Sleeping Baby

Hate to tell ya, but some babies just dont sleep through the night for a good long time. My daughter didnt sleep through the night until she was about 1 yr old.

I hate to tell you this but yes it is perfectly normal for a baby that young to wake up so often. Their little tummies don't hold much so they get hungrier quicker. Also it is normal for them just to want to be held at times. My oldest daughter woke up every two years for months. I thought I would day before she started sleeping through the night. My youngest slept through the night from the day she was born so you can see each child is different. Don't stress and enjoy you time with her. She'll be gone and on her own before you know it.

M. S,

I wish I had an answer for you. I think my daughter was 18 months before I go a full nights sleep. Even with Grandmas being over at times, when she woke up she only wanted me (and still does on occasion).

We did realize that she did better going to sleep at 9pm instead of 8 pm- she is now 2.5 yrs & we are working on going to be a 8:30 pm.

Sometimes I think some kids just aren't good sleepers. Her great-grandmother on her dad's side only slept 6 hrs a day.

4 months old is quite young to sleep thru the night. I'd feed her when she wakes :)

normal, totally normal, please no drugs, yikes
ok maybe you and her dad can split who gets up so everyother night you sleep thro- how wonderful you have her,k

Hi,

I think the best thing I can tell you is that your daughter is totally normal. Most babies do not sleep through the night that young. Or sometimes they sleep pretty well and then 4 months comes along with a sleep regression and then teething follows and you've got a baby that is waking up at night. People will tell you that stuffing babies with bottles and cereal will make them sleep longer, but studies show it's just not true. At 4 months, baby's sleep patterns start becoming more like an adult's and as they get used to it you will often see a sleep regression.

(http://moxie.blogs.com/askmoxie/2006/02/qa_what_are_sle.html)

And sometimes they just have developmental stuff going on that you can't see. The Wonder Weeks book is excellent for learning about these cognitive developments. There is a mental growth spurt at 12 weeks.
(http://www.livingcontrolsystems.com/wonder_weeks/content_...)

There is a physical growth spurt at 3-4 months so it is possible she's waking due to hunger.

I'll be honest and say I'm not a fan of sleep training, particularly cry-it-out and particularly at 4 months. I figure I'm a parent 24 hours a day, not just every time except for when I'd rather be sleeping. So I do respond to my kids at night as often as they need me with my 3 year old it's hardly ever and my 9 month old is pretty frequently. My 3 year old woke up well into her second year (And not every 30 minutes every night. I promise it won't always be like that. Sometimes it was once a night.) and I assure you even without any sleep training she learned on her own how to go to sleep and stay asleep in her own bed. I assure you that you won't have "a 15 year old sleeping in your bed."

A couple things you can try are white noise, swaddling, and a consistent routine. Cosleeping is an option too though I respect it's not for everyone. I personally start my baby in his crib and bring him to bed later. I would also make sure she's napping as well as I could by whatever means necessary (holding, rocking, etc) because babies that are well rested during the day sleep better at night. Elizabeth Pantley's No Cry Sleep Solution may have some more suggestions for you. Hang in there because I promise it does get better and in the grand scheme of things the time when they're needing frequent nighttime parenting isn't really that long. Yeah, I know it feels long when you're sleep deprived! BTDT! =)

Hi there,

It's a fallacy that 4 month old babies should be sleeping through the night. It is totally not normal for them to sleep 10-12 hours at a stretch and when we expect that from them we just get disappointed.

Just take care of her needs at night and rest assured that eventually she will sleep longer intervals (maybe around 9-10 months at the earliest).

If you are nursing at all, try a little night nursing to settle her down and give her that reassurance that you are there for her. Nursing her lying down will also give you the opportunity to doze while she nurses her way back to sleep. Good luck!

12 weeks is too young for a baby to go 11 hours at night without eating. 6 hours is probably all you can really expect her to sleep and some babies don't sleep through the night until much later anyways. I think 6 hours is what they consider to be "through the night". She's still too small to go that long without nourishment.

Some babies just don't sleep through the night! :) I have a 2&1/2 year old who just finally started sleeping through the night about a week ago! My two sons started sleeping through the night much earlier than that!! :) Just make sure she eats and burps well before bed! Looks like you're doing everything right....some babies are just more challenging than others! :) There is a light at the end of the tunnel!Good luck to you!

