9 mo Night Wakings/Early Morning Waking - Please Help!!!

[anuta77]

Hi,
I'm trying to figure out if we're doing something wrong...  Our son will be 9 mo in 2 days and he still wakes up at least once, sometimes twice during the night and then wakes up really early (like 5:15 am) for the day.  He's always been an extremely active little boy and not a big eater so weight gain has been somewhat a concern for us and for that reason I was and still am somewhat reluctant to not feed him when he wakes up at night.  He doesn't wake up at the same time but then he doesn't drink a lot either, sometimes as little as 2-3 oz.  However, I must mention that he rarely drinks more than 5 oz of milk per feeding. He still takes expressed bm in a bottle.

Here's our routine:

6:00 - we get him from his crib (he sleeps in his crib but in our room duee to a 1 bdrm NYC apartment)
6:30 - bottle (4-5 oz)
7:30 - breakfast (cereal w/bm, yogurt)

8:30 - nap (usually 1- 1.5 hrs)

10:30 - bottle
11:30 - lunch (fruits, yogurt)

12:30 - nap (usually 1- 1.5 hrs)

2:30 - bottle
4:00 - dinner (vegfies, meat, pasta, etc.)

5:00 - maybe a catnap

6:00 - bath
6:30 - bottle, cereal w/bm, yogurt or fruit

7:00 - sleep

Please note that if there's no 5 pm nap then he's in bed by 6:15 - 6:30 pm.  However, he's soooo tired then that he usually does not eat very well for his last meal.


How old is your child?9mo
Do you bottle or breastfed?? expressed bm in a bottle
How much? or how long?  overall he takes about 20 oz per day including what I put into his cereal

How many wakes per night?  at least one
What’s your LO like when waking at night? How long is he/she up? he stands up and cries
When you go to him/her is she fussing or crying? Or is it a mantra cry?  I usually wait a few min, sometimes it's just one or two cries and then he settles, but if he stands up and cries then I go to him
What have you tried to settle?? pacifier
What do you do for A time and how long is it?  play, walk, book.  A time is for 2,5 hrs on average
Are there developmental issues such as teething or milestones?  Teething on and off but when teething OralGel seems to help.
Have you introduced cereal? Why, how much, and how many times a day? (for LO’s under 6 months)
Do they have a prop? If so what is it? No
Do they have a lovie? No

Please let me know if you think there's anything we might try to eliminate night wakings and early morning waking as well.  We both work full time and it's getting hard to do.  Thank you!!!!

[Colin Macs Mom]

I'm thinking that at his age you need a bit of a routine adjustment. He should be ready for some longer A time. I would shoot for nap #1 at 9:00 or even 9:30, nap #2 at 1:30 or 2 and no catnap. Currently with what you're doing I think he's getting too much daytime sleep.

[anuta77]

Thank you very much for replying.
I definitely agree with you there and I've tried to extend his a time but unfortunately, all I got out of it was a very cranky child.  Even when he was waking up at 6:30 am we could rarely stretch him till 9:30 am but now that he wakes up at 5:30 (5:15 today) he's tired by 8 am.  I must add that he falls asleep on his own for his naps, w/o any props or stimulation from our side (though he takes a paci) and he falls asleep very quickly most of the time.   If I take him out for a walk he'll just fall asleep in a stroller.

I also want to add that he's a ball of energy during his A time, he's already cruising very well and even tries to walk by pushing a toy car in front of him.  He's not a cuddly child so there's not much room for more quiet play where he might conserve his energy   The only option to extend his A time is to maybe plop him in front of the Baby Einstein cartoon....

How long do you think his A time should be now, 3 hours or even longer?

[Colin Macs Mom]

I would say that 3 hours would be a good goal, but it would probably take some time for him to build up to that. Extending A time is a tough thing that involves a lot of crankiness as you already found out.    It's one of those things that you have to get through even though it's not very fun. If he really protests then you might try just 5 minutes at a time, and increase that every 3 or 4 days, or maybe even longer.

[Springbaby]

Hi there, I have a 9 month old too, actually, he'll be 10 months in a week, but we have just been tweaking his A times also and this is what is working for us. First A time is 3 hrs, not a second longer though! I usually start wind down at 2hrs, 45 minutes. Second A time is 3 1/2 hrs, depends on the first nap though. It may be a bit shorter is he didn't nap long (1/2 hr) Then he is up for the day till 730-8, depending on how long the second nap was (usually 1 1/2 hrs) I agree that you need to extend the A times slowly. Every child is different and by extending them slowly you will find that 'magical' A time that works best for you. Good luck

[anuta77]

Thank you all!!! I took your advise on extending his A time and he's been doing OK so far with 3hr long A time and just 2 naps.  However, he's still very tired by 6 pm which is when I give him his last bottle and try making him eat some more cereal or yogurt to fill him up before bed.  It also had no effect on his waking up in the middle of the nigth.  Our 9 mo check up is tomorrow and i know our Dr. will say I should've let him CIO a long time ago and that I am creating a sleep problem for him (she's said it before)  I don't know what to do, we live in a 1 bdrm apartment and his crib is in our bdrm so how can I let him CIO when he'll see us?  Plus, I'm not entirely convinced it's the right thing to do anyway, CIO.  So far, the only one in our family who's doing any crying is me   What should I do?

[Colin Macs Mom]

Please know that BW does not support CIO in any way as Tracy believed that it broke the trust between parent and child. LOs cry for a reason and it's our job to help them. Since your LO is in your bedroom it wouldn't really be CIO technically, but if you ignore it he will only learn that you won't be there when he needs you. So please, please don't go that route.

You might try a short catnap, like 30 minutes at say 5:45 to get him through to bedtime until he fully adjusts to the new routine.

[Dree]

Hi Anuta77,

I have to agree with Colin Mac's mom...Do not let your LO CIO !!!!!!!!!!!! There is a big difference between CIO and the mantra cry. Do you know the difference?

When my DD is falling asleep, she makes this repetitive sound. It is not really crying. More like a noise that I have learned to distinguish as the falling asleep noise. She moans, if it gets loud I go in and check on her, by then she has fallen asleep. Alot of babies make this noise. 

Mind you, if my LO is hysterically crying, I pick her up immediately. Don't break the trust!

Dree