[~Charlie's~Angel~]

We do not Co-sleep (no pitch forks or rolling eyes please) and I am looing for some reassurance and/or suggestions from other mamas who do not co sleep. My EBF 4 1/2 month old is trying to kill me (joking) I am not sure if hes teething, or going through a majorly painful growth spurt, or if maybe he has silent relflux. I have tried everything I can think of to help him sleep more then 1 1/2 hours at a time. When he wakes and I nurse, he only really comfort suckles then falls back to sleep. I lay him down, and he looks so peaceful, then 45 mins to an hour in a half later, all hell breaks loose. Does it sound like just a stage, a strong willed personality? Any other November/December mamas out there going through the same thing? (for me the 4 month regression started about a month early, and he was such a good sleeper before this) My first started SSTN at around 4 months and never really looked back. Now he sleeps SO well. If this is how my child is going to be, i obviously would never try to force him to sleep longer, i.e. CIO or solids to soon.

He even napped poorly the last four days or so. Yes, he chews on his hands alot, so maybe its a tooth? But I dont see anything. He also has hit some major developmental milestones, IMO, this last week. Things his brother didnt do for another couple of months. (Raspberries and grabbing things with his hands ON HIS OWN and then bringing to mouth to chew on)

I work 40-50 hours a week, and have an 18 month old to chase after. Plus daddy is in construction, and I am sure you all know how well the economy is helping THAT business, so he has to go out of town alot just to get a paycheck. So sleep deprivation is really taking its toll on me.

 

[jt'smum]

My DD was like that as well, we are half and half on the sleeping with me thing.

Here is what I do. She goes to bed at 8 ish gets nursed then 4oz formula and then nurses again to sleep. She wakes at 3ish and comes to bed with me and just gets BF and is up for awhile by 5 or 6. Once I started the formula she slept longer than 90 minutes at a time. I don't know if its the formula or what but its working. So I am not willing to change it. Not sure if that will help you or not.

 

[kalamos23]

Sounds like the 4 month sleep regression honestly. I know you don't cosleep but it might be worth it for a couple of nights to let him cosleep so you could get some more sleep. DD was and is still like this - she wakes up every 1-3 hours at night (she's started spacing it out a little more lately - it used to be 1-2 hours) and if I had to wake up and walk into her room to nurse her, I think I would die of sleep deprivation. For us, cosleeping has been a sanity saver - DD does the same as yours, just wants to nurse for a couple of secs and then goes back to sleep.

 

[~Charlie's~Angel~]

well his crib is right next to our bed, so fortunatly i dont have to go far when he wakes. Co sleeping really isnt an option for us. its just one of those "its just not right for our family" type deals. Im not sure if I am willing to try formula. I have wondered if that might be the diff between DS1 and DS2, as DS1 was onto strictly formula by 5 months. And hes been a dream sleeper since about the same time. The whole concept is a matter of debate, as I have read on the Breastfeeding forum. But then again, DS1 also took a bink, this one has only started to ACCEPT one as of YESTERDAY. I did not try giving it to him over night, and he only sucks on it for a few seconds anyway, and then looses it. OYE, I just dont know how far I am willing to go here. Or just try to endure it?

 

[Juvysen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barbie64g well his crib is right next to our bed, so fortunatly i dont have to go far when he wakes. Co sleeping really isnt an option for us. its just one of those "its just not right for our family" type deals. Im not sure if I am willing to try formula. I have wondered if that might be the diff between DS1 and DS2, as DS1 was onto strictly formula by 5 months. And hes been a dream sleeper since about the same time. The whole concept is a matter of debate, as I have read on the Breastfeeding forum. But then again, DS1 also took a bink, this one has only started to ACCEPT one as of YESTERDAY. I did not try giving it to him over night, and he only sucks on it for a few seconds anyway, and then looses it. OYE, I just dont know how far I am willing to go here. Or just try to endure it?

The reason formula "works" is because it's harder for them to digest so it takes longer for their tummy to empty. Breastmilk is digested quickly and easily, and nearly completely. Also, as soon as you introduce formula, it messes with the balance in the baby's gut, so I'd say it's worth holding out, if you can.

 

[~Charlie's~Angel~]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Juvysen The reason formula "works" is because it's harder for them to digest so it takes longer for their tummy to empty. Breastmilk is digested quickly and easily, and nearly completely. Also, as soon as you introduce formula, it messes with the balance in the baby's gut, so I'd say it's worth holding out, if you can.

