Sleeping

[TriciaAS]

My 4 month old is still waking up every 3 hours at night. The  only way he'll go back to sleep, is if I breast feed him. Without the advice of giving him formula in the bottle before bed, How do I get my 4 month old to sleep longer?

[AndiJ78]

As he grows, your milk composition changes and his ability to fill up increases. Waking at 4 mos isn't unusual for an exclusively breastfed baby. Are you nursing on one or both breasts? Is he on the first long enough to draw out the hind milk? There stomachs are only so big, so making the most of what fills it helps satiate them.

Mine continued to wake during the night well beyond 4 months. I co-slept so it didn't bother me too much. I just sort of rolled with it.

[have 2 kids]

Some babies wake up that often.   My son woke up every few hours for the 1st months, then once or twice a night.  As he got older he stopped needing to eat at night (1 yr old) but still continued to wake up and needed comfort.  He was almost 5 before he finally slept thru the night.  Even now at
7 yrs old he still wakes up but comforts himself.

[TriciaAS]

Andi, your comment makes me feel better. I donurse on both breasts and his longest feeding is right before bed.
I'm afraid of co-sleeping. So I don't think I'm going to do that.
I'll just be patient I guess. and ride it out.

[TriciaAS]

He didn't sleep through the night until he was 5? OMGosh, You must be a very patient mom.

[have 2 kids]

yep, 5 years old.  There may have been a few nights here and there that he didn't wake up but not many.  Our daughter, the oldest child slept thru the night from birth so we were completely unprepared for the sleepless nights with our son.  

[girliegrl1723]

i did not breastfeed, but i have heard from many people that it is not uncommon for breastfed babies to wake up that often during the night. its not just breastfed babies though, b/c my son will be 10 months old soon and still gets up occassionally during the night. we're just the lucky ones i guess :o)

[DollChina]

Why are you afraid of co-sleeping?  You can put a sleeper or pack and play next to your bed so it'll be easier on both of you.  I nursed for 7 months and went back to work when mine was 8 weeks old.  That's the only way I could function.  Hang in there, it will happen.  Mine now sleeps from 8:00 to 8:00, and he will be one next week.

[girliegrl1723]

8:00 to 8:00 sounds like heaven! did it just happen one day or did you need to work on it? just curious.

[DollChina]

No, I am the lucky one, once I moved him out of our room at 7 months, he's been sleeping that way.  I wish I can offer some more tips.  The night night ritual was important to cue him to sleep but he doesn't even need it now.  How are you?

[AndiJ78]

With my first two I co-slept with them in the bed the entire 14 and 15 mos. With CJ I co-slept with him in the same bed until we bought this house. At that point we moved a twin bed into our room and have it wedged between our bed and the wall. He sleeps in that and when he is hungry, he wakes me to nurse and goes back to sleep. Once dh gets up at 4am, CJ usually finds his way up into bed with me. He sleeps beautifully from 11pm to 3am, wakes for a quick feeding at 3am, and again at 6am and sleeps until 10-11am. He takes 2-3 naps during the day,ranging from 30 minutes to 2 hours. Now that he is a year old, feedings last him a bit longer. He drains the breast in under 10 minutes and is generally satiated for 2-4 hours. But during the first 8 months of so he nursed at least every 2 hours.

[girliegrl1723]

im doing well, thanx. i can't believe how much edward has changed in the last couple of months. he went from what i like to call "blob" stage to a little person overnight! he is crawling and standing, talking up a storm and has almost 10 teeth. anyway, he is doing much better with sleeping lately. 8:00 pm is his bedtime and we have always had a ritual also. just last week though he suddenly became independant and wanted nothing to do with being rocked to sleep. so i just lay him in his crib after his last bottle and he falls asleep on his own. since he started that, he has been waking up less. so thats a step in the right direction! he also loves daycare. he is very social and loooves the other babies. he just doesn't like to sleep there :o) hope all is well with you and gavin. bet he's grown a lot also!

[girliegrl1723]

[rubyolivia]

That's one wonderful sleeper you've got! I'm insanely jealous!! lol

Regarding cosleeping....did you just plop the kids in your bed with you or did you have one of the "boxes" (for lack of a better term at the moment lol) that they slept in? Max and I are sleeping on the couch everynight still and poor dh is getting the shaft big time! I feel guilty...but I don't like to put Max in the pack n play beside our bed because he doesn't sleep soundly and I'm really worried about rolling on or suffocating him with the blankets if I put him in our bed.

[DollChina]

10 teeth, wow!  Gavin only has 8 and he will be one in 6 days.  They do change so much so fast.  Now he hates bath......don't know what to do but hang in there.

[AndiJ78]

I didn't use the cuddle nest. When i co-slept with my first two, dh took the couch. He preferred that over to waking with the baby and I. It also gave the baby and I more room.

I spent months not getting much sleep, so it is nice he sleeps like this now. In the last 5 years I spent more time getting no sleep than getting some.