My baby turns 4 months in about a week. The past week has been filled with some adventures - he has started completely rolling over so we unswaddled him a few nights ago. The kid really wants to sleep, but seems to wake up a few times a night. Most times if he wakes up before 5am, I will rock him back to sleep and he goes back down. But if he wakes up at 5am or later, I usually feed him. I don't know whether he's hungry or pissed that he can't sleep.
Last night, he woke up at 5:30 and I went to go make his bottle. When I came back into the bedroom, I saw him sleeping on his side. He didn't reawaken until he rolled back over at 6am.
It's IMPOSSIBLE for me to tell how long he can go without eating. He takes his last bottle at 9:30 at night and can seem to go through to at least 6am - but he's gone longer - until 7:45 a few nights.
Since he wakes up around the 5am hour most nights, I don't know if he's waking up out of habit or if he's waking up because he's really hungry. His cries for hunger and anger sound the same.
Should I try to encourage him to sleep through the night? Should I feed him more during the day to help him sleep more at night? Should I continue to wait like 15-20 minutes after 5am to see he really needs the food. Should I try to soothe him back to sleep at 5am?
Advice?
At 4 months, I would think he was hungry. He's not on cereal and fruits and veggies yet, so yes, he's hungry. You are lucky he sleeps as long as he does!
He might be hungary try giving him a small amount of cereal mixed with his milk (very thin) just before bed.
If his cries for anger and hunger are the same, I would definately assueme it is hunger. A baby that age should not go more than 5 hours without a feeding if he is waking up on his own.
L. you can train a newborn to sleep through the night if you force him to, but it is not a good thing for him. A four month old does not need to sleep through the night, either. There is no reason for a baby to care if he is up at night or sleeping during the day. For a baby, it is all just needs being met, awake or alseep rythms are not necessarily set by this age. I'm trying to say that he is not likely angry about anything, he is not invested in being asleep all night. So if he's crying like that it means he is hungry.
I know how hard it is for you to be so tired and to desperately need sleep. But he needs you more and I promise that he will grow out of this eventually.
And honestly, L., your baby is an amazing sleeper if he's gone from 9:30 to 5 a.m. Most babies this age do NOT sleep that well. Mine were both terrible sleepers, still feeding at least three times during that time frame. It just takes some getting used to.
Good luck.
Ditto Shelly and Umber.
You are in baby heaven. He's hungry. Tummies are too little to hold much food at that age that is why they need to be fed so often, plus it's breast milk or formula, not "food-food" so it is not going to satisfy him as long.
Sleep deprivation is a part of being a new Mommy, this is a stage and it WILL pass. Hang in there, take naps with him during the day. We've all been there, good luck!
If he is sleeping from 09:30 until 06:00...he IS sleeping through the night (or 05:00 for that matter). He may be waking earlier due to a growth spurt which is common at this age. You should only give your baby what he wants to eat and if he is going back to sleep within 15 minutes or so, he probably isn't hungry but likely needs some soothing. A hungry baby isn't likely to go down without a fight and most babies won't eat if they're not hungry. So, if you are concerned, offer him a bottle and see what happens.
My son is 3 and woke me up at 2 am because he was hungry and needed to use the bathroom. He is old enough to be able to verbalize his needs and wants, a 4 month old is not capable of that.
Your 4 month old is sleeping close to 8 hours. That is sleeping through the night. He is more than likely waking because he needs to be changed and is ready to eat again.
If you are tired, go to sleep at night when he does. You will get close to 8 hours! I would have loved to get that much sleep when my son was 4 months. My son did not sleep that long until he was closer to 8 months.
Your son will eventually sleep for longer and longer intervals and when he is going through a developmental milestone, growth spurt or is sick he will not sleep as well.
Remember before limiting his feeds, a baby doubles their birth weight by 6 months and triples it by a year. The only way they can do that is by feeding frequently.
Good luck to you and your little one.
