Why has my 6mo started to wake regularly?

[Shaunie]

DS was sleeping from 7.30pm until around 4am when I would feed him, the he would go until around 7am (for a few weeks).  In the last 2 weeks or so, he has began to wake almost hourly shortly after midnight.  He is whiney and sometimes cries but is generally easily re-settled using a dummy or gently stroking him.  After about 6am, he seldom settles.

At first I thought it may be teething as he was quite fretful at night and then I wondered if it could be linked to food.  He was BF but have recently introduced small amounts of baby-rice, apple & pear - this has made him extra windy and he has woke trumping!

I have tried him with herbal / homeopathic powder remedies but they don't seem to work - any advice?  DH & I desperately need more sleep!

[mella]

Have you tried Colief drops, they are quite expensive but do seem to work. Its £10 for a tiny bottle, some NHS trusts do it on prescription, but some dont because of cost. I've only found it in boots.
Mel

[Shaunie]

We did buy some when Lo had colic in the early weeks but never tried it because we found that the dentinox was working so I guess it will still be in the house somewhere - do you think it's worth a try?

Ps....your LO is very cute!

[Peek-a-boo]

Apple sauce made my LO gassy.  Maybe stick with pears for a bit?

Also, the wakings may be a sign that your LO needs more or less A time in the day.  What is your current routine like? 

Bethany

[Layla]

Could you please post his routine?

[Shaunie]

Our current routine goes a bit like this:-

7am wake & play in cot
7.30 - BF
8.00 - baby rice
9.30 - nap for 30 / 45 mins
11.30 - FF (introduced 2 wks ago)
12pm - fruit / veg puree
12.30 - nap for 30 mins
3.00 - BF
3.30 - nap for 30 mins
5.30 - baby rice
6.00 - nap for 30 mins
7.15 - FF (introduced 6 wks ago)
4am - BF

I know that his A time is long and his S time short but he seems happy.  Apart from his morning nap which he fights, he will just nap in his chair or whereever he is - he always wakes happy and is not grizzly so I think he is happy with this.  He has also been going to bed awake since about 8 weeks and we rarely have to go in to settle.

[Layla]

Honestly, I would say that the napping is definitely whats causing his night wakings. He should actually be on 3 naps - 2 naps of 1-1.5hrs long and a catnap starting no later than 5:30pm... He is extremely overtired and a 30min nap is actually not even considered to be restorative enough for him to last another 2.5hrs.

If it were me, I would look at changing his routine a little and maybe aim for something like this:
The A time of 2.25hrs (which is the av for a 6mo is based on them taking a solid 1+hrs of nap. Any less and the A time should be decreased). The morning A time is usually less than other A times and the last A time (before bedtime) is also usually less.

7am - wake and play
9am - nap 1 (in cot & drowsy/asleep at the end of the A time, which is 2hrs in the morning).
10-10.30am - wakes up from nap
12.30-12.45 - afternoon nap (in cot/asleep at the end of the A time, which is approx 2.25-2.5hrs)
2ish - wakes from nap
4.30-5pm - catnap (usually around 45mins)
7ish - bedtime

If he wakes early from the morning or afternoon nap and you cannot successfully get him through the next cycle, then I would be bringing the naps & bedtime up by 30mins.

I can understand what you are saying about him "acting" happy but all those nightwakings are from overtiredness and he really needs to be napping a little more than what he is at the moment. I actually found that after 5 months, it was a combination of reading cues and looking at the clock. Cues can be quiet hard to read in some babies and I would put mine down to sleep when her A time was up.

I would also try and encourage naps in a cot (as inconveniet as it may seem) but I have found that after 4 months, Jasmine used to get quiet stimulated by outside noises/lights so I made sure she had a dark and quiet (well we have a fan on) room to sleep in. If you have to run errands, try to do it between his napping and you can always have him take the last nap (catnap) in the ar/stroller/ wherever. Of course not all naps need to be in a cot but I don't think you can have him take a 1hr nap in a chair, iykwim...

Let me know what you think
Layla 

[Shaunie]

Hi, It's worth a try I guess and see how it goes.  I would probably have to change nap No2 and the catnap around though because any class / group that we attend are around lunchtime - do you think that this would still work?

Should I perhaps try w2s with him?  Are there any other techniques to try to get him to nap longer?

I do plan to start using his cot for naps, particularly as he's moving into his own room next week which is darker than our room.

Last night, he slept well with just 1 wake prior to feed time and then he slept in a little too.....think the little monkey was being good for his Nan as we stayed there for the night!

[Layla]

I have done w2s for Jasmine's afternoon nap but the timing has to be write (that is the A times) otherwise it never worked. Are there any other times he could attend play groups/ classes? YOu might have to do some rearanging. How many times a week are these activities....

Great to hear about last night!!!!!

[Shaunie]

Every Tues & alternate Weds we go out at lunchtime - sometimes Friday too!  Groups / activities / leisure activities for me, tend to fall at lunchtime - I'm not good at getting organised in the mornings!

Last night was good too - he woke twice at 10 & 12pm then slept until 5.20am when I fed him; he then slept until 7.30am which is great!

I'll give w2s a try on Monday and see how I get on - will keepyou posted.

[Layla]

Good to hear he slept well last night!

[Shaunie]

I tired w2s for 2 of his naps yesterday but it didn't work - it just meant that I missed my morning nap! 

Things went like this:- Woke @ 7am, nap @ 8.35 (he was tired) - I gently roused him after 20/25 mins and he then went back to sleep but just for another 5/10 mins!

2ns nap @ 11.35 til 12.15, again I tried rousing him 5 mins before he's usually wake.  At 1.55pm & 5pm, he slept for an hour of his own accord - I put this down to teething as he was very 'off' yesterday and was clearly unhappy.  He only woke at 4.10 last night for his feed but we did give him calpol for the 1st time so this may have been the reason.

Today he woke at 6am but was happy until 7ish when I fed him.  He napped @ 8.30 for 30 mins even though I tried w2s again.......am I wasting my time?

[Layla]

I am not sure what to say. I think his naps are off and w2s is not working because his A times are not correct. If he woke at 7am, he should have had the morning nap at 9am. I know what you mean about him showing tired signs at 8.30 but tired signs can also mean bored signs.... so if he is showing tired signs way before his A time is over then I would try to entertain him some more and put him to bed a little later. In this case, I would have done some quiet time around 8.30 and possibly started windown but still put him to nap at 9am. W2s just wont work if not enough A time has been given before a nap. He is just not tired enough for a longer nap and will only do a 40-45min cycle.

I still think he needs to be on 3 naps and not 4. I know you have activites to schedule around so I am not sure if there are other ways to work around them. I think the morning and afternoon nap are most important and the catnap can be taken just about anywhere.....

When I did w2s, I would rouse at 30mins...

[Shaunie]

This morning his A time was 2 1/2 hours which I thought was long enough?  It's almost 2 hours since his last nap so will try again soon and keep fingers crossed.  He has been taking naps in his cot though which is good.  I'll persevere for a few more days and see what happens.

[Layla]

Good luck! If you are trying w2s, try going in at 30mins.

Let me know how it goes