waking up more and more frequently..don't know what to do

[mammajo]

Here are the answers to the questions, I hope someone can help.  I've ordered Tracy's book but it hasn't come in yet and I'm getting no sleep at all!

How old is your child?  just over 4 months

What’s his/her daily routine? 4 hour easy (new to it, but pretty good for him)  He used to wake at 8 am and go to bed at 8:30 pm, but he's getting up earlier and earlier now.

What’s nap routine?  swaddle him, walk around house to calm him, lay him in crib mostly asleep

How long are naps? 1 - 2 hours

What's bedtime routine? Time?  feed him, massage or bath him, swaddle and calm him like with nap time

Do you bottle or breastfed?? mostly breastfeed, with a bottle at night sometimes

How much? or how long? he'll feed for 10 - 15 min- until milk is gone

If breastfed.. one side or both?? (at each feed) both

How many wakes per night? 3 or 4

What’s your LO like when waking at night? How long is he/she up? I try to shh pat him back to sleep but he won't go back down until I breast feed him.  He'll take a full feed from both breasts then go right back down.

When you go to him/her is she fussing or crying? Or is it a mantra cry?  He'll kick and grunt and eventually work into a cry..he sleeps in a cot in my room so I wake up instantly with the grunting and try to pat him back to sleep but it doesn't work

What have you tried to settle??  yes

What do you do for A time and how long is it? play with his toys, sing him songs, give him tummy time - usually 15 min per activity

Are there developmental issues such as teething or milestones?  He's getting really close to rolling over.

Have you introduced cereal? Why, how much, and how many times a day? (for LO’s under 6 months)  Yes, recently started him with1 -2 tablespoons of rice cereal twice a day. (he's 15 and a half pounds and eats it very happily)

Do they have a prop? If so what is it?  He takes a soother for a few sucks then spits it out.

Do they have a lovie?  What's that?

I hope to get some advise from all you loving moms out there.  My little guy is wonderful during the day, but this sleep thing seems to be getting worse..there was a time when he'd sleep through the night.

Thanks in advance, joanne

[teezee]

i think that you should def work on lo learning to go to sleep by himself. it is, as is everything a gradual process and i would try putting him to sleep a little bit more awake every day...even if he's drowsy but awake that such a big step and eventually you will get all  the way there - a lot of times lo's who don't put themselves to sleep wake and realize they aren't where they were when they fell asleep and are confused and cry. if lo doesn't fall asleep on his own, when he does wake at night he also won't know how to soothe himself back to sleep either.

your lo may need those night feeds at this age - 1 or 2 wakings for feedings is normal. but if you do notice that lo isn't taking as much during day feeds in comparisson then lo is getting too much at night and you will need to up daytime intake. when have the night wakings started to increase since? does it perhaps fall into line with when yous started giving cereal? lo's are able (no matter how big) to thrive off of breast milk / formula alone until 6 month mark. i wonder if maybe lo is waking more due to gas/cramping b/c his digestive system isn't ready for solids yet? had this problem with my dd (who loved her cereal also..) but her tummy wasn't ready for that transition at that time.

could you also post lo's entire daytime routine pls?

[mammajo]

Thanks for your reply, I think the night wakings did increase since we put him on cereal.  I would be reluctant to stop giving him the cereal though as he is so fussy and clearly hungry after I breastfeed him.  Actually, last night was much much better with only two wakings - the first waking we calmed him down with taping and shhhing..the second needed a feed but then he slept well until 8:00.  You were right on the money with him needing to go to sleep independantly but I am in serious need of help in that area!

Here's his routine.
 
8am - awake and feed
8:30 - play with toys, sit in my lap and sing etc.
10/10:30 nap for 1 - 2 hours

12:00 - feed both breasts and cereal
1:00 - play on mat, go for a walk ect.
2 or 3 - nap for 1 - 2 hours - seems this one really varies as to when he'll get sleepy and go down

3:30 or 4 - feed both breasts and cereal
4:40 - play ( fussy time is often around 5)
6 ish - small nap

7:30 feed, feed, feed..quite a bit of fussiness, maybe a bottle..more fussiness.....
8:00 bath and massage (every other day) if not then cuddling and quiet time
8:30 swaddle and walk around with him, patting, shhhing, bouncing until he falls asleep then I lay him in his bassinett

11:00 dreamfeed from both breasts

1:30 or 2:30 wake
4:30 or 5:30 wake and full feed

So there you have it.  My most stressfull time of day is getting him to take his naps.  I am having a hard time reading his cues - seems like he's perky and happy and then suddenly crying and needing a lot of bouncing and patting and shhing before he'll fall asleep.  I've been trying the pu/pd as suggested by Tracy but as soon as I tilt him down to put him in his bed he starts crying.  It is so unbelievably frustrating and it seems to be getting worse.  I'm getting the book today so will read it tonight, but having this online support is really excellent - thank you.

[brightside]

This seems to be very common around 4 months. Many of us my birth club have been having similar problems with no apparent explanation. Sometimes nght wakings are caused by insufficient sleep in the day or overtiredness at bedtime so you might want to look into those areas. But if nothing is different to before then it might well just be a phase.