Nearly 4 months and still up 3hrly overnight! Help!

[NurseSooz]

My dd slept brilliantly early on. Used to be 3/3:30 and the 7/8am. She's now up around 12:30, 3:30 and 6 and I can't get her to break this habit. She's fully breast feed. She generally takes a full feed each time. I'm a walking zombie and I'm so sleep deprived it's making me feel ill. Not coping! Advice welcome!
Dd hasn't taken a bottle so far. She sleeps in our room so if my DH was to feed her it doesn't make much of a difference as she'd wake me anyway.

Help!

 

[fieryphoenix]

My lo still nurses this often overnight too

 

[NurseSooz]

Are you exhausted too?

 

[babyjo]

I co-slept until 6 months to get through this. I slept loads although LO was waking every 2 hours to feed. We barely woke up for the night feedings. I didn't have to get out of bed it was great considering.

At 6 months we put LO in his own room in a cot and the feedings decreased to 3 hourly.

Then at 8 months we actively night weaned him.

It is tough but I'm very glad I co-slept at that stage as I could maximise sleep and felt ok in the day. People often warn you not to do it but we had no real trouble getting LO into his own room after.

 

[laodicean]

Sorry, that's just what they do at this age. My LO went from STTN (i.e. a >5hr stretch at a time between feeds) and the single feed at 5am to three feeds overnight. He's still doing it in fact. We co-sleep which makes it easier, but I still wake up.

And yes, I am tired in the morning, but not as much as I was when he was newborn, and ultimately you have to keep telling yourself that this is not forever.

Of course, there is always the option of expressing (or formula) a bottle for the OH to give and you sleeping in a different room. It didn't work for us; we tried it a couple of times, but I kept having to wake up to go and wake up the OH in order to get him to feed the baby. I actually ended up having less sleep then if I'd done it myself!

 

[Crazydaizy]

My son also only goes 3 hours. And I second the co sleeping makes thinks so much easier. He's goes to sleep in his cot buti get him into bed with me when he wakes to be fed at 1.

 

[TheNewMrs]

Remember they said to enjoy your sleep when you were pregnant? They were serious! Its entirely normal and natural for babies to wake multiple times a night right into toddlerhood. (Sorry to burst your bubble!) While some babies will be ready to sleep longer earlier, many wont. Lots of Mums find co-sleeping really helps and napping with baby really helps.

 

[Julesillini8]

My baby is now 8 wks, so about 2 months. I know she's young, but she had been going consistently 8 hrs at night, and this past week or so has been waking every 3 hrs to feed.. Ah! I see you all think its normal, but how frustrating when she was doing awesome. If she made it those long stretches before, she obviously doesn't need to feed..... She's a chunky baby... Not sure if I should feed her or just try to settle her, as she has trouble soothing back to sleep during the night it seems.

 

[Crazydaizy]

My baby is now 8 wks, so about 2 months. I know she's young, but she had been going consistently 8 hrs at night, and this past week or so has been waking every 3 hrs to feed.. Ah! I see you all think its normal, but how frustrating when she was doing awesome. If she made it those long stretches before, she obviously doesn't need to feed..... She's a chunky baby... Not sure if I should feed her or just try to settle her, as she has trouble soothing back to sleep during the night it seems.

She's not likely going through a growth spurt and needing feeding more, it may settle down. Mine slept 10-6 for a few months and has gone back to waking every 3 hurs again

 

[NurseSooz]

I'm just stressed as her sleeping was so good. Sleep deprivation makes me feel drunken and its almost like I can't see straight! I feel like I'm the only one who gets affected so badly by it!

 

[babyface15]

sounds like you need a break hun. Get your oh to take the lo after her first morning feed so you can sleep in a few hours. I,usually take my girl back to bed with me after her ~6 am feed and we both sleep another two hours. Also, as much as you might want to get things done around the house you should try to take a nap with her once a day, or you night get run down. I totally get where you're coming from though. Mine is three months almost and waking every three hours or so... chronic sleep deprivation is so hard. I'm the walking dead if I don't try to catch up on some sleep here and there

 

[Pearls18]

When DS was 4 months he started waking every 2 hours, in all honesty as much as it pains me to admit it DS didn't sleep well until we weaned at 6 months and slept through literally the week I stopped BF at 9 months. Not that I would wean or stop BF of course, god no, but he did ride it out and 4 months was the most difficult despite sleeping better previously, I was a zombie but we got through it eventually

 

[special_kala]

That sounds fairly typical to me and to be expected.

 

[katsbump]

No advice, but my dd also started off as a good sleeper and then started waking all night long, every three hours or so. It's bad but the last few nights were a bit better for no apparent reason. I will be watching this thread but have a feeling I just have to wait it out

Just want to add, the fatigue is killing me too. Her good sleeping nights were never near eight hours. You are so not alone in being tired!

 

[TheNewMrs]

Have you been able to look up the 4 month sleep regression? Very helpful info on that!

 

[justkitty]

I always think the sleep deprivation is worse when you've reclaimed sleep and it disappears again.

 

[Joygrrr]

No advice I'm afraid - I'm going through exactly the same, I'm really struggling and in tears most days, even tried giving up BF but he will not take a bottle so I feel trapped and exhausted too - I am hoping weaning will help at 6 months

 

[MommyJogger]

My baby is now 8 wks, so about 2 months. I know she's young, but she had been going consistently 8 hrs at night, and this past week or so has been waking every 3 hrs to feed.. Ah! I see you all think its normal, but how frustrating when she was doing awesome. If she made it those long stretches before, she obviously doesn't need to feed..... She's a chunky baby... Not sure if I should feed her or just try to settle her, as she has trouble soothing back to sleep during the night it seems.

