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Babies: 3 - 6 Months
clo1982
member
4MW middle of night feedings
clo1982
member
I posted a question about this within my other generic formula thread but really am hoping to get some advice so I wanted more of you ladies to see it. I think I am going through the dreaded 4 month wakeful period. My DD was previously a champion sleeper, going from 7pm-630am each night. She would wake up, kick around a bit and put herself back to sleep. Not so much now. My question is, when she wakes up in the middle of the night, am I setting her up to develop a habit of midnight feedings if I feed her?
I tried leaving her in her crib, patting her, picking her up and rocking her. Finally after 3 big fails on each of them I just fed her and she ate most of the bottle. another mom told me she never fed her little ones when they woke up in the middle of the night once she knew they could STTN because she didn't want to establish that habit again. Is this what I'm doing??
I obviously want to feed her if she is hungry but I sure as heck don't want to get her thinking that 3am is a time she should be awake for another meal!
On a positive note, the previous sleep training we did has proved successful as after I fed her the past couple nights I just laid her down awake. She kicked, wiggled and ate her hands for about 30 minutes then fell asleep on her own! Also, does anyone else have a hard time not cracking up when they walk in, half asleep in the middle of the night and the LO's have this HUGE adorable smile on their face!? As much as I absolutely hate being up at 3am, that little baby smile is insanely cute!
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Re: 4MW middle of night feedings
Not sure about your questions, but I had to chuckle at how you can't help but smile back at your smiling baby. I try to avoid eye contact in the night, etc. but when they have that huge gummy grin I have to smile back!
Good luck with the nighttime situation.
I'm kind of going through the same thing. Since 3 months (He'll be 5 months in 3 days) he went from STTN to being a crappy sleeper. He's very sporadic. He'll go from STTN one night, to waking up crying unconsolable the next night. Now I think we may be into teething time also because he wakes up sometimes with like an angry cry, hands in his mouth.
At his 4 month apptn the Dr asked me how he was sleeping and I explained the situation (as soon as LO eats if I feed him he sleeps the rest of the night) he told me at this point it's fine but if I'm stilling doing it at his 6 month apptn "we'll talk about it." Just last night I had to feed him at 1:30am after him crying uncontrollably. The night before that he slept 8:30-7:00am not a peep.
Right now I'm just doing what I think is best and hopefully he'll figure it out himself one day!
I continue to feed my 4 month old when ever she wakes up hungry. Sometimes it is 2 or 3 times a night. Sometimes it is only once. Occasionally she will STTN. I feel like if she needs to eat then she needs to eat and I am not going so I just sacrifice my sleep for her. But I am one of the ones who isn't as concerned about STTN, so I am probably not much help. = ) I haven't sleep trained her at all. And I nurse so it is a little easier for me to feed her at night because I don't have to fix her a bottle. I can just stick her on.
I also love seeing her smile like that. It even makes me feel better when I am trying to sleep in on my day off for once and she decides to wake up at 7 am and goof around in her bassinet, then when I finally can't make her sit there any more and I shuffle over there to get her she is smiling up at me and kicking around. I love that kid.
I know a lot of moms will not feed in the middle of the night for fear of developing a bad habit...but I feel differently for my LO. Until 3.5 months J slept through the night from 7pm-5/6ish. About two weeks ago he started waking at 3am to play which I figured was an early 4MW. I always fed him because I figured he had gone almost 9 hours without eating...I'd be hungry too! And he always sucked down his bottle lightening speed.
Yes, he can STTN without eating but he is asleep, he doesn't realize he is hungry. When he wakes he tummy is surely growling for food. For what its worth he is now back to sleeping 7am-5/6ish so I did not create a bad habit.
DD used to STTN 9 p.m. to 6/7 a.m. She now wakes up once a night around 1 a.m. to eat. I never let her escalate beyond fussing b/c if I just feed her, she and I both are back asleep within 20 minutes. It's unrealistic to expect a hungry baby to go back to sleep for another 6 hours because it's inconvenient to get up with them. Who knows what kind of development their little bodies are going through that makes them need a little more fuel.
a four month old cannot develop bad habits. Until they learn cause and effect which is anywhere from 6 months to a year, "spoil" them rotten. If DS wakes, I nurse him back to sleep. They also go through a growth spurt at 4 months and will probably need to be feed throughout the night more.
I love that little smile when I walk in at 5am and he looks up and gives me that big gummy grin. Takes my morning crankiness away immediately.
With DD1, if she was hungry, I fed her. That was our rule. And eventually, she phased out of the 4 month wakeful and went back to her fabulous sleeping habits. Also, have you tried dream feeding? Maybe offering a bottle around 10 or 11 pm to see if she'll STTN since her tummy is full?
Try not to worry too much about "messing your kid up" - enjoy the quiet in the middle of the night