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DD isn't sleeping....
She normally goes to bed between 8:30-9:30pm after a bath and a bottle and sleeps til 5am. For the past two weeks she's been tough to put down and she's been waking up at 2 and 3am and then again around 6am. Last night she fell asleep at 9:30pm and she drank 7 ounces just before and she was moving around and fussing then got up at 2am for a feeding she burped I changed her diaper and she fell asleep. Every hour I was jumping up checking on her because she was moving so much.
She started daycare last week and yesterday the babysitter told us she isn't sleeping during the day. She was so tired when we picked her up yesterday evening, we thought for sure she'd go home and knock out. She fell asleep in the car for the 2 minute ride home and then she was up til about 9ish. During this time she's not fussy at all, she's happy, smiling, gurgling,etc.. I think she's teething because her fists stay in her mouth and her onesies are all wet around the neck and chest but is this a reason for her not to sleep. Is she getting enought to eat? Should I start her on cereal? Her 4 month well check is two weeks away so do I stick it out til then before I do anything? I just returned to work on Monday so of course I feel horrible and think it's all my fault.
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Re: DD isn't sleeping....
first, don't feel horrible, this is not your fault! I'm sure you are a great mom and you should never, ever feel guilty about going back to work!!
second, personally, I think 3 months is too early to start solids. but you could try upping the amount of milk/formula in her bottles if you think she's getting hungry.
third, I think a big issue is that she is not getting enough sleep. this gets said so often on here, but I'll say it again--sleep begets sleep. Definitely try putting her to bed a lot earlier--maybe try pushing it back every week by a half hour or so until you get to a 7pm bedtime (if possible). You can still wake her up and dream feed around 10pm to get her through the night, based on what you've said she's just not getting enough sleep--especially if she's not napping well.
That's just my 2 cents, I hope it's helpful!
We've been going through some sleep issues that sound very similar, so I can commiserate. He's just now getting more consistent (knocking furiously on wood and praying I don't jinx myself) after a month and a half of crazy sleep. I tried to pin it on a million possible reasons - growth spurt, 4 mo. wakefulness, teething, going back to work and him missing me. But honestly, it could have been anything and I think we just needed to ride it out. We still think he's teething, but won't know for sure until a tooth pops out.
It does sound like you have a pretty late bedtime, though. The first thing I would do is try to put her to bed earlier and see what happens. Don't give her rice cereal until you talk to a doctor. It's usually not recommended until 4-6 mos.
it could be several things, yes, she can def. be teething; yes, you going back to work is affecting her, she spends a lot less time w/ you during the day and is waking up at night (or staying up) to try to make up for that lost time (but don't blame yourself!). The change in routine and new babysitter are all factors.
at this age, she should be awake no more than 2 hrs b/w naps. make sure the babysitter knows this - it sounds like she may be too tired and that's why it's harder to get her down.
personally, I think she's way too young for solids
my DD started teething at 3.5 mo but the bottom 2 teeth did not cut till she was 7.5 mo! All her teeth take a really really long time to cut. She's basically been teething non-stop for over 11 mo
I'm sorry to say that DS's teething has gone the same way as Sofka's DD's has. DS started having periods of drooling, fussiness, slightly elevated temperature, swollen gums and wanting to chew on things at around three months. We called the doctor's office when he started spitting up more than usual, and we were told that it was teething and that all the extra drool was causing the bouts of spitting up. He would go through three or four day periods of the same symptoms every couple of weeks, and it's just been this week that I've felt a tooth that has started to poke through the gums. Who knows how long it will take for the darn tooth to actually show itself!
I will definitely hold off on the solids until I get the ok from her pediatrician. We end up getting home around 6:30pm on Mon, Tues and Thurs so I'm not sure if we can get her to bed by 7pm on those days, but we'll do our best to get her down close to that time. We checked her gums and no sign of any teeth, we'll probably end up waiting a few more months like some of you.
Thanks much for your input ladies!
Remember, with babies, sleep begets sleep begets more sleep.
If she's not sleeping at daycare, that may be why she's not sleeping at night. Unlike adults, who if they are really tired during the day will then (in theory) sleep really well that night... babies need to sleep during the day so that they sleep better at night. Bad/no naps can make for a fitful night's sleep. So more sleep during the day may = better sleep at night.
Also, I agree with pp about an earlier bedtime. Start pushing it back to 8:30 then 8:00, etc. I'd say an average bedtime for most kids I know is anywhere between 6:30 and 8:30. Again, it seems backwards, but the earlier they go to sleep, often means they'll sleep longer. (my DD #2 goes to bed at 7:00 and my #1 goes to bed at 7:30. They both nap during the day).
That said, when my #2 started to go to bed earlier and earlier, when she was still really little like your 3 month old, I did a dream feed at 10 pm and that really helped her STAY asleep till morning. Eventually we dropped the dream feed, but def. still did it when she was your LO's age.