16 week old waking up multiple times..help

[Jonesygirl]

I am new to this forum and have been reading many testimonies about sleeping issues but I need to ask this anyway. My DD is 16 weeks and was sleeping great, 5-6 hours initially when put down at night but now she is waking up every 2-3 hours.  I think I might have multiple issues going on here so please give me your input.  First off, just started Ssh/Pat the last few days and its working great for naptimes and bedtime.  Sometimes it takes her a few minutes but she will eventually go to sleep. She is a tummy sleeper since about 1 month old and has done so much better (i know its a no-no but it worked for her). She is a spirited one and flings her limbs around all the time when she is awake but the ssh/pat works for her when I pat her on her butt for a few minutes (and its more of a pat, no shush - she doesn't like that word).  Anyway...here is a sample of the last few days.  I am sure things need to be adjusted. She also uses a dummy since day 1 (thats right day 1, she was jaundice and she needed it when she was under the light so she got hooked). 

E 6:45 AM/7 (EBF)
A - plays in her bouncy chair
S 7:45
E 8:45
A - plays in her bouncy chair, or floor mat
S 10:30
E 11:45
A - sometimes we go to the pool or get outside
S 1 PM
E 2 PM
A
E 4 PM
S 4:30 (for only 30 minutes because we went to church)
A 5 PM
E 6:30 PM (at church)
A
S 8:40 PM

She hasn't slept longer than an hour during naptime and bedtime has been 9pm for awhile so I am also trying to adjust that as well. Thank you!

[katie80]

Hi and welcome to BW!

First, there is generally a pretty big growth spurt at 4 mo, so that is likely playing a part in the extra NWs. I'd go with feeding her every 3 hr or so if shh/pat doesn't work and she's hungry.

Second, at 4 mo, her A times should be nearing 2hr. As it stands now, she's only doing 1-1h45m, hence the naps not longer than one hour.  Here's a link to some average A times for each age.  http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=84884.0 The typical recommendation here is to stretch her by 10-15 min every few days until you start getting naps that are closer to 1.5-2hr.  This will also help to stretch out her feeds, so that she's taking more at each feed and not needing to be fed so often at night. At her age, she's likely able to go at least 3-3.5hr between feeds.

[Jonesygirl]

Thank you for the response.  I went to the doc today and she is 12 lbs and 16 weeks.  She is teething with 1 tooth coming on the front bottom right. I think the night wakings are due in part to that a bit but it could be a growth spurt too.  I have been using Ssh/pat with success but I am not sure what to do in the middle of the night.  If she is waking up every 2 hrs, do I feed her or try and settle her and feed her at the next feeding? Plus she is not taking a full feeding at these nw's.  If she goes 5-6 hrs straight as she normally would do, then of course I would feed her at that nw.

And so you would recommend stretching out the first A time of the day to 1.5-2 hrs versus the 1 hr she is doing typically at this time? She seems to be pretty tired at that first naptime. Thanks!

[katie80]

I think the night wakings are due in part to that a bit but it could be a growth spurt too.

Yes, it could be a bit of both.  Poor thing... that's early for a tooth!

I have been using Ssh/pat with success but I am not sure what to do in the middle of the night.  If she is waking up every 2 hrs, do I feed her or try and settle her and feed her at the next feeding?

Yes, I would try to settle her and feed her at the next waking.  She should be able to go at least 3hr at night, even during a GS.

And so you would recommend stretching out the first A time of the day to 1.5-2 hrs versus the 1 hr she is doing typically at this time? She seems to be pretty tired at that first naptime.

Yep, if you want the naps to lengthen and get to a more predictable EASY, you'll want to stretch out the first A time and then consequently all others (work on one at a time).  If she's pretty tired then, just do it gradually by 10 min or so every few days.  She's likely so tired, because she's got a pretty short night, from 8:30/9pm to 6:45/7am and could be tacking on to her night sleep.  Another thing that will help is to aim for an 11-12hr night (with NFs, of course), so if she's up at 6:45/7 am, ideally she's in bed by 7pm.  You mentioned you were working toward that in your first post.  Here are some EASY examples for her age range to take a look at: http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=164029.0

[Jonesygirl]

Sorry one more question...the catnap in the evening. She has been doing that for awhile now but it seems like she needs like 1.5-2hr awake time before going to bed.  Is that correct? Is that recommended? It seems like if it is any shorter she is UT.  Tonight was better - usually i have to take her for a walk or something to get her to take a catnap.  She slept and woke up for a nap at 6pm then we started our bedtime routine at 8pm. She was asleep from 9pm. It seemed to work becuase she was really tired by that time.  Should I target a bedtime then work backwards from then to try and get all her naps in or work from the morning wake time? I keep getting such a different situation at night.

[~Lori~]

Yes, you'd want to still have that Awake time before going to bed or they will be UT.

Our nights get kind of crazy too, depending on how our day has gone.  I try to stick with a set wake time.  The bedtime fluctuates from 15-30 min, but I try to keep it as close to it as i can.  It's important to try to stick to a 12 hr day/night.  Sometimes our nights are 11 hrs, so days would be 13 but that is only if my LO got more sleep in the day.

[katie80]

Agree with Lori.

Should I target a bedtime then work backwards from then to try and get all her naps in or work from the morning wake time? I keep getting such a different situation at night.

I usually work from morning wake-up. I think it's pretty normal to get a different situation each night for awhile.  Everything seems to even out a bit more when you're solidly on two naps (around 6-7 mo).