Don't know what he wants!!!

[travis's mum]

ok, it all started a couple of weeks ago but honestly can't remember how we got to this stage it's all a big blurrr :oops: .  I had decided to wean DS off his 4 am feed. I know it was out of habbit as he was hardly taking any of his morning bottle and was waking at 4am on the dot every night, he also drinks 6 bottles a day without the 4am feed and drinks 5/7 oz each time.  I tryed two methods to wean him off the best being reducing the amount slowly.

the thing is he seems to be having none of it :x . It has come to the point now that from 3.30/4 am he wakes constantly and wont go back to sleep.  He's hungry I hear you say. I really don't think he is because at 7 when I do give him a bottle he just plays with it and drinks maximum 3 oz.

When he wakes I was going in to give him his dummy but it only keeps him quiet for a while.  I don't think this is a paci problem as he can honestly take it or leave it he's really not that much of a fan of it. and he can sleep without it and if I pull it out when he sleeps he doesn't seem to care.

After reading some posts of other ladies I decided to turn off the baby monitor and leave him to it maybe he will go back to sleep.  You see I'm not really that good at distinguishing his crys I think it's because I'm always there for him and never leave him to cry so most of the time he whines when he wants something. He only really cries when he's in pain or very over tired after a bath and he wants to get into bed ASAP!!.  S o left him to it and he just went on and on so I decided to stand next to him and rest my hand on him so he would know I am there but he still didn't stop so at 7 we fed him. 

When is this going to stop? I've been looking at the post above and it says for his age 10 hrs a nighht is about right.  So why do we put them to bed so early only for them to wake up so early. Since the time change I have been putting him down at 8 and usually I'm in bed by 9.30 because I'm tired of having no sleep. DH is very upset because he wants me to stay up with him and have some time together. But i just don't want to be tired any more. I wake up at 12 to df.

A friend said to try a scoop of baby rice in his bottle before he sleeps, but i'm not too sure.  In the book it says a lot of night wakings can be due to a need to introduce solids. He is very sturdy and watches us when we eat but I would really like to not give him untill he's at least 5/6months.  He is showing signs of teathing he dribbles a lot and puts everything in his mouth to chew.

I just wish I new what he wants should I just give him his bottle and risk confusing him and going back to how thimgs were after all this time?n  He does do 45min naps but they are easy to extend but he stilldoes wake after 45 min. We are on a 3.5 hr easy.

I could really do with some advice any one had a similar experience??

[Katet]

I'm going to say yes he could be hungry & if he is "over hungry" he will eat less at his next feed because his little tummy has shrunk due to not being fed when he was hungry, so he will take less feed at his first feed even if you don't feed him at night. BTW that 10 hours of sleep normally could include at least 1 possibly 2 feeds for a 4mo.

Also cutting back the habit of waking can still take time to dissapear

[GabrielleD]

Just a suggestion...if he keeps waking up at the same time every night and he's not hungry, you may want to try Tracy's "wake to sleep" technique. I was just reading about this in the book, so I can quote you exactly what Tracy says:
"set your clock and hour earlier than your baby usually wakes and go into his room. Jostle him gently, rub his belly a bit, and stick a pacifier in his mouth - all of which will help stir him to semi-consciousness. Then leave. He'll fall back asleep. This gives you control, rather than your sitting around hoping that your baby's habit will magically go away. (It won't.) By waking him an hour early, you'll disrupt his pattern."
I am about to try this with my son, who keeps waking up at 3:30 every morning and will go back to sleep as soon as he gets a pacifier. So I don't have any personal experience regarding whether this technique works or not. But good luck and let us know how you're doing.

[travis's mum]

So last night was awfull again and I decided to give in and give him a bottle. He drank a couple of ounces and went to sleep for an 1.5 hrs. On the plus side he managed to stay awake for 1.5 hours before he had his morning nap, which is actually a record. From what I've read extending his awake time is the begining of extending his nap times (end of 45min naps).

So tonight I will have a bottle prepared and when he wakes after his dream feed I will give it to him.  But I'm not going to use the dummy at all at night times. Hopefully it will be the end of the night wakings.  I just want to stop it before it becomes the way of life.

I did want to ask one thing how will I know if he is ready to stop the 4am feed?  Will he just start waking later and later on his own? Is there a certain age? or should I wait until he's on solids ie 6mnths?

I also thought considering he's having that extra 4am bottle I would work towards 4hr easy instead of 3.5 (over the next month), so that he only has 6 bottles a day and they are all good full feeds. I'm sure he can go 4 hrs he has done it at times, I was on 3.5 so I could fit more feeds in. What do you think?

Once again thank you for your help and advice its really appreciated. :lol:

[Katet]

I think if you move to 4hour he could well start to drop that 4am feed.

[travis's mum]

Hi katet can I pick your brains one more time :lol: , I went ahead and fed again last night only problem now is what to do in the morning. DS wakes up happy but only drinks 2 oz.

Should I feed him as soon as he wakes regardless of how much he drinks and risk him being hungry before his next feed(he did not take a peacfull morning nap I had to resettle him twice, but don't know weather this is a teath problem)?

Or should I only offer him a certain amount when he wakes at 4ish so that he has space for his morning bottle? :?

[Katet]

I would just offer enough at the 4am feed that settles him ie he relaxes & slows his sucks down - as soon as you get to that point stop feeding & settle back off... the next day offer just a bit less if you can & cut it back greadually