It is rare that a baby will sleep through the night at 12 weeks I have flet your pain twice - that will happen a little bit later. I really suggest going to babies r us and getting a few swaddlers. it will keep her tight and snuggled and she won't be able to wake her self up. She has very little control over her hands and arm muscles right now try the swaddlers - they are 10.00 each and well worth it - you can swaddle her until she is about 5 months old. the swaddle reminds them of being back in the womb were there was no room at all and it was warm and tight and snuggily. I totally think it will work.

Good Luck!

Hi. I had this same problem with both of my girls. I did the "unthinkable" and put them to bed on their bellies and they slept instantly through the night. I know you are NOT supposed to do this but I knew that is what they needed. In today's world, they have those swaddle blankets that velcro and keep the baby's arms from "startling" which causes them to wake up. Maybe you should invest in one of those. I am sure consignment shops even carry them now. They didn't have these when my babies were young and when I used a regular blanket, they would find a way to get their arms out and wake themselves up. Good luck!! I know how hard it is to be sleepless!!

This is very normal. My son will be 18 MONTHS on Sunday and still does not sleep through the night consistently. You still have a very young baby. I suspect she is still getting hungry and/or she may just want some mommy love/comfort. A lot of babies will not sleep all night that early. Some lucky mothers have children that will but I have found that most of us have to wait until they are a little older (6 mos, 9 mos a year (and in my case more)). Your PED may be able to advise you about reflux etc. I was lucky that my son did not suffer from that. But I suggest that you just keep up your consistent bedtime routine to help her learn that bedtime is coming etc and try to enjoy every second of her age. I am so sad by how fast it goes. Good luck....I know how hard it is to be sleep deprived :-)

First of all Congrats on your little girl! I know you are looking to have her sleep through the night but all babies are different. For example, my little girl slept through the night when she was 6 weeks old and of course she went through stages of waking up a few times a night from teething. Then my bestfriends little girl who is only 11 weeks older than mine, didn't sleep throught the night until she was a year old. So time might only tell. But if you think she is still hungry and waking up, in a couple weeks, she will be old enough to give rice cereal to. My bestfriend was able to get atleast a good 4-5 hours a night if she would mix some rice in her daughter's nighttime bottle. It fills their bellies and they sleep peacefuly. Talk to your doctor though because some doctor's don't like rice in bottles and others think that it is alright. In the end its really up to you.

GOOD LUCK!!!

There is an infant massage specialist in Cape Coral/Fort Myers that may be able to help. My daughter was born with tortocolis, which is an extreme next muscle related issue. My daughter would only sleep in a car seat for the first couple months until this was diagnosed and treated adequately. She was uncomfortable laying flat. Birth is traumatic to the baby and if you call Becky Avers ###-###-#### she is likely able to help. She has the most training in Lee County and is also a licensed infant cranio sacral specialist. I'd be willing to bet money a treatment or two from becky and you'll have a new baby. Now's the perfect time, before your child start crawling and moving about.
A.

It may be too early for her. She may still be in a growth spurt. I would keep up one feeding a night, she may not take the full feed b/c she is so tired, but try and get it in her. If she does not take her morning feed (the one at 7am) then you know she does not need the night feed. However, if she is taking the whole night feed and whole morning feed, she still needs it. Have you tried swaddling? Also, it's so hot right now, are you sure your house is at an ok temperature?

I recommend buying the book Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child. It is very helpful and since every baby is different,

Hi, my baby is 8 mo and dont' sleep thru the night. He wakes up 2x for his milk and sometimes because he just want mommy, burp, or anything else. As a 12 w baby he needed his milk every 2 hours, so he would wake up every 2 hours. It gets better with time, but don't expect your baby to sleep tru the night in the first year. Rarely babies sleep tru the night. Hang in there....it is not easy, but you are doing what is best for your baby.

she may still be hungry! My son had reflux and would drink and drink just to soothe the tummy pain. The GI doc and pedi recommended adding rice cereal to the bottles, which we did and it made a huge difference!

She is teething. Try infant tylenol and see if it subsides within 20 min. If it does and she sleeps several hours, she is definitely starting her first tooth. The 11-12 hours is normal for nighttime. In fact, be happy she isnt getting up at 5:30like mine did, lol. Good luck

My first child slept through the night before four months old. We woke him up at 10:00-10:30 before the last of us would go to sleep and give him a bottle, then he would sleep until 7:00 a.m.

