Author Topic: 4.5 months old, night wakings- I am not sure if baby is hungry  (Read 1637 times)

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Offline Marizza4

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4.5 months old, night wakings- I am not sure if baby is hungry
« on: January 18, 2018, 10:04:19 am »
Hello friends!
I have a question about NW.
Baby girls is 21 weeks old and for the past month I think i’ve introduced accidental parenting. We went home for holidays for three weeks,  frequently changing our place of stay. From the first night baby started waking and would settle after eating. I thought it was a 4 month growth spurt. This started increasing and she would wake 2-3 times. Before the trip, she had one feed during the night at 4 am and she was spontaniosly dropping that. I should say she is a very good eater, weight is 8 kg (17.6 pounds) and she is eating efficiently (now less efficient, everything distracts her). So, we are back for one week and I was trying to eliminate feeding to one per night-this coincided with rolling and stopping with swaddling so there was a lot of waking. From what I’ve read- I should add more day feeding (we have been doing that every 2 hours but I am afraid she will become a snacker) and use pacifier (we use it just to go to sleep) when she wakes to eat.
My question is- should we try to not feed her at all during the night? Or should she still have one NF? The problem is she eats every time she wakes-that’s what tricked me into thinking she was in a growth spurt, but this morning I’ve feed her at 5 am and I had to wake her at 8.30 and she basically just snacked a bit before the first nap which tells me she wasnt hungry because of the NF.
Could she be eating at night and then eating less during the day?

Our e.a.s.y (most of the days)

7.30 -wake up, 2-2.15 A time, eat 15 min after waking
9.30-9.45 sleep (she still wakes at 45 min mark but goes back to sleep, tried oncreasing A time but she then wakes at 30 min mark)
11.00-wake up, 2 hours A time
13.00- second nap
15.00-wake up, eat
17.15-catnap (30-45 min)
18.00-wake, eat, A time, bath, eat 15 min before sleep again
20.00-20.30 going to bed
-she wakes several times and we shush her to sleep, without picking up
22.00-22.45- depending on her sleep Dream feed, my expressed milk, c. 200 ml

She will then wake at 1.30, between 3-5, and sometimes again at 6 am
Shw is just EBF, no sign of theetimg,rolles on her tummy and cant roll back yet so I assist her. Bedtime routine-I change her napoy, dim the lights, sing a songa and put her to crib and then sit next to her and shush, sometimes hold hamd on her belly. At night I just put her back to sleep if I feed her and she falls asleep alone, if I dont feed her then I sit beside the crib and shush-is this ok?

Sorry for the long post, I look forward to your reply. I forgot to mention- I am a walking dead zombie, literally no sleep for the past month:(
 

Offline *Ali*

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Re: 4.5 months old, night wakings- I am not sure if baby is hungry
« Reply #1 on: January 23, 2018, 00:09:39 am »
Apologies for the delay.

At this young age I would just assume hunger at each of those wakings. 3 NFs is normal at this age. Your supply is highest in the early hours of the morning which is why babies like to feed around 1 and 4am. For now i I would completely follow her lead and I definitely wouldnt recommend actively stopping night feeds this early. Current advice is to feed on demand day and night. Night feeds are important to your supply and going long periods without feeding can be harmful to that supply and endanger your nursing relationship.
Cadan Dec 2009 and Colby Aug 2011


Offline Marizza4

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Re: 4.5 months old, night wakings- I am not sure if baby is hungry
« Reply #2 on: January 23, 2018, 10:48:09 am »
Hi *Ali*!

Thank you for your reply,please- no apologies needed, I understand you are very busy here.

I am a little bit confused, because 3 feeds a night is what my baby used to do as a newborn and from the books this is described as accidental parenting (before the trip she had one feed at 4 am and she was starting to skip on that one as well). She was also sick so I feed her on demand, naturally.
I completely agree that babies should not be hungry but after a few nights of resettling her she now only wakes once a night around 3-4 am and sometimes I can ressetle her quickly but sometimes it takes up to an hour (she wakes and goes back to sleep all the time) but there is no crying involved at all which leads me to believe its not hunger. Last night I read your post and feed her at 4 am but she didnt eat so much and she was awake for another 40 minutes after that and this morning she ate just a bit in her first A time, so I think she was full from the last meal.
I will definitely test again if she is hungry, if you suggest this strongly and keep doing it until I introduce solids. If she continues to sleep poorly even after the feed and skip breakfast I will try to stop.
And as for the milk supply, shouldn't that adjust over time so she has  enough during the day? I would like to breastfeed until she is 11-12 months old.
Thank you for your time, I really appreciate this.

Offline Marizza4

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Re: 4.5 months old, night wakings- I am not sure if baby is hungry
« Reply #3 on: January 23, 2018, 10:49:43 am »
Also, she turned 5 months today, if that means anything...

Offline *Ali*

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Re: 4.5 months old, night wakings- I am not sure if baby is hungry
« Reply #4 on: January 23, 2018, 15:58:36 pm »
Breastfeeding research has moved on significantly since the baby whisperer books were written 15+yrs ago. We like to think Tracy would  have updated her breastfeeding advice had she still been around to do so.

Yes  your supply will adjust but to the lower level you are telling it to by not putting her to the breast when she wakes for it. Supply can struggle to keep up with growth spurts and such if you regularly dont feed overnight.  It's best to offer when she wakes at night and she will take what she needs. If she doesnt want it she'll let you know.
Cadan Dec 2009 and Colby Aug 2011


Offline Marizza4

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Re: 4.5 months old, night wakings- I am not sure if baby is hungry
« Reply #5 on: January 23, 2018, 16:59:34 pm »
Oh, ok, because it is quite different from what I’ve read.
Thank you for your time, we will try with one night feed and see how it goes and yes, for the last growth spurt it took us few days to adjust how much milk she needed.

All the best:)


Offline Buntybear

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Re: 4.5 months old, night wakings- I am not sure if baby is hungry
« Reply #6 on: January 24, 2018, 21:16:47 pm »
My LO had a HUGE growth spurt at 4 months - would latch on for agggeeess at night. It is very normal at that age xx