Just wanted to point out that this is likely untrue. Things don't just get better and better and better. There are 8 yr olds who go through stretches of waking up at night feeling thirsty. Shoot, I have stretches where I wake up more frequently at night in need of liquids. It waxes and wanes and can be affected by that day's temperature, activity, what kind of solids have been eating (in babies old enough for solids), growth spurts, illness, growing pains, teething, new skill development, etc. It's all normal, and honestly, just something you have to deal with and keep trucking along. 3 hr stretches is quite good at any time the first 1-1.5 years, imho. Bedsharing definitely helps, though. That's why such a large percentage of breastfeeders bedshare, either openly or in secret.
I frequently say it's not about decreasing the number of night wakings, it's about decreasing the impact of the night wakings you have. That's how you get through that first year or so with sanity.

 

[Julesillini8]

My baby is now 8 wks, so about 2 months. I know she's young, but she had been going consistently 8 hrs at night, and this past week or so has been waking every 3 hrs to feed.. Ah! I see you all think its normal, but how frustrating when she was doing awesome. If she made it those long stretches before, she obviously doesn't need to feed..... She's a chunky baby... Not sure if I should feed her or just try to settle her, as she has trouble soothing back to sleep during the night it seems.

Just wanted to point out that this is likely untrue. Things don't just get better and better and better. There are 8 yr olds who go through stretches of waking up at night feeling thirsty. Shoot, I have stretches where I wake up more frequently at night in need of liquids. It waxes and wanes and can be affected by that day's temperature, activity, what kind of solids have been eating (in babies old enough for solids), growth spurts, illness, growing pains, teething, new skill development, etc. It's all normal, and honestly, just something you have to deal with and keep trucking along. 3 hr stretches is quite good at any time the first 1-1.5 years, imho. Bedsharing definitely helps, though. That's why such a large percentage of breastfeeders bedshare, either openly or in secret.
I frequently say it's not about decreasing the number of night wakings, it's about decreasing the impact of the night wakings you have. That's how you get through that first year or so with sanity.

Yeah you could be right. But she was doing 8 hr stretches consistently.. My first daughter went 8 hrs from 6 wks until 10 wks, then started going 12 hrs from 10 wks On. We've never looked back. Never ever has she woken at night, none the less fed at night after that. Maybe she is the exception though! I guess I have high expectations for my second baby, and it was looking like she was on track. Last night she did two 4 hr stretches at night, maybe we are slowly getting back to the longer times at night who knows. I know babies go through phases and each baby is different, so who really knows.
I'm not one who die hard believes that night feedings are vital. I know some people are. My first rarely fed at night and her weight was always in the 95 percentile, so not a starving baby. Same with my second she is over 15 lbs at 8 wks.... I guess I have to just keep trucking along, and what baby wants to do baby will do.

 

[TheNewMrs]

My baby is now 8 wks, so about 2 months. I know she's young, but she had been going consistently 8 hrs at night, and this past week or so has been waking every 3 hrs to feed.. Ah! I see you all think its normal, but how frustrating when she was doing awesome. If she made it those long stretches before, she obviously doesn't need to feed..... She's a chunky baby... Not sure if I should feed her or just try to settle her, as she has trouble soothing back to sleep during the night it seems.

Just wanted to point out that this is likely untrue. Things don't just get better and better and better. There are 8 yr olds who go through stretches of waking up at night feeling thirsty. Shoot, I have stretches where I wake up more frequently at night in need of liquids. It waxes and wanes and can be affected by that day's temperature, activity, what kind of solids have been eating (in babies old enough for solids), growth spurts, illness, growing pains, teething, new skill development, etc. It's all normal, and honestly, just something you have to deal with and keep trucking along. 3 hr stretches is quite good at any time the first 1-1.5 years, imho. Bedsharing definitely helps, though. That's why such a large percentage of breastfeeders bedshare, either openly or in secret.
I frequently say it's not about decreasing the number of night wakings, it's about decreasing the impact of the night wakings you have. That's how you get through that first year or so with sanity.

Yeah you could be right. But she was doing 8 hr stretches consistently.. My first daughter went 8 hrs from 6 wks until 10 wks, then started going 12 hrs from 10 wks On. We've never looked back. Never ever has she woken at night, none the less fed at night after that. Maybe she is the exception though! I guess I have high expectations for my second baby, and it was looking like she was on track. Last night she did two 4 hr stretches at night, maybe we are slowly getting back to the longer times at night who knows. I know babies go through phases and each baby is different, so who really knows.
I'm not one who die hard believes that night feedings are vital. I know some people are. My first rarely fed at night and her weight was always in the 95 percentile, so not a starving baby. Same with my second she is over 15 lbs at 8 wks.... I guess I have to just keep trucking along, and what baby wants to do baby will do.

Feeding at night has SO much more effect on the childs WHOLE development. Its not just to do with food. Its about security, building trust, figuring out can they depend on you to meet their needs, emotional development. Weather you believe they need to feed or not at night doesnt change the fact that almost ALL babies will wake sevral times a night for up to the first 2 years. Its how they were designed. Obv there are exceptions to the rule, with anything. Maybe your first child was that exception to the rule.

Most babies find a sleep pattern somewhere around 8-12weeks. Regress about 4months for a month or so, then find new pattern.
Regress again around 6 months. Find a new pattern.
Regress again around Crawling/Walking/Language/Seperation Awareness ect.

Most babies regress around growth spurts, developmental leaps, wonder weeks ect. Choosing not to bf at night is your choice. Not one I would recommend. Yours none the less but please research why your baby is responding to development this way rather than just decide she doesnt "need" to be fed.