Author Topic: Almost 5 month old/deciphering NW body language and sounds  (Read 993 times)

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Offline LRayWag

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Almost 5 month old/deciphering NW body language and sounds
« on: August 22, 2014, 18:30:19 pm »
Hello! My DD will be 20 weeks old this weekend, and for several weeks we have been dealing with multiple NW (2-3 per night). Granted, she has been through a lot of change in the past two weeks. About 3 weeks ago she began rolling back to tummy and will now ALWAYS roll onto her tummy when she is placed on her back. We quit the swaddle cold-turkey 10 days ago...prior to this she's been swaddled for BT since she was born, and for naps since 3 months. We have been successfully using shh-pat and PUPD to aid in this transition and she has come a long way in 10 days. To help matters, we began to strictly adhere to the 4-hour EASY plan yesterday, and during the day she really seems to be responding to it beneficially.

Her NW's have been confusing...I'm usually able to shh-pat her back to sleep but she will wake again after 20 minutes. I read that this is a sign that they are truly hungry and need a feed. The last thing I want to do is deprive her of food if she is hungry, but since we are making progress in reducing other crutches (I also had been nursing her to sleep up until 10 days ago), I also don't want to replace an old crutch with a new one. I guess ultimately I'm wondering if any of you had success in decreasing (or eliminating) NW's after the 4-hour EASY had been in place consistently for a couple of weeks. To clarify, I have been feeding her during these night feeds, and she does seem to be taking a full meal and actively eating (although she is a lump of Jello afterwards and so hard to put to bed "drowsy but awake" instead of downright asleep!). I know there is a 4-month growth spurt that coincides with the 4-month sleep regression, but I feel like I've been attributing all change to this alleged "growth spurt" for over a month now  ;)

Also during these NW...she has been kicking nonstop as she cries! She is sleeping safely on her tummy, but her legs are so active. Is this sort of kicking an indication of OT/UT? She's also added what can only be described as crazy alien-like sounds to her repetoire...not just babble or cooing, but not totally distressed either. I don't want to intervene too much if she is genuinely trying to put herself back to sleep. And yes, lots of hand sucking.

Quick background: EBF, nursed on demand since 2 days ago, and as I mentioned before nursed to sleep until 10 days ago. DD had been STTN from 5-6 weeks until 4 months.

I know this can take time and I am being patient...just wanting to make sure I'm properly handling these NW's as we strive for STTN once again! Any thoughts, suggestions, and anecdotes are totally welcome! Thanks in advance.

Offline ZacsMumme

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Re: Almost 5 month old/deciphering NW body language and sounds
« Reply #1 on: August 24, 2014, 09:53:10 am »
Lots of bf babies need NF till 6-8 mths, some even longer so ITA with you to feed her :) I remember my first sttn till 4 mths then after the SR he woke for a feed but he really did need it and had a big feed. They do change a lot and grow at different rates etc in that first year.

Are you or have you ever done a DF? When are you feeding in the night ATM (first, or second NW and approx time?)
Could she have wind/gas maybe after the feed?
Do you think the NW are her tying to settle herself or is she 'calling' you so to speak?

Hugs, it's a tough age x
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