Hi there,
My baby slept through the night (9pm – 5/6am) at 8 wks. For 3 wks she slept like that. 2 wks ago she started waking in the middle of the night again 1-2 times. If I gave her a pacifier she fell right back to sleep. Now sometimes I have to pick her up and rock her, too. Now, for the last 2 nights, she’s been waking up every hour starting ~1am. Again, if I give her the pacifier she will fall back to sleep, but I am having a lot of trouble functioning and being a decent mom with this broken sleep. I am exhausted and impatient and frustrated.
I know part of the problem is the paci, but it also seems like the nights she’s up this much she ends up with a big poop at 5am. It’s almost like she’s uncomfortable with gas/ the need to poop all night and can’t get into a deep sleep, that’s why she wants the pacifier. Sometimes I can put her in the swing when she keeps waking up and she’ll sleep better there, but that’s a horrible habit I do not want to get in to or rely on. Usually for bed I can swaddle her, give her the pacifier, and I can put her down when she’s still awake and she’ll fall asleep “on her own.” (with the help of the pacifier)
I am very frustrated and not doing too well being up every hour. She’s in a cradle in our room. Do you think it’s time to move her to her own room? Is she too young to let her cry it out? The problem is if I put the paci in she’ll fall asleep calmly without my help, so I feel bad suddenly taking that away. And what about when she wakes up in the middle of the night? Should I be getting back into the habit of feeding her? I really hate to do that since she hasn’t nursed in the middle of the night for almost 6 wks. I just feel really lost and frustrated. My son (now 3 1/2) was such a champion sleeper and never went through this. He didn’t use a paci (sucked thumb) but also never seemed bothered with gas or anything like that at this age (14 wks).
What do you suggest? I’m willing to try anything at this point. Thanks for your help!
Thank you so much to all the wonderful mamas out there! We did two things which seem to be working... knock on wood! We let her fuss for a little bit and just go in there and soothe her without picking her up. it's hard to hear her fuss, but we don't let her get to all out screaming. we also give her the pacifier as part of this soothing process. many of you told me to hang on to it and it will be a lifesaver. i believe you! the second thing we did, as recommended by my pediatrician and one of the mamas is go in there at a time i choose to feed her in the middle of the night. my pedi calls it a "dream feed." so i go in about 11, right before i go to bed, and feed her. i don't wake her up or change her or turn on the lights, just pull her out, pop her on, let her nurse for a few, then put her back in bed. she pretty much sleeps through the process. that seems to get us until about 6am which i am totally great with! so thank you SO MUCH to all of you for your wonderful and honest responses. i felt so supported. thank you!
Moving her to her own room prior to 6 months increases her risk for SIDS. Others may disagree but I'm just reporting what the studies say.
14 weeks is too young for crying it out.
It might just be that because she is older and has grown that maybe she's just hungry. Also with the tummy problems you might try Gripe Water. You can get it at health food stores and I have seen it at some drug stores so you can call around and see who carries it. Good luck hope you get some sleep soon.
Hi Adrea, I SO FEEL YOUR FRUSTRATION. Im out of my mind with no sleep as well. I have read the responses and my situation is a little different. UGH! I have a almost 6 month old son I have tried to put on a schedule since he was born.HAHAAHAH ya right no such luck. The first 2 months he was up every hour eating. Then we found out he has acid reflex at his 4 month check up. The meds helped but he is now on a pattern of still getting up through out the night as he was eating to sooth before. I put him in his own room at 3 months thinking this would help. HAHAHAH right. The good news is he is now just up every 4 hours, sometimes. He has no interest in the paci since he was 3 months old. Unless there is food he doesn't care. I have been loading his bottles with cereal like its a milkshake for the past month and spoon feeding him since he was 4 months old. At the last feeing I do both. He will just eat and eat all day long. I have let him cry it out and that can go on for hours. He will scream so loud it could break windoes. So here is my other issue. I have a 3yo son too and when my baby cries he wakes up his big brother so I have mostly soothed the baby to avoid my older son getting up at 3,4,5 am. UGH! No fun with no sleep with a screaming baby and a 3 yo yelling running around the house from getting woken up and my husband is not homne. FUN! I feel like a first time mom with the second one as my first son was SO EASY as a baby. Slept through the night at 7 weeks in his crib. I just have the op problem. My older son sleeps great since birth and hates to eat. My baby doesn't sleep and loves to eat. Talk about losing your marbles. HELP! Does anyone have any advice. The lack of sleep can really do a number on you. Ive been so tired I backed up into my husbands car one day pulling out of the driveway. All you moms out there pat yourself on the back we don't get enough kukos in the day for all we do.
