My 4 month old goes to sleep at 8pm. I put her to sleep slightly awake after a bath and bottle. I sometimes give her the pacifier but last night I didn't just to see if I could stop the problem. She always wakes up around 1:00. I do not feed her or hold her but I usually do put a pacifier in her mouth. She falls right back asleep with the pacifier and my touch on her belly. If I don't put the pacifier in she will go to sleep but it is a bit more tricky (rocking etc). Any ideas on how to get her to stop waking up mid night for it. She doesn't seem to be waking for food. She will wake again around 4 am for food.
Hi Lillian
I say she is hungry,8pm-4pm is 8 hrs between feeds. Seems a longtime time to me for a 4 mth old.
B. k
She's probably not ready to sleep through the night yet.
Their tummies are small so they get hungry. Still too young.
My baby would wake at least twice during that age .
I would feed her when she wakes up at 1am. Just do it in her room
quietly w/o turning the lights on. I'd say at this age to expect two wakings
during the night for feedings. fDon't worry so much about sleeping through the night yet. She will soon. Hang in there! :)
awww...teaching her to ignore a natural instinct? At 4 m.o.? She's is a sweet, little, fragile creature who still very new and growing (thank God), my advice is to introduce her 1am meal-time...it'll only be until her stomach will grow enough to hold more food and stay full longer, so it's a little sacrifice that you can do, for her sake. Sweet little pea! I remember my son would wake me up at least 4 times per night, so know that you have a waaay easier baby to deal with. I hope she'll feel better soon this way. Best wishes.
I'm with the others here who say feed her! Too little to try to teach to sleep.
She is very young to be sleeping that long without eating. I nursed my daughter every night at 1:00 am and 5:00 am until she was 13 months old. When your baby wakes up at 1:00, I would feed her. You might find she sleeps later than 4:00 until her next feeding.
Um...she is doing awesome! I would keep doing what you're doing. I see zero problem at all. Most babies do not sleep through the night and what you are getting is amazing. It gets a little worse around 7-8 months, where they typical will have major sleep changes and learning changes and sleep bad (so be prepared!). But, what you're describing is like a dream! If that's all it takes to get her back to sleep, do it.
I know they're saying to phase out the pacifier, but it's been a life saver for me. My first three didn't take it, and they slept so much worse than she is. With the pacifier, it helps me get so much more sleep...
I like to use this site for sleeping guidance:
babysleepsite.com
Hi Lillian. Some thoughts:
1. I think that it perhaps is natural that she wakes every few hours and I would not worry. Babies at this age naturally need food every few hours, not to mention some warmth.
2. You could also check if she is hot or cold, in addition to hunger.
3. I think you are doing the right thing to give her a hug when she wakes as she probably appreciates your warmth and love even at night.
You are a great momma.
Jilly
From 8 to 1 is 5 hours, an awfully long time for a 4 mos old to go without food. I suggest you may be "training" her to ignore her body's messages. I would feed her and see if she then sleeps longer than 4.
And I'd continue to use the pacifier. That may be all that she needs. I suggest that what you're doing now is OK and is working. I suggest try feeding her at 1 because you want her to sleep longer in the morning.
Smile. Yes, Patty B. a bit far fetched. If she's not crying then I would say it's safe to not feed her tho I would. Unless she's not crying now because when she did cry she didn't get fed. I've seen babies who didn't cry for any reason at 4 months. Trained already. I'm not suggesting Lillian is that sort of mom. I'm just covering all bases for other mom's who read this and are training their babies to not cry. TMI, I suppose.
She is 4 months old! Only 4 months old...asking a bit much there!
Sorry but that is all I have to say about this one!
I would feed her. She's probably hungry, and she's still at the age where eating every 3 to 4 hours is normal.
Also, there's nothing wrong with the pacifier at this age. Many babies have a need to suck on something. It's very soothing. It helps them relax. No reason to get rid of it now.
She's doing just fine!
Sleeping thru the night is considered a 6 hour stretch and she's almost there. She is probably waking because she loses her binky maybe you should try and fade it out. Try putting her down without it for a few nights and see if she still wakes at 1 for it. Just be happy with the mount she sleeps at 4 months my youngest was still nursing several times a night.
My seven month old is still sometimes waking up at 1 and 4. I'm giving him till he's a year before I worry about cutting out a feeding. His sleeping is ever so gradually improving so I think in these cases it's sometimes best just to go with what the need (he slept through the night 8-6:30 two nights ago!!!). Also, we cut out the pacifier completely at about 5 months so maybe it's time to think about getting rid of the pacifier all together? Just a thought (our baby got a terrible cold and couldn't breath to suck on it so it wasn't very hard, so maybe look for the right opportunity).
