4 am wake up call (10 mos)

Bridget - posted on 04/28/2009

Thank you Kimmurra for your advise as well. By some miracle he slept until 5:30 this morning. I did not feed him until 6:15, which is when he normally would get a bottle. You couldn't tell by looking at him, but he is the human garbage disposal :-) Even when he is sick, nothing can get in his way when it comes to food. So I'm pretty sure he is not hungry when he goes to bed. But, I am going to pay closer attention to when he goes to bed with or with out a bottle. Some times he won't take the bottle b/c he had to much table food. Again, thanks for the pointer!

Kimmurra - posted on 04/27/2009

My 7 mo. old and 4 yr old share a room as well and the 7 mo. old does this from time to time. My dr suggested I let her cry, but of course I can't do it. However, since she doesn't really cry, just makes noise, one night I ignored her and she played in her crib and eventually fell asleep. On days where she hasn't had at least 3 feedings of solid food I will give her the bottle, or wake her up prior to my going to bed to feed her in hopes that she will not wake up prior to 6-7 am. If you know your 10 mo. old isn't hungry, I would attempt to ignore him for a little while. If by the end of an hour or so he's still making noise I might feed him just a little and put him back down so he can figure out how to fall back asleep on his own. Also, how much is he eating during the day? Explore this and if you find he might be hungry, add a little something extra to his daily food routine. Good luck.

Anita - posted on 04/27/2009

*hugs* ur welcome..and good luck..

Bridget - posted on 04/27/2009

Thanks Anita. I did a similar thing with my oldest (who sleeps in the same room with his brother). It's so tough on me but I know it works. I'm totally scared of doing this b/c it will wake up his brother. Both boys depend on me so much to put them down while they are drowsy. My 10 mos old gets a 6oz bottle before bed around 7:30, so I know he is full when he goes to bed. He becomes completely drowsy (but he totally knows when he's being put into bed) with bottle. I'm not sure I'm making sense. Partly b/c of sleep deprivation and partly b/c I can't email vary well. Anyhoo...thanks again for your advise! It is greatly appreciated.

Anita - posted on 04/27/2009

My little one used to wake up at 230-330am for a bottle..he still wakes up around that time but he doesnt get a bottle anymore...he just wakes up to yell out for words of reassurance that mummy and daddy havent snuk out and he goes back to sleep:)...

It is hard to teach a child to go to sleep on their own but its all worth it in the end...never really explained properly how to go about doing the wi/wo (walk in/walk out)..pu/pd (pick up/ put down) method...at 10mths old this is the best method to use...

you need to do this everytime u put him down to sleep for nights and naps..it will take time and it will take patience on ur behalf...u need to be able to to put up with the crying..and getting up and down....

1.do your normal bedtime routine (u should have one in place so that kids know exactly what to expect nxt and it needs to be consistant every put down)

2.tuck ur little one in and walk out

3. if he or she cries dont go in straight away..wait 10-15seconds and then go back in and retuck them into bed without picking them up..soothe them until the crying stops eithre by shhh-ing and patting or storking head, rubbing back etc and then walk out again..

4. bubs can start to cry straight away knowing u are walking out or cry a few minutes later..either way u need to wait a few seconds(10-15) b4 u go in and repeat the above..

5. the third and forth time u wait b4 u go in -prolong the time to15-20 seconds..and teh 5th and 6th time u wait to go in-prolong it to 20-25 seconds and for the 7th and 8th time u wait for about 25-30 seconds NOTE: you shouldn't allow ur child to cry for more than half a minute cos it stresses them out too much...unless ur circumstances is the same as mine (my child being very pig headed and leaving him to cry longer was my last resort..i think he got the pig headedness from me:)..)

If they stop b4 u get the chance to go in then thats great ..if they start up again then u recount b4 u head back in to soothe them...

Bridget - posted on 04/27/2009

Thank you Anita. Will also try this as well. I think you maybe also right with the bottle as a habit. I have to get mentally ready for this type of advise. But will try it when I think I can handle it.

Bridget - posted on 04/27/2009

Thank you Rachel. I will totally try reducing the amount of liquid. Will try to reduce to 2oz tonight and see how that works. Your advise makes total sense.

Anita - posted on 04/27/2009

if he wakes up every morning around the same time it means that it is a habitual waking for something to comfort him back to sleep...in this case its a bottle...u need to break that habbit by refusing to give him that bottle and u also need to look at when his last feed is at night b4 he goes to bed...it will be hard and it will take time but u need to be consistant and break that habbit...go to him when he wakes up crying (about 10 seconds after he starts to cry) and without picking him up, ly him back down and hush him until he settles and then walk out...if it takes u 2 hours to get him back to sleep over 2 weeks them u have to put up with it...u have to be strong and not cave in...make one mistake and give in by giving him a bottle wont help in the long run...

Rachel - posted on 04/27/2009

My little boy (11mos) was having the same problem for a while...our childcare nurse said that as long as he was having a decent feed before he went to bed, he shouldn't need another feed to get him through till morning.

She suggested to start by gradually reducing the amount of milk that we gave him for that feed and to eventually offer him cooled boiled water when he woke instead.

This worked for us and within approx 2 weeks he was sleeping through from 7.30pm to 6.00am again.

Hope this helps you, good luck. :)