SAHM/zombie, 39 with a super funny active 3yo son and a 5 month old son who is full of smiles and bubbles. Husband travels every week for work and I feel like a single mom. Im blessed to be able to stay at home full time.
Hi A.,
At 14 weeks, it could be a lot of things: digestive issues (as you mentioned), growth spurt, schedule, etc. A great book is The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems. There is a section on sleep issues and identifying the reason for the sleep issues as well as recommended courses of action. It is strange but often times moving a 4 month old to a 4 hour feeding schedule (instead of a 3 hour one for younger babies) often helps with nighttime sleeping. Your daughter might need to transition to that a little sooner, and the book talks about that transition. Also, if you are breastfeeding, you might want to try eating more laxative type foods (e.g., prune juice, pears) and fewer binding foods (including iron supplements, cheese) to see if that helps your daughter. I couldn't eat broccoli until my kids were about 4 months or older otherwise they got painful gas.
Good luck whatever you try,
C.
Hi A.,
I'm one of the lucky ones that had a baby that was sleeping through the night at eight weeks also! She is four months now and is sleeping like a champ!
Right around the same time she was doing a fair amount of night waking... I know how hard it is but we did two things moved her out of our room and let her cry a bit. Both worked like a charm. I would let her cry for about five minutes before I went to her and she would always fall back asleep. My husband and I were so much more well rested as well because we didn't hear every sound she made because she was in her own room.
A friend gave me a great book called "health sleep habits, happy child". It really helped with getting my little one to be a good sleeper.
Good Luck and I will cross my fingers for you!!
It could be a growth spurt. It happended with my DD - around 6 weeks, 4 mo and 6 mo -I just did a few some night time nursing. Same so far with my DS - He just hit the 3.5 mo mark.
Hi A. she might be getting a little colicky try white noise from the teleivision or the sound of a vacuum to help recreat the noises she is missing from the womb it should relax her enough to sleep a little longer. I hope that helps good luck
Best reagards
D. R mother of 3 year old and 8 months pregnant.
Oh I feel your pain! My 13-month old daughter only started sleeping through the night about a month ago. I tried EVERYTHING! I hope it helps you to hear that you are not doing anything wrong, and there is likely nothing wrong with your baby. It is so frustrating, but honestly some babies are just not great sleepers. With my daughter, it was always 2 steps ahead, one step back. We would have a week where she would only wake up twice a night, and then she would suddenly be back to 3-4 times/night. I was constantly looking for an explanation or solution. We do use white noise at a pretty loud volume, and that sometimes helps. Try lots of things, but do your best to not get frustrated if they don't work. Remember that unfortunately motherhood requires saintly amounts of patience!! So hard to practice when you are sleep deprived. You are not alone. Until your little one sleeps better on her own, do whatever you need to so that you can get some rest!
If you think the poop factor is bothering her, what's the possibility of adjusting her feeding schedule so she might be able to get that done prior to bedtime. Since she's doing at around 5 a.m. I realize that may not work, but it's just another suggestion to think about.
I would move her to her own room. Do not revert to feeding her and let her keep her pacifier. Maybe try giving her gas drops at night. You could start letting her cry a bit. I think once my son got to be this age and I was close to being a zombie there were some nights that it took me awhile to wake up and go to him and I found that if I waited 5 minutes or so he would go back to sleep. So when you daughter wakes, wait a minute before going to her and each night increase the time you wait. soon she will be big enough to find her own paci and you should be able to get more rest.
I thought that I was the only one. My daughter who will be 16 weeks on Monday has been waking up the past three nights at midnight-2 (that range) and then again at 5. She too was going to bed around 8:30 and waking up at 6. She doesn't take a pacifier (I have tried as my three year old just got rid of hers this year before sister came). She has had a cold now for almost 3 weeks and I just started putting the humidifier back in her room. When she wakes up the first time she will take a small bottle and go back to sleep right away. This morning when she woke up at 5 she wanted to stay up. I put her back in her crib and she eventually fell back asleep with a little crying. I feel for you! I work fulltime as well and am having the hardest time functioning this week. My doctor told me that babies can start teething at 3-4 months even though they might not break through until 6-8 months.
A.,
I understand your frustrations. I have been sleep deprived since pregnancy and my son is now 14mths old. I don't even think my brain functions anymore.
Don't worry so much about the pacifier. Some studies say that it is good for a baby to use one and that babies that sleep with a pacifier or at a lower risks for SIDS. And, if she is going to sleep on her own with it then, perhaps that is not the issue.
If you think that it is gas, there is a great over-the-counter product used often for gaseous babies..Mylicon. My daughter used it alot around 3 mths. She also had a hard time sleeping and would only sleep in the swing. I allowed it during the day when I could be watchful. After all, babies need their sleep as much as we need them to sleep.
