How long does it take a growth spurt??

[bgayoso]

Hi,
My baby is now 3 months and the last 12 days he has changed his eating routine during the night.
He is a quick eater and gaining weight well ( 6,1 kgs ) and until now he used to have his last bf at 9-9:30 and sleep until 2 or 3 am (sometimes even until 5) and then until 6-7 again eating 7 times (we follow an easy plan of 3  hours during day)
Now he wakes up more frecuently, reducing the time between bf (sometimes 2 hours between each bf), today he had dinner at 9 and then at 1, 4 and 6 
Can it take a growth spurt so many days???

[GraceKellysmom]

My son had a growth spurt at 4 months that lasted 2 weeks. It was forever!

Are you offering both breasts at each feed now? You can do breast compressions to make sure he is emptying the breast each time too. The more frequent feeding during the day will increase your supply, so keep it up!

[bgayoso]

No, I offer him one breast each feed since he was born and I compress the breast I feed each time to make sure he doesn't need any more and sometimes I think he may be hungry I offer him the other breast but he doesn't seem to need it as he comes off and as he is a greedy and sometimes I've offered him the other breast he has vomited some minutes later I do not feel to much confidence in offering him more than one breast just in case he vomites it.
During day he keeps with his routine of 3 hours feeding, at 10 , 13, 16, 19 and 21, what has changed is the routine of the nigth, I've also tryed including the dreamfeed at 23 but this doesn't seem to work because he wakes up then at 12 or at 1 am and sometimes he wakes up completely after df so after df I have to spend about 45 minutes trying him to get asleep again.
Another thing that has changed at the same time is that when it was time to sleep at nigth it took him to much time to get asleep, and he's never done it by himself by now (I've also tryed to tie him but he doesn't like it and now he has learnt to get untied so it doesn't work, I've ordered a magical blanket to see if this helps) but as soon as he got asleep he didn't woke up until the feed of 3-4 am and now, everyday since this change has happened he wakes up after 30-45 minutes and it takes me another 45 minutes to get him asleep again. (His day naps do not last more than 30-45 minutes)
I don't know if it has any relation with all these changes the fact that they 've just begun just after a weekend with lots of people in our house (when normally we have quite little visits), last saturday 23 of july we baptized him and as my husband's family lives 600 kms away from here they came and spend 3 days with us (7 people), carrying him in the arms, with quite a lot of stimulation and new faces during the all day. The weekend the family stayed at home he slept fine, from 9 until 5 am but sudenly, on monday after they left our house all these changes began, I don't know if they have any relation.

[annamum]

I think you may be right that a lot of people around your little one and all this excitement changed his sleep routine. I had a similar problem when my family arrived when Anna was 8 months old. First day she didn't go to nap at all, in spite of my efforts, even didn't go to sleep at the breast. She didn't go to sleep as usual at 8:30PM but closer to midnight, need I say, I had a hell of putting her down and calming her down. She was trying to crawl out of her crib to go to play with all these people even she was so tired she could not keep her eyes open. She was so excited and overstimulated. It lasted two weeks until she calmed down and went back to her regular sleep pattern. So this might be it.

Lack of rest during the day affects night sleep, overstimulation as well. I think that not having a good day rest makes the nights worse and vice versa. I would stick with a routine he knows and is comfortable for him, he should eventually go back to his normal sleeping pattern.

[bgayoso]

Well, I have to say that this night has been much better, altough after he got asleep at 21:40 he woke up later at 22:20 and it took me until 23:00 to get him asleep, he didnīt wanted feed until 2, 5:30 and 9 in the morning. I hope this would be the way back to his previous behaviour.
So I agree with you about thinking the reason of this change has been the overstimulation and not a growth spurt.
Thanks a lot for your advices, now I have to try to increase the time of his naps during the day (longer than 45 m.) and see if I can get him asleep the all night long. Do you think is too soon for this? my paediatrician says he should be doing it by this time and as I begin to work next month and I have to drive 150 kms everyday I'd like to get it as soon as possible but perhaps this change doesn't happen until he's 6 months or so.

[annamum]

Sleeping in babies is like a roulette. Some sleep through the night right from the start, some don't. It is not unusual for your baby's age not to sleep through the night, mine didn't until she was 13 months and even now, she doesn't always do this. Sometimes night sleep is disturbed by teething and they wake up a lot unless you give them a medication.

So yes, this is something to look forward to but not someting you can achieve by a certain timeframe, if you understand me.

Hope things will get better soon for you!

[bgayoso]

Yes, you're quite right, perhaps I'm trying to accelerate his schedule and routine and I should wait for a while and see if he does it by himself and try not to be so impatient

[annamum]

Well, I didn't intend to make you feel impatient, just wanted to let you know you are not alone, feeding your lo in the middle of the night  :lol: .

If you want some more ideas on sleep, visit our sleep boards  .