Early waking- advice please!!!

[NumNumMum]

My lo is 15 wks old and was sleeping through till 7am but a few weeks ago (3 or 4) started waking at 5am. He used to disturb and drift back off. Could he now be hungry, tho sometimes he makes it till 6.30? would a dreamfeed help maybe? Is this a good age to start this or too late? Or could it be he's going to bed overtired as I read in another thread? He doesn't sleep for very long in the day, usually 30 mins at a go, and is very tired at bedtime, 7.30ish. Other days he seems to do a big catch-up. Or maybe I should just count myself lucky that he sleeps as well as he does and wait till he's older to sleep longer again. just worry he's not getting enough food and/or sleep.

oh and as for dp helping out...he doesnt.
Well he'll help before ds goes to bed, he normally gets him changed and ready for bed then i feed him and we both go in his room to put him down. Thats about as much as he does.
He doesnt hear anything ( or so he says ) if ds wakes through the night and he egts up for work just as ds is waking up.

Selective deafness, I think! . My dp is the same. Seems from what you say it's not a more sleep in the day thing, although it can take a little while for new things to make a difference. My ds has done a 7.20 start! Woke at 6.00 for a mild grumble, went back off after 30mins. Is your little one crying for you when he wakes?If not, how long do you give him to go back off?Maybe it's a chillyness thing? Is he warm enough when the temp drops early am? What about bumping along that first sleep? I think that maybe what did it for my boy. Reset his clock.Really I can't think of anything else to suggest. Maybe he's just an early waker, or this is a phase he'll move on from. One thing I know from experience, whatever the problem, sooner or later things will change and be replaced by a different one! Just hope for your sake it's not too long. It won't be forever, take heart.

he never cries, honestly he sometimes just has a little whinge but never cries. He just starts babbling to him self and his thing at the minute is squeeling. He's only been back off for 30 mins so far today so hopefully if he just has a little nap later he might be better tonight. It has been quite cold the past few nights but i have put an extra blanket on his bed, might try puuting a cardie ontop of his sleepsuit tonight and see if that helps.

Hi there,
My dd is 16 weeks old and does the same thing, she started sleeping through then at about 14 weeks started waking early and more times in the night, right about the time when she started babbling, I think they just find their voice and love the sound of it!! Dream feed has never worked on her, she only takes a few oz if that and it doesn't help. She wakes about 4 now and babbles away. I know i should probably leave her but she gets so loud (just babbling) i go in and feed her which puts her back to sleep. I know though I am probably creating a rod here as she will now expect food when she wakes !! last night she woke again at 6 so again i fed her and she went back to sleep. It is is difficult because when you are tired you end up doing what is easiest as apposed to what you should do. Although I am not entirely sure what you should do... should you just let them babble and babble ? Anyway I started giving her hungry baby formula which helped a bit (she weights 15lb 9oz) and it has improved over the last week so maybe its just a developmental thing that will pass??

Hi,Mammaemma, I hate to say this, but my dd started doing this at eight or nine months and would eventually go back to sleep.This continued though, and as she developed she ended up having whole conversations with herself for a couple of hours each night until she was four and started school! It was like having a noisy neighbour! Seriously though, maybe leaving them to go back is the best thing, if they're not distressed? Fifi, I'm amazed at the difference sleeping in the cot for most of my babe's naps has made. He's gained 20mins every day so far and gained over an hour per day overall. I feel more sure that sleep makes more sleep and that's the key. Could you try delaying that first sleep in the bouncer and see if it resets his times? will he sleep in his cot in the day if he's more tired? Just hoping my 2 good nights are a sign of things to come and not just a fluke.

i delayed his sleep yesterday so he didnt go back off until 10.30 and he had 30 mins or so the had about 2 hours in the afternoon but was awake from 4pm until bedtime.
I gave him half a jar of food as well as an extra 2 oz in his bottle and guess what.....
he woke up earlier again, 5.30 this morning
i just dont know what else i can do, ive tried everything, i hope this is just a phase that will pass, at least i hope so coz i cant cope with these early starts when im on my own all day

Sorry Fifi, crashed again, hence absence. How's it going? I know it's hard, it's easy to get down when you're tired. After a good spell, my lo has had disrupted sleep in the day again and the bad mornings have started again. This makes me more inclined to think that for him at least, if he's been overtired the day before, it disrupts his night and waking times. Trying to get sleep in the day sorted back out. Either that or it is just a phase that they will go in and out of. If so, just hang on in there. Remember, no matter what, things will change eventually. It will get better.

well ds has a cold now so he's been a bit restless. For some reason weekends arent as bad as through the week, 7am on saturday and 6.30 yesterday morning.
He woke at 3.30 this morning and hasnt done that since he was about 5 weeks old, i just gave him a dummy though and he went straight back off until 6.15.
Im trying not to let it get me down and ive even started having a sleep when he goes back of at about 9.

Have also got same prob with dd who was sleeping thro till 7 then has started waking early. Was scared by suggestion of the clocks going back! Hadn't thought about that. As DD is nearly 17 wks have been advised to try some baby rice which she seems to love. Is on LF SMA so there is no "Blue SMA" equivalent. Trying a new tactic tonight of keeping her awake till 7.45 rather than usual 7pm bedtime. We shall see if it makes a difference. Shall watch this thread with interest to see if there are other tips I can pick up!

