Help Baby early waking!

[Lockdownbaby2021]

My 7mo has started waking up at 4/5am for the last week or so.
His room is very dark and he’s not hungry so I know it’s not that.
He has previously slept through from 7pm- 645 up until 2 weeks ago so I’m at a loss. And I’m dreading the clocks going back this weekend. I tried putting him to bed 15 mins later to see if it helped but it’s made it worse. His day goes roughly as followed

Wake up 5am (used to be 7)
7am bottle
8am breakfast
Nap 830/9am- 10 Ish
1030/11am bottle
1230- 1/230pm nap
230pm bottle
4pm- nap for 15 mins
5pm- tea
615pm -get ready for bed
645pm- bottle
7pm- bed
11pm- dream feed

Any ideas I’m going back to work soon and can’t be doing this and he’s very grumpy through the day because of this early wake.

Also i must mention he’s not waking up crying, just rolling around and babbling

Perhaps he's ready to go to down 2 naps? Try the 2-3-4 schedule of wake windows & see if it helps.

Is the baby really waiting 2 hours for the bottle, even if you offer it at 5, half 5, 6 and half 6? Worth a try x

My lo goes through phases of waking really early, i read if they are not crying and seem happy to leave them in their cot until abit more closer to getting up time.
Our lo usually wakes between 6-6.30 as long as she's isn't upset and is happy in her cot we leave her to it until 6.45ish most of the time she lays back down and goes back to sleep for another 10-15mins.
It is cute listening to her on the monitor chatting to herself and saying dada (its all about dada 😁)
I would say if he's waking at 5am and seems happy leave him be for a little while, he may go back to sleep if not you could try giving him a bottle in his room, quietly like a night feed and pop him back down see if that helps x

@BrunoJenkins this did cross my mind however he’s so tired by bedtime and I’m usually out and about around 4 and he falls asleep anyway so he must need it x

[quote Lockdownbaby2021]@BrunoJenkins this did cross my mind however he’s so tired by bedtime and I’m usually out and about around 4 and he falls asleep anyway so he must need it x[/quote]
Have you tried pushing the second nap back to 1pm?

@BrunoJenkins yes we’ve tried this too. I’m just worried there’s something wrong with him. He’s been so off it the last few weeks. Took him to drs a couple weeks ago and they said his tonsils were red but nothing else. His BM have been all over the place, yesterday he had a solid ball and then an hr later a mucus nappy (sorry tmi)
He’s also just so Whiney. I thought he could be teething but surely can’t be going on for this long.
He just never seems rested after naps no matter how long they are xx

this happens- usually works itself out, i.e. first nap will end up being until c. 11/12pm

Any reason your LO doesnt have a lunch yet?- maybe try a little food.

Totally normal. Infant sleep isn’t linear.

Big separation anxiety peak at 8 months and a sleep regression too.

@OnlyFoolsnMothers were only on two meals at the minute as sometimes he struggles to eat either breakfast or tea so didn’t feel it was appropriate to add in an extra meal just yet. He’s also way too tired to have lunch around 1130/ 12 which would mean giving him it around 230-3 after his lunch nap which would be too near his tea time.
He still really struggles with reflux / belly pain. Still sick around 10 times a day, food or milk. I’m worried he’s allergic to something else which is making him poorly but been told I have an 11 week wait to see a dietician xx

oh i see- understood.

