ake to Sleep technique

[plod]

Calling all mumnetters (solo, rubyslippers,fifitot, nappyaddict and tutter in particular)

I am in desperation going to try WTS on my 21 mth DS tonight. It's hard as I work shifts but am just wondering if your little cherubs are still going along with it??
He wakes around 5.20-5.30 every day (Sat and Sun slept til 7/7.30 but had bit of a cold). This early waking has been going on since Jan 2nd and I can't cope another day. Have now tried everything except this. Would you al reccommend? Gos I hope you read this thread then can give me some knod words or encourgement and advice. I hope it's going well for you all too. Challenging to say the least this parenting lark!!

[PuzzleRocks]

Bumping for you.

[plod]

How bad is my spelling? Lack of sleep is not good! LOL. Am off to bed now, waking him 4.30 so fingers crossed!

[plod]

It worked!!! Woke DS 4.30am, he was not inpressed and gave out angry cry but went straight back to sleep til 6.50!!! Please God let's hope it's not a fluke!!

[MiniMarmite]

I am doing this tonight...my LO has been waking at 3 and 5. Very easy to settle back down again but I'd rather he just slept!

[plod]

minimarmite did it work? It worked 2 nights for me then last night went wrong a bit as he never had a nap yesterday so was in bed by 7pm (usually 7.45) so was awake 5.45 even though I woke him 4.30am. It literally takes me 3 or 4 mins to rouse him, he is fast fast asleep. Going to try again couple more nights. x

[MiniMarmite]

Good luck!

Sort of worked for us but we moved him into his own room so he was unsettled on the night we did it so we decided not to bother again until he was settled in his own room (i was planning to do 3 consecutive nights like it says in the baby whisperer). Having said that he did not wake until 4 on the 1st and 2nd nights and then last night I heard him wake up at 4 and then 5 but settled himself both times so I didn't have to get out of bed to settle him for the first time in months! Crossing my fingers for us both for tonight

[MrsJamin]

Ooh plod I think you've finally encouraged me to try the wake to sleep techqnique, tonight. 1 year old DS has been waking at 6 or earlier since the new year too - coinciding with me going back to work [knackered as hell emoticon]. One morning this week was 4am

Sometimes I wonder it's just some babies don't sleep 7-7!

[MrsJamin]

ugh. Rouse DS at 4am but I don't think he properly woke up - I didn't know how 'awake' he should get. He woke at 5.10am for the day I can't do this no more!

[Wallace]

I have been trying this for the last four nights. Here's how it is going...

Night 1: Roused ds at 4, but I don't think I woke him enough becasue he woke normal time (somewhere between 5 and 5.30) SNAP MrsJamin - it goes against instinct to wake them up!

Night 2: He woke at 2.30 and didn't settle back down properly til 4 anyway (unusal for him to not settle in the night) woke at about 6.45

Night 3: Woke moments before my alarm went off at 4. Back to sleep fairly easily. WOke at 5.50. Whoopie doo...

Night 4: Roused him at 4. Woke about 5.40.

So I suppose it is working if you count 10 minutes extra as a lie in.

Will carry on

[plod]

Guys stick with it!! I have now been doing it for 5 nights since Tuesday. 21 month old DS was waking between 5.10 and 5.30 every day. He goes to bed 7.45pm and has daytime nap at 1pm for 2 hours ish (I wake him if gets to 3.15pm)
I started setting alarm for 4.20am. This is the story so far....

Tues- woke him 4.20am, gave out angry cry, opened eyes, I put dummy back in, slept until 6.50!!

Wed- woke him 4.20am, eyes opened, no cry, dummy back in, slept until 6.55!!

Thurs- day time nap had been only 10 mins, knew that there would be a hiccup but nevertheless..had to pu to bed early at 7pm as was falling asleep, woke 4.20am, slept til 5.55am (no prob as had been in bed early.
Although this would have been the third night, due to the hiccup I did another night so..

Fri- daytime nap the usual 2 hours, woke him 4.20am, he slept til 6.10?

Due to this slightly earlier wake up I decided to do for one more night so..

Sat- bed usual time of 7.45pm, woke at 4.20am, slept til 6.50!!

I am convinced it works if you just stick with it. Am not waking him tonight to see how we get on.
You have to wake him quite a lot. DS is literall ded to the world, takes me couple of minutes to rouse him. I just make sure his eyes actually open fully then immediately leave the room. I have a dimmer light which I put on ever so slightly too but that's up to you. I think on Fri I didn't rouse him enough, hence the 6.10am wake Sat morn.
Stick with it. I will keep checking thread

All the best luck in the world xx

[plod]

also, even an extra 10 minutes is a bonus right wallace so stick with it.
They need to actually open eyes, even if only a bit. It is against natural instinct, DS takes ages to rouse but am sure it works

[MiniMarmite]

Forgot to say that we used to do this sometimes when MiniMiniMarmite was much younger (before 12 weeks) and it did work after a few days as plod says so that's why we're trying it again now. We found that you don't need to wake baby much - I just say his name and wait until I see his eyes move under his eyelids rather than wake him completely and that seems to work and saves having to settle him down again.

DS woke at 4 a.m. this morning (time he has started to wake after my single WTS attempt last week) but settled himself (hurrah) and then at 6 and 6:30 before we woke him at 7 so we're feeling pretty happy...DH woke up and asked 'did he wake up?' so he's obviously getting more sleep! I seem to still be waking at 3 in anticipation of DS waking...maybe someone needs to do wake to sleep on me

[MiniMarmite]

Amount of waking needed might depend on the baby of course!

