No longer sleeping thru night - wants to feed

Claire - posted on 03/22/2010

I have the same situation with my daughter. She started sleeping through the night at 5 weeks until she was 4 months. She went through a growth spurt and now she wakes up 1-2 times a night. I wasn`t too worried because I dont mind getting up with her. I would rather her eat in the night than cluster feed in the morning which can hurt the breasts if it goes on too much, especially when they get teeth cause they bite. They don't mean to but it happens because they're so ravished. I started feeding Autumn baby cereal before bed at 4 months too after it started and noticed she had a better sleep. Nestle has GREAT starter cereal that you can put breast milk into rather than water and it is easy to digest. Maybe even pump a bottle and throw a tiny bit of cereal in the milk to thicken it to sit in the tummy longer at night which might help. Growth spurts can cause full night sleeping to stop. Thats what happened with my and my girl. She was up every hour at first because my milk wasnt coming in enough so she had to feed more often. Either way, good luck!!!

Emily - posted on 03/22/2010

It's really, really common for sleep regressions to happen around 4 months (and other times during the first couple years as well). It's also a big possibility it's a growth spurt.

Nursing every 2 hours is not unusual, and does not mean he's not getting enough. Keep in mind breastmilk digests in 90 minutes, so it's really really normal for them to feed that often. My first child nursed every 2 hours for the first 8-9 months of his life.

I doubt he just wants company, though some babies do need comforting in the middle of the night, which is just as real a need as food. I would keep nursing him... it's probably a growth spurt or just normal sleep behavior. I've found that sleep patterns are always changing with babies because their little bodies and brains go through many changes. I bet your baby will sleep through again when he is ready.

Here's some food for thought too:
http://www.kellymom.com/parenting/sleep/...

Chatty - posted on 03/22/2010

Rather than feeding thru the night it would be ideal to give ur children more during the day rather than encouraging nightime feeds! If they're already having the maximum amount of formual you may want to talk to ur doc about starting baby cereal and/or puree baby foods to give them a few more calories during the day! Once you allow those night feedings it could turn into a bad habit?!

Chatty - posted on 03/22/2010

Babies usually go thru a growing spurt around 4 months so he may actually be hungry......

Leah - posted on 03/22/2010

Okay, My baby is doing this too, and he has just turned 4 months. He is waking and looking for a bottle. It will be interesting to see what everyone says on this because it never happened with my first child.

Jodi - posted on 03/22/2010

The exact same thing happened with my son. He started sleeping through the night at 9 weeks at as soon as he hit 4 months he was waking up twice a night, and wasn't able to put himself back to sleep like he used to. He was also eating full bottles at night, but I think it was just because I was making full bottles. I started decreasing the amount I offered and eventually just kept putting his soother back in his mouth instead of giving him a bottle. Now, at 6 months, just starting to sleep full nights again! I've been told it's called the "4 month regression" and a lot of babies go through it.