I would also ask if she is putting herself to sleep at night or if you are. If you sooting her to sleep, then she doesn't know how to sooth herself back to sleep. I would be sure you are laying her down awake at night so she knows how to put herself to sleep.

Also, read the book "Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems". Most of the recommendations in it are for six month olds but you can at least start following some of it now.

Good luck and congratulations.

K.

hi there
heres a few thoughts that come to mind
1-are you using recommended detergent for babies...something maybe be bothering her on the fabric..2- try probiotics in her food (get in refridge at local organic health store)
((this helps with gasy colicy babies.)) research and google.. probiotics for babies.
3. are you burpin gher before putting her down?
4.she may need to be lightly swaddled and then roll at large blanket behind her to prop her on her side and lay her w/ her back against the rolled blanket.. this helped with my daughter as she didnt like 'back to sleep' but of course loved belly but as you may know its considered a risk to sleep on belly. even though she is breast fed and i did not smoke and there was a ceiling fan to circulate air..it was still a no-no.
once she hit 6 months .. i let her sleep on her belly.goodluck hope these ideas help!ps..at m 4 months it is common to be up thru the night.

My advice would be to eliminate the bottle before bed. Also, develop a routine with the bath and going to bed. I tell you this from experience. My daughter would not sleep through the night and would get up like clock work...I later found that if I bathed her at around 7:30 or 8:00 - she would go to sleep earlier. She was going to sleep late - which made her restless throughout the night.
Another suggestion for the late night bottles - I started to water them down and she eventually did not want it anymore at night.

My daughter sleep through the night when she was 4 months old. I thought if I gave her a bottle right before bed it would be best but it is not. Try giving her a bottle 1 hr. before bedtime. (A friend read this in a book and it worked for her too.) I wish I could remember the name of the book but it slips my mind. Anyway, she is 17 months old and still sleeps 11-12 hrs. a night and it works great for my schedule. Good Luck.
C.

Have you asked your pediatrician? She's so young and if your first, you are probably stressed out, too.
Could it be she's hot or cold? Do you have pets, carpets, etc that she could be allergic to? These things are irritating and she's only an infant who cannot communicate except for crying...
Blessings to you, new mommie

My baby boy is 4 1/2 months old and not sleeping through the night yet. He goes down around 9:00 and is typically up by around 3:00 - 4:00 AM. If your child is sleeping 11 hours (from 8:00 - 7:00) then that is through the night as far as I know - I would be so grateful for that sleep schedule.

she is a baby, M....
let her be a baby...
she is new to this world...
just not sleeping does not mean it's reflux
http://www.mamasource.com/business/14059862321568677889

try swaddling, and just do it and don't say "oh, she hates that!" give it a chance...

Wow, at only 12 weeks your baby is still getting adjusted to the world outside of the womb, is growing, changing and developing daily. A baby has needs 24 hours a day, every day, whether it is to be fed, changed or just comforted. As nice as it would be for the parents peaceful sleep, babies can not simply be 'turned off' from 8pm until 7am to fit our schedule or to be convenient for us. Let's face it, babies are not 'convenient' in our daily schedule, but that's not why we all decided to have them and bring them into our lives.

It is very easy to focus on the fact that a baby has been fed and changed and we feel their needs have been met (and hence should go to sleep) but babies/toddlers still have TONS of emotional and developmental needs to be met by parents 24 hrs a day while they form their bonds and attachments to us, learn that comfort from others is good and that they are safe/secure. Babies needs and wants are one in the same at this stage....she is doing nothing more than seeking love, comfort and security during a time when it is sooo important to provide it consistently as she develops.

A for her constant restlessness at night...she may feel better swaddled, or may not. I would not put her on her stomach. She may need more burping, even 15 minutes after her last meal some kids have something still uncomfortable in there. Could she have a sensitivity to the formula? Maybe change to organic to avoid the additives and other stuff or maybe use an allergenic option? Could she have a sensitivity to anything else in the room, bed, clothing? Is she too hot or cold? I definately would NOT recommend adding anything to her bottle...that is a VERY old-fashioned outdated way of trying to make babies sleepy by overworking their gut by making them deal with solids that they are not ready to process. Even if it worked temporarily, the side effects on their gut as adults can not be repaired :-(

As tiring as it is, this is all part of having a little one now :-) Hang in there and give her everything she needs, even if it's just cuddling with mom at night! (Have you considered co-sleeping? This may solve the problem, as babies are naturally made to be close to mom 24/7 and many have that strong desire and won't settle well without it...or until they give up :-( ).

