Up every hour at night! HELP!

Katie - posted on 04/29/2010

My dd weighs 18 ponds, eats baby food 4 times a day, get cereal in every bottle for reflux, and eats 8 oz every 3 hours but she will not sleep either. I know she is eating enough and I have started a routine, but I too am not sleeping....My first slept all night from the time she came home and now Zoie wants nothing to do with sleep. If you figure it out, fill me in!

Carolyn - posted on 04/26/2010

The book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Dr.Weissbluth helped me a ton! I definitely recommend reading it. It's a lot of reading but worth it and start from page one if you can. I started using it as just a reference at first but it got confusing so start frm the beginning. My two yr old sleeps 11-12hrs at night with a 2-3hr nap (read the book when he was 4mos old) and my 4month old girl is sleeping 12-13hrs (with one or two nursing sessions) at night and a two hr am nap and two more 45min naps. Good Luck! The book really was a life saver for me, hope it will be of help to you too!

Mindy - posted on 04/23/2010

My daughter has good days and bad days....you also have to factor in teething, colick, or gassiness. My daughter has slept through the night for me once. And I believe it was a accident. Some nights she will sleep 2 1/2 - 5 hours before she wakes up. then has a feeding then goes back to bed for a couple hours and wakes up again. Some nights she will wake up once and some like the other day every hour on the hour. Which is horrible. I put her down at the same time every night. Sometimes she goes right to sleep other nights it takes a while. No matter what I do her naps are all over the place. They say your child should be taking 3 -4 naps sleeping at least 45 minutes or more. But my daughter likes to cat nap...and then she has major meltdowns coz she is so tired and fight it. Then she will want to sleep 3-4 hours during the day and it will mess her up at night and if you try to wake her up she freaks out.....screeching cry. My husband works 12 hour shifts at night and sleep during the day so you can imagine the stress on me to keep the crying to a minimum. I say just stick to your schedule for sleep and naps eventually it will work. But as for you and your husband try to take shifts so your not both getting no sleep. I would take 4 hours over the none I get. I dont live by family and I have no help. My husband works a lot, his first day off will be saturday night...almost two weeks without a break so I understand your pain. Just hang in there it will get better = )

Angela - posted on 04/23/2010

try putting ceral in his bottles my baby was born on the same day and we were doing the hole sleep an hour bit then we started ceral in his bottle and gas med i sleep any where from 8-9 hrs a night now

Ashley - posted on 04/23/2010

My son had/has silent reflux, so all I have done is put a small blanket under his mattress on his cot to make a slight incline, and that has done WONDERS, he used to wake all the time but some nights he would sleep absolutly fine from 8-4, so i learnt that as long as he'd had a nice big bottle just before bed ( he normally has 8-9oz) I know he's perfectly capable of lasting soo for the first few nights he still work about 2ish for a feed 'cause he was used to it, I just put his pacifire in and as awful as it sounds i let him be he cried for about 5mins and wore himself out and fell back asleep, ever since that night he's sleeps absolutly great from 8-4 or 5ishI give him 8 more oz then back asleep until 8 when he's up for the day. ( he's just gone 4 months and I am still using the blanket under his mattress for the incline!)

Kaitlynn - posted on 04/22/2010

I think I am just lucky. Makenna takes 2 naps a day, she goes to bed at 11:30pm and sleeps through the night.She's been doing so since about 3 weeks. She was born December 16th. She is also 4 months. I read a book called Becoming Baby Wise. It talks about Parent Directed Feeding. It is basically feed time, wake time, sleep time... feed time, wake time, sleep time. Its basically just keeping them awake more during the day. Maybe try getting a vibrator for his crib/bassinet. I know that that REALLY helped Makenna. it would put her right back to sleep. Or, Im not sure how you feel about using a pacifier. I was really against it at first but in the beginning that was ALL she wanted. She would cry and cry so we thought she was still hungry, but really she just wanted to suck. so we gave her her pacifier and she calmed down.