Anyway, enough waffle from me, I'm off to do the 11pm feed...

goodluck tonight everyone x

[MrsJamin]

Grr. DS went to sleep at 6pm last night as he was so exhausted through no sleep since 10am (think his teeth are bothering him, molars are coming through).
I just couldn't do the 4am thing so I just went to bed as normal and DS woke a 4am again I am going slowly insane. Could cry I am so tired. Just as well I have a day at home today but then I start 3 days of work - argh! The only option seems to be wake to sleep but it seems like it has to get worse before it gets better and this feels like the worst it could get.

[plod]

Good morning. Sorry to hear you are so tired. If it's any consolation I am also on the verge of tears with tiredness. Losing the will to live. Last night was the first attempt at not waking DS at 4.30, he cried out at 4.45am which I ignored then he was doing the annoying half awake/half asleep screech noise until 6.10am when I finally gave in and went in to him. So it's back to it tonight, 3 more nights of setting the clock for 4.30. I am off work....but on Wed, Thurs, Fri...I have to be up at 5.30 on those days anyway.

[plod]

further to above, after he cried out 4.45 and I ignored, he did go back to sleep until around 5.40, then did the annoying screech type cry noise until 6.10. Everyone just says to me...'ignore him', that's all fair and well but I am bloody awake by then, it's not a prob to ignore him, but I am awake, so lay there trying to get back to sleep but he is keeping me awake with the noise. I think part of it is psychological in that if you do happen to wake and baby hasn't, you lie there waiting for him to!! Horrendous. I notice all DSs, no DDs!!!!!

[GColdtimer]

plod, my experience is the opposite. All my friends with boys are really lazy and will loll about all morning. all of us with girls have either difficult sleepers or early wakers. DD now wakes at 6 but it used to be 5 so you all have my sympathies. Sometimes she still does the odd 5AM and I put a story tape on for her that lasts 45 mins and will incentivise her with a reward if she stays in bed until it finishes but she is a bit older than your DCs.

I am reading this for a desparate friend - I think I am going to get her to give it a go. I never did because DD is so alert she is up the minute she wakes up so I was never brave enough to try it for fear our day would start at 4.30!

[plod]

twofalls, despite the set back I am going to do another 3 nights. Encourage your friend to do it. I am convinced it will work, I must be mad, but I am desperate so will try again. I have done it for 5 nights, last night I didn't do it and he woke as above. A trying again. If I wke him 4.30, I also go back to sleep quite quickly, and he sleeps til 6.45ish.
I have 2 friends with DSs who are having to wake them at 8am!!! So yes, not just DSs, just no DDs on here at the min x

[GColdtimer]

I hope it works for you. Its not so bad in the summer (I remember taking DD for a long walk along the river at 5.30 AM midsummer's day when she was 14 months) but in the winter its deadly!

I will get my friend to give it a go. Good luck with it.

[MiniMarmite]

Sorry to hear everyone had such a bad night, thinking of you all - it's so horrible when you're exhausted.

I don't know if this will help or just make you feel worse but DS slept through last night for the first time ever - so there is hope.

Fingers crossed

[oysterpots]

Any progress with your wake-to-sleep efforts ladies?

I have an 18mo DS who has been waking between 5-6am every morning for the past 10 days (previously he'd go until 7ish). Not sure what has changed - that magical spell is obviously broken - but all I know is that I'm flipping knackered.

We've been listening to him warble for half an hour or so, until he gets cross and then going in to dump books and toys in his cot to give us an extra half hour or so. This morning I did this at 6.10 and he started crying about 10 minutes later. DH went and got him and brought him in with us where he slept until 8ish. What gives?

So am considering WTS. Am I crazy? Is it worth it? What's my alternative?

[MrsJamin]

I think I've not given it enough of a go - did it twice but I don't think I roused DS enough out of sleep for it to work. DS slept until 6.30 this morning so hopefully he's coming out of it - all of January it was before 6am. It sounds like it is worth it, oysterpots, but you have to be committed to it. I just got so worried that he'd wake properly at that time and not go back to sleep, plus he varied his waking time so much (4am-6am) that it was difficult to determine an hour before that.

[plod]

Oysterpots you have nothin to lose, give it a go. I tried it for 5 nights (usually only do 3 but I had a set back when he didn't nap one day) It worked from the off, I was waking him at 4.3 and he was sleeping til 6.50ish (previously had been 5.10-5.30am). After 5 nights I tried not waking him, he woke at 5.45 (better then 5.10/5.30 but still not quite good enough for me). So now trying for another 6 nights as recommended. It's working again so far, slept til 6.40 this morn. Last night was 2nd night.
Try it, wake DS an hours before he has been waking, rouse him til eyes flicker open then leave room and do this 3 nights running, on the 4th don't do it see what happens, if he wakes at the 'old'time, do WTS for another 6 nights. It's tiring but I always manage to get straight back to sleep myself so a 10 min wake up is worth it to get the extra hour in bed. Am hoping it works for good after these 6 nights. Bloody knackered and been up since 5.30am for work myself, same goes tomorrow and Fri!! Keep me posted. x

[oysterpots]

Well, I tried it last night and it worked! He slept through to 6.30 when it had been at least an hour earlier. Now I'm not sure whether it was WTS or the fact he'd only had a 45 minute nap that day but I'll try it again tonight and see.

But positive so far. Fingers crossed for tomorrow morning...

[plod]

it's all gone wrong this end! Have done 6 nights, works ok when I do it, but a couple of nights had to leave it to DH who doesn't seem to wake DS enough and DS then wakes earlier. Going to have a few nights off then try again next week when I can give my full attention as am on nights this week. Glad it worked for you Oysterpot. Keep me posted.