7.5 months inconsistencies

[bensmomma]

Just wondering what everyone does with their LOs when they wake at 5 am.   Do you feed them and put them back to bed or start the day.  My lo usually starts the day between 6-6:30am so when he wakes at 5am and we put him back to bed he will sleep then until 7am.  Should we be waking him at the usual time he wakes up even if he has only slept for 30 mins?  I find the days so inconsistant now with some days waking at different times and some days 3 naps some days 2 naps.  Any thoughts?

[lilmonkey]

Is he crying at 5 am or just awake?  If he is just rolling around or doing whatever, then I would leave him be and hope that he will fall back asleep.  Also, your lo might be ready for 2 naps.  DD was like this back then - early wakings and sometimes fighting the third catnap.  If you think he is ready, then check out the thread on Naps.  HTH

[bensmomma]

Most days he does only take the 2 naps and goes to bed around 5:30-6pm.  He is crying at 5am and takes a full bottle(6ozs...most he ever takes).  What gets confusing is he'll wake up at ~5am even if he went to bed at 5:00pm or 6:30pm.  I would think it was habit if he didn't take a full feed but I'm open to suggestions.

[lilmonkey]

Have you tried wake to sleep?  There's a thread on it in the sleep forum.  If you think he really is hungry, then I would feed him.  In the meantime, try to get more calories into him during the day.  I remembered dd's EASY went out the window when she is about to drop a nap or going through a growth spurt or an illness or teething.  Keep track of everything for a few days and see if you can pinpoint what could be the cause.  I know that I'm not too helpful but sometimes as soon as we know what is wrong, we can fix it until our los throw us a curb ball again.   

If you have been feeding him everytime he wakes at 5 am, then it could very well be a habit.  Try to get more food into him and then work on weaning him off the 5 am feeding.  Does your lo fall asleep independently? Could a noise or something is waking him up at around that time?  I know that it will be hard as you also have another baby, but I used to sneak into dd's room just before the early nw and observe what is waking her up and concentrate on correctly it.  Could your husband keep an eye on your other baby while you spend some time with your first?