If it is gas, you could also try putting her bassinet or crib on an incline with her head slightly higher. This helped my older daughter and helped my son as well.
Good luck.
i thought you were a first-time mom with unrealistic expectations until i read the end of your response. your daughter must have been AMAZING and you are so lucky! but this kid is different and i bet he would sleep longer in the early morning if you fed him. boys are so much more solid than girls and that bulk comes from their food! try to be patient and let him be a needy and nurtured newborn. PS. i am also on baby #2 and it is hard to be patient about some of the stuff that was easy with #1!!! just try to focus on the things that are easier this time around. and do whatever you need to get some sleep.
Sorry you guys aren't sleeping well. The days can be so hard w/o much sleep. How is she napping during the day? I agree w/giving her the paci. Some babies (like our 1st son) just need the oral stimulation. It's soothing for them. Moving her to her crib now might be a good idea. I also agree that it could be teething. Are her gums enflamed? Do you see or feel any little nubs of teeth? Try giving her some infant pain reliever drops before bed. You mention that some mornings she wakes up early w/a big poop...during the night wakings, do you notice if she's pulling up her legs? If so, it could be gas. So, if the pain reliever drops don't do the trick, then try the gas drops. It's all a process of elimination! And, finally , it coudl just be a growth spurt. Try nursing or giving her a bottle & see if she's actually hungry. Enlist Daddy's help & have him get up w/her some of the times. And then there's the usual, sleep when she's sleeps durng the day. Best of luck!
I'm probably no help with this, but my daughter slept through the night 7-7 at 4 months and at 5 she was waking up 4 or 5 times at night. She could be going through a growth spurt, there's a small chance she could be teething or she could just be hungry. I was told to stop night time feedings at 6 months. If she's not hungry, she won't eat (or so they say). This is probably not what you want to hear, but go with the flow. Try not to stress about it right now and do what you need to do to get some sleep. When my daughter was a new born I watched "The Happies Baby on the Block" and they talked about how to teach the baby to keep the paci in, you could try that. Most people push it back in, but what you want to do is try to pull it out, that teached them to suck it back in...you have to watch the video to understand, I'm not good at explaining things.
Best of luck and try to get some sleep when you can =o)
she is still so little, she may be having a growth spurt and need more food at night. Try giving her one nursing at night and use the pacifier for the other times. You need your sleep and so does your daughter, she is waking up for a reason. I slept with my son when he was so little and would roll over and nurse and stay asleep. may be worth a try
Try to nap during the day as much as possible. Either way this will pass and she will sleep through the night at some point. try to respond to her needs and build that trust with her
good luck
I am wondering if she is having a little growth spurt and could use some night time nursing. Seems like all my babies nursed at night during the first 6 months. Not always as much but their nurishment needs change alot. They were all in bed with us so it's not as disruptive to your sleep to feed. I don't know what is normal for babies who sleep in their own beds. Co sleeping isn't for everyone but I must say I am one mama to a new born getting great nights sleep. Best wishes .
She's probably hungry. Their stomachs are still pretty small at 3 mos. My 5 mo old still wakes a few times in the night to eat. He sleeps next to me, so all I have to do is roll over and nurse him, then we both go back to sleep. It's not a big deal, because neither one of us wakes fully, I don't have to get out of bed, and we go back to sleep immediately. I think it's comforting for him, also, and that's fine with me. I would definitely not put the baby in a separate room and let her "cry it out." She's crying because she needs something, and that's her only way of telling you. I'd figure out the easiest way for you to respond to her needs and then get back to sleep.
A.,
keep the pacifier. I swear it is also a pacifier for moms. All my kids but 1 had paci's and loved them.
Babies do go through periodic growth spurts and may need to be fed at night again. This too will pass, and if you feed her when she wakes the first time, she may not wake again. Also what may help is a bit of cereal at night 1.5 hours before her last feeding. I started all 4 of my children on cereal 1 tsp with BM at night at 14 or 15 weeks. Worked like a charm. They are now 9,9,6, and almost 2.
I would MOST DEFINATELY move her into her own room at this point. She hears you and hubby sleeping. breathing, snoring, moving whatever noises she hears. This will help her sleep better and you too. You won't be so anxious to jump up and get her.
Good luck, need anymore advice let me know
Trish
Babies have a growth spurt at this age. She probably is getting hungrier. If you resume breastfeeding her at night pick a consistent time and try to keep to that time so she will learn when to wake up. For example, 4 A.M. If you keep to that over a few days, she will probably begin waking around the time you choose. She is really young to go all night without nursing.