My LOs sleep times really started to get more consistent and easier after 7 months- not to say the early starts still dont happen but on the whole it gets better.
Best way to survive- go to bed early yourself

@NavigatingAdolescence yes I’ve read this too.
Although he’s not a clingy baby at all. He doesn’t like being rocked or cuddled or sat on my knee.
He never cries when I leave the room, in fact he cries more when I’m sat trying to entertain and play with him. I feel we lost a huge opportunity to bond not being able to breastfeed x

Ok so today not going well. Awake at 4am. Nap at 10 for a hr and then put down for nap at 1230 and he woke 30 mins later 😖 couldn’t re settle. It’s so obvious he needs to sleep too everyone always makes comments on how tired and unhappy he looks all the time it’s really getting to me now

You put him down very early after his first nap, 1.5hrs awake is a very small window at that age. He might sleep better if he eats something and you try again at like 1.30pm

@OnlyFoolsnMothers sorry it was meant to say 9 for an hr. the 4am start has got me spelling everything wrong today

Im sorry OP, it will get better- babies are funny things but they fall in line eventually

We had a spell of early waking when my son was around this age.... he is 14 months now and I am over the moon if he sleeps past 6.15am!
Sometimes I would give him a feed at 4.30am/5am and he would go back to sleep, or as others have said, leave him in the cot by himself if he is happy, sometimes they go back to sleep.
Sounds like the wake window at the beginning of the day is perhaps a bit long. Usually my boy would have a nap 2-3hrs after waking. Going from 4am - 9am is probably a bit long. He is possibly overtired and that's what is causing the early waking.
Perhaps start taking the morning nap a little earlier and bed time a bit earlier, say 6.30pm. Then creep things forward gradually.
We also used to have a big morning nap but I gradually cut this down and he would then sleep longer at lunch. I think they sometimes make up for night sleep with the morning nap which contributes to the early waking.
Good luck for the clock change!!

@OnlyFoolsnMothers thank you I know everything is just a phase but I thought a few weeks ago we were really getting somewhere. I’ve struggled so much with his reflux and colic and now the lack of sleep has broken me.
I think the thing that gets me most is when I go to baby groups and other mums comment on how he never smiles and how often he is sick in the classes when there babies are happy all day and have never been sick. I have gone home in tears and this has lead me to think my baby is somehow poorly x

your baby isnt abnormal- baby groups are notoriously full of smug parents who are either lucky or lying. Dont let them get to you- enjoy your baby- even enjoy the exhausted days where he naps on you and you are stuck watching a box set, let the chores mount up, because in the blink of the eye he will be grown up and you will long for those wasted days (i assure you),

So he was awake at 4am and his first nap was 9am? A 5 hour awake window?? If I've read this right, your baby will be massively over tired which will be the cause of the early waking. If you can't resettle at 4am, the first nap should be 5.45am, 6am at the very latest. Following the first nap they should have an awake window of around 2 hours before nap 2. Then 2.5 hours before nap 3. You need to make the first awake window waaaaaay shorter and over a few days he should start sleeping later in the morning.

Is he on medication for the reflux? Still being sick that much i'd be a bit worried.

That being said if he was happy babbling in his cot i'd leave him until he shouted for me.

Ignore what people at baby groups say, they're being unkind x

@Willthewashingeverend I know what you’re saying about the over tiredness. On some rare occasions he can fall back asleep at around 630 for 30 mins. However his mood is still impacted massively and he’s still very grumpy and tired through the day whether he’s fallen back asleep or not. X

@mumofbun no he’s never been put on medication for reflux but he’s on Aptamil Pepti for a suspected cows milk allergy.
I think he’s still tongue tied or another unknown allergy which is causing the reflux. The poor mite can’t even lift his tongue up. I’ve had it checked but nhs don’t seem to look at prosterior ties etc. They said he had a short and thick tie so there wasn’t much they could do as it would bleed too much I’ve been back to drs to emphasise my worries about his sick but they keep saying he will grow out of it xx

Sounds really tough with the reflux too. I went to a sleep consultant when my boy was around 5 months and she suspected some kind of tummy issue or silent reflux as he would only go back to sleep on me when he woke after about 4.30am and had short naps. I've had him off dairy ever since and it gradually improved and all came right at about 9 months.

Take a look at the parent and baby coach website and podcast, she specialises in reflux so you might find something helpful on there too :)

@EL1984 yes it’s been really hard. I’m glad you’re little one is better now. Thank you I’ll take a look at that xx