HELP!!! I don't think I can survive another night like that!

[Britterbug84]

Last night was the worst night we have had in my DD's short 4 month and 1 week life. We have her on a 3.5 hr EASY with 2 hrs of A time. This was an almost overnight change from 1 hr 45 min of A time, and yesterday's naps were amazingly perfect because of the change. Here is what our schedule looked like for last night and yesterday:

E - 4:30am
S - 4:48 - she had a rough time in the early morning waking again at 6:40, 7:15, 7:30, and 7:45 before starting the day at

E - 8:00 -she wasn't very hungry.
A - 8:05 -she was very crabby and cranky through the whole two hours and after an hour and a half she started giving her hungry cry so I fed her
E - 9:30 - she ate for 15 minutes
S - 10:00  - She slept through her whole nap for the first time in weeks and slept until I woke her
E - 11:30 - once again she wasn't very hungry
A - 11:37 - she was again very cranky for most of the two hour and ate again after about an hour and a half (this is NOT usual for her)
E - 1:00 - ate for another 15 minutes
S - 1:30 - again, slept through the whole nap and had to be woken
E - 3:00 - this time she did eat a full feed of 15 minutes
A - 3:15 - was VERY cranky for this 2 hours and wanted to eat again after an hour and a half
E - 4:30 - This time she only ate for about 5 minutes
S - 5:05 - slept through the whole nap but woke by herself to eat
E - 6:30 - wasn't hungry at all just played around and maybe swallowed 5-6 times
A - 6:35 - happier this time. Had bed time routine but didn't want her snack after her bath
S - 8:15

DF - 11:00 - she is bottle fed breast milk and only ate about 3/4 oz - This is a recent thing; she used to pound down almost 6 oz for her DF and now it is at most 1 oz

This is where the horrific night started
She woke up and was given her paci to go back to sleep at:
1:30, 2:00, 3:00, 3:45 (she put herself back to sleep after 5 minutes of fussing, and then

E - 4:10 - she ate her usual 15 minutes and went right back to sleep
S - 4:25

Then woke again at
5:15, 6:00 (I fed her again for 15 minutes), 7:00, 7:45, then I got her up at 8:00

For most of the NWings she woke up frantically screaming to the point where I would have to pick her up and calm her down before giving her the paci and putting her back in bed and patting her back to sleep. A couple of the times last night I thought she might put herself back to sleep because she was just fussing, but then it turned into screaming. I don't know what is going"'''''''''; on! She NEVER used to wake like that at night. Usually if she woke during the night (which has been at the most twice) she would quietly fuss and I would only get up to feed her because I knew she was hungry, not because she was actually crying/screaming.

This isn't a paci problem because she can and will go down without her paci and when she does go down with it she doesn't wake when it falls out. My first thought was that she was having a growth spurt, but you would think she would be HUNGRY at her feedings if it was a growth spurt!

She has been teething for a couple weeks and gets teething tablets whenever she seems to be hurting. She also has reflux but it hasn't been a big problem sense she went on meds at 4 weeks. That being said, she has been wanting to suck on EVERYTHING constantly....I think it is more of a teething thing though.

Please help us!! Last night was SO hard!!

[chelled17]

It looks to me like she needs to be on a full 4 hr EASY, If she is not taking full feeds at 3.5 hours, try waiting until 4 hours to feed. 
Her A times seem good at the moment, as she is sleeping good through her naps!!  But maybe you could try shortening her last nap of the day, as it may be starting to rob from her night time sleep.

I know there is a 4 month GS as well, so maybe that could be part of the NW problems.

HTH

[Britterbug84]

I have been considering that, but until yesterday she had still been waking at 3.5 hrs to eat. I guess I could try it and see if it fixes all the problems. Does this look like a good 4 EASY schedule?

E - 8
A
S - 10
E - 12
A
S - 2
E - 4
A
S - 6
E - 6:45
A - Bedtime routine
S - 8:30-45

That doesn't give us exactly the 12 hr day/ 12 hr night thing. Is that ok?

[chelled17]

Looks good, I would give that a try and see if it works for a few days.

It doesn't have to be a perfect EAS routine, you can wait half an hour after she wakes up to feed her if she doesn't seem hungry.  Then it would be more like EASAEAS.

YKWIM?

[jane2009]

hey
god your nights sound just as bad as mine! Although i have twins to contend with but I know how you are feeling. The started acting up at 3.5mths and have been a nightmare at night ever since. We are up almost every hour from midnight and its exhausting. A friend warned me about the 4mth thing, apparently all babies become very unsettled at this age due to growth and development. Our problem is we never introduced the dream feed so I keep thinking thats our problem,plus we feed at 3.5hrs as opposed to 4 and i feel like the routine is different every day (well time wise). I haven't much advice but maybe try getting up at 7 (yeah I know hell) but it may mean you get more food into her during the day. I am going to start dream feeding and if that doesn't work I might introduce a small bit of solid food...although maybe they will just grow out of it!

stay strong!

[Britterbug84]

I think there may be something else going on. Last night was the same as the night before except that she wasn't very interested in nursing during the night. Then this morning she screamed and cried for the WHOLE 2 hours and still wouldn't eat. The last time she had good meal was 3 yesterday afternoon!!

