Four months old and never sleeps through - ever!

[duckiedee]

I have a beautiful, wonderful daughter.

She is lovely, pleasant, healthy.  Textbook - except in this dept.

We have done EASY since Day One and she STILL has not slept through the night!!!!  ARGH!

I am exhausted.

We wake every day between 7 - 7:30...EAS - Sleep lasts from 45 mins to 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

The day continues as such on a four-hour routine until 6 p.m. then it is bathtime, bedtime routine and out like a light at 7 - 7:30.  She falls asleep on her own.  She can self-soothe.  She is dreamfed at 10:30.

She is now eating 2 tablespoons cereal twice a day and although she is breastfeed, she gets 1 or 2  5oz bottles of formula as well.

The first day she got cereal she slept from her DF until 4:30 a.m. the only time she has EVER slept that long.

She wakes HUNGRY every night.  All over the place but gets up at least twice - usually three times between 1- 6.  She eats until she empties my breast.  She then goes back to sleep with no problems.  So staying awake is not the fight - just getting her to sleep through with no wakings.

I expect to still get up at least once - but two/three times when I'm doing everything I can right - ugh.

It sounds like she is not getting enough to eat during the day - but she goes four-hours between feedings during the day and is very content.

She goes to sleep on her own in her crib.  She will go back to sleep in her crib - sometimes I do take her into my bed when I am so tired I feel I could fall over and nurse her there...but not so much that it is a habit.

She uses a soother, but falls asleep just as easy without it.

She seems to be getting enough sleep since she is so happy, but I AM NOT and it's slowly killing me!

Help!  If I'm doing EASY and she can self-soothe and we've added food and she's STILL getting up to eat, what's next?

BTW I have tried giving the soother instead of the feeding at night and it sometimes will hold her off for an hour, but not always, so I stopped trying.

She doesn't seem to be comfort nursing at night as I've never really used nursing for comfort - always the soother, and she's draining my breast.

She is also not waking at scheduled times - and that's hunger not a habit right?

She's 50% for weight.

Cheers and thanks!

[Katet]

It sounds like the milk supply she is getting during the day is not enough & she is compensating at night.

 Can you offer more frequent feeds in the day (2-3 hourly) to build up your supply. Or offer a day feed & when she stops give her 5mins & offer again 3-4 times.

What you need to do is get more into her in the day time so she cuts back at night... it sounds a little like she moved to 4 hour easy too soon for your milk supply. It may take a couple of weeks to adjust... but treat the day time feeds like she is in a growth spurt & offer as often as you can...even try pumping after a feed if you can/want to.

HTH

[kmetli]

My sweet lovely daughter is EXACTLY like yours!!! The only things that are different are, mine wakes 45 min after falling asleep at night like she is napping. She wakes 2-3 times a night and I too feel the wrath. I am trying to tank her up during the day and in a few weeks we are going to wean off the paci.  I am at a loss. I posted under 4 mo and waking 2-3 times a night. I feel your pain. You are not alone.

[duckiedee]

Thing is she's never slept through - even on a three-hour schedule.

She has NEVER slept through since birth.  Except from 10:30 - 4:30 that ONE time.

Is this even normal?  I would have thought since we've worked EASY since day one, she'd be sleeping through at least some of the time...but NEVER?

Especially since she's otherwise a Textbook/Angel baby.

I upped her food today - used more formula to measure how much she is getting - but really, she didn't want much more at feedings.  I'm  not prepared to force feed her as too much food gives her gas and that is just another reason she won't sleep.

Ahh - I'm at my wit's end.  Is their ANYTHING else I can do?

I'm not going in for phantom cries.
Last night she was up EVERY HALF HOUR from midnight to 4:30 then again at 5:30 - we think now she is getting her Daddy's cold.

Thank God my mom lives next door as she took her so I could get some sleep - I'm going to have to do that more, because in the middle of night I get so tired I start to lose patience and then just want to bring her to bed, which I know will only intensify the problem.

Help!  Help!

[Katet]

duckiedee -
If she is falling asleep totally independently & can do 1.5-2 hours then it isn't a sleep issue. Which means it is a feeding one.

 how long have you been offering formula? It may be that your supply has never been great.  if you have been offering forumla since birth. If she is waking hungry at night & gets 1- 2x 5oz + rice cereal in the day I am thinking she may only be getting about 2-3oz each feed from you, which would mean she is hungry overnight

Some babies only take about 5oz of formula for many months so the amount she is taking is fine. if that was translated to 5x 5oz it would be within normal intake for a 4mo

I do wonder if the rice cereal might also be upsetting her tummy some babies just aren't ready for solids at 4months & it increases the night waking, so that may be a factor.

The other option is she has a food intolerence & something you eat upsets her.

[PRILFIL]

I'm mommy to little Ethan a four month sweetie.  We are up all night long and have been on Easy since day ONE.  I'm gonna crack any day now I just know it. 

He wakes at 1230 am and I can get him back to sleep with sh pat.

He wakes again at 330 and I feed him or he will melt down.
 
Then he wakes at 4 5 and 6.  I'm thinking he's coming out of a sleep cycle and wakes and cries.  I go in and reswaddle, get him sleepy in my arms and then lay him back down, continue patting him and falls asleep.  Then lo and behold he wakes 45 min to 1 hr later.  ahhh

He goes to bed 7pm - 730 each night with little or no fuss.  And has a dream feed at 10. 

I have thought well this is bc he's not getting enough during the day from BF, so I pumped 1 hr after each feed to increase my supplu.  I did a yield and he's getting 5oz.  soo what's the problem then?

Can anyone help me?  I'm starting to doubt everything I've ever done.  I would aprreciate greatly some wisdom on this.

[duckiedee]

I'm not sure about a food intolerance, because she's not overly gassy or uncomfortable.

I haven't taken a yield in awhile, but in the past they've always been good.

She's on soy formula and cereal because I had milk allerigies as a kid, so my Dr wants to be safe.

She was a little crampy the first night or two of first formula/then cereal - but most nights her belly doesn't bother her.

I'm not sure what to do about feeding her more - because she won't take more if she's not hungry - I've tried!  :wink:

I read in a sleep book by Jodi(Joni?) Mindell that some breastfed babies just can't sleep through until six months - I wonder if that's the case here - but I thought supplementing with some formula/cereal would help

Now she's sick and sleeping in her swing the last two nights so she is elevated.  Upping one side of the mattress didn't work for her comfort.

Poor thing

We didn't DF because she didn't drop off unitl 9:30.  So we'll see what happens tonight.

She actually slept not bad last night - after struggling to go down, she slept from her DF to 3:30

My poor sick bubby.   :cry:

[kg]

Same thing here.....my DD is 4 mths old and is on EASY. I breastfeed every 2.5 to 3 hours during the day and the DR. told me to start cereal because of how often she is feeding.

Our evenings look like this:

5:00ish ...breastfeed

6:00ish....cereal

7:30ish ....breastfeed

8:30....she takes 8oz of formula!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Then she is up at least twice a night to feed! She often is up more often but i do not feed her. She is driving me crazy.

She is sleeping well in the day and on her own! BUT I have a 3 yr old son at home too so I don't get sleep in the day.

Keep me posted and let me know if you have any success that I may try too!!!!!!!