All the reasons you mentioned are why I have not caved in to formula yet. I HATED that I had to with DS1, and still do to this day! I am wondering if this is just something I will have to endure for the next year or so. Until he atleast gets mobile and wears himself out. I am convinced that is why DS1 is such a dream sleeper now. the kid NEVER.EVER.STOPS. ALL.DAY.LONG. lol So at night, he crashes, sometimes litterally. So if the little one even tries to keep up with his brother, he will get pretty worn out too.

 

[Juvysen]

Honestly, it's completely normal to get sleep disturbances when the kids hit a growth spurt or start reaching milestones. Both of my kids stopped sleeping as well when they were learning to crawl or teething or learning to walk... it was all in fits and starts, though...

I think of it this way... Even when I have the possiblity to sleep through the night (like, before I had kids) I didn't sleep every moment of the night. I'd wake up, look at the clock and go back to sleep, or wake up, cuddle up with DH and go back to sleep, or even sometimes I'd be up thinking about something for a half hour or something. I consider THAT normal. I think that "sleeping through the night" is a remnant of formula and/or sleep training

: The difference is that babies need help being "parented" back to sleep, adults have already figured out how to soothe themselves back to sleep. IDK...YMMV Maybe it's just an urban legend that STTN is "normal"

 

[~Charlie's~Angel~]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Juvysen Honestly, it's completely normal to get sleep disturbances when the kids hit a growth spurt or start reaching milestones. Both of my kids stopped sleeping as well when they were learning to crawl or teething or learning to walk... it was all in fits and starts, though... I think of it this way... Even when I have the possiblity to sleep through the night (like, before I had kids) I didn't sleep every moment of the night. I'd wake up, look at the clock and go back to sleep, or wake up, cuddle up with DH and go back to sleep, or even sometimes I'd be up thinking about something for a half hour or something. I consider THAT normal. I think that "sleeping through the night" is a remnant of formula and/or sleep training : The difference is that babies need help being "parented" back to sleep, adults have already figured out how to soothe themselves back to sleep. IDK...YMMV Maybe it's just an urban legend that STTN is "normal"

Well for DH and I, "SSTN" is normal for us because we BOTH sleep like the dead, and if for some reason we cant, we are absolutly MISERABLE and it just feels out of the norm for us. I used to take it very hard when DS1 was very little. (sleep disutrbances) and have adjusted relativly well to DS2 (or so I thought) I guess I had gotten spoiled with DS1 because he sleeps just like his mommy and daddy, like a ROCK!

 

[Juvysen]

My DH slept like that, too. We blame the sleep training he had as an infant

 

[misswerewolf]

sounds like a phase to me.

My daughter went through something similar around that time period. She went from sleeping 3-4 hours per stretch to waking and fussing every hour or hour-and-a-half. It lasted about a month, and suddenly she returned to her "normal" state of sleep. She reached a lot of milestones during that time.

She's now (nearly) 7 months, and just last night slept ~9 hours -- her first time EVER sleeping that long. I'm hoping this will happen more regularly. I too need sleep!

Suggestion: Implement a bedtime routine. I find that if I give my daughter a warm bath prior to putting her down for the night, she sleeps much better than if that didn't happen. She splashes around, talks to her mirror image, and generally has a relaxing time. After I get her ready for bed, I dim all the lights and then read a page or two from a book, and she zonks out (for a while anyway) within 15 minutes or so.

 

[LadyCatherine185]

DS is 7.5 mo and just started sleeping longer than an hour at a time at night. And i'm pretty sure its because he is eating more solids, and starting to crawl and wearing himself out.

S!!! i can't imagine how much harder it would be if I had to work full time.

 

[littlebabydoll]

http://www.kellymom.com/parenting/sleep/4mo-sleep.html

Someone pasted this to me for my "teething hell" thread.

So last night we actally got 6 hrs in a row of sleep. I turned on the Sleep Sheep the second I hear a peep from him instead of grabbing him so quick to nurse back to sleep. It didnt work the first two times but it did the third. He went back to sleep on his own with no tears! We have been using the sleep sheep since he was a newborn though, just turning it on while he was starting to sleep though instead of the second I started nursing to sleep.

 

[~Charlie's~Angel~]

I have been lurking around today, and from what I've read, I could very well be SOS for atleast the next 6 months, and I just happened to get really lucky with DS1.

! Thanks for all the suggestions ladies!

 

[snowgirl]

Hi Gina,
I am from your ddc. Sorry to hear about ds2 sleeping. Technically, you are co-sleeping, but you are not bedsharing. Co-sleeping is sleeping with your child in the same room. Bedsharing is in the same bed. Getting no sleep is no fun. I am not sure if I can offer any advice, but to please try to stay away from formula. I was just at a LLL conference and I could not believe the stuff that is in formula. If you are on facebook add me as your friend and go to my notes section. I wrote the "25 things you should know about formula".