Finally at 10 when she was supposed to go down for her nap she ate about 2 oz from the bottle (she refused to nurse so I pumped) and went to sleep still fussing and giving little cries. She seems like she is in pain, but nothing helps. She doesn't have a fever, and gripe water didn't give her any relief. Is it possible this is all teething? Teething tablets and Tylenol didn't help at all.

I don't know what to do. She is going to the doctor on Thursday for her 4 month appointment, but I think I may need to take her in before then.

Today is the first day we are trying a full 4 hr EASY, so hopefully it helps. Otherwise I don't know what to try.

[Tweakster]

Hi there, teething can cause reflux to flare.  We had a huge flare at 18 weeks and were almost back to square one.  What meds is she on and perhaps she needs an increase?  If her meds aren't controlling the acid she will burn when she 'fluxes and that can cause discomfort.  If you feel she's in pain then she probably is...a mother usually knows. 

We had to move to thickened feeds after this flare because DS went from silent reflux to spitting up. 

[Jiinx]

hey there *huge hugs* my lo's doing the same excess saliva sometimes causes reflux to flare up like wendy was mentioning!

I hope things get better...I really do! you're in my thoughts. keep us updated! If you think it's pain related perhaps try introducing rice cereal or changing her meds or both?

[Canwi]

I would stay away from rice cereal for as long as you can.  But then I'm a little biased as it gave us nothing but problems with constipation.
My first thought is what Wendy suggested - a med review or increase is needed for the reflux.  Food refusal is usually driven by discomfort either actual or perceived/predicted.  Keep offering.
Other things that might be at play: teeth or growth spurt.

TBH until your LO is eating again, I wouldn't get too hung up on doing a specific length EASY (ie 3.5 vs 4hr).  Just keep the routine the same and keep offering food and sleep in the same order for as long as she'll take/do it.

(((Hugs))) for you hon. 

[Jiinx]

gah. really? constipation? sorry britterbug..didn't mean to give you bad advice

[Britterbug84]

Thanks ladies!

I am planning to talk to her doctor about her reflux dose at her appointment on Thursday. She slept through her whole 2 hour first nap with only a little wake up at 1.5 hours. This last awake time she ate about 3.5 oz from the bottle (she still refuses to nurse) over the whole 2 hours. She was much happier and only melted down as she got tired. Then she went from happy to screaming bloody murder in about 10 seconds. Luckily, she calmed down and went down for her nap pretty quickly.

Hopefully things don't get worse before Thursday.

[chelled17]

How long are feeds when your LO doesn't seem hungry?  Maybe she has just gotten more efficient at eating.  My LO at 3-4 months all of a sudden started eating for only 5-10 minutes.
just a thought

Re: Teething,  It definitely could be the culprit.  Have you checked for signs of teeth coming up to the surface?  ie.  Bumps on the gums, or White spots where teeth could be coming up?

[Tweakster]

Hi there Sarah, your advice is not bad...as Jane says :-)  We use rice cereal as thickener and Finn has never been constipated in 8.5 months so I often suggest it too. That's not to say we don't have lots of other issues lol...but constipation is not one of them luckily.  A lot of LO's do get constipated though and it exacerbates issues.  So I think the first step here is what KM (used to be BB) is doing and speaking to the doc.

Let us know how the appt. goes.  Pretty much when LO is in discomfort of any kind you have to let them lead and any kind of strict routine is hard to stick to.  Especially with food refusal...LO's that don't eat well typically don't sleep well etc etc.

[Canwi]

didn't mean to give you bad advice

Not bad advice.  I just wanted to throw out an alternative perspective on baby rice.  Sorry it came out a bit caustic. 
I was advised by so many IRL people that baby rice would help out, and it did nothing for DS2 except cause problems.  So my personal experiences are very negative.

[Britterbug84]

How long are feeds when your LO doesn't seem hungry?  Maybe she has just gotten more efficient at eating. Have you checked for signs of teeth coming up to the surface?  ie.  Bumps on the gums, or White spots where teeth could be coming up?

She is usually a VERY efficient eater at only 5-7 minutes, but now she will swallow once or twice and then unlatch and refuse to go back on. Then she is rooting and screaming for the rest of the awake time because she is hungry! Right before she goes to bed (when she is in that sleepy state) I have been able to get her to drink from a bottle a tiny bit. I have looked at her gums and it seems like there are two little white spots on her bottom gums where teeth might be coming through. I just don't know because I hadn't really looked at her gums until she started being in pain and chewing on everything.

Today things are worse, she was up every 5-10 minutes from 6:30-8 and she has only eaten .5 oz (from a bottle) sense 4 in the morning. We are going to the doctor in about an hour. I just couldn't sit around holding my obviously in pain daughter while I wait for tomorrow.

My mother suggested that she may have an ear infection. I hadn't even thought of that! You would think that Tylenol would help that, but it hasn't. I almost hope she DOES have one so that at least there is a reason for her screaming. Then we can work to fix it. I am terrified that they are going to tell me that nothing is wrong! I know there is something going on because this just isn't my baby!