No sleep in 4 months, considering formula...

[cait]

Wee man will be 4 months old on Friday and his sleep is terrible. He wakes every two hours in the night, some nights every hour. Then during the day he just catnaps for 10-45 minutes at a time, usually less than 2 hrs total.

I am so tired and I'm really concerned he isn't getting the sleep he needs for his age. There have been 2 or 3 nights where he's slept 6 hours in a row but most of the time it's 60-120 mins between wakes.
I feed him every time as it's the only way to settle him. OH has tried settling him but to no avail.

I'm on the verge of giving him a bottle of formula before bed out of desperation. Will I regret it? Any tips to get him sleeping better?

 

[Literati_Love]

That sounds horrific! Does your LO cluster feed in the evening to get ready for a longer stretch at night? Perhaps you could try offering more often for the last 4-5 hours before your bedtime and see if he can last a bit longer. Can you think of anything you or he did differently the nights he slept 6 hours? Do you think maybe he can smell you and that triggers him waking up more often? Perhaps having him in another room with a baby monitor could help.

Is he being overstimulated during the day? Do you make sure to try to put him down for a nap when he's been up for 1.5-2 hours? Once babies get overtired they have trouble getting to sleep so if that is the problem maybe he would get more rest if you encouraged it often, reduced stimulation around nap time, etc. also make sure during the day it is bright with lots of play time and interaction. Then at night you should keep it dark when he wakes for feeds and avoid interacting with him much at all so that he knows it is night time.

Does anything like taking a stroller or car ride help him take a longer nap in the day?

Not sure if any of these will help but I really hope he can get a better routine down for you soon!

 

[cait]

Thanks for the response, he is a boob monster, esp in the evenings so yes he definitely cluster feeds. I'm prob not strict enough about naps though - we have no routine really. Often we are busy in the mornings (groceries, yoga, bf group) so he grabs a bit of a nap in the car or in my arms. He will sometimes sleep in the pram but I'd have to be walking for hours for him to get a long sleep. I've tried napping him in his swing, in the crib, on my bed - all still short naps, an hour tops. I could cope with the catnaps if he slept at night though!

He has neonatal rhinitis so I thought it was his nose keeping him awake (he would panic and struggle for breath sometimes) but he's on steroids for those so he's breathing easy now.
I'm considering putting him in his own room though! Worth a try right? He's way too young for solids and I don't really think formula will help, but I'm getting desperate...

 

[Literati_Love]

Of course you are! I don't blame you. If I were you I would exhaust all other options before you resort to formula. It might just be that in a few weeks something might just click and he'll e sleeping much longer through the night. Also, perhaps if having him sleep in his own room helps him sleep longer at night, he will also sleep longer during the day? When my dd sleeps more at night she seems to be better at sleeping during the day. Once she is sleep deprived it is so hard to get her to nap as well!

Do you swaddle your baby at night?

 

[cait]

We don't swaddled but he is in a sleeping bag.

Maybe if I try and enforce a better nap routine (quieter, darker, after lots of play) then that might help him at night. My almost 3 yr old always slept better at night if she got a good nap.

I've been waiting for him to grow out of it for so long, though I'm also conscious that 4 mths is usually a regression time for sleep - we just never progressed enough in the first place!

 

[melfy77]

I hear you!! DD2 is 8 months and still wakes up every 2-3 hours at night. She is also a TERRIBLE napper. DD1 was (and still is) a great napper, and was a pretty good night-sleeper (but she was FF from 3 months so it's hard to compare). But yeah the exhaustion!!! Can't function without my coffee

 

[MoominJ]

Do u use a dummy? We've started to as my lo was wanting to feed every 2 hours n I was only getting about half an hour inbetween. Ive found its really helped him go longer between feeds and we can do 4 hours between feeds now at night. Might be worth a try, sometimes they just like to suck

 

[pinkpolkadot]

You must be shattered poor thing

May be obvious but do you offer both sides when you feed? I notice when DD falls asleep after the first side she will wake 1.5 hrs later for more so I always try and keep her awake to take the second side and then she will go 4 hrs. Also she will only take long naps on us in the day so we just hold her or use a carrier so she can get the sleep otherwise she will be cranky!

