Infant Sleep Advice Needed/why the Change Now?

Updated on March 04, 2011
D.T. asks from Libertyville, IL
6 answers

Hello, I have a 4 MO baby boy who is wonderful. I also have 2 girls, ages 4 and 6. Once my son hit 3 mos, he was going from about 9 or 9:30 til about 4 am or so. Which was very good and I was happy with that. I am getting ready to go back to work (this Friday) and about 2 weeks ago, we all got sick in the house and nursing was a bit difficult. He then started wanted to go to bed between 8 and 8:30p and would sleep until about 5 or 5:30 am, which was fantastic! Now this past week, our nursing troubles are gone, but his sleep pattern has changed again. 2 nights ago I put him to bed at about 8:30, he woke up at 3am, I gave him pacifier and he went until 5:30a (but pacy was in his mouth the whole time, not usual for him). 1 night ago, same thing, except he woke up at 2 am, I gave him pacifier, and then he woke up at 4am, I gave him pacifier until 5am. Now he wasn't hungry these times, since he didn't start to cry again, I did check for that.

Now last night, he fell asleep on us before 8p. I fed him (nursing) as much as he would take while so sleepy at 8:15p and then put him to bed. He woke up at 1:30a, I gave him pacy, and he kept crying. So last night it turns out he was hungry. He hasn't wanted to eat in the middle of the night like that for at least a month. I know, I know, he is still young. I get that, I am just going off of history here. So I fed, which my body wasn't used to, so it took a while and put him back to bed.

My question is, is there something I should be doing differently? I have heard of dream feedings, should I be doing that? Should I keep him up later? He does get at least 2 good naps a day, I try for 10 and 2p. But yesterday we were out and about, so he didn't get his "usual" bed naps. Only car seat naps. Looking for some good advice to get him back on track so when I return to work, I am not falling asleep at my desk. Thanks!!

1 mom found this helpful

What can I do next?

  • Add yourAnswer own comment
  • Ask your own question Add Question
  • Join the Mamapedia community Mamapedia
  • as inappropriate
  • this with your friends

So What Happened?

Thanks for all the advice, I really needed it! So, it seems that it was a fluke and now things are back to normal. As my one friend puts it, sometimes they take 2 steps back to move forward. And forward he has moved. He is now going from about 8-8:30 til 6am. And last night he didn't even wake until 5:30 this AM. Typically, he wakes about 4-4:30a and I give him paci and he lays there or sleeps for another 2 hrs (that is only recently, this week).

Now I shall wait for the next change :)

More Answers

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

J.M.

answers from Boston on

Babies are unpredicable little buggers, so I can't tell you why his sleep pattern changed. My only advice is that if he wakes hungry in the middle of the night to give him a bottle, either of expressed breast milk or formula, whichever you're doing. You don't want your body to get back in the habit of nursing at night, as it will be very uncomfortable when he stops again.

I also wouldn't try keeping him up if he's tired. A sleepy baby should sleep.

Good luck. Hopefully this passes fast.

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

L.L.

answers from Chicago on

I am thinking that a "dream feed" might be definitely worth trying. If he is falling asleep feeding then when he wakes he wants to fall back to sleep sucking...which could be why the pacey is working for you.
Check out www.sleepyplanet.com. Jill and Jen have wonderful advice and explain it in a simple and concise manner.
You probably already know this...breast milk is digested faster than formula so breast fed babies sometimes have a harder time making it through the entire night. I am not suggesting that you switch to formula I am just stating a possible reason for his waking. Good luck. www.parentingintheloop.com

1 mom found this helpful

M.M.

answers from Chicago on

Could be a growth spurt, at 4mos. My daughter (now 6mos) went through a phase where she was RAVENOUS for about a week. I remember my son doing the same thing at that stage.
If he's eating, feed him.
When he starts to not eat again, I would sleep train him. Sounds like you use the paci as a barometer for whether or not he's hungry. So keep with that, I think.
We did CIO at 22 weeks because we were playing that game all night long. She just wanted to hang out with us, and the paci wasn't working to placate her (and she wasn't eating when we tried to feed her). So for us, that worked wonders.

It seems like what you've been doing is working, you just have to adjust for that night waking. If he's not eating, I think it's time to do whatever sleep training method you're comfortable with. At this stage, they start to become aware of when you're in the room, and they're all for it!

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

R.K.

answers from Boston on

He is 4 months so he could be teething or having a growth spurt. You could try a dream feed before you go to bed at night.

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

B.K.

answers from Chicago on

It seemed to me like as soon as I got used to my son's schedule, sure enough it would change. As he gets older, his body changes obviously, so you have to take this into account, and also one of these days (if not now), he will start teething which will most likely totally throw things off. Hang in there!

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

A.L.

answers from Austin on

I wonder if it's not so much a pattern thing, as a comfort thing? At around four or five months, kids start to really notice the world around them, and become aware when things change. I wonder if he wasn't always sort of waking around the same time, and just falling back to sleep. (We all get close to waking several times a night. It's a sleep cycle thing.) Now that he's started to become aware that things are different, well, he fell asleep with the pacifier the first time, so when he woke in the night and didn't have his paci, he needed it again. He fell asleep eating (or, at least, the last thing he remembered before falling alseep was eating), so when he woke up, he wanted to be eating. It's sort of like waking up and finding your pillow has fallen off the bed. It's disorienting, and you want things to go back to how they were when you fell asleep. Could that be it?

Is skipping the paci to go to sleep, so you won't have to replace it in the night an option? Or try an activity between nursing and sleep, so that it's not the last thing he's thinking about when he falls to sleep. Sing to him or read a story or something, and let him go down drowsy but awake. If the last thing he's thinking of is being gently put in bed with his blankie, maybe just being in bed with his blankie (or whatever his lovey is) will be enough to soothe him back to sleep if he wakes again.

1 mom found this helpful
For Updates and Special Promotions
Follow Us

Related Questions