Author Topic: Help... 4 Month Old Acting Very Strangely  (Read 9851 times)

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Offline txavery

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Help... 4 Month Old Acting Very Strangely
« on: July 24, 2005, 14:36:51 pm »
Hi ladies - Would love your thoughts.

My dd has been an angel/textbook since birth.  We have been on EASY since day 1 and she consistently has been able to get to sleep with a wind down, Paci, and rubbing her back for a couple of minutes.  Sleeps through the night and has always been a good napper with an occassional 45 min one occurring.

3.5 mos I've started VERY SLOWLY moving her to 4 hours.  She is now 4.5 mos and in the last couple of weeks has been acting very differently. Using Tracy's plan in her recent book we had gotten to the following:

7:00 Feed
9:00 Nap (sometimes waking after 1.5 hours)
11:00 Feed
1:00 Nap (sometimes waking after 1.5 hours)
3:00 Feed
5:00 Feed (not in the plan but scared to drop this feed yet, bc dd seems to still need it)
7:30 Feed and to bed
10:30 Dream Feed

In the last week she has started all kinds of things out of her norm. Acting fussy a bunch less than 1 hour after feeding, taking 45 min naps.  Getting VERY upset during nap wind down or laying in bed "talking" for an hour rather than dropping off to sleep like normal.  Gets up in a good mood, but then gets fussy shortly.

Thinking she is overlytired I've tried hovering when she wakes and getting her back to sleep. Not working. Have tried an earlier wind down.  Not working.  Still sleeping through the night thankfully.

She is a big baby (16 pounds at 4 mo) - Does she need cereal?  Maybe fussy because still hungry?
Is she teething?

Thanks!

Offline Mariek

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Help... 4 Month Old Acting Very Strangely
« Reply #1 on: July 24, 2005, 14:47:54 pm »
Hi there

Teething would be my first guess on this one. Is she drooling a lot and chomping on her fists?

I'd have a look to see if you can see any signs of teeth showing under her gums (it will be the front two at the bottom first most likely). You can usually see the white of the teeth under the gums and they might look a bit red and inflammed. If you can see anything I'd try some baby paracetamol or ibupofen (the bottle will tell you the dosage) and some teething gel. Once we'd discovered this was the problem with DD and given her some pain relief she was back to herself Angel/textbook self in no time (well, until the paracetamol wore off anyway  :roll: ).

Let us know if that's what the problems is.

love
Marie



Offline Meg's Mom

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Help... 4 Month Old Acting Very Strangely
« Reply #2 on: July 24, 2005, 16:49:56 pm »
Hi
If not teething and feeding her as much cereal as she wants isn't it....then this statement made me think she is not tired enough to sleep or want a nap.

Quote (selected)
Getting VERY upset during nap wind down or laying in bed "talking" for an hour rather than dropping off to sleep like normal. Gets up in a good mood, but then gets fussy shortly.

It could be you need to increase A time a bit, when my LO was this age 2.25 hr of A time - was the magic number for us.  (she is a reformed 45min napper several times over...she does the short nap everytime she wants to drop a nap).

That darn 45min nap starts a cycle that can be confusing - because they only had 45min of sleep, they can't make it to the next nap time and becasue they have only been up a short time, they only need 45min of sleep!

That could also be the cause of Acting fussy a bunch less than 1 hour after feeding, tired after the short nap.

Hope that helps!

Offline txavery

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Help... 4 Month Old Acting Very Strangely
« Reply #3 on: July 24, 2005, 18:34:30 pm »
Thank you so much for the quick responses. I REALLY appreciate it.  I will check for the whites of teeth showing up.  She isn't really chewing on her hands, but everthing else - her tongue, the washcloth when bathing, anything that comes near her mouth actually.  I will also watch and see if she can stay up longer.  We are a little hesitant to try cereal if she is not ready, but she is a big baby and maybe milk isn't enough anymore.   I know many times there is more than 1 thing affecting babies, so maybe it's all of the above!

Offline Meg's Mom

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Help... 4 Month Old Acting Very Strangely
« Reply #4 on: July 24, 2005, 20:20:02 pm »
You are welcome!

I didn't realize you hadn't started solids yet, so yes go w/ your instinct and what your ped recommends on that one.

Good luck, it is like playing detective isn't?

Offline emmakate'smom

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Help... 4 Month Old Acting Very Strangely
« Reply #5 on: July 25, 2005, 03:53:07 am »
Hi txavery,
I would be interested to see how you progress. My little girl is doing the exact same thing! She is also 4.5 mo old. All of sudden having 45 minute naps, and acting very fussy while putting her down for her naps and bedtime! She used to go down so easily without a fight. I do know that mine is teething. I can see the whites, and she chews on everything in sight. But, even the orajel doesn't seem to help. She's happy during the day, it's just bedtime/naptime that has her upset. I think it's because she isn't getting enough naptime/sleep during the day, so she is just cranky. L
I did try increasing the A time this morning to 2.15 and she woke up after 45 minutes, but I left her in there and after about 15 minutes she fell back asleep. I was so excited. But, we weren't as lucky with her afternoon nap. Oh well, there is always tomorrow! Let me know if you get this conquered.