I know you are probably tired, but honestly you are in baby heaven. My baby didn't sleep for more than 3 hours at a time until she was 10 1/2 months old. "Sleeping through the night" is really just 5 hours straight which your little sleeper has already mastered. At four months, his tummy is still too small to go much longer without food. He's probably hungry. You're not supposed to start any sleep training like CIO until at least 6 months, so I really wouldn't push it at this age. A great book for reference is The No Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley.
i would try waiting a few minutes to see if he is just trying to readjust himself before offering the bottle. if he still continues then, of course give him a drink.. He sounds like you have hardly any problem at all with him. Wish that was all i had to worry about at 4 months with my daughter!!!!
I too have a 4 month old who sleeps through the night. My guess is if he wakes up every morning close to the same time he is hungry! You know we are when we first wake ...* little groggy/tired...well he does that too, hince why if he moves around he goes back to sleep but is short lived due to hunger. Plus, when going through a growth spirt, he could wake up at all different times! If you really wanting him to sleep a tad longer try letting him cry no more than 15 min. To see if he would go back to sleep. If after 2-3 days of letting him fuss it out @ 5am and him not going back to sleep or it being a really short time, then you know it is hunger and will need to be fed. I was told too, that just when I get her figured out for night time, she will throw me a loop! Best of luck to you!
It sounds as if you are doing everything correct. I would not feed him. This could start a new habit. He should be able to make it thru the whole night.
I would encourage him to sleep thru 5 a.m. If you start getting him up, this will be his new wake up time for a very long time and who wants to get up at that time on a weekend.
My daughter went thru the same thing when she started rolling over. We had to stop swaddling. For the first few weeks, she would wake herself up. At first, I would go in there to rock her but slowly, I started letting her cry it out. This way she could learn how to put herself to sleep.
She is now 19 months old and sleeps a full 12 hours, if not more.
your so lucky. my son wasnt sleeping those long hours till he was 10 months or so. we still gave him a bottle at night according to the pedi and what to expect book. they both said that babies need to have a bottle to balance there blood sugars. really your baby is only getting "milk" all day so just living on milk alone i bet your baby is hungery. call your pedi and see what he/she says about milk at night. good luck. * our pedi said our son did not need any bottles durring the night once he turned one. it took three nights ( first night i went to soothe him and walked out really made him mad ) the second two he cried we decided if he cried more than 15 we would go get him he stoped at 10 min and went to sleep.
By five am a 4 month old is probably hungry. Fr that age, that pretty much is "sleeping through the night." I would feed him. Good luck!
Hi, L.,
I didn't bottlefeed my baby, but he often woke around 5:00 a.m. as well, and we just had to resign ourselves to his getting up at that time. The nice thing is that they are often ready to go back down for a nap around 8:00 a.m.--then you can go back to sleep too (if you don't work)! Most books on infant sleep will tell you that 5:00 a.m. is actually considered a full nights sleep--especially since he goes down around 9:30. With his daily naps, he's probably getting what he needs.
I wouldn't think feeding is the issue--he probably does need another bottle around 5:00 if his last one is at 9:30. But, you could start sleep training if you want to knock out the other (non-feeding) awakenings. We waited until 6 months--just because we weren't ready at 4--but pediatricians will tell you that a bottlefed baby (and some breastfed ones) CAN sleep through the night (until 5:00 at least). He's probably just having normal wakings during the night and depending on the rocking to help him fall back asleep--but as you said, he CAN do it on his own (i.e., the night he was asleep when you came back with the bottle).
Good luck!
Hi L.
At 4 mos old he should be sleeping thru the nite- but if you feed him at 9 30 and he sleeps until 5 or 5 30 he is hungry. try feeding him a little later- say 10 or 10 30 with some cereal in his bottle. He should sleep to 6 or 7. If he continues to wake earlier, he is most likely hungry.
It would not hurt to give him a little cereal in the am and some more at his nitetime feeding. he will let you know when he really needs food.
\good luck and blessings
I hope this helps. I would pick him up and try to soothe him--if he falls back to sleep, then don't worry about feeding him. If he continues to fuss after a diaper change and a cuddle then feed him. Babies are amazing at letting you know what they need. If he is sleeping from 9:30 to 5 a.m. I would go ahead and feed him. He may then go back to sleep and allow you a bit of extra sleep.
Believe me, if he's hungry, he'll let you know. Feeding at 9:30p.m. and again at 5:30 a.m. sounds right to me. But, if he sleeps longer, let him.
