Habitual night wakings! Going to try tonight to stop...advice pls!!

[newmom101]

Hi everyone!

Well my daughter is 12 weeks old and she has been a pretty good sleeper. She has been giving us 7 hours since about 4 weeks old, which has been great. We recently (two weeks or so) started to dreamfeed her at 10PM, (last bottle at 7PM) and she started out sleeping till 5 or 6,(not bad). Well the last week she has been waking up at 3:30 everynight almost exactly!! I know she is not hungry, so I don't feed, but I can't get her to stop waking at that time.

She takes 4oz for each of her bottles, and follows a 3 hour easy pretty accurately during the daytime. She won't take a full bottle for the dreamfeed however.

I know Tracie says to do PU/PD to stop these wakings, but my daughter does not take to this the past few nights. I basically pick her up and hold her in my arms. I wear a fuzzy robe and she nuzzles in the crook of my arm and will fall asleep and I put her back down. She typically is back up in 20 mins and then again and again for about an hour and a half.

I would love for this to stop and just have her sleep through this, but I am at a loss as to how to do it correctly.

I have decided that the next 3-4 nights I will devote to trying to get this right.

So....what is your advice to do so?

If you need anymore information please let me know!  (She does have reflux and is controlled via Zantac and also uses a pacifier, that when it falls out she does need it back! UGH)

And thank you!!! I love this forum and appreciate all the help!

Thanks!!!

[Colin Macs Mom]

Sweetie I really think you should offer a feed then. There is a HUGE growth spurt at 12 weeks and it's totally normal to see a LO wake for an extra feed during a GS. Also, waking so frequently as you describe is a classic sign of hunger.

[newmom101]

Ok, so she woke up last night at 2:45, not the normal 3:30 so I did feed her...and she only took 2 oz, she is usually taking 4 oz per bottler, so I feel like she wasn't really hungry? Hmmm, I just don't know if she woke from being hungry or not. I guess we will see what she does tonight.

She won't take more than 4 oz during the day either, if she is going through a growth spurt, would she be taking more than normal?

[ZacsMumme]

You mentioned she has reflux. A lot of reflux babies snack feed and are more unsettled when the reflux flares. Do you think she may need an increase in Zantac as it is weight sensitive?    

[Ima shel Alon]

If she has Reflux I'll try not to do PU/PD as it can flare it up. PU/PD is a last resort, have you tried pat/shh?
The other night when she woke up at 2:40 and you fed her, did she keep on waking up after you put her down or was settled?
It could also be that she is adjusting to the DF. I know that for us it didn't work at first when DS was tiny and then a couple of months later it did work but took a short while for him to get used to it. Actually at first I thought that I made a mistake introducing it because it didn't change the other feeding times, they still happened, but it did work in the end.

[newmom101]

Yes, she continues to wake up, however this is what last night was like...

Down at 7pm with 4 oz, DF at 10:30 only 2.5oz, up at 2:30, 3:30, 4:00 and then fed at 6 AM, but back to sleep till 7 where I brough her down for her activitity time before a good nap. So at these wakings she does not cry, she busts out of her swaddle and just talks and makes lots of noises, as if she is up and ready to play. This is how she basically is at all of  the wakings but more so at 6AM. She really does not cry, but I feel like i have to reswaddle and give her the paci to settle her down and get her back to sleep.

As for the DF at first it did not work, we stoppped, then started a week later, it was working till 5AM and that lasted about 5 days and then this is how we have been for a few weeks now.

Does this mean anything different?

Thanks so much for taking the time to read and respond, I appreciate it!!

[Ima shel Alon]

I would defiantly not go in if she is not crying. I did the same like you and had NW of 2h.
Now that I am waiting that he cries for me he puts himself to sleep 90%of the time, and yes, sometimes it takes him a while.