Also, let me know if you started the solids and if they helped. My girl is also very big. 17lbs. She is not on solids yet, either. I was trying to hold off as long as I could.

Thanks,
Jenny
Thanks,
Jenny
Emma Kate's mom

Offline ChasMom

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Help... 4 Month Old Acting Very Strangely
« Reply #6 on: July 25, 2005, 14:09:35 pm »
Just wanted to say my little guy has been acting the same way also.
We've been battling short naps since 12 weeks and I worked on increasing his A time and we had started to make some progress (easier to put down, getting better at self soothing, and longer naps) when all of a sudden everything just went down the tubes at 4 months.  He's harder to put down than ever even though he's visibly tired (yawning, rubbing his eyes and cranky), his naps are back to 30 min. and when I try ssh/pat to get him back to sleep he just ends up screaming.  He's still sleeping well at night thank God but has also started to wake up earlier and earlier in the morning.
Today he was up at 6 am so by 8:30 he was already starting to act tired and fussy so I put him down. This is just throwing off his entire napping schedule since he won't nap more than 2 times a day.  Yesterday he was up from 1:30pm until bedtime at 7:30! :shock: It's like he doesn't want to sleep!
Everyone tells me it's the teething but wouldn't it affect his night sleep also?  At night he sleeps like a charm. 
My son is also a big baby (17 lbs) and I was wondering if it was hunger but my ped told me it's common for them to not want to nap at this age because they are so into discovering and interacting with the world.  It's like they don't want to waste time during the day napping when they could be exploring. 
Oh well, I guess it's back to the drawing board for me.
You know, you think you got it all figured out and then bam, they switch it up on you :lol:

Offline txavery

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Help... 4 Month Old Acting Very Strangely
« Reply #7 on: July 26, 2005, 03:03:48 am »
Hi Ladies - It sounds like we are all in the same boat.  Both of your replies are SO similar to what I'm experiencing.  Yes my DD sleeps like a charm at night too and it's SO obvious she is sleepy during the day, but WILL NOT sleep longer than 45 min and tries to skip her. late afternoon catnap all together.  She stayed up from 1:45 to bedtime the other day too.  I did also read that they are more into their environment at this age and don't want to sleep during the day, so who knows.  I haven't started cereal yet, because we were trying to hold off as long as possible too.  We are going to the doctor tomorrow to see if he has any thoughts or can tell if she is teething.  I don't see anything yet though.  The nurse today did ask if my DD was spitting up more though and she actually has been, so the nurse thought maybe it's reflux, but would be a little strange for that to crop up again when it hasn't been an issue for a couple of months.  I'll see what the doctor says and will keep you gals posted.  I just hate it for my DD, because I can tell she needs more sleep and just makes this kind of groaning-fussy noise all throughout the day off and on.  She's playing and happy one minute then fussy like something is bugging her the next.  I'll keep you posted!

Offline emmakate'smom

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Help... 4 Month Old Acting Very Strangely
« Reply #8 on: July 26, 2005, 03:49:31 am »
I'm so glad to know it's not just us! I guess this is just a crazy time for the kiddos. Today I was able to extend her morning nap again, like I did yesterday. She still woke up at 45 min, but I left her in her crib babbling, and after about 15 minutes, she was back asleep. I hope eventually, she will just stop waking up and sleep right through. Her afternoon naps are still short. But, at least we're getting one good nap, which helps tremendously. I'm going to see how the rest of this week goes, and if she is still acting kind of crazy, I might start cereal next week. Let us know how the Dr goes!

Jenny
Emma Kate's mom

Offline cazao

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Help... 4 Month Old Acting Very Strangely
« Reply #9 on: July 26, 2005, 04:01:17 am »
hey there, just read this briefly but i just wanted to reassure you that 4 months seems to be a bit of a nuts time for lots of babies...our amazing night-sleeper angel went  bit crazy around 4 months, and i found a thread on this site then that was basically all the mums of 4 months old saying `what the *** is up..things are going wonky???!! ` i can`t remember exactly what we did...we didn`t start solids and i`m glad about that....i know a lot of people do at this age when this `stage` hits, but the advice i got at the time was that it probably wouldn`t make any difference if we did..in fact some said sleep was MORE disrupted once solids started...it also wasn`t teething for us...i think we did extend wake time very slowly..that`s tended to be the culprit when things go sideways for us...but at this age developmental things can also start to play a part. anyway what i really wanted to say was... don`t worry....just ride it out and you will get your sleeping angel back again i promise!!!
Our beautiful baby girl is....

