Eating a LOT in the Middle of the Night - 4 Month

Sounds like a growth spurt to me, at that age. Is she rolling over yet? Either one or both ways?
My son did this when he was learning to roll, and it lasted for about 2 weeks. (He learned to roll both ways at that point).

If she's eating that much, chances are that she needs it and may be approaching a milestone.
I'd wait it out for a week or two and see what happens. She'll eat what she needs for this point in time, and then go back to "normal".

One of my kids did this after drinking 2 whole bottles before going to bed! We started giving him cereal at night after that. Of course we checked with the dr. about it. I would call the pediatrician for some advice. I just called the nurses line and would leave a message there. Babies do have lots of growth spurts, but I swear between all 4 of my kids, none of them had them at the same time.

I'm sorry you are going through this. Working and not getting enough sleep is not a good combination. If you have the same kind of office I did, people just don't get how bad you feel when you're not sleeping and your baby's not sleeping.

K. - I would try giving her more before bed and maybe a water bottle. This is old school but so am I. This way you are giving your little one the idea that night is for sleep and not eating but if she is really thirsty you are providing for that need. This could also be a growth spurt but you still don't want to start the habit of waking up in the middle of the night if you can help it. I have a friend who started that and ended up with the problem until the child was 4. Hope you get some advice that will help and fit your parenting style.

she's ready for cereal. Some people will say that you shouldn't give solids until at least six months. Our pediatrician doesn't believe in hard and fast rules for that. When a child's ready, they're ready.

did the change coincide with your return to work? maybe she just misses her mom... either way, it's not bad for her - just sucks that you're up in the middle of the night now.

I would say a definite growth spurt. When my two were little, especially my boy, he would seem to be a bottomless pit at times. it usually lasted a couple of weeks and then he would go through a period of sleeping a tremendous amount. At 10 and 9 they still do the same thing, I've noticed mine doing this always in the fall, usually October is when i notice it.

As long as she's not vomiting any up during the night or having severe belly aches with it I would say no worries at all.

Mine are now 4 and 5 so some recommendations have changed, but when they were little and started this stage, the pediatricians encouraged solids early evening and a bottle (6 - 8 ounces) at bedtime. They were quickly back into their routine of sleeping through the night. Lots of debates out there about when to introduce solids and that feeding and sleep do not coincide, but this was our experience.

I would have to agre with other moms who said she is probably ready for solids. A little cereal at night might fill her up more and help her sleep better. That is also the right time for a growth spurt though, so it could be that too.