Baby Wise Mom

I had "binky breaks" up until my son was about 4 months. Id just continue to plug him up with a binky. Sometimes Id have to do this 5 time a night! I didnt pick him up or anything, just binkied him and went back to bed. Finally, it stopped. I think there really isnt much more you can do. I noticed sometimes that baths helped him sleep at a longer interval at the beginning of the night.

You are doing a good job with the binky, just try to resist the pick up. ;)

I don't know what babywise is, but my Kyle went through the same sort of phases. One potential explanation is that she is going through a growth spurt, which can make her seem to "regress" for a short time, then maybe she'll have a big developmental leap soon!

Another thing that I found when he was around your daughter's age was that when he was writhing during those waking times, often time he just had gas buildup. Adding some Mylecon (Simethicone) to her last feeding of the day might help and make her more comfortable through the night.

I'm a BabyWise mom to two little boys--4 1/2 yrs and 20 months. This sounds like a growth spurt. Feed her as much a possible w/ her last feeding of the night. If you're breastfeeding, feed her as normal from the breast and then add a bottle of breastmilk or formula. (Formula tends to hold them longer, but I was pure breastmilk until 9 months.) At times my boys would drink an additional 8 to 12 oz. from the bottle!!! Then, if she still wakes up, go ahead and do another feeding (preferably before you go to bed! Try to time it around 11pm to midnight) Do an extra bottle w/ that feeding if you need to. After that, if she wakes up, do the BabyWise thing of consoling w/out picking up after 15 minutes of crying. Do NOT give her a pacifier unless you want to be up all night putting it back in her mouth. I know it is hard to listen to the crying without putting that paci in, but she will learn very quickly to soothe herself back to sleep so long as she has a full tummy. I couldn't console my youngest son without picking him up, so my husband did it for me. It wasn't real popular w/ him since he had to get up early to work and I didn't, but he knew it was for a good cause! (The baby learning to go back to sleep on his own.) It may take 2 to 4 nights to get her to soothe herself back to sleep, but you'll know she is not hungry because you've fed her 2 extra feedings. With those extra feedings, her tummy should be good and full for the entire night.

Good luck!!! I know you're exhausted. Whatever you do, follow your instincts as you would if you were fully rested. I find that when I do what is easiest right this moment, I usually make it harder in the long run. I just tell myself to do what I would do if I were fully rested and patient. Sometimes, but rarely, that means I close all the doors between me and the baby and turn on soothing music to drown out the crying when I am COMPLETELY sure that everything is okay but he just wants to be awake in the middle of the night. He can be awake and crying in his bed because he is completely safe.

I'm sorry, but you need to pick up your baby. Three months is so young, and she cries/fusses because she needs you. "Plugging her up" with a "binky" is not a loving response to such a small babe who just needs her mama; the reason she stops crying is because she's given up hope that someone will come take care of her needs.

well...... baby wise did NOT work for me, i actually tore the pages out and through the book across the floor in a severely sleep deprived stupor. but, it does sound like you have a sleeping beauty, she is just going through a phase and will likely get through it. just share the every-hour deals with your hubby so you can get at least a little rest...

I am a 'Babywise' mom. :) I think your little one is going through a growth spurt. Feed your little one and encourage her to go back to sleep. This too shall pass!

Hi A.,
Yes I too think it sounds like a growth spurt. I did Baby wise on both of my sons and it worked great. I would suggest that you fit in an extra feeding during the day for a while. So instead of every three hours feed her more often to get that extra feeding in for the day. Or you could just pick up the last night feeding again until she gets past the growth spurt and then wean her off of it again later.
C.

A., I used Baby Wise with success but I guess all babies are different. Since your baby is still so young and doing so well already, I believe that she is just waking from hunger. I remember feeding mine right before bedtime so that it'll hold him through the night better. I also remember that if my baby woke up very fussy in the middle of the night, I'd go ahead and feed him until he's satisfied. Many times, at different stages, they go through a "growth spurt" so they need extra food to compensate. Eventually, she'll go back to sleeping through the night. You're doing great!

Hi A..
We have 3 children ages 6,4,and 2. The last two were Babywise kids. I am so happy for you that you are doing it. There is a huge difference in the sleep patterns between the last two and our oldest. I only wish we had known about Babywise with the first. That being said...it seems like you may want to add back in that late night feeding for a while, your daughter may be going through a growth spurt and need the extra calories. Good luck and you are doing awesome! I hope that helps.

My 6 month old is doing the same exact thing. He will cry and I will pat his bottom and give him his pacifier and he will go back to sleep and then about an hour or so later he will do it again. My other two kids did the same thing, but they grew out of it. So I know that my youngest will also grow out of it. I have started waiting for him to really cry before I go and pat his bottom. Most of the time he goes back to sleep on his own. Just try that, just don't get her out of bed or give her a bottle cause then she will get used to it and expect it everytime. This to will pass.

It sounds to me like she's hit a growth spurt. My little boy is about 3 and a half months old, and for about a month has been sleeping the night through (9-11 hours), although this past week has been really rough because he went through a growth spurt and had dropped down to 2-3 hours at night. He is hopefully through that now (last night was the first night back to 10 hours), but I won't know for sure until several days have passed. It may be something you just have to deal with for a few days, but it may not hurt to make her a bottle in the middle of the night. If it's a growth spurt, it's not going to last too terribly long. A week is usually average.

its a growth spurt!!

Growth spurt! This is the age when they have a growth spurt and she could actually be needing more milk! I would try giving her an extra bottle at night for a few days to a week. Then go back to your original sleep routine. She should adjust just fine! Good luck.

I agree with the growth pains... I did baby wise with both my kids and both know mommy is always there. I know they need me and they know I'm there for them, but you can't hold them 24/7 and still be a good mom. However, I never used a pacy... I didn't want them to be 12 and still have one in their mouth... but it's your kiddo and you have the right to use a pacy... and follow baby wise. I used it and I have 2 good natured boys. I have friends that didn't use it and at get togethers I'm able to enjoy myself and they are running themselves to death pleasing their kiddo...

I did babywise with my girls. Lifesaver!

I would suggest you go back to giving her her evening feeding. My girls slept from 9-8. The very last thing we did before bed was have a big bottle of formula. I nursed during the day but gave them formula at night. Our routine was bath, put on pjs, and then bedtime bottle. I made sure they stayed up and finished --- waking them if they fell asleep. We did this until my girls were 18 months --- much to my pediatricians dismay. I just made sure we had a couple of sips of water and brushed their teeth good after the bottle - and they didn't have a bottle any other time during they day. I figured they slept great, it wouldn't hurt them as long as they didn't go to sleep with the bottle, and my pediatrician didn't have to sleep in our house :)

Hang in there. She will get back on schedule. But ---- STOP going in there to give her her pacifer!!! She needs to soothe herself back to sleep.