BabyWhispererForums.com

SLEEP => General Sleep Issues => Topic started by: Drjlv on March 16, 2018, 18:20:25 pm

Title: Multiple false starts!
Post by: Drjlv on March 16, 2018, 18:20:25 pm
Hi all!

I have an 18 week old. When he was 12 weeks, he became a dream to put to sleep. I would literally feed him, put him swaddled with one arm out into the crib (while awake), give him a pacifier, and he would be asleep within a minute or two, max. He'd give me 7 hours, feed, and then another 4 hours, at which point I would wake him at 7 to start the day. We had a great EASY routine, too!

Then the 4 month sleep regression hit with a vengeance. I realized the pacifier had become a prop, and he had me running to reinsert it DOZENS of times a night. Obviously unsustainable. He also became harder to put down for both naps and night sleep.

I decided to start sleep training this week. Early, yes, but I figured he would be able to handle it. I put him in a sleep sack and took the soother away completely and just placed him in the crib after feeding him with the intention of using the Ferber method.

He took about 15 minutes to fall asleep, but for the first time ever, he would wake up 10 minutes later screaming, then finally go back down, then 40 minutes later, back down, an hour, back down, etc. Etc. I never had to intervene/comfort as he would scream, pause, scream, repeat. Anyway, as bedtime was always between 6:30-7:30 depending on how naps went that day, I finally went in to feed him around 10:30 (I figured if he was awake for 4 hours on the whole, perhaps he is now hungry and needs food despite drinking 5 oz before bedtime). After feeding, he would fall asleep within 20 minutes, give me 7 hours, feed, and then I would wake at 7.

This happened 2 nights in a row.

My question is...

Is me feeding him at 10:30 (not a dream feed. He's wide awake) causing another sleep crutch, or is he actually hungry? I can't figure out all the false starts! Once he does eventually pass out he is AMAXING. I just need to figure out why he won't stay asleep initially. Is this something that should go away in a few days or a week?

Thank you!
Title: Re: Multiple false starts!
Post by: jessmum46 on March 19, 2018, 20:19:27 pm
Hi there,

I know you haven't been around on the forums here for long so you may not be aware of our stance on the Ferber/CIO/controlled crying methods, but it is not something that we support or recommend - no judgement intended, many people aren't aware there are other ways out there, but the BW philosophy is one of learning to listen to and crucially respond to your baby's cries and cues.  We'd love to help you with more gentle sleep training methods though - these links would be a good start:
https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=26672.0
https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=275699.0

Multiple early evening wakings are often caused by over tiredness at bedtime. How are the daytimes and naps going right now?

A feed at 10.30pm from a 6.30-7.30pm bedtime sounds entirely reasonable to me for an 18 week old.  You don't say if you are breast or bottle feeding but in general you might expect a baby to be able to go as long between feeds at night as they do during the day.  With one so young I would assume hunger if it's getting anywhere near around the 3-4h mark from last feed and would generally anticipate 2-3 night feeds being required.  Remember there are lots of growth spurts in the first few months and it's very common for babies around 4 months to start waking for an extra night feed or two.

Let us know if we can help more :)