I remember discovering DD1 needed a really quiet and dark room to nap in so may be worth a try, come to think of it we should probs try this now with DD2!

 

[pineapple91]

caffeine might be the issue once i gave up coffee my ds slept way better

 

[toffee87]

My baby goes longer if I give both sides. If he's asleep after the first, I do a nappy change then offer the other side.

 

[cait]

Thanks guys. He does tend to fall asleep after one side, so maybe I need to force the second boob in the middle of the night to stretch him out longer. I'll try!
We don't use a dummy but I worry that it'll be just as bad getting up to put it back in his mouth?

He naps on me from time to time but still wakes after 45 mins!

 

[cait]

Ad melfy I'm so sorry to hear you're still going through it at 8 months!!

 

[justmeinlove]

Our lo has only started to vaguely improve from every two hours in the last few weeks, and I am still not confident it will stick :-\

 

[RaspberryK]

I think I would try the second side, change nappy and wind then try the second.
Then there's white noise or radio to try?
How do you feel about Co sleeping?
45 mins is a sleep cycle, I used to rock ds back to sleep if he woke after 45 mins as it wasn't enough sleep but he only really napped on me for the first 6 months.
Xx

 

[luna_19]

Giving formula isn't necessarily going to make him sleep better. It is very normal.for babies to wake frequently and for their sleep habits to be constantly changing through the first two years of life. It really sucks to have a crappy sleeper, we switched to co sleeping so I don't have to get up a million times a night

 

[cait]

Last night I gave him a bottle I'd expressed in the morning, plus both breasts before bed and he slept 3 hours, but then no more than two hours even when I gave both breasts in the night. Slight improvement at least!

I don't know about co sleeping, I'm not a fan of feeding lying down as I don't find it comfortable with my large breasts.

We did try white noise a few months ago and it worked a bit - I'd forgotten about it though so will get back on that, thanks for the reminder.

 

[mara16jade]

I cracked sooner than you did...

I pump to store milk for the odd occasion we go out. Its happened once so far - for our one year anniversary. Anyways, my doctor recommended we give 1-2oz of expressed BM after offering both breasts at bedtime. That worked like a charm. I know its not ideal, but i was going to have a mental breakdown if he continued to wake every 2 hours...

ETA: Wanted to add that he regularly sleeps 5 hours, but on many occasions has slept 6+. And sometimes he doesn't even want the bottle anymore...I think he got used to sleeping at night. This has been going on for about 2-3 weeks now.

Shoot, just saw your latest update. I'm sorry its not working. When is his last nap for the day?

 

[cait]

I've only tried it once though mara16jade, so I'll try for another few nights in hope of improvement. 2oz in the fridge for tonight!

Naps have no pattern whatsoever!

 

[mara16jade]

Yeah, naps are kind of all over the place, but we pretty much have his nighttime down. I think it took 2-3 days and then he started having his longer stretches at night. The doctor told me it can take 4-5 days to change their sleep habits. Fx

 

[daddiesgift]

I think it would be pointless to give baby formula and would only make you feel bad. My first two eventually went on formula and shocker never slept an hour longer than they did while being breastfed! It really doesnt work for every kid. I suggest co sleeping. He may just want to be close to you for comfort, even if you nurse him to sleep then pop him off when hes done. I find it to be over stimulating the whole routine of getting baby out of bed, sitting down with them, changing them..ect. We co slept with all three of ours after giving up with #1 and him sleeping in another room and things became so much easier and baby slept longer. My almost four month old now co sleeps and ebf and I couldnt tell you how much she gets up because Im still pretty much asleep. I know she usually goes four hours then every two. She will roll over and kick a little I pop boob in and we are back to sleep after she nurses within ten minutes. The not full on crying to wake me up in another room helps her go right back to sleep