When she is a couple years old she will probably be sleeping longer and you will one day look back and remember gazing at your baby in the dim midnight hours...

It is normal. I always say the first four months were the hardest concerning sleep. Then they will get into a pattern only to change again, just when you think you've got it figured out. Try the book, "Sleeping Through The Night" by Dr. Jodi Mindell. I used this when my son was older, around 8 months, but it has lots of useful information, so you will know there is light at the end of the tunnel. I also would not keep her on her belly, that worries me. Good Luck!

Please don't listen to people when they say she is waking because she doesn't know how to sooth herself. I rock my 10 month old to sleep and if she wakes at night. She sleeps great and has been sleeping through the night on and off since 2 months. During the first year, they need you and that is the end of that! There will be good nights, there will be bad nights. I never listened to the whole put them down awake and let them fuss idea. My 4 year old started putting himself to sleep around 18 months on his own and is the best sleeper in the world. I know when my daughter doesn't need me, she will sleep. Last night from 7:45-7:30. The night before, up for a bottle at 4. Just be there and remember it is temporary.

Its not unusual for a baby that age to wake several times during the night. There are as many ideas about sleep training babies as there are women out there. I did "Babywise" with my kids, and they both were sleeping "through the night" (which really only means more than 5 hours or so at a stretch - although my daughter slept for 7 hrs) by 12 weeks. That means, put them to bed around 8 pm, they slept until 2 a.m. or so before waking for a feeding... Then, about 3 hours later they would be up again for another feeding.

Its important for you to decide how you want to approach the sleep issue before you are too tired and frustrated to actually make a decision. If you plan to feed on demand and not do any sleep training with your baby, know in advance, that you might be in for more than a year of regularly interrupted sleep. Many moms are okay with this, particularly if the baby is in your bedroom with you. If you are NOT okay with that idea, then you might want to consider some sleep training (Ferber method works great starting around 6 months old) then you will probably have a few nights of stress the first week and then relatively blissful sleeping the remainder of babyhood (except for illness, etc). You might be able to tell that I am biased- but I slept GREAT after both my babies were 3 months old.

The biggest training tip is to never put the baby to bed for the night already asleep. When they are teeny tiny infants, it obviously doesn't matter. But by the time they are 5 months old, you need to be putting them to bed drowsy, but still awake, so that they can learn to fall asleep on their own. It has to be learned at some point in their lives (unless you plan on them sleeping in your bed when they are 15 years old)... now makes it lots easier on you and them.

The issue of sleep intervals is covered in On Becoming Babywise, and I recommend it. I'm sure other moms on this site will provide you with alternate methods. Use what you feel comfortable with.

Good luck.

When a child as young as yours wakes in the night they need something, whether it be food, comfort, dry diaper, whatever. Your job as a parent is to figure out that need and meet it. 12 weeks old is very young to expect or "train" a child to sleep through the night. We all hear stories or had a child who slept through the night at that age, but the same is true of all the children out there who don't make it through the night until they are a year or more old.

Try using a swaddle. Babies should sleep on backs till one.

M. S,

Most babies do not sleep through an entire night until they are at least 6 months old. To expect a 4 month old baby to sleep through the night without waking up at all is unlikely to happen. What DOES happen is that baby will begin sleeping longer stretches but will still wake up once or twice. If a baby has gas, it should be obvious for you to tell. Baby will cry in a way that will let you know that she is in pain. Babies will often pull up their legs to their chest as well. It doesn't sound like she is having gas problems based on your description. You say she is "eating a full bottle." I'm assuming this is formula? How many ounces is a "full bottle?" Could you be overfeeding her? Are you adding anything to her formula like baby cereal? Does her doctor think she has acid reflux? Are you feeding her a bottle lying down in her crib when you say she will only go back to sleep with a bottle? There are many unknowns here. She could be teething and her discomfort can be bothering her during the night. Her sleep pattern could be changing and she is simply trying to adjust. If she is waking up during the night for a few sips, then you must wake her up to finish her bottle. A baby will wake up if he/she is hungry and only a few sips were taken. Is she taking an afternoon nap and what time is she waking up? I would recommend not allowing her to nap longer than 3 P.M. and move her bedtime to 8:30-9 P.M.