sleeping through the night

[nicolanorway]

hey i was wondering if anybody has some advice-experience, my ds is now 4mths and weighs 16lbs. me and my dh have been trying to get him to  sleep through the night. he normally wakes at 2am and 4am and then again at 5am ready to start his day, my dh now wakes up with him at 2 and at 4am and i wake up at 5am and feed him (he is ebf). when i used to feed him at 4am he didn't really take alot and even at 5am he only feeds from one breast for about 10mins. i was just wondering if this is too much to expect from one so little, would anybody recommend feeding at 4am and trying to get him back to sleep. at 5am he is so awake and none of my attempts at getting him to sleep again seem to work.
his day is something like this-
E5am (try to get him to sleep again, but to no avail)
A5.30 (nappy change , toys etc)
E6am
S7am (normally about 45mins)
A8am (nappy change, toys
E9am (both breasts)
A 9.30am
S11am (normally 1.5hrs)
E1pm (both breasts)
A1.30pm
S3pm (another long nap)
E5pm (both breasts)
A5.40pm
S (we are trying to get a catnap in about 5.45pm but hasn't as of yet)
6.30 bedtime routrine, bath, massage, pj's, singing, bf on both breasts.
S7.30ish
DF about 10.30 (most times on both breast again)
2am awake, normally take daddy 30mins to resettle
4am same again 30mins to resettle
5am good morning!!

thanks for any pointers, nicola mum to christian

[Harvey and Theos Mam]

Couldn't you try feeding him at 2am and see how long he settles down for then. If he is waking at 2 and 4am but not getting anything then he will be very hungry at 5am. He could be hungry at 2am and just keep rewaking for food.

He may sleep until 6-7am if he has a 2am feed. He is waking for a reason and hunger could well be it. And you may have a better sleep for it.

[deenz]

What is he doing at 5am when he wakes up?  Crying?  Just playing around?  My dd2 regularly wakes up around 5am for a bit of a chat, but then falls back asleep til nearer 7am (or we wake her then).  It's a time when they come into a light sleep, so I believe it's common to wake up at this time.

[daisymelan]

It almost seems like he's getting too much daytime sleep for his age and therefore he wakes up early.  Unfortunately, I do not have any ideas how to fix this.  I would suggest trying a general sleep board and post your routine there.  You may find someone will offer some good suggestions for getting the wake up time a little later.  That way you won't be trying for 4 naps a day.

Good luck.

[Harvey and Theos Mam]

I now remember reading in the 3rd book that between the age of 4-6 months babies tend to wake between 5-6am and it then depends on how the parent handles it. Whether or not they get up with the baby or leave them to babble and then go back to sleep.

It also says that this is the time that we can fall into the "accidental parenting" pit as we become too complacent and stop watching our LO's cues.

SO if your LO is happy to be in his cot awake @ 5am then maybe you should see if he will fall back to sleep after a little while. But like i said, if it is really hunger early on then maybe a short feed could help in the short term.

Every few days my ds wakes around 3am and needs a feed then he does well for a good few days and sleeps through until 6-7 before needing a feed. I think he just has days where he hasn't quite eaten enough and he is a big baby too.

[nicolanorway]

thankyou for your help, i have been feeding when he awakens, which is now between 3 and 4. he has started sleeping to about 5.30-6am, which is a result for us. still can't get him to sleep longer though.
nicola, mum to christian

[RachelC]

Would you like us to move this to the Sleep boards?

[nicolanorway]

yes please. he did actually sleep through the night last night, he had only 3 hrs of day time sleep. maybe that is the solution or it could merely be kuck. i am excited to see how tonight goes.
thanks, nicola

[teezee]

keep us posted on how things are progressing

[nicolanorway]

hey you all,
looks like it was just luck. had a bad day followed by a bad night. after spendingfour hrs just to get him to sleep more than 20 mins he awoke at 12.3o, 1.30 and then at 4.30, at which point i took him into my bed (very bad, i know). he slept and feed till 6am. he also has grren poo with foam on the top, could this be teething? i really don't know about the poo thing, maybe i should ask the health visitor? if you ahve any experience with green poo, let me know.
thank, nicola

[rosie and joe's mummy]

the poo thing is normal or at least rosie did that a few times and it didn't really mean anything. she's 24 weeks now and still no teeth!

what do you /daddy do in the night to settle? and i presume you're not feeding at the 2 am or 4 am wakings?

[Harvey and Theos Mam]

My m/w said that green poo meant wind or not feeling too well. So maybe your LO is a little under the weather or like you said, perhaps teething.

[nicolanorway]

he has stopped with the 2am waking and i now feed him at 4am, though he still wakes up at 5ish. i get so worried that he is hungry. he is a very windy baby and it is extremely difficult to get wind out of him. he can still burp upto 3 hrs from his last feed. we do shush/pat with him but it doesn't always work, sometimes we walk with him and hum. i have thought about giving him some baby porridge (this is the only baby food in norway), but i am worried that will just add more problems to the equations and he his gaining weight nicely. is it just too much to expect him to sleep through?

[deenz]

I think that green frothy poo has something to do with drinking too much foremilk.. will have a check about that.

It sounds like you've had some improvements though!  It is reasonable that he might still need that 4am feed at his age, but then his waking at 5am will not be out of hunger.

I sometimes found that having tummy time just before a feed and then a little while after, helped to bring up more wind.  The exertion seems to help them get rid of it (out either end!!).

Starting solids at this age will not help with any digestive issues, his system is not mature enough to handle it.  And I think the vast majority of people find it has no effect on night wakings.  (Starting solids early could in fact make it worse, with tummy troubles etc upsetting him).

[nicolanorway]

thanks denise,
i have decieded (and are adament) that i will feed him at 4am amd then try with all my might to get to sleep or atleast that he is in his room with the blind down till 7am. he had two long naps today (app. 1.5hrs) and refused his catnap as usual which i know he needs. i have just DFed him and we will just have to see how it goes.
thanks to you and everyone else for the support and advise.
nicola