Am I rushing in?

[alex and danny]

My 3 month old has been somewhat waking up at 1, 3 , 4:30 (all the time ), and sometimes 5.  Well its  more like fussing... we give him the paci and/or reswaddle or lean him on his side again.... and he usually falls back asleep.  I tried feeding him but he fell asleep after 5 min on breast.  He sleeps in a bassinet next to our bed, so we hear him right away and are quick to act.  How long should I let him fuss - until he cries?  Do I only respond to him then?  I am afraid we are doing more harm than good by responding to his fussiness so quickly?  Any advice will be appreciated!

[mommytsa]

I responded to my LO frequently with his night wakings until about 2 weeks ago.  I finally decided that I was going to wait until he actually cried.  After about 3 days we went from about 6 night wakings to 2-3, so I would definitely say that you should wait to respond.  It might help  you all to get more sleep in the long run, though it will be less in the beginning, as it may take 20-30 min of fussing before your LO goes back to sleep.

If you have further questions, feel free to post or PM me.

[Caroline-Charlies Mummy]

I found that when I backed off, we both got a lot more sleep! I suppose if someone was hovering over me, I wouldn't find it easy to sleep either :wink: .
Seriously though, I would try not rushing in too early (I was the worst offender at this, I can tell you), see if your lo can settle himself.  It may take a few attempts. and, obviously, if he starts to cry, he needs you. But it may be worth a try. It's OK now, but you don't want to be a prop for getting back to sleep when he's older, b/c it'll be that much harder to break the habit.

[alex and danny]

Thanks for your response... We will try to wait - and see.... hopefully he will go back to sleep!  I'll let you know how it goes. :roll: