Why does DS still wake after 40 minutes?

[TheSleeperandTheSpindle]

DS is 9 months old and I feel that over the last 2-3 weeks we've really turned a corner with his sleep.

He now goes to sleep without being rocked (hurrah!), his naps are more consistent and we've dropped the night feed! However, he still wakes 40-45mins after being put to bed! I can literally predict when it will happen when DH and I watch him on the monitor - it happens every night now.

This is a rundown of his day, if anyone can offer any advice. It's starting to get me down a bit as it feels like I no longer have any evening to myself.

7am - wake up. 6oz milk
8am - breakfast - porridge, banana, yoghurt etc.
9am - nap in pushchair until around 10.30am
10.30 - milk 6oz
12 - lunch. Something like pasta with meat/veg and cheesy sauce. Fruit and yoghurt.
1.30 - offer milk (sometimes takes 4-5oz) Nap in pushcair until 3pm
4.30 - milk 5-6oz
5.30pm - dinner. 7mth pouch. Finger food from our plates. Rice pudding/yoghurt.
6.15pm - start bath/book routine
7-7.30pm - bedtime bottle (6oz) given downstairs. Up on my shoulder to wind, starts getting drowsy. Taken upstairs and put in cot. I lay with him with my hand on his chest/back and sometimes pat. Stroke cheek/hold hands still if necessary. Usually asleep within 10mins.

He then wakes within 40mins and starts crying and rolling around his cot!! I go up and resettle him but by that point I then worry about the same thing happening if I leave again so I end up staying upstairs (with a cuppa from DH.) He then sometimes wakes for a feed at 10pm but then goes back down until 7am, with a few pats/dummy inserts during the night.

What am I doing wrong? I feel like DH and I don't get any evening and also like I'm running around like a headless chicken trying to get things done between 7.30-8pm and DS wakes up!

The only thing I could suggest is that when you put him down, put him down drowsy but not quite asleep and then leave him to it? He might currently need you lying down with him, patting him etc. to go to sleep because he's so used to it and so wakes at the end of every sleep cycle instead of stirring and going back to sleep.

If he cries, I'd pop back in at increasing intervals and after a couple of nights he should be good. But I appreciate this is sleep training and not everyone thinks it's a good idea... someone else might be along shortly with an alternative!

His awake 10:30am-7pm?
His way over tired and that's probably why

Oops just seen there is an afternoon nap. Sorry

HappyPixie We've tried leaving him and he just rolls around Plus the annoying thing is he only wakes for the first sleep cycle. Once I resettle him he then settles himself after that, so confusing! Thanks for the advice though, hoping we will evetually move towards leaving him to it.

My poor layout I'm afraid Time, there is another nap around 1.30pm-3pm

Have you considered disrupting his routine? Instead of giving him 40 mins I would go in 15 mins earlier when he is in a deep sleep phase and gently wake him. He is unlikely to wake fully and you will disrupt his bodies sleep rhythm hopefully this will cause him to not wake up as per his usual pattern

He will grow out of it. For now, if you know he wakes after 40 minutes, go to his room at 35 minutes after being put to bed. Place your hand on his chest and wait for him to stir. Shush him straight through into the next sleep cycle without him waking properly. The trick is to catch at the very first stirring from a deep sleep, before actually waking up, and resettle then.

Thank you both, seems so obvious now! I usually stay with him for 10-15 mins after he's asleep anyway so it's not too much bother to MN for a bit stay a while longer and catch him before he properly wakes.

Just taking him up now, fingers crossed!

Hi, I've not really got any advice but just wanted to say my little girl (10 months) does exactly the same! She always wakes 30-40 mins after going to sleep but when I resettle her she then sleeps until around 1am and self settles between each cycle (I watch her on the video monitor if I hear her shuffle around.) It's most likely because I still bf her to sleep but I'm happy to wait until she grows out of it, because from 4 months old until a couple of weeks ago she was waking almost hourly until I took her into my bed at 11pm. Suddenly something clicked and she started sleeping in the cot for much longer. I think it's because since she started crawling she now likes sleeping on her front.
Anyway, sorry I have nothing to offer but the fact that you are not on your own with this!

My LO is 10 months, follows a very similar routine to you but was exactly the same with waking after the first sleep cycle at bedtime. It seems to have stopped all by itself so hopefully your LO will grow out of it too!

Bhar and jb1305 funny how your DCs are doing something similar and good to hear I'm not alone

Well I stayed upstairs until DS first stirred and resettled in the cot and he slept until 9pm. We then had issues with him trying to go up on his knees whilst still asleep (he is just learning to pull himself up to standing ) so popped him in bed with me, fed at 11pm and then slept as usual until 7am. All in all can't really complain