3.5 month regressions

[FionaS]

Right.  We are at night 4 of 3 hourly wake-ups now.  And of course that means she won't feed for her first feed of the day.  A mere 4 night ago she was sleeping through 11 hours straight.  Help!

[brenda2]

do you want to post your routine?

at 4 mo 1 hour 15 min A time is very short.  if you are still getting long naps with this A time i would really try to add an extra 5 min to stretch her.  add 5 min each A unless you get a short nap and stay there for 3 days before stretching more.  put her in a carrier and walk her around a bit near the end of the A time or just have quiet time in her room looking at a book or listening to music.

i am having the same issues really.  last night she was up 3 times and ate each time and feeding this morning has been out of whack because of it. 

if you don't think she is hungry at night (it may be a gs in which case she does need the night feeds but it may fix itself within a week) then you can try just shh patting her back to sleep and not feeding at night, since she has been sttn without feeds now for a while.  there are big gs around 4 mo and 6 mo so this may be it.

it also may be the short A times.  if too short she will wake at night to make up for the lack of A time during the day.

[FionaS]

Ahhh, you see here in NZ they only talk about 3mth and 6mth growth spurts so I didn't really know if the 4mth one mentioned in BW was a big/common one or not.

She has been ready for bed after only 30mins each time today and took a massive feed after 2 hours so maybe it is a gs. 

She never stays awake at night...just feeds and goes straight back to sleep.  She has been taking very full feeds.  I was supposed to be going to a function tomorrow night but I've had to pull out as she is draining me every feed around the clock so I can't express anything!

Don't gs last 1 to 3 days?  Or can they last longer??

[brenda2]

some people say 2 or 3 days , some say up to a week for a gs.

if she's been draining you every feed and feeding and sleeping this much then probably a gs.  try to feed as much as you can during the day.  you may want to supplement with formula too or just plan to feed her at night, sounds like it is b/c she is hungry.

[FionaS]

I'd really love to give formula in the evenings as I find it hard doing all the feeding + caring for my 3 year old. Sadly, despite many attempts she just won't take formula.

[brenda2]

she'll take a bottle with breast milk but not formula?  or is it the bottle itself? have you experimented with different types of formula?  are you doing a df?  if she is taking a bottle fine and you are doing a df i would put formula in that bottle and see if she'll take it.

[FionaS]

That's right. She'll take a bottle of EBM but not formula.  Have tried 3 different brands.  We don't do a df.  We did and she would wake once or twice a night too.  When I stopped the DF she started to sleep 11 hours straight...up until 4 nights ago.

[brenda2]

have you tried the stuff that comes in a can single serving ready to go - it's liquid and you don't add any water:  enfamil ?

[FionaS]

Nope.  Good idea though.  I think it comes in cartons here in NZ.  Certainly easier than cooling boiled water

[brenda2]

IMO it tastes more similar to breast milk.  the powdered stuff is awful.  i tried it with both my los and they didn't even blink at the difference, but they're all different.