Hello- I was wondering if anyone had advice on the new awaking habits my daughter has developed.
She consistently goes down between 6 - 6:30PM every night and normally sleeps until 6 - 6:30AM. This past week, she has been getting up at 4:45 - 5AM. We let her lay in her crib for a while, but then she escalates to full on crying, so we are getting her up between 5:15- 5:30AM now...
For background, she is down to 2 meals (2 jars; 1/2 at each meal) and 3- 6oz bottles of formula per day, 1- 4 oz for supper. (Had to stop nursing because my body stopped). The doctor said not to give her fruit at night (more substantial things like meat & potaotes) as she will wake up hungry. Her 2 bottom teeth are here and she has been furiously sucking her thumb (only chews on the pacifier) so we think she is getting more teeth.
I've read that sleep begets sleep that that we should put her down earlier to help her sleep longer, but that back-fired on us last night.
Also, last week, I was able to get her soothed and sleeping in 5 minutes every night by simply rocking her and singing to her, which leads me to think she may need to go down earlier, not later.
Thank you for all of your advice. We just got back from a trip to Arizona and while there, pushed her to a 7PM bedtime (5PM Arizona time). She slept until 6AM Chicago time all 6 days. Last night, we put her down at 6:30PM as she was tired and she slept until 6:15AM. Hopefully the later bedtime will continue to prevent early wake time.
Here's some info that I hope might be helpful for you...
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/7/T070100.asp
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/7/T071100.asp#T071130
If you'd like to consider relactation, here is some info about that also...
http://www.llli.org/NB/NBrelactation.html
Best wishes,
J.
My 6 month old has been waking earlier and earlier, too. He used to sleep until 8 a.m., but recently started waking at 7:30 and now 6:45! Could it be that she's hungry? The amounts of food that you mentioned seemed like very little to me. The guides I have suggest 7-8 ounces of formula about 3 times per day averaging 21-32 ounces a day for a 7-9 month old and 21-24 ounces a day for a 9-12 month old. Also, 2 servings each of cereal, veggies, and fruit per day. Feed her until she refuses more. Is she an itty-bitty? My son eats 4 jars per day plus cereal twice a day. Good luck.
In the book 'Health Sleep Habits, Happy Child' the author mentions how babies sleep needs and schedules continue to change as they grow. I seem to recall that the book indicated that at around 9 months, many children begin to need a night-time feeding again around the time you mention. I would recommend checking this book out b/c it does a good job of coaching parents through different stages. Good luck!
If she's waking up earlier and earlier, she's probably learning that louder screaming = quicker response from mom and dad, thus she's getting up early.
It is highly likely that she doesn't not have a 'need' at this point, but rather a 'want' to wake up and be with you. Our child did this for a few days but we held firm to a no going in until 6:00 rule. It only took a few days for him to settle back down into his normal wake up time. We definitely weren't abandoning him; we just knew that getting up that early made him crabby and cranky all day because he needed that extra little bit of sleep. Once he self-soothed and fell back asleep until a healthy hour, he went back to being his super pleasant self.
How many naps is she taking and for how long? Our little girl did this a couple of months ago and we found that letting her stay up 30 minutes later and changing the routine just a little bit has led to her sleeping better in the morning.
I agree with Julie V. I think some babies go thru stages and you have to try different things to adjust the schedule. If the more important thing to you is to wake up later, then try putting her to bed later, if that doesnt work try less naps, ect. Sometimes nothing works, sorry to say. For instance, I would LOVE to sleep till 7a - but my son (2 yrs old) is a 6am riser, no matter what time we put him to sleep or what time we nap him! It's just how his clock works! And letting him cry only wakes up the house more, so Im not sure exactly how that works for some people. But everyone is different, every parent and every child. You will find what works best for you and your family, just try some different things! Good Luck!
I would keep a sleep journal. See if putting her down early or later helps. Also, what is her nap schedule during the day? Keep a journal of that too. Babies change their sleeping pattern to what their needs are. How wonderful for you that she is sleeping so well. Also, a lot of babies also change sleeping patterns when they are about to reach a milestone, crawling, wallking, etc. More than likely she will resume her schedule, but you will just have to hang in there. Also, even thought the sleep beet sleep, you shouldn't expect your daughter to sleep more than 12 hours. If it were me I would try putting her down between 6:30-6:45 for a few nights and see what happens.
Good luck.
K.
Hi J. Try putting her to bed a little later and see if that works.
Put her down between 6:30-7:00. If she is exhausted at 6:00pm then adjust her nap schedule. Put her down for her nap a little later so she sleeps later & then you can put her down for the night a little later. The fact that she is sleeping over 10 hours straight at 9 months is awesome. My kids were still waking up twice a night at that age.
I notice that at this time of year my children's sleep habits go through a bit of an adjustment as well. One thing in particular that can happen is, as our nights become chilly, my kids might wake more if they are cold. I switch to warmer pajamas for them, probably sooner than it seems necessary, because if they kick off the blankets during the night and get cold, they will wake up and come find me! Maybe some warmer pjs will keep her snug and sleepier longer. And I agree that earlier to bed the better the sleep, and my kids get sleepier a bit earlier this time of year as well! Good luck!
How are her naps during the day? Is she down to one nap? She should be napping early rather than later (no late afternoon napping). Look at her nap schedule and when she does wake up early, can you prolong feeding her by 30 minutes. See if that helps.
She may not sleep 12 ours at night forever. My kids settled into 10 hours at night. I know babies that slept 13 hours a night. It just depends on the baby.
Make sure her napping is appropriate and you adjust her bedtime to reflect the time you want her awake in the morning. Don't fight it so hard, let her determine how long she wants to sleep.
It's probably just a phase, teething, a wonder week, etc. If it doesn't pass in a week or so, you may want to move her bedtime a little later. My daughter use to go down at 6:30, and then around 10 months or so it changed to 7, and now, at 19 months, we are close to 8. I had to keep pushing it back later because she was waking up earlier, and earlier. I tried putting her down earlier and she just woke up earlier! Sleep does beget sleep for some kids, and then there are others that just do not need as much sleep. My daughter doesn't really need much more than 10.5 a night. She wakes up happy, is happy all day, etc. so as much as I'd love to have a toddler that slept 12-14 hours a night, I've accepted that she isn't one. I have a friend whose daughter is similar in her sleep to mine: they are just too busy to sleep, and since their moods don't suffer for it, we don't worry about it.
I doubt it has anything to do with food.