It sounds like he likes to comfort suck and he prefers the real thing to a bink. Try to remember that their little bodies and minds are growing rapidly. So there will be ebb and flows. Maybe teeth are coming. At 4 months ds started to drool and chew at his hands and I can almost see 2 teeth under the gums. DD started at 4 months, but didn't get teeth until 7 months. Perhaps try some Hylands teething tabs. They work most of the time for ds.
GL and I hope things improve.

 

[madeofstardust]

I'm from your DDC too, and am dealing with the same thing, except I don't work full time. You must be so worn out! My DD was STTN since she was 2 days old and then she got to be about 3 1/2 months old all hell broke loose and she's been eating ALL.NIGHT.LONG. since then. The past couple of days have been significantly better though, I think I've gotten to sleep at least 7 hours each night for about 2-3 days now, so there is hope! And for what it's worth, we she's been like that and we DO bedshare, so maybe it wouldn't even help you.
I actually tried to give my DD formula to try and help for sleep, for just...a couple hours. She was sleeping for about 30-45 minutes at a time and I was going insane. She wouldn't even take it, which really reinforced to me that I shouldn't be giving it to her.
Anyway, it WILL get better!

 

[jempd]

I have a December baby and I also work full-time. I just wanted to post to say that you're not alone, although my dd doesn't wake up as much as yours, she does wake up 3-4 times during the night and it increased a couple of weeks after I started working full time. I figured she wanted more of me. I also think that it may have to do with hitting the developmental milestones early, that the brain is just working away so hard it is just hard to let go and relax at night. So I second the suggestion to give a relaxing bath, step up the bedtime routine thing. Good luck.

 

[kentuckyfriedgirl]

Have you tried swaddling? My dd is 16 weeks and not a great sleeper but we still swaddle her - it definitely seems to help her sleep longer. She will fuss a little when I put her in it, but then she has a big yawn and calms down.

We also use a white noise machine which also seems to help her sleep longer.

 

[~Charlie's~Angel~]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kentuckyfriedgirl Have you tried swaddling? My dd is 16 weeks and not a great sleeper but we still swaddle her - it definitely seems to help her sleep longer. She will fuss a little when I put her in it, but then she has a big yawn and calms down. We also use a white noise machine which also seems to help her sleep longer.

He has HATED swaddling since the day he came out. Go figure

I also have a white noise machine. Use it almost every night. Sometimes it works, sometimes not so much. Last night, for example, he had a bath with his brother. So it was anything BUT relaxing.....lol. But he played with all of us for a while, then I nursed him to sleep around 8. I put him down in his crib at 830, he woke up around 1130. I nursed him, he fell back asleep and I put him in his crib again. Then he woke up again around 215, did the same thing. Then he woke up AGAIN around 445 and I did everything again. Then I woke him at 6ish when I was ready to get him ready for daycare. He was in a fantastic mood when i woke him. So not sure why it was different last night, but it was a heck of a lot better then lately.

 

[Astraia]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barbie64g He has HATED swaddling since the day he came out. Go figure I also have a white noise machine. Use it almost every night. Sometimes it works, sometimes not so much. Last night, for example, he had a bath with his brother. So it was anything BUT relaxing.....lol. But he played with all of us for a while, then I nursed him to sleep around 8. I put him down in his crib at 830, he woke up around 1130. I nursed him, he fell back asleep and I put him in his crib again. Then he woke up again around 215, did the same thing. Then he woke up AGAIN around 445 and I did everything again. Then I woke him at 6ish when I was ready to get him ready for daycare. He was in a fantastic mood when i woke him. So not sure why it was different last night, but it was a heck of a lot better then lately.

Sounds like my baby (born Nov 28, so just over 5 months old). 3 months 2 weeks and she stopped sleeping during the day, and had broken sleep at night. Then that got better, and she started waking up every hour -2 hrs throughout the night. Then it got a bit better one day, then about 4 days later we're back to nursing to sleep at 10 pm, and then only waking up once more to eat before we get up at 8:30.

So it DOES get better- and really rapidly! Not really a steady progression, just one day its better then the next week it's completely different. I figured growth spurt/ bad dreams/ something with the moon, who knows? But thankfully, a phase!

 

[~Charlie's~Angel~]

I hope I see improvements soon. I am sleep walking again today. He was up every hour in a half. And he was SOOO happy all day long and ate soooooo good. OYE!