I need some help! I have a 4 month old and she usually wakes up maybe once in the middle of the night. Well the past 2 nights she's been getting up close to 6 times in the middle of the night, only eats once and takes a pacifier every other time. The only thing I've changed is she is going to bed later than usual. So do I just put her to bed earlier? She ate almost 8 ozs before bed the first night she did it, and the second night she had some cereal and then ate about 4 ozs.
Please any ideas?!
I put her to bed about an hour earlier and it worked like a charm!! I also tried to not let her fall asleep around 6:30 (she usually takes a 30 min nap) I kept her stimulated until 7 and gave her a bath and she did take a 20 min nap after that but was ready for bed at 8:45. She woke up at about 4:30, ate a bottle and didn't act like she was going to bed anytime soon. I went ahead and laid her down anyways and she talked to herself for about 15 minutes and then drifted off to sleep. She didn't wake up again until 9:45 this morning!! : )
Thank you mommas for the responses and great advice! For those with nothing good to say and acting like I'm incompetant, please refrain from responding to a question! I was looking for advice, not a lecture.
Sleep begets sleep. An tired or exhausted baby will not sleep as peacefully, so an earlier bedtime is worth a try. and use some white noise as well. Good luck!
Agree: the earlier bedtime may work better than trying to get a tired baby to sleep. She's also at a typical age where a big growth spurt increases nightime hunger – she can't help that and it probably will smooth out again after her needs diminish again – and then you'll worry that she's not interested enough in her feeding sessions :-).
Unless her doctor has recommended cereal for some specific medical purpose, don't give her any solids until she's 6 months old. Her digestive system won't handle it too well yet, and it could set her up for nighttime tummy/gas disturbances and future allergies to grains.
And even though it seems that "solids" should be more filling, cereals are carbohydrates, and not only DON'T they provide needed nutrition to infants, they are actually used up by the body much more quickly than the protein and fat in milk. So babies are more likely to wake hungry after cereal at bedtime.
It's probably the later bedtime. That and developmental milestones and/or a growth spurt. For my 4 mo old, she starts to get into sleep mode around 7 like clockwork, so we have everything ready to go around that time and it generally works out well. A bath around 6:30, a little rocking and a bottle and she goes down generally well. If she is up much past 7:30, she doesn't settle well and is more restless.
However, she just went through a couple of days where she was up more at night. At the same time, she started rolling and laughing. She also seemed to grow overnight. She literally ripped her pants right in the crotch- a pair of pants she fit into fine a few days before. Those were some rough nights, but temporary.
Hope you get some sleep tonight!
4 month old infant getting solids? That may be your issue. Her GI tract isn't mature enough to digest and use most of that and may be keeping her awake by rumbling, pain, gas and poops. Stop the solids and never give rice cereal! Causes a lot of GI upset and constipation anyways.
As for waking up... that is completely normal. She wakes up alone, cold, scared, hungry, thirsty wet, whatever and in a dark room - - how would you feel if you were her? You are an adult and can reason and understand what's going on... she's only 4 months!
Try bed sharing or co-sleeping... both of you will get much better sleep!
Hmm...well I can recommend you a site that may give you some ideas as to how go about getting your LO to sleep better throughout the night..hope it helps!
http://www.theskinnyscoop.com/search/sleep?utm_campaign=t...
Wonder week. Google it.
Try going back to her earlier bedtime.
Or did you check if she is teething?
Maybe she is waking up because she is uncomfortable.
Its possible that she is teething.
my daughter had the same issues around 4.5 months. it was after I went to work. HOwever I had a doc appt and was in tears at the appt because of lack of sleep and feeling like a bad mom. Here is what he told me
Ferber!!! however THAT DID NOT WORK for me. Everytime I went in, it just made her MORE upset that I was in there doing nothing vs not going in there at all. After the first night i decided not to go in at all. So here is what I did.....pretty much CIO. but it worked...only took a week. SO you can look at it this way...be up every night because you are afraid of CIO or do CIO and get it over with in a week. My daughter just turned 2 and guess what ...she doesnt remember it (shocker right?)and I am her best friend because we BOTH get a great nights rest.
btw 6 times is rediculous.
also dont rule out tummy issues from the cereal...is it rice or oatmeal? Rice tends to constipate..just a thought if her sleep changed AFTER cereal started
Is she napping during the day?
Over-tired babies.... sleep worse, get up more, and don't have a good sleep.
Don't get her to bed later. That backfires.
Feed her on-demand. Don't give her the pacifier in place of feedings.
She is probably hitting a growth-spurt too.
MANY times, a baby also does what is called "cluster feeding" which means they even need to feed every single hour... they are growing. Thus, they need to feed on-demand.
Is she latching on properly?
Are you nursing or Formula?
Personally, I would not give cereal.