Hi alibobble, how's the babyrice affected the morning times? My ds is 16wks now. What were the signs that your lo was ready for solids? Wondering if it may help him though don't want to start him too soon. The main thing, imo, is the more sleep in the day, the more sleep at night and an overtired baby won't sleep well at night. That's what seems to have worked so far for me. (Unless it's a phase!)
Fifi,definately sleep when you can, being tired makes everything feel awful. Won't your dp get up instead just for a couple of mornings so that you can have a couple of later starts, just to recharge your batteries?

By the way- 8.00 this morning and not a peep all night!!!!!!!!! Really hope this lasts! Talking too soon maybe?

8am..
another 5.30 start for me today.
I dont know what else to try, i let him sleep when he wants through the day then try to keep him awake after 5pm so he's tired for bed.
He wouldnt have hardly any bottle last night for bed and wouldnt even do a dream feed,so i think thats why we are up this early..that extra hour in bed makes all the difference though. Dp gets up about the same time as ds wakes anyway so he cant really do anything to help in the mornings coz he goes to work.
Going to try and get some medised for ds's cold and that can apparently make them sleepy..fingers crossed

dunno if rice will help. HV said try for a week and see what happens. Kept her up till 7.45 last night and she slept till more like 6.45. understand what u mean about not being overtired but id dd is allowed to sleep when she likes she'd have 2 of her 3 hours of day sleep before 10am! and then be screaming rest of the day. As it is she copes well and is happy with 45mins-hr in the AM but could happily sleep for 2 hours. i think maybe she's got into the habit of earlier waking. She sing songs to herself and doesn't really seem to need feeding straight away. is most baffling! tho may be obvious to the more trained eye ;)

I would try her with some rice and see if that helps, my ds was having rice when he was about 17 weeks as he was a hungry baby and i know hv recommends milk only until 6 months but i felt id rather make sure my baby wasnt hungry.
You could maybe try her with some, it make take a few attempts for her to get used to it.
Ive also added an extra layer to ds's cot as he was waking up a bit cold.

DD is sleeping in a 2.5 tog grobag and a sleep suit. Do you think she's warm enough? She always seems fairly toasty? Don't want her to be too hot. Put her to bed at 7.30/7.45 last night and she slept till 6.45 so that was slightly better but don't know now if it was the rice or the later to bed that helped! Have to put her down at 7 tonight at mum babysitting and have to leave house by 7.30 having eaten so may see her at 6.15 again! She was sing songing again this AM! Think she sorta lost her voice with a cold (I know I have) and seems to have found it again now she's starting to get better!

Today my ds was up at 7.45, had 1hr 40 from 10 till 11.40am, 40mins from 1.20 till 2pm, then 1hr 40 from 3.50 till 5.10pm, and still went down ok at 7.30. The latest he's napped till before bedtime is 6.30 and gone off ok. I know they're all different, and you know your own baby best, but this is what I think has worked for me. Don't know how much help that is.
Also, if my lo wakes earlier on now I just leave him to it and he eventually goes back to sleep! Takes up to 30mins sometimes but he seems ok and I figure if he really needs me for anything he'll let me know!

I had something similar with my ds around 18 weeks(ish) and started weaning him. It did make a difference, although not immediately. I think if they aren't going as long between feeds or cry for more when they've finished a feed, it's one of the signs that they need more than just milk.

hi, yesterday ds was awake at 5.30, bottle and change and wouldnt settle back off until 7.30, we both had an hour sleep then he went back off at 10.30-11.45, jar of dinner and then napped again at 3.30-4.30. I kept him up after this and gave him another jar of food and some mashed bananas with rice, then his bedtime bottle about 8.15 then bed. He was up at 5.45 this morning but i think part of my problem is he wont take his bottles like he used to.
Last night he only had 4oz and wouldnt have any more and is like this during the day as well.
I think that its because he has solids and is going off milk but i dont want to stop giving him it.

dd had solids again yesterday. She totally refused 2.30feed until I coaxed 2oz down her (usually has 4-6) but she picked up towards the end of the day. Kept her awake till 7.20 instead of 7 because she didn't seem tired and was happy to wait. She took a monster 6oz at 10.30 but thought she wouldn't take any for a while .She faffs so much with a bottle. She loves solids loads and gins when I feed her it. She grabbed the spoon and started putting it into her mouth! I know they do this with everyhting but was still v. proud

O meant to add that she was still awake at about 6.45 tho compared to 5.30 = total bliss!

my ds does that, it does make you proud though. He seems to struggle with his bottles at night, hits them pushes his toungue out so you cant get them in, maybe thats a sign that he needs more solids?

I have just been reading these messages and my DD is doing exactly the same thing, only its getting earlier and earlier.

She started waking early between 6-6.30am and cooing and talking to herself but its gradually got earlier and this morning it was 3.40am!!

I can get her back to sleep if I feed her or give her the dummy but as soon as I try to put her down when asleep she wakes straight away so its either get up or keep her in my arms??

She is 16 weeks and also wakes before this time for a feed in the night so i am totally shattered, does anyone have any suggestions to push this early time back again!

i wish i knew how to push it back again
i think it must be just something that they go through at around this age, as ive tried adding extra layers to his cot to keep him warm, extra food,keeping him up alter,letting him sleep more and less during the day..i cant get anything to work

There's a def pattern of people with 16ish week old babies all doing the same thng. DD was asleep for a grand total of 2hrs 35mins between 6.45am and 7.20this evening and took 9oz + solids at tea so we shall see what heppen tomorrow. She has a not so dream feed too. She seems to be getting better from her cold. Have kept her topped up with calpol today for her teethng and she's been much happier. Feel bad dosing her up in some ways but if I don't she's in pain and grumpy. Don't want to be overmedicating but who wants tooth ache? Esp when you can't say anything about it?