8 month old - 5am waking

[dldl]

Hello fellow mumsnetters,

Thought I would post on here in desperation. DS was always a really good sleeper and we were very spoilt. He started nursery quite young, currently has 3 very good meals a day and 2 bottles in the daytime plus breastfed morning and night. Unfortunately he picked up chicken pox at about 6 months (oh the joys of nursery). Since then his sleep has been problematic, and he wasn't sleeping through the night. We became a little bit strict as I felt he had just got into the habit of feeding for comfort when he had chicken pox, and within about 3 nights he was sleeping through the night again. However, the last couple of weeks he has consistently woken up at 5am, regardless of what time he goes to sleep.

I would really appreciate any advice or suggestions as to what to do. I have tried verbal reassurance and held off feeding him until 5:45am but I am truly shattered, especially on weeks when I have 13 hour shifts!

Thanks in advance for your help and suggestions.

How long does he nap for and at what times? Is it possible he needs to cut back on daytime sleep?

I know dd1 (2.6) used to, and still occasionally does, go through periods of early wakjng if she's going through a developmental stage or getting teeth. Is your DS starting crawl or cruise, anything like that?

Thanks so much for your reply.

Hmm...I hadn't thought of the early waking due to developmental stage - he has been crawling for a long while already but the last couple of weeks has been pulling himself up on absolutely any and everything and is walking with the walker. All fun and games!!

As for teeth - we still remain absolutely toothless!

As for his daytime routine...
Breast feed when he wakes up
7:30 - 7:45 - breakfast (usually cereal and fruit)
9:30 - nap for about 30 - 45mins
10:00 - 4oz bottle
11:30 - 12:00 ish - lunch (he eats a really good solid meal with some fruit or yoghurt for dessert)
2:00 - 4oz bottle
2:30 or 3:00 - nap for about 30 - 45mins
4:45 - tea/supper (eats very well)
6:30 - bathtime followed by a story and breastfeed and normally in bed at about 7:15

Would appreciate any advice and suggestions! Thanks so much.

I'm not an expert but I think maybe he's actually getting too little daytime sleep. I know in dd1 overtiredness used to make her have a poorer quality sleep at night and guarentee she'd be up early.

At 8 mo dd1 was having a good long nap after lunch - usually around 2 hours, and 7 mo dd2 would sleep for much longer than the 2 1/2 I let her have.

I'd say either try putting him down for a nap 30-45 mins after his lunch or try move his existing nap forward a bit and let him have a short power nap (20 mins should do it) at around 5 to see him through til bedtime.

And not all babies are bothered by developmental stages - dd1 never was so I was totallyflummoxed when dd2 is so easily affected by them until I worked out that was what it was! And at 7 mo everything seems to be a developmental stage!

I agree your DS sounds a bit light on sleep for the norm but I also know from experience, suggesting they get more can be easier said than done. At 7mo my DD had two naps of 30mins-1hour, one at about 9am and one at about 12.30-1pm. I had to sit by her to try to soothe her back to sleep after 30mins. She's not ever had much more than 1.5 hours total since about 6 months.

A totally different thought - maybe he's actually hungry? If he's getting very active he might be burning it up faster and from what you say he's going well over 12 hours from supper. How about moving it to 5.30?