

[Colin Macs Mom]

If she's wanting to be fed I would think a growth spurt, is that possible?

[Jenifer]

How long could a growth spurt be?  She's been waking for weeks now - some nights wanting to be fed, others not.

I don't know if its a growth spurt for real.  She's not interested in eating much during the day so I wonder if she's waking due to hunger because of that?  I try and try to get food in her (solids and BF) and she'll only take in so much (which is less than it was before). 

What to do?

[Colin Macs Mom]

Perhaps she has her days and nights confused and thinks that nights are for eating? Has she had any medical issues like reflux?

[Jenifer]

No reflux or anything like that.

I thought the day / night confusion was only a possibility when they were a newborn. 

I know she knows how to put herself back to sleep when she wakes up because she's been doing that all along.  She was eating great and starting to nap well.  And then .. bam .. WAY off track! 

Like I said, she's started not eating too well (eating less solids, refusing food altogether, not taking in as much milk), her naps have gotten short again and the night waking is starting.  I wonder if something bigger picture is going on because its affecting her all around.

When she's trying to go to sleep she sucks her right hand fingers.  However, when I'm up in the night with her she'll start banging her right hand (which is in her mouth) with her left hand.  Do they do this when they're teething?

[Colin Macs Mom]

I thought the day / night confusion was only a possibility when they were a newborn. 

With total day/night confusion, yes. But when they're older sometimes you can get into a situation where the LO's routine gets messed up over time and nighttime becomes what they think of as time to eat rather than daytime. I was wondering if that's what's happened but if she's refusing food altogether then probably not.

 

I wonder if something bigger picture is going on because its affecting her all around.

When she's trying to go to sleep she sucks her right hand fingers.  However, when I'm up in the night with her she'll start banging her right hand (which is in her mouth) with her left hand.  Do they do this when they're teething?

I'm thinking a bigger picture issue as well, and teething does seem likely. Some LOs do what yours is doing - not eating or drinking because their gums hurt so eating hurts, and sucking does too. It can help to offer foods that don't need any or much chewing, like applesauce. Have you given anything yet for teething?