Waking every 2 hrs please help!

[wudgie]

Hi
I'm hoping someone can help as I am really exhausted and out of ideas

My ds is 3 months and started sleeping through the night at 10 weeks.  Recently he's started waking up every 2 hrs from gping to bed at 7pm right through til 7 the next morning.  He is quite easily settled back to sleep with his dummy but then wakes again 2 hrs later.  I trried feeding him at 4am this am he took a full bottle but then refused his 7am feed so I don't think it's hunger.  Should I try feeding him every 2 hrs when he wakes?  I also thought it might be wind but I solved the wind problem and he's still waking.  He get 3X1.5 hr naps plus a catnap during the day which he is reasonably easy to settle to.  Any ideas I am exhausted and in real need of some sleep? He eats 4 hourly in the daytime.  Also when he wakes at night he crys but his eyes are closed i read this can be due to OT could this be poss with so much daytime sleep?

[Bryony]

Hi there and welcome!

Can you post your routine for us?  It sounds like he is getting good naps, but it would be useful to see where they are in the day and what his A times are.

My other thoughts were:

- He's very young to be sleeping through from 7 till 7 without any feeds - so hunger would be a possibility - maybe a growth spurt - did he sleep through from when you fed him this morning?    How long has this been going on?

- I am not sure whether the dummy may be a prop and whether this could be causing a problem if he half wakes up he needs it to go back to sleep - I had a feeling that this usually became an issue a bit later, but hopefully someone else will know ...

Anyway if you can post your routine that would be helpful!

Bryony

[wudgie]

Thanks for the reply, I forgot to mention he has a df at 10.30 so he really only sleeps from 11pm-7am (was sleeping that is)  My routine is
E7am
A7.30ish
S9am
Wakes up at 10.30

E11.am
A11.30am
S 12.30

A2pm
E 3pm
A3.30
S4pm


A 5.30
E 7pm
S7.30

Df 10.30

I know what you mean about the dummy and I can see that if he wakes then he would need it to go back to sleep again but I'm at a loss as to why he is waking so much in the first place when he never did before.  Any ideas would be greatly appreciated as I am EXHAUSTED!!!

[Bryony]

Hmm, unless I am missing something, it looks like a pretty good routine!  2 hrs A time is quite long for 3 months old, it's usually more like 1.5hr - but if he is napping well on that then myabe your little man is OK on longer A times...  so you have 3 x 1.5hr naps but no catnap, is that right?

Has he always been on 4-hourly feeding?  Again most don't move to 4 hourly until nearer 4 months but again if he's been on that for a while and been OK...  

Think there is a growth spurt around 3 months so it "could" be hunger - but you would only be looking to feed him once during the night in that case, not every 2 hrs.

So could be the dummy...  everyone does half wake up in the night but then just go back to sleep so it is important that he can get to sleep independently.   does he usually go to sleep independently at the start of the night?

Could he be teething?

I am sure you are exhuasted - it's no fun...  let's see if anyone else has any ideas!

Bryony

[lcpopelka]

When he first wakes up..do you feed him?  Is he acting hungry?  I'm wonderinf if he wakes initially because he's hungry, but then you give him the dummy so he lulls himself back to sleep, only to wake to find that he's still hungry at the end of the next sleep cycle.  Does he act hungry at other times (during the day for instance?  Do you have to hold him off to get him to the 4 hour mark?)

[Amandamom]

When do the every 2 hour wakings start?  Is his first NW at 9:00 p.m. or does he start waking later in the night?

[Stace]

Hmmmmm, could well be a growth spurt, they normally happen around 12 weeks?

My LO doesn't do well on a DF, she wakes more frequently if I DF her so I leave her and she goes 7pm to 3/4am then till 8:30. She did have more frequent wakings a couple of weeks ago which was a growth spurt.

I'd personally try to up his day feeds by an ounce or so if you can, if it is a growth spurt it should pass soon.

Good luck, I'm sure it will pass, if it started suddenly it should end suddenly, just try not to create any bad habits.

Stace x

[wudgie]

Hi

Thanks for all of the thoughts ladies, I haven't tried feeding him at his first waking maybe i could do that.  He usually has his first waking at 9-9.30 then a df at 10.30 then wakes usually at 1-1.30 and then every 2 hrs after that until about 4.30 then sleeps til 7am.  I'm wondering if it is the df thats bothering him i guess they change as they get older and it maybe doesn't suit him anymore.  I might leave him another few days in case it's a growth spurt and then try dropping the df and letting him wake naturally for feeding.  As to be honest he falls asleep so quickly after waking that i really don't think it's hungar but we'll see, gosh it's like being a detective.  Thanks everyone for the support!!!

[wudgie]

BTW I get him to sleep by shhhhh pat at the beg of the night and also when i resettle him on waking, he has only recently gone to 2hr A time as he wasn't napping well before and also 4hr feeding is only in the past couple of weeks so i guess it's all quite new.  He doesn't have a catnap just the 3 naps occaisionally if he has a short nap on his last nap he'll drop off for 20 mins but it doesn't happen very ofen. 

[Bryony]

Well I think it could be a growth spurt as previous posters have suggested - or he could be dependent on the dummy and/or shh/pat to get to sleep, and is half waking up in the night and needs your help to get back to sleep. Maybe you could try gradually reducing the amount of shh/pat and/or consider weaning the dummy so that he can get to sleep on his own?  that way if he half wakes up in the night he might be better able to get himself back to sleep without needing your intervention?

As you say it's major detective work - and sometimes you never find out what it was and it just goes away at some point on its own...

Bryony

[Amandamom]

My suggestion would be that if he wakes up at 9:00 or 9:30 feed him then and don't wake him to do the DF at 10:30.  If he's waking anyway take advantage and then don't disrupt his sleep again.

[wudgie]

Thanks everyone he's been at my sisters this weekend to give me a break so I'll try a few things this week and i'll keep you posted
xx

[yaya]

lurking here..a.ltho mine wakes far more frequently than that

[wudgie]

HI

Just wanted to let everyone know that last night for the first night in 2 weeks he slept through from his df to 7am, I had to wake him!  It seeems that it was wind that he was trying to push out and it was keeping him awake.  My hv recommended colief yesterday so i thought i may as well give it a try and it seems to have done the trick fingers crossed.  Thank you for all of your support ladies, it's been a nightmare 2 weeks!

[Bryony]

 

[Amandamom]

That's great news!!