NEW FORMULA CAUSING SLEEP CHANGES????

[Grace's Mom]

Grace was put on a special formula for spit up two days ago that has added rice starch.  Last night we put her to bed at 7:30pm and she wok up and it is 6:20am (she usually wakes up once for a feeding somewhere between 1-3am).  I did have to go in twice to put in her pacifier, but that was it (her eyes weren't even open...she was just stirring).  My question is, does this mean she can sleep through the night with out a feeding from here on out?  If she wakes up in the middle of the night do I just put her back to sleep or do I feed her?  I don't want to start feeding her if she doesn't need it and have it become a habit.

Also, I would like her awake time to be 7am but she usually wakes up between 6:15-6:40am on most days.  Do I just accept that that is her wake time or should I try and put her back down until 7:00?  She is usually pretty happy...cries only because she is hungry.

One more thing sorry...sometimes she wakes us up crying a bit at around the 5am hour.  When one of us goes in there she starts talking and giggling (she's 10 weeks almost 11 weeks old).  What do we do at that point? 

Thank you for all your help.
Melissa

[Colin Macs Mom]

Hi Melissa!

Your lo is awfully young still, so I wouldn't necessarily assume that she won't need a night feed anymore. Some don't, but most do for quite some time. If she needs it, she will wake, but if not, then there you have it. You will know if/when it becomes habit and not need. That's wonderful that she did 11 straight hours at her age!!! I would have killed for that!

What time does she go down at night? If you want her wake time to be 7, then you certainly can try putting her back down and hope that she gets the point, although some babies are just early risers. It depends a lot on her personality IMO, but also her bedtime.

When you say crying a bit, do you mean crying-crying or is she just whimpering, talking, etc.? I wouldn't recommend going in to her unless she's really crying.

[Grace's Mom]

I figured as much with the feedings at night.  I would never deny her food if she asked for it.  It may have just been a fluke. 

Even though she slept for 11 hours I sure didn't.  I kept waking up thinking something was wrong.  Crazy, I know. 

She goes to bed between 7:30 and 8:00....we shoot for 7:30.  It usually takes her about 20-30 minutes of fussing and then she falls asleep.  She does really well at night. 

This morning, when she was crying a bit, I could tell that it was going to escalate so I wanted to go in there before it woke her up too much.  Is that wrong?  I guess I should wait a bit.  In the middle of the night we don't get up until she is really crying, but since she did something odd this time by not getting up to eat, when I heard her at 5:30 I wasn't sure what to do.  It was a new thing.

Thank you so much Mac's Mom.

Melissa

[Colin Macs Mom]

LOL I know what you mean, when Colin finally started sleeping through I thought for sure he was unconscious or something in there.     

If she's in bed by 7:30 then she should definitely be able to stay asleep/in bed until at least 7am at her age. I would definitely give the going back to bed thing a try - unless she happens to be one of those los that just needs less sleep than most. That's really great that she's doing so well with sleeping already, good for both of you!!!!

I don't know if your going in was wrong... it all depends really. I mean, of course you know your lo and know when it's the sort of cry that will escalate. BUT - it's easy to get into the habit of just doing it, if that makes sense. For a while at night my DS would do the same and I got into the habit of just assuming it would always escalate, which wasn't the case. I was probably going in there and bothering him when he didn't need me for about a month! LOL!!    I guess what I'm getting at is that you should be sure that her cry is in fact escalating, and don't assume that it will. She needs a chance to calm herself and resettle, and she'll never learn to do that if you don't give her the opportunity.

[Grace's Mom]

Thanks for all your advice. 

Night sleep has been going pretty well for quite sometime (most of the time).  We are still working on naps.  I think they are going to take a bit longer for her to get use to. 

I do sometimes feel that when I lay my hands on her and shhs that I am becoming a prop.  I hope that is not the case.  It takes a good 15-30 minutes to get her to sleep for her naps and then sometimes she wakes every 10-15 minutes or so and other times she just sleeps.  I can't figure it out but I am sure in the next couple of months it will get easier. 

I hope you have a wonderful evening. 

Melissa

[Colin Macs Mom]

I always had the reverse problem - naps have always been easy-peasy, but nights have been quite a challenge! Don't worry though, things will get ironed out as she gets older!