Early Rising 8 Month Old and She Always Has a Poop!

This question makes me laugh. I don't think there's much you can do to stop her pooping. It'll pass.

It's a phase. I think the best thing you can do us try to be patient and ride it out. I know sleep deprivation is really, really hard, so maybe you can go to bed earlier or nap with her once in awhile. I don't know that there's much you can really do to affect when she poops.

That's quite a schedule she's on. This might be a good time to begin to relax the schedule a little bit. She's at an age where many babies are trsnsitioning to 2 naps a day. That will probably be easier on both of you if you give her a chance to listen to what her body is telling her and if you begin to follow her cues. It's healthier for her to eat when her body tells her she's hungry, rather than because the clock reads 7 am.

i'm sorry, S., i'm giggling at you, just gently, just a little! this is an incredibly regimented day, so i guess it makes sense that you're also looking for control over her bowels.
:)
i'd be pretty surprised if you could control her digestive system so closely that you could 'fix' when she poops. maybe you can.
but i don't think you should.
she's not even a year old yet. i'd cut out a nap, maybe, and try putting her to bed a little later, but all in all, babies this age change their eating, sleeping and pooping habit so quickly that it's an exercise in frustration to get too invested in controlling any one phase.
sometimes with an infant you just have to resign yourself to getting up earlier than you want for a while. it won't last forever.
good luck!
:) khairete
S.

I don't think it's quite that easy. I'm thinking this will change over time.
She wakes up, then poops. Babies don't poop while they're sleeping.
My advice? Honestly, just get up with her. Are you home? Just know that she'll most likely be taking a nice nap very early, before lunch. I'd try harder on working toward two longer naps. O. from maybe 8:30-10:30, then maybe 2-3:00 or 3:30.
That's all I've got.

So, if I have this right, she consuming something at 6, 7, 10, 11, 1:30, 4 (maybe), 5, and bedtime (whenever that is). She's having 8 feedings and 3 naps a day, right?

Is she using a bottle to go to sleep for her naps as well as at bedtime?? That can make it hard for a baby to settle down after waking up.

I wonder if she's not getting a deep enough sleep during her naps, and if she's never really filling up because she eats so frequently. Have you considered knocking out 1 nap and maybe consolidating some of those meals? I'm wondering if she would have more productive poops during the day if she was actually filling up, and more was in her intestines and moving through? When is her last poop before that 5:30 AM one?

I wonder if the time change is part of this? It does get light earlier, and sometimes kids don't figure out that it's still nighttime.

I'm just asking questions because it would help to know some more info. But I don't think an 8 month old needs 3 naps and I don't think she needs to eat so often - she's able to eat more at one feeding and be satisfied longer. She goes all night and she wants attention at 5:30 AM because she just never goes very long during the day without someone with her, feeding her, or putting her to sleep. So every wake-up time is play time. Maybe you can adjust that.

Yeah she sounds like a baby. And you can't really control when she poops, any more than you can control your own poop schedule. It won't last forever (and feeding her solids at such a young age may be making it worse?)

Couple of thoughts

When I introduced solids, I didn't give them a bottle first - I think you are giving a bottle about an hour before they eat - do I have that right? So a bottle at 10 then feed at 11?

See, mine would not have eaten much if they just had filled up on a bottle within a hour before. So if I was giving them lunch, I would give them the bottle after lunch - before their afternoon nap.

And I think I was probably down to 2 longer naps at this age.

As for waking and the poop - 5:30 am was when some of my kids got up. I just adjusted to them. Their needs keep changing (think how much they grow in that first year). I tried with my first to put on a schedule, and then abandoned it with my other kids and just napped them, fed them, and changed them when they need to be. Was much easier.

I also napped when they had their second nap. And went to bed earlier. It's just easier to trying to change what their bodies are doing naturally.

Good luck :)

It sounds like her body's digestion has nicely regulated itself. I would not mess with that. Lots of people are up at 5:30 for the day so the issue is not actually the time or her poops, but getting more sleep for you.

Cut out one of her daytime naps (possibly by moving the times of the other two) and if you're staying up after your child is in bed for the night, put yourself to bed earlier. If you're at home with her then when she naps, do something restful for yourself with that time. Don't run around trying to catch up on dishes or whatever. That can wait.

Time to change your schedule for a bit. She is up at 5:30 am and so should you. You could possibly change her naps or delete one but it may not make stay asleep any longer.

I had two early risers and I just took a nap when they did in the afternoon. Just know that the first thing in the morning you will have a messy diaper to change and roll with it. Soon she will be on to something else and maybe a poo later in the day. But for now her routine is as it is.

Just think if you get up in the morning all the things you can get done and then have time for other things in the afternoon. I know time management. But hey it does work.

There is no manual on how to raise a child as each is different and we as moms adapt to the changes. Welcome to motherhood.

the other S.

I hate to tell you this but you may have to live with 5:30 AM wake ups for a while. My suggestion is that you get to sleep earlier. I love to sleep in so I feel your pain.

Also, as everyone has said, drop a nap. And wait a while. Everything will change at a year. Or in a week - who really knows? :)

Drop one of the naps. At this age, 2 naps is plenty. Hopefully, dropping that nap will help her sleep in a little longer. Sounds like she's just up for the day at 5:30.

I'm unclear on what time she goes to bed. Can you add that here?

I think you should try and cut out a nap or two.... that is three addl hours a day.. could be she simply isn't tired by 5:30am.. my son was ALWAYS an early morning riser..(and he never napped) I tend to think we are who we are, even as babies and some people are just early morning people....

She's taking too many naps for one thing. At 8 months 2 naps is more than enough. At 10-11 months she could go down to just one nap after lunch for a couple of hours. What time is she going down for the night? Perhaps she is waking up early because she is getting too much sleep?

Our guys all went down for the night around 9pm and some slept all night and some woke up a couple of times for bottles. They all had a good snack before bed too.

Sometimes kids poop. You can't schedule it when you want it.

Sorry bug you really do not have control. 5:30 is not too bad.

Are these bottles at am or pm? What time is bedtime?