Wi/wo going really well but having 6am wake ups

[SallyDom]

Hi everyone,

A quick backtrack:
Dominic is 16 months old and for 5 months we had a nightmare getting him to sleep and also many nw aswell as early wakings. We have been doing wi/wo for 2 1/2 weeks now and it's going really well, usually not more than 10 minutes of walking in and out and at the same time I have switched to 1 nap which works lovely.

Anyway, something which has been happening all along is that Dom is waking between 5.30am and 6.30am everyday and he does goes back to sleep with a bit of wi/wo but I aren't sure why he's waking. We've had a couple of crazy days when he's gone back to sleep until 9am which blows me away having that much sleep but mostly he just sleeps until it works out about 12 hours in total of night sleep.

If he didn't go back to sleep I would think that he'd had enough sleep but the fact he does makes me think he does still need the sleep.

His new day looks something like:
Wake 7.30am
Nap 12.45-2.15pm (tho it can vary from 1-2 hours)
Bedtime 7.15pm (I try to aim for sleep for about 5 hours after waking from nap)

Any thoughts on why he's waking at 6ish would be much appreciated.

Also another question, I am delighted with the way wi/wo is going and know it will take a while to get Dom totally used to it but just wondered for those of you who have been using it for a while does the number of wi/wo's get shorter until you don't need to walk back in at all or do you probably need to have a couple of walk in's each time etc. Tell me your stories!

Thanks as always
Sal
x

[brightside]

I would try to keep a reasonably consistent wake up time eg 7-7.30am. If he falls back to sleep wake him at that time. If he doesn't give an earlier nap and then let sleep a little bit longer. He might be having too much sleep at night if he goes back to sleep for too long and then not allowing enough time for a well rested day sleep-if that makes sense! Try going for 11.5 hours night and 2 hours day. If he does only have an hour at nap time, try a slightly earlier bedtime.

[KathrynK]

Hi Sal
this might sounds crazy but what time do you do his dinner and how much does he have? Sophie went through an EW phase too at that age, just after she had transitioned; I gave her dinner slightly later and massively increased her portion size and... hey presto! No more EW! hope this helps
K xx

[mari]

When I did WIWO with Alex, we did really well and I cracked it after about 1 month..............................or so I thought................. all of a sudden she started performing again, and this time with a vengeance, so be aware that you might have a regression.  This will usually happen after they fall asleep independantly and sleep through the night for about a week on the trot and you think it is safe to open that bottle of wine that you have been saving to celebrate the occasion and then................ wham, they have nightwakings, early waking etc.   My advice is, don't open the wine, and contine to walk in walk out!!!

Don't be disheartened by this, they just have to test our stamina once in a while!

Kathrynk's suggestion abot food is spot on IMO.  Food is so important, we do dinner around 5ish and then supper at bedtime.  This can be anything from a bowl of cereal, yoghurt, toast.  Jst a snack to keep going.  Worth a try
hth

[SallyDom]

Thanks I'll try the snack. He's not been so well since Thursday, he had his MMR nearly 2 weeks ago so am pretty sure it's that (tho he was waking at 6am before he had the jab so don't think that has anything to do with it), and his appetite has been right down, breakfast hasn't been too bad but lunch and dinner he's done nothing much but throw it at us and laugh like mad. Little tyke. He's drinking his milk though.
When he's better I'll try to give him a bit extra.

we do dinner around 5ish and then supper at bedtime. 

When you do dinner at 5 ish do you eat as well? It's a bit early for us but if it gets him eating more and sleeping I can certainly try! Normally we do dinner 5.30-6pm ish and then he has a 10oz bottle at bedtime.
Do you give milk at bedtime or just food? What time is your bedtime?

My advice is, don't open the wine, and contine to walk in walk out!!!

I'm pregnant! No wine for me for ages and ages!!! I didn't miss alcohol at all when I was pregnant with Dom but this time it's awful...I keep sniffing bottles of wine waiting for the glorious day I can have a glass...does that make me sound like I have a drink problem? Oh dear!

Thanks girls
Sal
x

[SallyDom]

P.S forgot to say Kathryn that I noticed you were a mod now. Congrats!

[mari]

I do dinner at 4.30-5pm as Nathan comes home from school at 3.30pm and he is hungry around 4ish, also, as I am a childminder we all eat together at that time before the children get collected.  I have a small meal with them usually and Nathan and Alex have supper at bedtime (7pm for Alex, 7.30pm for Nathan) and I have a snack after they have gone to bed.  
My DH works away so I can usually please myself with mealtimes, things do change a little at the weekends when he is home, I tend not to eat with Alex and Nathan at 5pm and wait and eat a meal with DH after they are in bed.
Alex still has a bottle of milk at bedtime (she still loves it and never felt an urgency to stop it, although she is 2 and a half!) and Nathan has a glass of milk at bedtime.

[SallyDom]

Sorry if I'm asking silly questions but when you give them the bedtime snack where do they eat it (I have visions of soggy weetabix all over the bed sheets - or is it just my messy baby that gets food everywhere!?!).

Just recently Dom has been getting hungry at 5pm ish so he's had his tea and then when we've had our's at 6 ish he had a bit of that too so I suppose he is getting a sort of snack.

Maybe I need to jiggle the mealtimes a bit.

Sal
x