Nicole - posted on 04/22/2010

My son was born on Dec 9, He was doing the same thing. I'm not sure what say other then hang in there. this week, we are back normal 5 Hours+,

Alison - posted on 04/22/2010

i was wondering how busy he is during the day every baby is diff and he might be colic or starting to tetth my daughter was the same way for about 2 weeks but i just keep her active go for walks watch baby einstein 15 min 3-4 days a week sumtimes jumper playmatt chair and just mommy n baby ticcles and singing etc.... when she rubs her eyes i put her in crib with blankie and binkie sumtimes she wines 2 min then shes out i think u have 2 feed b4 they get hungrey hungrey and put them down b4 they get really tired look for signs sucking on binkie hard and rubbing eyes only u no wuts best 4 ur baby goodluck and i really hope u get sum sleep

Jenn - posted on 04/21/2010

I have started her on the beginner vegetables and some fruits. She has been on cereal (mixed in bottle) since about 2 &1/2 mths then as cereal since 3&1/2 mths and then i started her on the veggies at 4 mths. She takes it great and the formula just wasn't cutting it anymore. I think her sleeping issues mostly have to do with teething (even tho thats not what you asked LOL)

Kerri - posted on 04/21/2010

okay...from the looks of things i just have fat babies lol!!!

Valerie - posted on 04/21/2010

Jenn my daughter was born Dec. 5th what do you mean when you say she is eating solids in the evenings? Only asking cause I have just started rice last week and this week i am doing oatmeal and i am grad. introducing a new food each week

Kerri - posted on 04/21/2010

i really don't think 5-6 oz is enough depending on his weight, usually that amount is for a baby who is a few weeks old i think by this stage a 'average' baby should consume 9 oz per feed, have you tried giving him more and found he does not take it?I would try this first, also perseverence can be difficult especially if you are tired and stressed from this, i find my babies slept much better rocked in their pram than rocked in a moses.As soon as he wakes keep rocking, my daughter is only a day older and sleeps from around 8.30-9.30 at night until 8 in the morning with probably three naps during the day maximum.when she was younger we had difficulty getting her to sleep and she would only sleep in our bed. It is difficult so i empathise with you.Maybe you should seek help if nothing works to see if baby is distressed with something else?

Vicki - posted on 04/19/2010

i think the harder you try to get them into a routine and it doesnt work you become really stresssed and so does baby as they pick up on your feelings! it will get easier as time goes on hang in there :)

Jenn - posted on 04/19/2010

I am having the same problem with my daughter who was dorn Dec 4th, She just doesn't want to sleep through the night and i feel like i have tried absolutly everything. I have tried giving her a bottle when she wakes up and she won't take it. I have tried just letting her cry it out. I've tried bringing her in with me and nothing seems to work. She is already eatting cereal in the morning and solids in the evening and she isn't really sleeping a whole lot through the day. I am beyond exhausted and have completelly run out of ideas

Ericka - posted on 04/18/2010

sorry I cannot help much because I am in the same situation. My boy was born Dec 18.vI don´t know how much he eats as I breast feed him, but he also eats every hour in the night from 1 am until 7 am and during the day every two to three hoours. He sleeps very short naps, and only sleeps longer if he is in the car (we have a 2 and a half hour trip to our summer cottage). He also has problems with having a hard stomach and gases and i think it is the main reason why he is not able to sleep longer and why he eats so often. I started now to give him plums, lets see if it helps.

Ashley - posted on 04/18/2010

Do you think it could be teething? My son was born December 24th and his first tooth is very close to being through and let me tell you, he is in some pain! Feel his gums and see if you can feel any teeth. It could also be that your little guy is ready for something more than just formula. Have you tried cereal at all? Also, what position does he sleep in? When my son was two months old, he started waking up every hour or two because he was sleeping on his back and he absolutely HATED it. We switched him over to sleeping on his tummy, and he started sleeping through the night. He has slept on his tummy ever since and now he can roll over so he wakes up on his back in the morning. If your little one is rolling over, then I would say it won't hurt to try him in the tummy sleeping position. He may be uncomfortable.