Offline ChasMom

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Help... 4 Month Old Acting Very Strangely
« Reply #10 on: July 26, 2005, 15:43:20 pm »
EmmaKate's mom, just wondering how you are working to extend the 45 min. naps?  For some reason sssh/pat has stopped working for DS.
He'll start fussing and fussing and before you know it he's screaming and I just end up giving up.  Then I have to spend the next couple of hours with a cranky, clingy baby until we start the whole process all over again at the next nap time :(.

I've also tried not going in there and letting him try to put himself back to sleep when I hear him stirring but that doesn't work either.  He had been getting better at self soothing but he can't even do that now  :? .

I'm thinking maybe the shh/pat is actually stimulating him too much.
Maybe I should try a jiggle or some firm pressure from my hand on him.

Cazao - I hope there is a light at the end of the tunnel! :)

Offline txavery

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Help... 4 Month Old Acting Very Strangely
« Reply #11 on: July 27, 2005, 03:28:45 am »
Hello all- Thanks for the encouragement. 

We went to the doctor today and I basically left feeling like a goofball for going.  He said she looks great and I just need to be patient through this phase. He said she may have had a growth spurt and then, because she was eating more during the growth spurt that may have affected her reflux, because she has been spitting up a lot and then the spitting up may affect her naps and might be why she's making the moaning fussy noise, but he heard the noise and thinks she's just discovering a new sound.  He said 45 min naps are common at this age and then it evens out and that if something was really bothering her she would not be sleeping at night and he said she probably is teething, because she is chewing on everthing, but sees know teeth yet.  And then on top of everything the little stinker slept great during both naps and her catnap!  I think I just need to relax and realize she is human and is not going to do exactly what I think she should do each week!

Offline txavery

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Help... 4 Month Old Acting Very Strangely
« Reply #12 on: July 27, 2005, 03:30:19 am »
hello all- Thanks for the encouragement.

We went to the doctor today and I basically left feeling like a goofball for going. He said she looks great and I just need to be patient through this phase. He said she may have had a growth spurt and then, because she was eating more during the growth spurt that may have affected her reflux, because she has been spitting up a lot and then the spitting up may affect her naps and might be why she's making the moaning fussy noise, but he heard the noise and thinks she's just discovering a new sound. He said 45 min naps are common at this age and then it evens out and that if something was really bothering her she would not be sleeping at night and he said she probably is teething, because she is chewing on everthing, but sees know teeth yet. And then on top of everything the little stinker slept great during both naps and her catnap! I think I just need to relax and realize she is human and is not going to do exactly what I think she should do each week!

Offline julieb

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Help... 4 Month Old Acting Very Strangely
« Reply #13 on: July 29, 2005, 04:45:35 am »
My DS was weird at 4 months as well.  He started to learn to roll both ways and scoot that month.  His naps drove me crazy!  He was also having teething signs since 3 months.  I also wondered about the solid food thing but was determined to hold off.  He was 17.5 lbs and 27.5 inches at his 4 month appointment.

Fast forward to now, almost 6 months old.  By 4.5 months, he had become so mobile that he finally started to tucker himself out enough to sleep more than 45 minutes!  He finally got his teeth in this week.  We didn't need to start solids either.

I'd try increasing the activity time and/or giving lots of floor time to tucker them out and let them practice all their new skills.  Could also be a growth spurt, so you just have to roll with it.  DS would have terrible naps and eat like a beast for a few days, then go back to normal.  Also, hyland's teething tablets helps the irratability of teething a lot so they can settle down to sleep better.  Doesn't hurt to give them, even if you're not sure if your LO is teething.

Hope that gives some ideas!
Julie
DS 1/31/05 (spirited/textbook but a touchy sleeper)
DD 10/15/10 (textbook/angel/spirited)

Offline emmakate'smom

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Help... 4 Month Old Acting Very Strangely
« Reply #14 on: July 30, 2005, 02:42:44 am »
ChasMom,
Sorry for the delay in replying, it's been a crazy week!
Well, I don't really know if I have mastered the nap extension thing, just yet. I was able to do it over the weekend, but as soon as she went back to the sitter, she started back with short naps.  But, when I was able to extend, when she woke up babbling, I just left her in there. It took 15 minutes, but she eventually fell back asleep. I think if I could do that consistently for a week, she would probably quit waking up. Like I said, for the rest of the week at the sitters house, though, she has reverted back. So, I don't know if we have really made any progress. She is sleeping 12 hours at night though, so I count my blessings!
Good luck!
Emma Kate's mom