17 week old night waking

[JaxMomNeedsSleep]

DS gave me about one week of sleeping for 8 hours straight through the night.  Then a week ago, he reverted back to waking every 2 to 4 hours.  I only feed him if it has been 3 hours since his last feed, otherwise I resettle with his paci. 

Nap times during the day are okay.  His AM nap is usually 2 hours, and all others are about 45 min to 1 hour.

He is bottle fed, and normally eats 6 - 8oz per feeding. 

What happened to my 8 hours of straight sleep?  Also he has been really diffcult to put to bed.  I have never been able to move his bedtime to early in the day, so we go with the flow and put him down for the night at 9pm.  The last few nights have taken 30min to 1 hour to put him to bed, which was never an issue before.  Once swaddled, he is almost asleep already, but once he is in his bassinet, he turns his head from side to side constantly and spits his paci out, and needs it put back in.  Once he seems asleep, I always take the paci out if he hasn't yet spit it out himself and managed to stay asleep.

Here is a typical EASY

E  8:00am
S  10:00am

E 12:00pm
S  1:30pm

E 3:00pm
S 4:30pm

E  6:00pm
S  7:00pm

E 8:30, then bath time, tummy time, and off to bed for the night
S 9:00

He has been waking at 12:00am some nights, but usually sleeps through till 3am, then wakes again at 6:30am and 8:00am.

Thanks for your help

[becj86]

4 month growth spurt could account for it...

Also you may be seeing the 4 month sleep regression which coincides with a massive mental development: http://www.thewonderweeks.com/index.php/about-the-wonder-weeks/your-babys-10-leaps/mental-leap-4

You may find hold through the jolts will help with naps and maybe even BT as he may just be OT by BT with the shorter naps.

[JaxMomNeedsSleep]

Thanks, I may need to purchase the book to read more about the weeks.

Do you know how long the development periods last?

Again last night DS was hard to put down at BT.  Once he was asleep though, he only woke up at 4am and 8am, so that was an improvement.

[becj86]

Do you know how long the development periods last?

It differs depending on the child, DS' lasted 2-3 weeks. I know other kids whose developmental leaps take a week or so.

[JaxMomNeedsSleep]

Next question...  Last night DS woke up 1.5 hours after BT, and then every 20 minutes for over an hour.  I tried to resettle but nothing worked.  It had been 3 hours since his last feed, so I fed him (formula fed).

During night wakings should I feed the same amount as a daytime feed?  He is draining his bottle at night, so I'm thinking he is waking from hunger. 

He is almost 4 months old, and I have not transitioned to a 4 hour EASY yet.  Could that be the problem?

[~inbalance~]

4 months old is an awful time for sleep. 

He is almost 4 months old, and I have not transitioned to a 4 hour EASY yet.  Could that be the problem?

I think this could have a lot to do with it.  My DD is breastfed, but she used to do 7 hour stretches and doesn't anymore, and I suspect it is because she eats more at night and not as well during the day.  I am fairly certain I need to stretch her daytime feeds so she eats better, but it's not always that easy!  How much is your LO eating during the day?  I'm not familiar with bottle feeding, but I don't think I'd be offering full bottles at night as that would just encourage more NFs which is the opposite of what you want.  If anything you'd want to decrease night time amounts and add the calories to the day.

Hugs, I'm right there with you!  Like I said, DD was sleeping much better a few weeks ago but now is waking more often! 

[JaxMomNeedsSleep]

He eats 6 - 8oz every 3 hours.  sometimes I can stretch it to 3.5 hours, and every so often he has his morning nap that goes an hour beyond his feed time.  I have a feeling that is because he is still tired from the night though, and your right, he has had his calorie intake from his NW.

Wow, month 1 and 2 were horrible for sleep, bit of a reprieve for month 3, and now I feel like I am losing the battle once again! 

Never knew sleep could be so elusive. 

[~inbalance~]

Ugh, it is!  But they do sleep someday!  It feels like forever when you're waiting for sleep to get better, but when they're older and you're looking back, you'll realize it wasn't such a long time.