Melissa - posted on 04/18/2010

My daughter was born Dec.3rd... So she is also 4 months old. We started giving her 1st foods and rice cereal at 3 months. It has helped her sleep through the night so well. Get a jar of 1st foods, either fruits or veggies STAY AWAY FROM MEATS until they are 6 months old minimum. make a 4 oz bottle, add the jar of food, and add 1-2 tsp of either rice, mixed, or oatmeal cereal (all SINGLE grain) you dont want it too thick should still be runny looking. Give it a try and let me know how it works for you, if you are not sure about the first foods try JUST the cereal in 6oz of formula

Katey - posted on 04/18/2010

my baby girl was born dec 25th and shes doing exactally the same thing except she is breastfeed. we have the same routine, it was going good a month ago, then turned to custard. I can relate to the NON functioning thing!!

Krystal - posted on 04/17/2010

my daughter is also 4 monthes but she eats 8 oz with 35ML of rice cereal every 6 hours during the day but she sleeps all night

Krystal - posted on 04/17/2010

Ask if you can start cereal in the bottles my daughter takes cereal in the formula with a cereal nipple and she sleeps at 9pm until 10:30 am

Roxanne - posted on 04/17/2010

My daughter (born Dec 16th) had a very similar sleep pattern until recently. She was diagnosed with GERD (reflux) and was put on Zantac last week. I also borrowed a friends Amby Bed (they have been recalled so be careful if you choose this option) and it's like I have a whole new kid! She goes down at 8pm, usually wakes around 2 or 3 to be nursed, goes right back to sleep then wakes around 6:30am. After that she naps every 3 hours--usually for an hour. She is ALOT happier & so are Mommy & Daddy:) Good luck--try the 5 S's--they are part of our regimen too.

Alexis - posted on 04/17/2010

my son was born dec/24th and just started doing this 2 weeks ago. He was sleeping 7 hours every night and then all of a sudden started waking up/act restless at 1:30AM and would wake at least ever hour until the morning. I think it is just a phase! I tried feeding him a bottle at 1:30 but he would only take 2 oz before drifting back off and then he would wake up another hour later! last night he gave me 7 hours though so I'm hoping his phase is over! besides the extra feeding, I havn't tried anything else and he seems to be doing better now. At his 4 month appointment yesterday the dr. told me to hold off on cereal until he is 6 months so I'm going to try to do that.

Ally - posted on 04/17/2010

Thanks so much everyone, I have tried the rice cereal in a bottle and in a bowl and I haven't noticed a change really. Im not sure if he was ready for the cereal in a bowl because it's been a week now and I've tried everyday and he seems to just spit it out..maybe he doesn't like it? Too bad he can't tell me! hehe. Thanks for all you suggestions!

Cindy - posted on 04/17/2010

My son was born Dec. 18th....My son eats 6 oz every 4 hrs and I put him down at 8 also but what I do is i wake him up again at 10:30 and give him a 7 oz bottle or you could give another 6 oz. bottle and add one formula scoop of rice cereal to it.Make sure you use a fast flow nipple though, where it doesnt get clogged.Have you started him on rice cereal yet? I started mine the other day with cereal in a bowl (1 scoop rice w/ 1 oz. formula) with his lunch time bottle and again with his dinner time bottle.It helps him to be a lot fuller and sleep better! I hope this may help you! :)

Amanda - posted on 04/17/2010

The only thing I can offer, as I have a great night sleeper, but cat napper during the day, is maybe he is being overstimulated before bed time, I know stories are good for babies but perhaps change it to daytime. I was told that before 6 months babies can be too overstimulated, even with a bath, and that you shouldn't do anything else as well etc... massage, reading, before bed. Maybe worth a try? I also dream feed my baby at around 10 -10.30pm, after she goes down to bed at around 6-7pm, she then sleeps through the night until at least 5.30-6am. Good luck.

Courtney - posted on 04/16/2010

It may be time to start solids?? I spoon feed my daughter (4 1/2 months now) 3-4 tbs of rice cereal at her 11 and 5 feedings mixed with a jar of veggies or fruit (she's not wild about the cereal on it's own). She usually eats most of it and on the days she eats more I notice she naps and sleeps better. Also he may not be getting enough rest durin he day which may make it hard to sleep at night. I "trained" my daughter to nap from 2-3 til 5 by laying in bed and napping with her. It's time consuming and rather boring to just lay there if you're not tired, but after about a week she got used to it and can nap on her own for about 2 hours (I do also keep a pretty regimented schecule with her which seems to help things).
Whatever you do, good luck with it!

