4 Month Old Taking Short Naps and Sleeping Poorly at Night

I don't think you are doing anything wrong my daughter slept the same way. She took cat naps all day long. Once she became more active, rolling over, trying to crawl etc. her naps did increase. She never slept like my son he was the best sleeper but like your son my daughter was never cranky and a very happy baby so I know she was getting every thing she needed. One thing I will say is the pacifier can be a problem. There were nights when I was going in 4 or 5 times to put it back in until she learned to do it on her own. I really don't know how else you would get him to soothe himself unless you nurse him to sleep and that is a whole other issue. I think if you rock the crib or rub his back to get him to sleep it is not a big deal. As they grow and become more aware of their surroundings getting to sleep on their own is a challenge. I am a believer in cry it out but not at this age he is way to young. I have read that putting them in the crib every two hours before they get over tired does help and may teach him to fall asleep independently, and also create a better nap schedule. It is worth a try. I also used music with my kids. I would put them in the crib put music on and most times it would work. Good luck and don't blame yourself each baby is different this is just his way and he is still very young to expect a regular schedule.

Hi J.,

Hang in there! My son was very similar to yours, rarely napping more than 30 min. at a time and not sleeping very well at night. This finally started to get better for us at about 6 months when we moved him to 2 naps a day. My guess is that you might do better by moving to 3 naps a day right now so he will be more tired for his night of sleep. We also were still swaddling him, which was important for us at this age because he was incredibly active with his arms. By 9 months, we started letting him cry for a few minutes at a time in bed, and suddenly he was sleeping through the night. So good luck, I hope something one of us writes helps you out.

I didn't breastfeed so I have no advice there, but just wanted to add that 4 months is still pretty young to be on any specific napping/sleep schedule. I know it's hard because you need a routine- especially to make sure that you're getting some rest also, but hang in there. I bet by around 6 months he'll start getting into a groove and sleeping better for you.

Lynsey

I am going to go ahead and respond without looking at the other opinions. My first thought is growth spurt. My second thought is this is the age where things change for the baby, they become more aware at this age. For all 3 of my children, it happened at 5 months. My third thought was contacting your local La Leche : http://www.llli.org/

I PERSONALLY feel that there is nothing wrong with nursing to sleep. They will outgrow it eventually. You are not going to have a 13 year old child who needs to be nursed to sleep. (LOL) I have come to see it as this time in their young lives is so short... especially before a year old... they need to know Mommy is near by. We are genetically programmed to want to be with Mommy, we have evolved that way as a human race, because many many years ago we HAD TO be near Mommy to SURVIVE. Of course this is not the case anymore, babies are safe in their bedrooms, but that doesn't mean our evolving has changed... our instincts still say we need to be near Mommy.

I can also encourage you to read The Continuum Concept. I don't agree with EVERYTHING in the book, but it certainly did change my perspective of how I understood my baby to look at things. It helped alot.

Best of luck to you & baby!

J.,
He's growing. Nurse him more during the day if at all possible.

I nurse mine to bed - it won't last forever and it is so beautiful to see that fat milkfed smile go to sleep. No, it isn't harmful. It is the best thing for him.

Naps are kinda a touchy thing. My son lost his evening nap first, then his noon nap and then his his morning nap. He still (thank goodness) has his evening nap. All kids are different - he might just be gearing up to ditch a nap, is all. he might be teething.

He could go totally awol on sleep for you too. So, be aware of that.

I am not of the school everyone else is usually part of - I nurse my son to sleep and had I known what I know now back then, I'd have worn him every second he was sleeping during the day and gotten him used to all the noise he can't stand now.

So much more I would do differently, but I don't have time to list - you can email if you like. My own son is about to rise from an EARLY nap (comes from an EARLY wake up!)

Good luck,
M.

PS: if you need a good site for how to make your own wrap, I've got that too. (anyone!)

