Sleep problem

Gyck

Hi,

I’ve got a 4 and a half month old who has until recently been sleeping through the night from 10pm to 7am. However, in the last two weeks she’s waking at between 3am and 4am. Typically we’d attempt to settle her but this doesn’t seem to work so she’d end up in the bed, and even then her sleep would be pretty broken. Last night she woke up at 3am and we decided to give her a feed… She managed to get back to sleep at 5am and I had to wake her at 7am. She’s just started to take baby rice.

Any advice on getting her back to sleeping though the night?

squire1

Hi Gyck,

I'm the proud Dad of a 13 Mth old lad and remember going through this also. What time do you feed her before she goes down at 10?

Even if he was not due a feed at bedtime (typically 8pm) we would give him a bottle just to top him up. It seemed to sort out the problem for us. I have found that he goes through stages in which his sleep pattern gets disrupted for some reason and you have to try a few things to get it back.

I would say that taking her into your bed might be a bad idea as it may lead to becoming a habit.

Is she on a soother? Might be worth a try but I know some parents do not like them.

Try wraping her up well in a blanket (swaddling) as it worked for us one more than one occasion.

Hope you get some sleep soon.

bennyc

I have two and the first one we let him into the bed and that soon became a habbit and took a long time to sort out he also used a soother
The second one never let him in the bed he dident take a soother and we had the same issue with waking in the night from what i can remember we gave him more food at night and kept him awake a litttle longer and that got things back to normal but I suppose no kids are the same

Gyck

Thanks for the insights and advice, anything is welcome.

She's having her last night feed between 9.30pm and 10.00pm We try to swaddle her, and have some special swaddling blankets which worked really well in the first few months, but she's too big for them now and we can't find any more, so we're using normal blankets. She always manages to squirm out of the blanket though.

She has a soother which usually drops out of her mouth within a few minutes of falling asleep. Sometimes this wakes her, though not all the time.

We would rather not have her in the bed as it's amost impossible to sleep with her moving around but sometimes give in!

Tazz T

If she's squirming out of the blankets is it the cold that's waking her up? Or has she had a cold recently which can knock out her schedule?

Our 8 month old has slept in gro-bags since the first couple of months as she wouldn't stay swaddled - that helped greatly. We had just got her sleeping through the night when she caught a cold and was waking hourly because she couldn't breathe with the congestion and now we're back to her waking a couple of times a night.

I'd watch giving her feeds at 3/4am in the morning as she's going to expect it every night. Try soothing her back to sleep with a drink of water. Perseverance is the key to most sleeping problems.

Gyck

Tazz T wrote:

If she's squirming out of the blankets is it the cold that's waking her up? Or has she had a cold recently which can knock out her schedule?

Our 8 month old has slept in gro-bags since the first couple of months as she wouldn't stay swaddled - that helped greatly. We had just got her sleeping through the night when she caught a cold and was waking hourly because she couldn't breathe with the congestion and now we're back to her waking a couple of times a night.

I'd watch giving her feeds at 3/4am in the morning as she's going to expect it every night. Try soothing her back to sleep with a drink of water. Perseverance is the key to most sleeping problems.

I thought the cold might be a possibility, her hands get very cold. I must check out the gro-bags. That sounds like something you'd put a plant into .

I understand that reintroducing a feed at 3/4 may cause problems. She actually got an initial bottle of water last night, but seemed to be hungry and got a small bottle too. If she wakes again tonight I might just try the water.

edengarden

I swear by Lavender Oil in the bath before bedtime and a little on the rooms rads or a tiny half a drop on the collar of the PJ's

Gyck

I swear by Lavender Oil in the bath before bedtime and a little on the rooms rads or a tiny half a drop on the collar of the PJ's

Great idea, thanks. I think I have some at home.

PJG

Yeah pretty much what’s been said already.

We have 2 girls one is 5 and the other is 15 months.

She takes a soother and if it falls out and can't find it she would cry so we send her to bed with one on a dummy clip attached to the baby grow and one in each hand.

1) Lavender in an incense burner in the room half an hour before going to bed
2) Bath
3) Feed (bottle and rusk)

Failing that it may be no harm to let them him\her cry it out. Sounds tough but it does work.

Gyck

She takes a soother and if it falls out and can't find it she would cry so we send her to bed with one on a dummy clip attached to the baby grow and one in each hand.

LOL, soothers are a curse sometimes..!

Well, we've had a mixed week so far. Last night she had pretty broken sleep, the night before was pretty good. I'm on put-the-soother-back-in duty tonight, so have a shot for me!

If anything it's reassuring to know that other people are or have gone through the same situations. Thanks.

lisa.c

my mothers doctor always told her when we were little that kids should be in bed by seven even if they dont sleep til 8 or nine that it was fine as we were relaxed...

so maybe try to relax her for up to half hour before bed....

also maybe the rice is upsetting her tummy or even bowel movements. i found my lad would get a little constipated from the rice in the beginning and it upset his sleep for a while...maybe try feeding her in the morning with the rice. and definately give her a good feed before bed after all shes growing so she is bound to be getting hungrier..

and finally it could be just that she is teething and is in a little pain and discomfort at the moment.

good luck with it all though.:)

Victor

My sister found with her youngest that the change to semi-solid foods really changed her sleeping habits, with her being able to last longer through the night without waking.

How about trying to time feeding to maximise "down" time?

Gyck

My sister found with her youngest that the change to semi-solid foods really changed her sleeping habits, with her being able to last longer through the night without waking.

Yes, I figure by the fact that her sleep is pretty erratic that perhaps she may be in some kind of transition period. She is about a week and a half into starting solids (thankfully she seems to be OK with the introduction, she likes the tastes). It's definitely had an effect on her digestion though she doesn't seem to be upsetting her. She had a good night last night and went down at 7pm, up for a feed at 10pm and slept through to about 6.30am. I managed to get the swaddle on pretty well and she hadn't managed to squirm out of it, so that may have helped.

I'm just praying that she doesn't slip into a routine of waking at 3 or 4am.

TempestSabre

I'd suspect its the feed. Established patterns can change for weeks at a time for a variety of reasons, and they revert back eventually. Usually its something like a change in diet, teeth, a cold, or something changing in their daily routine.

How long do you swaddle a baby for?

On a slightly different tack, its a good to build up your own sleep reserves when they are sleeping well. Nothing worse to be tired yourself when they decide to act up.

Gyck

The more I read the more I think it's just a case of putting up with the issue. Her feeds have changed and I think her teeth are starting to come up.
Shes being swaddled at around 10pm, of course this rarely stays on all night and more often than not shes gotten out of it by 3am.