Mary - posted on 04/16/2010

Oh yeah...also try feeding her cereal at night before bed time. It fills them up for longer

Mary - posted on 04/16/2010

My little girl is 4 months now and my Dr told me that she is old enough now that she doesn't need to feed during the night. I know that some parents don't like to let their babies cry it out, but whatever you have to do to get some sleep. I started to sleep train my daughter and the 1st night went great. When she woke up at 3:30, I put her binky back in her mouth, let her cry for about 10 minutes. She started to quiet down a bit and then started up again, so I went back, did it again and she went right to sleep. She slept until 5:30. I fed her then. She went back to sleep and slept til almost 8am :) Everyone is different, but they need to learn to fall asleep on their own. It's rough at first, but they will get it. I promise!

Denise - posted on 04/16/2010

Writing from the UK so not sure how controversial or known this routine is but I follow the Gina Ford method and baba has been sleeping through from 9 weeks old with the exception of the odd night or two around immunisations and growth spurts...
Juliet was born 4th dec so 19 weeks old today...

My routine is:
- Wake-up - 7.30am & feed (6-7oz)
- 8.30am - top and tail baby - i.e. give him/her a little wash and dressed
- 9.30am - 45 min nap
- Between 11.15 - 11.30 depending on hunger - feed (6-7oz)
- 12.30pm - 2hrs 15 min nap
- 3pm - feed
- 5.30pm - 1/2 feed (3-4 oz)
- 6.15 - bath
- 6.45 - feed (6oz)
- 11pm - sleepy feed (7oz)

My baby used to take 5-6 UK oz's for above main feeds but a few weeks ago she got a hunger spurt and upped to 6-7 oz

She never wakes through the night, I think the secret is to make sure they get 3 hours of sleep during the day and their full feed requirements in the daytime... It takes some time investment in terms of implementing the routine but the result is very rewarding, destressed mum and happy smiley contented little baby, Juliet never cries and laughs and smiles all the time

Tonya - posted on 04/16/2010

My daughter was born dec 17th at 10:04a.m. and 4 months tomorrow, her sleeping routine is getting better she goes to bed around 8-9p.m. and sleeps till 5a.m.-7a.m. before bed i give her a bath which she hates she just screams during the whole thing which makes her tired after that i give her bottle to her she drink 6-8oz now and just let her drink it till she's done she burps on her own already i keep her up for about 10 mintues then i just put her on her belly to bed during the day she naps for about 3 hours and is up for 2-4 hours

Michele - posted on 04/16/2010

Hi Ally,
My son was born December 31st so he's 3 1/2 months. Up until a month ago, he was fussy and crying all the time too. One day I held him from 6 pm till 6 am! that's because he was constipated... He wouldn't poop for 2 to 3 days at a time. I gave him Gerber apple juice and it help him poop but it was rock hard and it still hurt him. I gave him prune juice and that gave him diarrhea. So now i give him Gerber apple/prune juice. 2oz with a morning feeding and 2 oz with an afternoon feeding.
I give him 3 oz of formula just before bed, burp him, lie him dow in his crib, and give him the last ounce making him relaxed and sleepy. I give him his paci and he's out till 7 am.
He wakes up hungry at 7, I bring him to my bed in his snuggle nest (that thing is great! it gives him a sense of security and he doesn't "wiggle" himself around the crib all night and the blanket stays on him!) I give him a bottle and he sleeps till 10 am again. He wakes up giggling everyday beside me... Which is a blessing because my husband passed away from cancer when I was 7 months pregnant with him (our first child).
I put him down for a 2 hour nap in the swing at 1 pm and another nap from 5 pm til 8 pm (I wake him up if he doesn't wake up by himself) . First few days on trying this routine I kept him awake and he was tired and fussy, but now it works great! Also, a fan does wonders... those small tornado ones. $9,99 at Walmart. It's like as soon as hears that fan, it's a sleeping antidote! Good luck!

