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6 month old naps and early waking

9 replies

Alltheflowers · 03/07/2013 10:32

My baby is waking at 5-something or 6-something every day but then goes back to sleep (fed or jiggled to sleep) 45 minutes later for another 45 minutes. I've tried putting her to bed earlier and she still wakes as early.

She also feeds two or three times a night but is asleep again straight after that.

Does anyone know what kind of nap schedule she should have to have the best chance of a long nights sleep?

At the mo, as well as the 45 min nap, she then sleeps exactly 30 mins at about 10am and then 30-40 mins every 2 hours after that. Last nap ends about 530pm and bedtime about 730pm (usually seems a bit overtired by then though, although its 1.5 hours earlier than she used to go to bed).

Hoping someone will have all the answers!!!

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lazzaroo · 03/07/2013 14:20

I don't have all the answers but know there are lots of others in same situation! Including me! Although our day often starts at 4.45am!

I can't do set nap times because the length of her naps vary, o like you I stick to the 2-2.5 hour Rule. Some dats all her naps are 40mins, today she has had 1x1hour, 1x1.5hour (had to wake her to go out with dd1) and is asleep again now.

My dd1 went through a phase of 5.15am wake ups and nothing we did changed it...black out blinds, more naps, less naps, early to bed, White noise, too ht/cold etc etc. I have resigned myself this time to think some babies are just early risers!

I know some people have success with 'wake to sleep' but I've never been brave enough to try it. Am sure someone will be along with some helpful suggestions.

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Alltheflowers · 03/07/2013 19:59

Thanks iazza, blimey, 445am is hideous.

I haven't heard of wake to sleep, what's that? I'll try most things now!

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lazzaroo · 03/07/2013 20:42

I'm no expert on it but I think it came from baby whisperer originally. Basic idea is that you rouse them (but not enough to wake them completely) about an hour before they are habitually waking. So for me it would mean sneaking in at 3.45am and stirring her without waking her! Somehow this is supposed to re-set their clock and they wake later....or something like that! if you google it, you'll probably find a better explanation! There is probably lots on the talk archive here too. Good luck!

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Alltheflowers · 03/07/2013 21:37

Sounds like it might be worth a try! Though I reckon all that'll happen is I'll then be awake for the day because my body clock is screwed, and she'll then be awake for the day because, well, I woke her!

It does sort of make sense though because if I disturb her accidentally after say 10 mins of a nap, she does then tend to sleep for longer.

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BotBotticelli · 04/07/2013 09:03

Can you try treating any waking before 7am as a night waking? If she is going back to sleep after 45 minutes I would say she is not seeing that as 'the morning' but more as a night feed??

ie. lights off, feed quietly, put back down into cot and exit the room?

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Alltheflowers · 04/07/2013 10:14

Thanks botbott. It is different though in that for night feeds she makes noise but keeps her eyes shut before, during and after the feed. At the 6am wake up, she starts blowing raspberries, singing and the little eyes are very much open! Stays wide awake if I try to feed or jiggle to sleep straight away. A least it was 6am not 5am this morning though, although I lost count of the number of night feeds.

She's not yet in her own room with blackout blinds so I do still have that one left to try, then I might resort to the early waking....

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Alexa007 · 04/07/2013 22:19

I am having this exact same problem with my 4 month old. Same nap issues too.
Dd has woken at 5 every morning for probably 7 weeks. Am sick of it.
Was wondering if u can do the wake to sleep method if baby still wakes for night feeds. Dd is down every night by 7pm, will then have a DF feed about 10.30pm before I go to bed. She wakes between 3 and 4 for a feed, goes straight back to sleep and is then wide awake at 5am, singing cooing etc, which turns to tears if I ignore her. If I get there quick enough I can sometimes get her back to sleep for another 40 min but not very successful at this. What should I do!!!

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maternitart · 05/07/2013 09:00

We put DS in his own room, and tbh if he wakes up before 6.15 I just leave him to it (as long as he's not crying). He will often wake for 15/20 mins around 5.30-6 then go back to sleep (and so do I!). He doesn't do any night feeds though as we worked out one of them was just habit so my partner cuddled him back to sleep for a couple of nights, and the other was usually at 4 or 5 and just eventually stretched out to 6 or 7 naturally. (We are lucky!)

When he was in our room I found it impossible to just leave him though.

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Alltheflowers · 05/07/2013 10:31

I've decided the night feeds are worse than the wake ups now - fed every 1.5-2 hours last night. I think I should refuse to feed one night to try to get bigger feeds in the day, but not sure i can do it.

alexa if you have ever managed to get her back to sleep then I would persevere. It's meant to take 3 nights to change a pattern. So if you manage 3 nights in a row she might then stick to it. But what do I know haha!

matern I think you're right, once she's in her own room I will turn sound monitor down and only respond to cries. At the mo I never get as far enough as her crying, so I probably respond way too soon.