J. this is a "classic" scenario with a 4 month old. This is probably the most common issue parents have with a 4 month old and it really throws them through a loop. What you want to start concentrating on is the timing of the naps now. Biologically, his day rhythms are in order and tend to fall around 9,12,3pm that's if naps are about an hour or you will have children that sleep longer, like 1.5 hour and tend to have 2 naps a day, one around 9am and the other around 1pm. At 4 months it more common to have three naps. The short part of the naps now means that not only do you want to get him down around these times you also want to make the point of leaving him a bit if he does wake prematurely from a nap. They are social beings and during those normal arousals during sleep they wake up a bit more than they need to and then struggle with getting themselves back to sleep. This takes practice, so they need the space to learn. If we go in immediately then we are in a sense robbing them of the space and time to learn. I usually give about an hour, meaning once you put him down to sleep, start the clock, he's got an hour. If he falls asleep right away only to wake up 30 minutes into it, then I would wait the last 30 minutes before going in and ending the nap if necessary. On the other hand, if he fussed the first 30 minutes and then fell asleep past the hour mark, then let him sleep, we don't want to "limit" the sleeping part at all LOL. Keep that bedtime super early anywhere from 5-7pm, 5pm when naps are nill or super short. This will keep him from becoming overtired as he is learning. Good luck, D. Pedrick, Childr Sleep Consultant, www.familysleep.com

My son was always a good sleeper like yours. He didn't nurse to sleep and was just moving to 2 naps a day around 4 months. He was also taking 4 naps, but more like 2 1-hour naps and 2 30 minute cat naps.
The reason I had to respond was that, just like you, we started to have alot of problems around 4-5 months because he was using the paci to fall asleep and then would wake up in the middle of the night and want it back. We were getting up 4, sometimes as much as 7 times a night, just to put the paci back in. John would go in stages, he would wake up like that several times a night for several days, and then would go back to a more normal schedule of once or twice a night.
You may want to try to encourage him to go to a 2 naps schedule during the day. My son would wake up around 6-6:30 nap at 9:30 for 2 hours and then again at 1 for an hour and a half and then would go to bed for the night around 7 or 7:30. Every kid is different but that really worked for us.
But I have always said, if you don't like a sleeping trend, wait a week, if it resolves on it's own then it could be the weather, a cold or some mild malady or just simply getting off schedule. And if it is still a problem after a week, then it probably requires some action.
Good luck!!

this sounds familiar. i don't agree with other mama though who responded. i am not convinced your baby is so hungry all the time. i had #2 3 months ago and same thing with both. 30 minute naps all day. this baby does not use paci-refuses it and does not nurse to sleep. the other did both. so, i would not ditch paci and yes, the older one outgrew this and now sleeps 10 hours at night and 2 hour daily naps. he is 2 1/2 and has been doing so for past year.. my baby however does not seem cranky when he wakes.

i have tried something different this time. i wake baby every night at 11 at suggestion of some moms i met. i pump and give bottle so i actually see that he is getting 5-5 1/2 ounces and not allowing him to fall asleep eating. i know he going to bed full and i feel more in control and sure he is getting "tanked up" before my bedtime.

Dear J.,

He isn't sleeping because he is hungry and his belly isn't full.

he is taking short naps because he is waking hungry , and this makes him cranky.

I would say nurse him to sleep.
and give him the paci ONLY at night. when he cries AFTER he has been fed.

I BF'd all my children, and I would nurse on demand,

My oldest started cereal at 4 months,
my middle didn't need it til 6 months.
and my baby at 3.5 months.

All were fed on demand.

at each peep I nursed.
if they didn't want it, I would hold them and coddle them,
check for gas, and the last thing was a paci.

My baby is the only one who actually likes his paci.
But that isn't a sub for the breast or food.

Hope this helps

M

ANd PS make sure you are pumping, to see if your milk is still coming in well.

With my oldest I started to lose my milk. earlier. and only produced 2 OZ at a time. which was not enough for him.

J.,

Are you sure he is getting enough nutrition? Perhaps he isn't as full as you think. Breast milk doesn't last as long as formula does so having nursed all three of my children, I am surprised your 4 month old is going through the night completely without getting up at least once to nurse.

I really hope you don't let him CIO. Regardless of the fact that I have issue with that method. 4 months old is too young to do it.

How often and how long does he nurse because I'm really thinking he might be hungry. Even if you think he might be getting enough, he could very well be going through a growth spurt where he needs more.