Christina - posted on 04/16/2010

My daughter was born December 24th and she was doing the same thing so I started her on a schedule with NO naps if at all possible and feedings as following early morning 5 ounce bottle ,breakfast 5 ounce bottle with one table spoon in bottle (of course use the y nipple) lunch the same ,afternoon snack 5 ounce bottle and dinner 5 ounce with cereal in it .my baby goes down for bed at 8pm and wakes up at 11am =) good luck that was hard in the beginning but now shes getting used to the schedule and its working out GREAT

Jenny - posted on 04/16/2010

Maybe he is ready for a little bit of food ad he might sleep better. I know some people put baby rice or cereal in their baby's bedtime bottle or him try him in a morning and if he likes it change it to his bedtime feed. My little girl is a good sleeper thankfully and is now sleeping up to 12 hours a night. I find she sleeps better if she has regular naps and a consistent routine. I've been doing bath bottle and bed at 6-30 for a few weeks now regardless of when she feeds in the day and she goes off to sleep pretty quickly, she has a dummy (pacifier) though. She sleeps in her own room ad has a cot mobile which she loves, when she does wake in the night I put her dummy in, start her mobile and leave her and she will go back to sleep usually if she doesn't settle after 15-20 minutes I feed her. Her injections always seem to cause her to wake in night and she gets a runny nose a lot.

Your routine sounds good, you could try putting him down earlier and see if that helps maybe keeping him awake between his last 2 feeds so he is tired. Consistency definitely works. Make it boring for him when he does wake in night, don't talk to him or make eye contact. Maybe try a different formula like a hungry baby one. It's really trial and error with babies as they are all different. Good luck and I hope you find a way of getting him to sleep.

Christine - posted on 04/16/2010

My son was born Dec 3rd. The first month sleeping at night was out of the question with him...He would be up constantly. But when I talked to the Pediatrician about his sleeping habits. We switched his formula to the Enfamil, with added rice starch. He sleeps all the way through the night now! He will go to bed at about 8:30, and doesnt wake up until about 6:30 or 7am. Its great! Maybe your baby just isn't getting satisfied with the amount of formula he is getting. My son has about 6oz, every feeding..anything less than that...he just isn't satisfied. And the Pediatrician told me as long as he doesn't spit up a lot after a feeding, then its perfectly fine to give them a little more then the recommended amount for their age. But if he does spit up...ALOT after feeding, then that can be a sign of him being overfed.A little spit up after feeding is of course expected. But I mean, if he spits up what seems like everything he just ate,then maybe its a little too much. But if I were you I would try a little rice with the formula. It may help him. I also put about 1 oz of juice (the gerber juice) with his formula too. Just to counter the rice, and make sure he still stays regular as far as bowel movements.I hope everything works out for you. Let me know if you end up trying the rice, and if it works for you :)

Trista - posted on 04/16/2010

My son was also born on the 17th but he only eats 4oz every feeding right now. Night time has been a nightmare with us as well. I think he's teething so he has a harder time sleeping, I've tried to keep his naps a little shorter during the day it seems to be helping little.

Kirsten - posted on 04/16/2010

My question is why is he waking up? Does he want milk? Does he want to be held? There are so many reasons why. You need to try some trail and error with him and see how he does. Sounds like he is getting enof food durring the day, do you give him more milk when he goes to bed? I wouldn't worry about the naps durring the day every kid is different. But babies can get day and night mixed up to. Do you give him a Pasi? What about trying music or white noise? Swaddling is a good thing to try, or if your doing it try not doing it and see how that goes. There are so many things to try and see how they work. If you want more ideas send me a message. I would also think about his sleep position. My son will only sleep for long periods on his tummy, if hes on his back he will only go an hour at most. Since all babies are so different there is no one answer that will help. It may alos just be you need to let him cry a bit and stay in his crib or where ever he is sleeping. When we first tried to get my son to sleep thru the night he would fight sleep. so we would be right there comforting him as much as we could with out picking him up and he would fall alseep. I would keep an eye on how upset he got if he got really upset I would hold him of course. He still fights sleep sometimes but we just do the same thing and he will fall sleep pretty quickly.

