My 10 months-old baby wakes up every morning at 5AM-5:30 and will not got back to sleep unless I give him a bottle. He then falls asleep until 6:30ish. I've tried just changing him or just patting him gently. It works sometimes... but 80% of the time, he wants his bottle. This is very frustrating! He is on Prevacid for his reflux and it is best that he takes his med first thing in the morning and that we wait 15 minutes before feeding him. Makes it difficult when he cries to early.
He naps twice a day and goes down to bed around 7PM. Tried putting him to be earlier... but didn't change anything and it was a battle to get him to fall sleep on his own (simply wasn't tired yet, I guess).
Any suggestions?
This sounds very normal for a 10 month old, actually I wish my kids would have done that!
Have you tried to put him down later than 7 PM? He may sleep a little later in the morning.
If you think about it, if he's going to bed at 7 and waking at 5a that's 10 hours, he may truly be hungry. I too had twins with reflux and had to deal with that. The other thing it could be is his reflux coming up and hurting and it's waking him. They don't know the difference between reflux and being hungry, all he knows is something is bothering him and then giving him the bottle helps to soothe the pain. Sometimes when my kids starting doing the same thing, it was time to increase their med dosage because they had gained weight. Might see if that's the case. Yes, it is annoying that he's waking so early, but it too shall pass just like all the other little quircks they come up with.
Agree with both Heidi and Carrie's comments - how lucky you are for him to be sleeping that much. What a blessing. Neither of my kids slept through the night until after their first birthday, and my son (at almost 4) still wakes up most nights.
I'd also suggest trying to get him down after 7pm to see if you can get him to adjust his schedule slightly. These may just be his circadian rhythms, though, and you may have an early bird on your hands.
It sounds more like a habit. I used the tips from "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" book. If he is waking up at between 5-5:30, do not give him the bottle until 5:30 exact. In about 1 week, increase it to 5:45, then 6:00, 6:15...
Hope this helps.
My boys woke ot nurse at 4am until they were a year old, and then just stopped waking at that time on thier own. He's sleeping a huge amount, I wouldn't complain, just get up and feed him, especiallly since he goes back to sleep. Better to just feed him and go back to sleep than be up with a fussy, hungry, crying baby.
Cindy G. is spot on!!! Slowly adjust the time you give the bottle. He is most likely waking up at that time because you are feeding him. If you refuse to give the bottle until a set time and do not take him out of his crib, in just a few days he'll sleep till that new time. My son who is 9mos old did the same thing, but than I set that we wouldn't get him out of his crib till 7am and he now sleeps till 7am. Whatever you do, don't put him to bed later. Sleep begets sleep!!! Putting him down later will only cause an earlier wake-up. I have two breastfed children who both sleep from 7-7 since they were 5 mos. old, thanks to "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child." Good Luck!
If he sleeps 91/2 hours and wakes up, then goes back to sleep after he eats, it sounds like he is hungry. When does he get up after that? If it is an hour or more later, give him the Prevacid then and wait 15 minutes. I am not minimizing your problem, believe me, but this sounds like a very pleasant dream to me. All 3 of my kiddos were having at least one night time feeding (around midnight), and getting up around 5am at 10 months. They also weren't going down for the night at 7:30. If you can work around this, I would. You don't want to mess with that kind of quality sleep!
My son did that until he weaned himself off the bottle at 13 or 14 months. He would wake between 500 and 600 take a bottle and then sleep till 7 or 8. Now he wont take the bottle and wakes up anytime between 630 and 8 on a good day. Bad days (like today), he woke up at 515 and was up for the day! Good times when you are trying to get ready for work! Hope it works out. Good luck. He still naps twice a day and goes to sleep between 730 and 8.
my 9 month old son is doing the exact same thing and i find it very frustrating too. were you able to break the habit? how did you do it?
