Author Topic: 3.5 month old never slept longer than 3-3.5 hr at night  (Read 1527 times)

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Offline Fireflysummer

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3.5 month old never slept longer than 3-3.5 hr at night
« on: August 20, 2017, 00:54:46 am »
Hi ,

I am new to posting on the forum although I regularly visit it!

I have a 3.5 LO who has been waking twice a night since she was born except for a few times she only woke once. Sometimes she takes a full feed at the first night feeding and a snack at the second feeding and other nights its vic versa. She will wake anywhere between 1:15-2:30am and again between 4-5:30am.

When I feed her I do it in the the dark of her nursery during the day and I am listening for swallows. I also do breast compressions to ensure she is getting the hindmilk and that my milk supply is ok.

Here's our routine (it's usually 2.5-3 hr)

8:00 (-9:15) am wake
8:45 wind down (10-15 mins)
9:15 sleep (1hr15)

10:15 wake
10:45 feed
11:00 wind down
11:30 sleep (1hr45)

1:30 wake
1:45 feed
2:20 wind down
2:45 sleep (1hr40)

4:30 wake and feed
5:20 wind down
5:45 sleep (45mins)

6:30 wake and bedtime routine
7:00 feed
7:45 sleep

10-11pm dreamfeed

She is a touchy baby. We have had A LOT if struggles settling her to sleep (used pacifier, walking, both became props ) and just rrcently she started settling with shush/ tapping. But when she is overtired it doesn't work so we resort to slowly walking with her a bit and trying again with bedtime routine or waiting until next feed.

She was born 6lbs2oz via c-section because she was in breech position. She was only 3 days early.

How do I get rid of one of the night feedings since it's obvious from the snacking that she doesn't need both? Should I slowly reduce the number of minutes I feed at night time to  transfer the calories she is receiving in the night to the day or just leave it?

Thanks!


« Last Edit: August 20, 2017, 17:05:42 pm by Fireflysummer »

Offline becj86

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Re: 3.5 month old wakes at night twice wanting almost full feeds
« Reply #1 on: August 20, 2017, 05:32:07 am »
I'm not sure what you're asking... Your 3.5mo is perfectly normal waking for those 2 NFs + DF. The fact that one is sometimes a smaller feed suggests she will drop a feed when she's ready.

Offline Fireflysummer

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Re: 3.5 month old never slept more than 3 hours at a time
« Reply #2 on: August 20, 2017, 17:02:43 pm »
Ah thanks! Wrote this post late at night so my brain was tired!😋 I updated my post with my question at the end of it.

Thanks for your response so quickly! So you don't think I need to shush/pat instead of feed the feed that is more of a snack?

Offline becj86

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Re: 3.5 month old never slept longer than 3-3.5 hr at night
« Reply #3 on: August 20, 2017, 23:12:16 pm »
Nope, she's too young to be weaning NFs when they're appropriate. You could if you want to but you're likely to end up with a longer NW, a waking for a feed shortly thereafter and a tired baby the following day from the disrupted night. Better for your sleep and hers to just feed and pop her back into bed.

Offline Fireflysummer

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Re: 3.5 month old never slept longer than 3-3.5 hr at night
« Reply #4 on: August 21, 2017, 18:19:09 pm »
I guess I was feeling confused because I have Tracy's book BWSAYP and she says if they are waking at erratic times through the night it means hunger so we are to increase calories during the day. That would imply to me  that they won't and shouldn't wake up in the night if you take care of increasing their food intake during the day, which we have tried doing. I guess not?  And I haven't yet read on this forum of a 3.5 month old still waking twice a night who isn't prop dependent. Many people seem to have babies sleeping through until 5am or waking once. ( I know every baby is different...😀)

Thanks so much more your input!
« Last Edit: August 21, 2017, 18:27:33 pm by Fireflysummer »

Offline CanadianMum

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Re: 3.5 month old never slept longer than 3-3.5 hr at night
« Reply #5 on: August 22, 2017, 16:38:48 pm »
For what it's worth, my baby is the same age and wakes to eat in the night at almost identical times to yours! We have had a handful of nights where she makes it to 4am and therefore only wakes once, but for the most part she has two NW to eat. Both of my sisters' babies were the same at this age and all were exclusive breast feeding.

Offline becj86

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Re: 3.5 month old never slept longer than 3-3.5 hr at night
« Reply #6 on: August 23, 2017, 08:56:42 am »
That would imply to me  that they won't and shouldn't wake up in the night if you take care of increasing their food intake during the day, which we have tried doing. I guess not?
That's if baby is waking more than they should be for their stage of development. Yours is perfectly normal. Generally if baby is feeding 3hrly through the day and waking after >3hr at night, they are hungry and you should just feed. If you were up feeding every 1-1.5hr, yes, we would be talking about shifting calories to the daylight hours.

Offline Fireflysummer

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Re: 3.5 month old never slept longer than 3-3.5 hr at night
« Reply #7 on: August 23, 2017, 12:49:11 pm »
Thanks for both your reply Canadian mum and becj86!!
I appreciate it!