Belinda - posted on 04/16/2010

Have you heard of silent reflux? We were told my daughter had collic to start off with then we were told it almost sounded like reflux but nobody would say for sure. Finally I had enough and took her to the dr in tears demanding she try something. They have been trialing her in infant gaviscon and my god it works. When she has it before bed at night she sleeps 10-12 hours straight wereas before we would be up and down all night. The only place she would sleep during the day was upright on me and when i did get her in bed it would never be any longer than 30mins to an hours at a time up and down all day with a sad baby. Now when she has her gaviscon during the day she naps well 1.5-2hrs at a time. I'm not saying that is whats wrong with your baby but it could be. Things to watch out for, not taking much feed at a time around 100-120mls isnt alot for a baby that age, also listen to them you can hear them being sick and swallowing it. Also they have a persistant cough. Hope this helps good luck hope you work it out soon...

Sarah - posted on 04/15/2010

Hi Ally, I really feel for you. My little girl has phases like that and has never gone more than 4 hours at night. She's 4.5 mths. She goes to bed around 7pm at night, feed at 10pm, then is up midnight, 2am, 4am...awake for a play, then again around 6.30/7am. I've just implemented the below day routine with her and she responded instantly! Her day looks like this roughly (not clock work):
8am: sleep
9am: awake
10am: bottle
10.30am: asleep
11.00am: awake
12.00pm: bottle
12.30: sleep
3:00pm: awake & bottle
5.00pm: offer another bottle & sleep
6.00pm: awake
6.30pm: bath
7.00pm: bottle & bed
I've just weaned her as my milk was running low. I've been desperate to extend her night sleep (to avoid get cranky at my husband and toddler) and have done a lot of reading! Apparently 18-20 weeks is a major developmental milestone (Wonder Weeks book) and can make bubs wake frequently. Secrets of the Baby Whisperer book also talks about 'cluster feeding'...babies want to feed more frequently at night to stock up calories to last the night. My little girl seems to cluster feed at midnight-3am instead of before the 7pm bedtime. So last night I tried feeding every 1.5-2 hours from about 5pm...whenever she seemed to grizzle. She then had bath and bottle at 7pm and down. Fed again at 10pm, 1.30am, 3am, 6.30am. And she missed the wide awake at 4am period. So i'm going to try again tonight. I can't promise it is the solution as I've only had one night so far but maybe this will help you with your little man..worth a try at least. Every baby is different but if you go by what is 'normal' i think he might also need more sleep during the day. The old adage...sleep promotes more sleep! Again, according to Secrets of the Baby Whisperer, from 4-6 months babies should get 10-12 hours of sleep at night and about 6 hours during the day. Maybe try putting him to sleep during the day and see if he responds to more regular naps (if you haven't already tried). My little boy was a disaster but I wish now i'd known more settling techniques to help him.
Sorry for babbling on so much but one final thing. I read another mum's post the other day which really helped me. She commented that we are talking about a 4 month old baby, they are still tiny. And often the night waking is because they want love and reassurance, not just food. And eventually it will get better So hard to appreciate when you're exhausted but did make me resent being up and down last night a little bit. Any chance you and your husband can take turns over the weekend with each having a night off to sleep and recharge? That is the deal we've struck for tonight and i can't wait! Good luck.

Abi - posted on 04/15/2010

Sounds like your little one is getting enough milk during the day so should be sleeping longer. does your little one want milk when he is awake? have you tried swaddling? you have got a fantastic routine and seem to have got everything right. hope it starts to get better for you.

Andrea - posted on 04/14/2010

how long is he awake during the day before you put him down for naps? My daughter is awake for 2 hrs. at a time exactly. If I put her down right when I know she is sleepy she takes good long naps. If she is over-tired, her naps are shorter and choppy and if she doesnt get good consistent naps all day, her night time sleep is awful (waking every hour). When her naps are after evry 2 hour wakeful period all day, she goes down at 8:30pm and only wakes once around 4 am to feed, then is ready for the day at 7am