Can't figure out his NW

[drt]

My LO is 16 weeks and wakes too frequently at night.

He consumes 27-30oz during the day and has 1 tbsp of rice cereal twice daily.

He tends to nap for only 45-60mins at a time before he wakes up screaming.

I try to give him 60 mins of A time after each feed, but go by his cues and will put him down for a nap as soon as I see he is getting tired.

At night, he usually goes to bed around 8pm and will awake at 1030p, midnight, 1a, 2a, 4a, 5a and we're usually up at 630a for his first feed.  Until 4a, I can usually pat him to calm down, but starting at 4a he is wailing and nothing seems to calm him down.  Last night at 5a, he was throwing out hunger cues left and right (despite 29oz and 2 cereal feedings during the day) so I went ahead and gave him the bare minimum of 4 oz to hold him over until his first morning feed.  As I expected, he only drank 5 oz (instead of his usual 7), so I gave another 2 oz 2 hours later. 

I know he is capable of sleeping through the night because he has done it on two separate occasions, early on.  I don't understand why he wakes so frequently at night now or what to do? Please help!!

[Bex09]

Hi hun and welcome to the forum.

Just a couple of things, does he have a dream feed (DF) at all? Also have you tried feeding him in the night when he wakes to see if he settles then? It really isn't uncommon for a 16 week old to still be having a NF. As for the fact that he has STTN doesn't mean that he will do every night, just like with adults babies will be more hungry, sleepy etc some days than others. My DD stopped waking for a NF at 12 weeks and then STTN for a month, she then started waking again at 16 weeks. We found it easier to just do a quick feed and then she would settle straight back down and sleep through until morning. If we didn't feed she would just keep waking again and again.

[drt]

I tried the DF for a few days weeks ago, and he continued to wake at night.  I'll try it again starting today and through the weekend to see if that helps. 

So do you recommend, if his last day feeding is around 7pm, to do a DF at around 11p and then pre-empt his NW with a night feed at say, 2-3a?

I stopped the NF because for about a week, he stopped waking up around his usual time of 2-3a for a feed and went through until 4a (I was also worried that if I continued the NF when he was sleeping until 4a that I would just be creating a habit).  I was told to give a little bit of water to help keep him feeling full without compromising his daytime feeds, but during the day, he can't seem to take more than 7 oz or he spits it up.

[drt]

Also, how do you recommend I space his cereal feedings?....with a full bottle feeding or separately from a full feed?

[Lolly]

I think really I would stop the cereal feedings - the recs are not to start solids until 6 months and it could be the rice cereal is not helping the nightwakings as it's really hard to digest. Did you start the cereal on Drs instructions?

There is a big growth spurt around 16 weeks/ 4 months so he could be genuinly hungry at night and be needing the extra calories. I wouldn't do a nightfeed unless he wakes for it though as you will be teaching him to be hungry at that time, you are better off doing the DF and then feed him when he wakes. You can try to re-settle but if he won't or wakes soon after assume hunger and feed.

If he's up for the day at 6.30 then an 8pm bedtime may be too late for him, you need to aim for a 12 hour day/night. How long does it take him to feed? If he's only getting 60 mins A time after a feed then that is quite a short time for his age. At 4 months most babies are doing about 2 hours A time (which includes feeding time) which may be why he is not napping well.

Have a look here for some examples of routines for your LO's age http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=164029.0

What do you think?

Laura

[Bex09]

Hi, I agree with Laura. My DD went on to rice cereal at 5 months on advice from the docs to see if it helped her reflux. But it actually made her NW awful as it caused her a lot of digestive issues and pain. We stopped it and didn't try again until 6 months.

As for feeding in the night, as Laura said, I think if you feed when your LO wakes and see how that settles him then you will know if he is hungry and if that is what is causing him to wake. If he doesn't wake for a feed and STTN then that is great, but if he does wake a feed might settle him down quickly again for the rest of the night.

[drt]

I did notice a growth spurt a few days ago as a 7oz bottle didn't last him even 3 hours, so i continued to feed based on his hunger cues.

We are doing the cereal at his dr's recommendation.  It's only been about 3 days, and the NW have been going on for at least 2-3 weeks now, so I don't know that the cereal is upsetting him.

When he woke up last night at 2a (he woke up once before that but resettled easily), I gave him a 5 oz bottle...he rewoke at 5a hungry again, so I gave another 3 oz. and he did not wake up again until 8a.  Should I then give a full bottle when he awakes to eat at around 2a?

[Lolly]

Yes, I would give a full bottle at this age.

Why did the Dr suggest the cereal so young? Does he have reflux? If he does how is it being treated?

Laura

[Bex09]

Great that you have seen some progress.

[drt]

He does have reflux which was not really helped by the Prevacid he was on.

So far today he's doing well with his EAS, and if he wakes tonight I'll give a full feed.

[drt]

It was another rough night

He woke up at 1030p, 1230a, 230a, 430a, and 530a

Before 230a, he easily resettled.

At 230a I could tell he was hungry so I gave him a full feed of 7oz

He awoke at 430a and took approx 5 mins to resettle.

He awoke at 530a inconsolable until my husband put him in his swing (which he does pretty often at this time). 

I cannot for the life of me figure out what is going on.  Are the 430a and 530a habitual wakings?  How do I get him out of the habit of waking at those times and putting him in the swing?

When he awoke this morning at 645a, he was babbling to himself until he was ready to eat at 7a, at which point he only drank 4 oz (I'm assuming b/c he didn't really need a full 7 oz at the NF?).....

I am afraid to go to bed at night now

[Lolly]

How much prevacid is he on now and what does he weigh? 4 months is peak reflux time so it could be the reflux causing the problems with naps and the nights.

Laura

[drt]

15mg/day and he weighs about 15ish lbs

[Lolly]

That's a decent dose, do you feel the reflux is playing up or do you think it's under control?

Laura

[drt]

I honestly don't feel like it's helped in a long time, but his pediatrician doesn't want to up the dose.....and we tried Axid which didn't help, either