4 Month Old Inconsistent Sleeping!

Try this book:

http://www.amazon.com/The-90-Minute-Baby-Sleep-Program/dp...

It really helped with my second baby's napping and nighttime sleep schedule.

LET HIM NAP. He needs the naps - not letting him nap will make it harder for him to sleep. He needs LOTS of sleep. Maybe he got his nights and days switched somehow. He may be going through a growth spurt. Call your pediatrician and ask for some pointers as well.

It's not a problem. He's 4 months old. He could be having a growth spurt.

Try keeping a written journal of when he eats, sleeps, soils his diaper, naps, etc. You may start noticing patterns that you can plan around.

Hi,

There is no problem :-) My baby is 10 month old and STILL doesnt sleep through the night, and thats ok :-) He never slept through the night at 4 months old, and I let him sleep whenever he wanted, never waking him up (try to never wake a sleeping baby, if you have to, do it gently, ie by changing his diaper). Around 6 months, he did start sleeping longer at night, but waking up for 2 feedings. Now he wakes up at 4:30 am and goes back to sleep. In contrast, my friends baby was sleeping through the night at 6 weeks all by herself! Please sign up for emails from BabyCenter and WebMD about baby's development and consider a book like Weisbluth's Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child to understand their development, and ask your pediatrician for guidance (thats part of their job). Youll get an email every week from BabyCenter and WebMd on where your baby is now, and they have great resources on sleep, including how many hours he should be sleeping at X point (keeping in mind every baby is different, you need to be flexible and patient). One thing I did start around 4 months was a consistent routine (even though he didnt sleep through the night, I believe it at least helped him differentiate between night and day). I still give him a bath (back then it was every other day, not necessary to bathe them every day until they walk or crawl), or read him a story, play white noise (radio station with static or a fan or a sound machine), darken the room as much as possible (we have a nightlight for him), clear the crib of all toys and distractions, sing to him (it calms him and helps with his temperment). Good luck! Just keep giving him lots of love, singing to him, and be patient, hell figure it out sooner than you think.

Do not interfere with his naps -- he will become overtired, as others noted.

Please get some good books on how small infants behave, sleep, eat, etc. It sounds like you are expecting too much from a four-month-old and believe in the myth that babies will "sleep through the night" at some magical point in their development, especially if their stomachs are full. Many babies do not ever really "sleep through the night" and you need to read up on infant development so that your expectations are age-appropriate and realistic.

You can save yourself a LOT of frustration if you learn what are realistic, appropriate expectations for each stage of his life, so that you are not expecting him to do things that are just not going to happen yet.

It is normal for children's sleeping patterns to change, change and change again as they grow up. Not every child is the same, so if you have friends who coo that their babies "slept through the night at five months!" or whatever, you have to ignore them and realize NO baby is going to sleep through all of every night! And be warned -- when he's a little older his sleep will change again. When he starts to crawl, he will expend more energy and his sleep will change. When he has a growth spurt, he may sleep a bit more - or be restless and sleep less. He may start walking and need more sleep, or he may hit the age when nightmares can begin and will be up wanting you.

Please don't buy into myths that there are expected patterns of sleep and that your child will follow them. He is a very, very young infant still. It is normal for him to be up in the night,wanting to feed. Talk to you pediatrician about shifting his schedule a little but do not cut naps.

Do you play with him in the evenings and when he's awake? Put him on the floor and let him have tummy time if he is able to play then and when he's awake talk to him, give him toys if he can hold them well, keep him active when awake even though he's still young. He does need naps and lots of sleep still though. Here is a link from WebMD that may be helpful but check with your doctor if you need more help. Keep him awake and active when it's not nap time or bedtime.
http://www.webmd.com/parenting/baby/baby-development-4-mo...

First, I would not stop the naps, it can make him become overtired and create a restless sleep at night. Is he hungry? How often are you nursing? I didn't breastfeed so I really don't know much about it. I know many will beat me up for this but it may be time for some solids. I know the recommendation is 6 months, but for some children they just need it earlier. Ask you doctor about introducing some cereal before bed and in the morning, usually it will help. Do you do bath time at night or in the morning, I did bath every night it really helps them to relax. I always, did cereal, playtime, bath, bottle and then bed. My daughter at that age slept 9:30 until 6 or so, but my son was a great sleeper 7 to 7 with great naps during the day. All babies are different. I would reach out to the doctor, he or she should have some suggestions.

A baby sleeps about 18 hours of the day at 4 months. If he doesn't sleep he won't develop normally. You should know this about babies. They don't sleep according to when you want them to sleep. There is really no such thing as a baby having a set schedule. This is why new moms sleep when the baby sleeps. So when the baby is awake all night they are not so tired.

Your baby needs to sleep as much as they need to. Even if it's just a couple of hours at a time. If you are too tired during the night perhaps you can have hubby or mom or MIL come to stay for a couple of weeks so you can sleep. They can stay up with baby at night time.

That's just how it is. Babies sleep when they feel like it.

I think that Leigh is right on. If there was one thing that I would do over with my 3.5 year old daughter it would be not stressing about the sleep! Books are fine to learn about different stages but please take them with a grain of salt when trying to fit your baby into those bins. Let you baby lead the way. As long as he doesn't have days confused with nights and there aren't any signs of him being over tired then go with the flow. He is way too young to think about having any sleep schedule. I'll add that my daughter actually started teething around 4 months. I always knew when she was teething because it messed with her sleep and she wanted to nurse all night long. I found that if I gave her some motrin before bed time we got 6 hours of restful sleep. Check with your dr. to make sure this is ok if you think he maybe teething. Best indication would be lots of drooling.

hths :)