Babies: 3 - 6 Months
4 mo wakeful turned into bad sleeping habits
What I think originally started as the 4 mo sleep regression has now turned into DD waking up multiple times a night regularly. She used to STTN or wake up 1x/night prior to the sleep regression. She is now waking up 2-3 times/night and eats anywhere from 4-6 oz each time. She is now 5 1/2 mo so I'm wondering if she is ready to be sleep trained.
We usually swaddle her and she has a bottle before going to sleep. From what I've read, we need to teach her to fall asleep without the bottle at some point.
Any suggestions on where to start?
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Re: 4 mo wakeful turned into bad sleeping habits
I'm curious,what time do you put LO to bed for the night? Also, could she be waking up due to teething? Do you have any white noise or maybe a fan going?
I stopped the swaddle a couple weeks ago when Connor decided to wake up multiple times a night,I figured since his sleep wasn't great anyway we might as well break the swaddle. I'm not worried about taking away the bedtime bottle feeding at this point. He needs his food. I can't exactly make him a sandwich yet,haha. Good luck, I know it's hard when they were a good little sleeper and all that changes literally overnight.
Her bedtime used to be at 8p, but then we moved it up to 7 because she dropped her late afternoon nap. She was getting overtired before 8, so now she's usually asleep by 7:30p. We do have white noise playing all night and during naps.
When she is waking up, she is very hungry. Sometimes when she wakes up she will fuss for a few mins and goes back to sleep. When she starts really crying it's because she's hungry and she'll eat 4-6 oz. and go right back to sleep. This makes me think that she's not eating enough during waking hours. She is distracted during the day and I often feed her in a dark quiet room or she won't finish her bottle.
The exact same thing happened with our first son! We did Ferber all at once, and he was also 5.5 months I think. First, we did cry it out for putting him down awake, not on the bottle. It only took 4 nights. Then used his progressive waiting method for feedings at night. He outlines it in his book, but it's something about waiting a half hour before feeding him, and waiting later and later until you feed him each night. It worked like a charm!
I'd suggest reading the book and understanding it all before starting. Also, stop feeding him...even if he seems hungry, it's probably habit at this point. If he has STTN before then he doesn't need the food. Increase the oz/bottle during the day, and if you haven't already started solids, then start solids.
If she's eating 4-6oz then she's probably hungry, and crying it out would only leave her hungry and sad/angry. I would focus on her daytime feeds. Provide more opportunities, keeping them as quiet and relaxed as possible.
If you have spare time to read, No Cry Sleep Solution gives a lot of info on infant sleep patterns, and how to transition them out of habits that don't work for you.
I agree with this.
Violet Mae born 1/15/13
I agree with the PP about your DD probably being hungry because she is just too distracted during the day. I don't think I would just let her CIO.
Kellymom has good advice about this and maybe you can try the tips suggested: https://kellymom.com/parenting/nighttime/4mo-sleep/
A quote from the site:
"Has NO ONE stopped to consider the developmental stage of the breastfeeding baby that begins at about four months and can go on to 6 or 7 months? Think about your four month old breastfeeding ? what are they doing? This baby is on and off the breast ? so interested in the world around him he can hardly stand it. ?Oh look! There?s the dog! Hi, Mommy, I love you SOOOO much! The phone?! A car went by. The TV is on. Big sister comes into the room?.hey, there?s just too much going on for me to concentrate on eating. I think I?m full now. I?ll see you later?..? "
This!!!! You said it yourself, baby is distracted during the daytime feedings. It's easier for them to take in more calories at night when there is nothing interesting going on. If you want to get away from this, make sure baby is filling up during the day. Don't do CIO if you know baby is hungry.