Light sleeper?

[mandzi]

Hi,

My little girl is just over 3 months old.  From day one she had her body clock correctly adjusted and was awake for a good portion of the day and asleep for a large part of the night.  At the moment she has about 6 feeds a day, the last at 7pm.  She wakes in the night at 11.00pm and and 3am!  Im suprised this is still happening as she is so alert during the day and only has a few naps of about 20 - 30mins.  Surely she needs more sleep?!  Do you think she really needs to be fed during the night?  she must get enough during the day?  Or is it time to wean?

X

[Bryony]

Mandzi - hi and welcome to the boards!

At her age you would expect to have at least one night feed and possibly two - but you would be hoping to get down to one night feed sometime soon....   do you think she is genuinely hungry? 

I am wondering if your little girl needs a little more daytime sleep and whether this may be affecting her night time sleep. Short naps of 20-30 mins can indicate overtiredness - can you post your typical routine for us?   

Bryony 

[mandzi]

Hi,
Well this is her routine,

6.30am - feed
7.30am - nap until 8am
8.30am - feed
8.30am - 9.00am - nap
10.30am - feed
11.00am - 1.00am - nap but only if we're out walking in the pushchair and then she will just dose and wake etc.  If we're at home she will have her usual half hour / 40 mins.
1 - 1.30pm - feed
2.00pm - 2.30pm - nap
3.30pm - feed
4.00 - 4.30pm - nap
5.00pm - feed
6.30pm - bath
7.00pm - feed
7.30pm - bed
10.30pm - feed (only as of last few weeks )
3.00am - feed
6.30am - feed.

That is her routine at the moment

 

[Bryony]

Hi there!  Why the  ?  It sounds like you are doing fine - and you are getting better nights than many 

I had a few thoughts looking at your routine

- it's very unusual to need 2-hourly feeds at this age - will she go any longer between feeds? Could you start pushing these towards 3 hourly, and then eventually to 4 hourly?  If she feeds less often the idea is that she will take in a bigger feed and get used to going longer betweeen feeds - which should help her go longer at night

- how is she when she wakes from her naps? They are very short - 30 mins often indicates overtired - but her A times seem to be appropriate for her age, so maybe she is just happy with 30 min naps.  You could try putting her down earlier for naps to see if it helps her nap better?  The concern with overtiredness is that it can also cause NWs - so it depends a bit whether you think your DD is waking due to hunger or due to OT.

- her last A time is very long for her age, and again may lead to OT. Could you fit in another nap before bedtime?

hope those are a few thoughts to be going on with - I am sure others will have some ideas too.

Bryony

[mandzi]

Thank you for your advice.  I had actually thort about keeping her longer between feeds as she's not normally crying after two hours - I just think shes hungry?!  Today, we have been out and she has been going longer than two hours and sleeping for longer as she has been tucked up in her pushchair.  When she is not asleep she is far more contented than when she was a tiny baby and will play in her gym etc so I have no concerns there.  When she wakes in the night at 10.30pm and 3am she has a good feed and seems really hungry?!  Do you think if I keep her going for longer in the day between feeds this may help?  My only worry was that if she ended up with less during the day she may wake more during the night?

XXXX

[Bryony]

Do you think if I keep her going for longer in the day between feeds this may help?  My only worry was that if she ended up with less during the day she may wake more during the night?

I think if she's eating every 2 hours she's "snacking" and not getting a full tummy full of milk - and then won't take much at the next feed etc etc.  I would definitely increase the time between feeds - at 3 months you would expect to be on 3 hourly feeding, moving towards 4 hourly feeding at 4 months. My feeling is that yes, this would help the nights!

Bryony

[mandzi]

Thank you 

[mandzi]

sorry, I forgot to add that she is still sleeping in the same room as us?  Do you think this would have an impact on her waking?  She does tend to of late wake up for her feed when we come to bed (we do tiptoe into the room though).  We could move her in with our son (2 years old) ?

[Bryony]

I slept in the same room as my LO until she was 6 months old - as per the UK recommendations.... 

I think it has to be your decision in terms of what's best for her, for you, and for your two year old. You could just decide to do a DF when you come to bed rather than disturb her twice - that's what I used to do. Go in at 10:30pm and do the DF and then get into bed...

Bryony