4 MONTHS OLD WAKING UP EVERY 4 HOURS AT NIGHT

[mariateresa]

HI EVERYONE, IT IS BEING A WHILE SINCE I HAVE BEEN HERE, BEACUSE I STARTED TO WORK A MONTH AGO. BEING AWAY FROM MY LO HAS BEING VERY HARD, BUT WHAT REALLY MAKES HARDER IS THE FACT THAT SHE STARTED TO WAKE UP EVERY 4 HOURS AT NIGHT, SOME TIMES THREE AND I AM EXHAUSTED. SHE WAS SLEEPING FROM 8 PM UNTIL 4 AM AND I WANTED TO EXTENDED SO I STARTED DF, WELL NOW SHE WAKES UP SOME TIMES AT 11PM, BUT ALL THE TIMNE AT 1AM, 4 AM AND 6:30AM SOMETIMES 7:OOAM. I TRULY BELIEVE THAT THE DF WAS THE CAUSE BUT I DON'T KNOW HOW TO  MAKE HER SLEEP UNTIL AT LEAST 4 AM . TWO NIGHTS AGO A DECIDED NOT TO BF UNTIL 4AM BUT SHE CRIED SOME MUCH THAT I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS WORSE, I FELT REALLY BAD , AND I DIDN'T KNOW IF IT WAS RIGHT. I NEED SOME HELP
THANKS

[Dree]

Hi Mariateresa,

After reading your post, I have a few questions to ask. Who takes care of our DD during the day ? How many naps does she take and for how long during the day ? Is the person who is taking care of her letting her sleep too much during the day ? Is that person following a 4hr EASY routine ?

Your DD could also be going through a growth spurt. If our LO wakes up at different times every night then it is a growth spurt. If they wake up at the same time everynight then it is habitual waking.

Good luck
Dree 

p.s Please do not take this the wrong way.. Try not to use all capital letters. In the internet world that means you are shouting at us.

[mariateresa]

Hi Dree,

First thank you for replaying and sorry about the capitals, I didn't know. My husband or my mother in law are taking care of my LO while I am at work. She is at a 3 EASY routine at this time and altouh there are days that she takes long naps they are never more than 2.5 hours and they are usually in the morning or noon. She is being really good at following the routine but I know that I should probably start the 4 EASY. She has reflux so it was hard in the beginnig. she is on Prevacid now and doing much better.Her scheduale is as follows:

7 am Wake up, change diaper and the eat.
A 7:30- 8:30
 

[Dree]

Hi Mariateresa,

I think it is time to transition your DD to 3.5hrs then to 4hr EASY. You need to do this slowly or it will never work properly. Your DD should not sleep more than 2hrs at a time. She should have at least if possible two 2hr naps and a cat nap. My DD likes to nap 45min-1hr. Sometimes if I am lucky I can get 2hrs. But it rarely happens. As long as your child wakes up happy that is all that matters.

If your husband or MIL stick to your routine during the day, I promise you will have a better night. Also, remember that not all cries sound the same. Do you know what a mantra cry is ? It is when your DD is moving and making noise while sleeping but is not crying. You should not wake her if you hear her move, she will fall asleep if you do not disturb her. But, if your DD is crying please respond immediately or her trust in you is gone.

Could you send me your routine again. I only got the first two lines.

Good Luck
Dree 

[mariateresa]

Hi Dree,

I accidentally click enter before I was finished with the routine. Her routine is as follows:

7:00 am wake up, diaper change and eat
A  7:30 - 8:30
S  8:30- 9:30 some times 10:00am
E  10:00
A  10:30-11:30
S  11:30-12:30 or some times 1:30
E   1:00
A   1:30-2:30
S   2:30-3:30
E   4:00
A   4:30- 6:30 She has a hard time taking a nap at this time, most of the time she just takes a 30 min nap.
     7:00 bath
E    7:30
S    Betwen 8 and 8:30 pm
She was doing fine until 4 am and I started DF, since then she is waking up at 1am and 4am. Some times even at 11pm.When she wakes up she doesn't really eat much so, two nights ago I decided to start training her and I did shh until she felt asleep. It took her 1.5 hours.  Last night she woke up again at 1am , I did shh again and she felt asleep after 15 minutes. She wasn't really crying, as you said was more of the manta cry. She woke up again at 4am and then I BF. I don't know if I should do shh at this time, because maybe she is really  hungry.
Well as you can see I have a lot of questions. Thank you again for taking the time to answered them.

[Dree]

Hi MT,

I hope you had a better night. I think you need to push the schedule by 15min. then next week by 15min more. Then you will be on 3.5 EASY. Eventually you want to get to 4 hr EASY. Because your LO is 4mths she should be able to be eat more every 4hrs. What I did when my DD was 4mths old was put her on the 4hr EASY. It was not easy to do. It took me some time. I increased what she ate and lengthened her awake time to 2-2.5hrs. It made a difference. She was able to sleep longer.

What I think you need to do is keep her awake longer between naps so she can sleep longer at night. I am not sure if you use a pacifier (paci). I use one for my DD. If I hear the mantra cry sometimes she wants me to put in her paci for her. I will quietly go in her room, not say one word except "doh doh mama" (this is french for sleep time). Then I put in her paci and walk out. Sometimes, I have to do this a few times before she falls asleep. If she is really tired. I only have to do it once. 

I actually feed my DD at 5pm then give her a bath then her bottle and she will fall asleep for the night. Maybe you should put your DD to bed a little earlier. It might make all the difference. Perhaps she is overtired, that is why she might not be able to sleep. Something to think about.

Whenever you hear your DD in her room and is not crying, try not to go in unless you need to put in her paci and just walk out. I know that when I stopped running in her room she was able to sleep. She was just soothing herself to sleep.

Please let me know if there is something that you do not understand. I believe you said that you are Portuguese. Do you live in Portugal ? 

Good Luck
Dree 

[mariateresa]

Hi Dree,

Last night went much better. My daughter is actually sleeping in my room but in  her cot until we buy a new home with three rooms ( January). so, when she wakes up I do shh. Last night I didn't even do shh and she was able to fall back to sleep by herself, until 5:15 am. I saw her Ped. today and told me to feed her at this time because she was too young to sleep 12 hours. I am going to start 4 EASY tommorrow. As you said , I am going to start increasing 15 minutes every week. I will let you know how it goes.

I was born in Colombia, but my family is originally from Spain. I live in West Palm Beach, Florida

[Dree]

Hi MT,

Congratulations on your new home.  Spain and Columbia are two countries that I wish to visit someday. I only read a bit on Spain. But, what I have read I liked. Did you ever go back to visit ??

Your Ped. told you to feed your DD at 4am ? I think you need to do a Dreamfeed (DF) at 11pm. She should be able to sleep 5hrs at least. If she wakes at dif times then it is a growth spurt. If she wakes up at the same time every night then it is habitual waking.

Wishing you alot of luck with the new routine.
Dree 

[mariateresa]

My LO was sleeping straight from 7:30 pm until 4am until I introduced DF, then, is when she started waking up at different times. I have read that some times happen. DF doesn't work for all babies and apparently didn't work for mine. I am going to start the new routine today that I am going to be home with her, I hope she does well.

I used to visit Spain every two years to see my family, but the last time I was there was 10 years ago when my son was born. Where are you from?

[Dree]

When you dreamfeed, your baby should still be sleeping. Let her drink as much as she wants. You do not need to burp her.

Is she on formula ?

I am a Montreal born Egyptian-Lebanese Canadian.

Good Luck, I hope your LO does well on the routine

Dree