My bubbs used to sleep from 7pm to 10:30pm when I wake him for his night feed. But over the last 4 days he's been getting up screaming from anywhere from 8:45 to 9:30pm. We go in and tap him back to sleep before he wakes himself completely and he does go back to sleep. I dont try to feed him, just tap him back.
Why is this happening all of a sudden? Anyone else experience this? He's four and a half months now, he's still not on solids. He may be startling himself, or could it be that he's cold? He fights to free his hands and they're always cold, as is his little face, but his body is hot under the covers. Room temp is 21C. I don't know whether he's too hot or cold!!!
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most babies go through a transitional period at around 4 months. They go from being rather "sleepy" to having far more distinct "light sleep" and "deep sleep" periods.
9:00 happened to me too - and Gina Ford (if you use her book) also mentions that as a pretty common time as well. So you're not alone. As for things to do - patting his back before he wakes himself completely sounds like a good thing.
he could also be waking up because he's rolling around more - is he getting any part of his body stuck in the rails?
is he swaddled? that may help to.. If he's fighting to get free - well - that may be another situation.
the room temp seems fine and I doubt he's too hot.
With my first one, it was a short phase and eventually she started sleeping through again. I did wait for five minutes before going into her - as i thought that she could probably settle herself back down - most of the time she did.
with my second, she did the same thing (also at 9:00) and I just let her fuss it out a bit - and she too quickly settled down.
Sounds like yours is crying more ferociously than mine did - so maybe waiting 5 or 10 minutes is not feasible. So going in and trying to tap isn't a horrible thing.
Good luck. THis will pass. It is stressful when it starts - but it will go away.
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crj
18 yrs ago
When our baby did this, we just did the 10:30 feed at that time, then it gradually went back to 10:30
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Mine did that at times...I usually wait for a few minutes...if it dies down, good. if not, i go in for a cuddle and see if that settles. if it's close to the dream feed, i'll do that instead.
4.5months now....do you swaddle or not? my bub got very frustrated with the swaddle eventually as he really wanted to suck his thumb, maybe that's what yours is trying to do?
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Thanks everyone, its much help to know that others experienced the same thing. Wheelymate, I've stopped swaddling him fully for a bit now, not only because he fights it like mad and gets fully alert trying to struggle out, but also because it was too hot for him with his eczema to keep him swaddled, even though we use a very light cotton thingy, so now I half swaddle.
I've now noticed its not only waking at 9 (yesterday he didnt do it though), he's getting much harder to put to sleep during the day, and seems to need much less sleep. It's almost as though his mind is working all the time and he wants to keep it going. About a month ago he started tossing his head from side to side before he slept and is still doing it. It's quite scary. Everyone I've talked to said not to worry, he's soothing himself, so I'm not particularly fussed, though it keeps ME awake!!
He doesnt suck his thumb or use a pacifier, but he does bite on two fingers or his whole fist.
I
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Thanks everyone, its much help to know that others experienced the same thing. Wheelymate, I've stopped swaddling him fully for a bit now, not only because he fights it like mad and gets fully alert trying to struggle out, but also because it was too hot for him with his eczema to keep him swaddled, even though we use a very light cotton thingy, so now I half swaddle.
I've now noticed its not only waking at 9 (yesterday he didnt do it though), he's getting much harder to put to sleep during the day, and seems to need much less sleep. It's almost as though his mind is working all the time and he wants to keep it going. About a month ago he started tossing his head from side to side before he slept and is still doing it. It's quite scary. Everyone I've talked to said not to worry, he's soothing himself, so I'm not particularly fussed, though it keeps ME awake!!
He doesnt suck his thumb or use a pacifier, but he does bite on two fingers or his whole fist.
This behaviour is only when he wakes. I wonder if he's started testing cause and effect, because he stops fussing as soon as someone enters the room.
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i find that as mine grows bigger, i can't just go "oh it's xx time for your nap", pop him into the cot and think he'll go to sleep asap. mine requires some wind down time. so say if i want him to nap by 12.30pm, i usually put him down by 12.15pm for him to settle and wind down. you could try that if you don't already do that.
at 4.5 months, your baby will need less sleep. i think gina ford (not sure if you follow her routine) would say a baby should not sleep more than 3 hours in the day if you want the baby to settle well at night. you don't have to follow her naptimes but for me, even when my baby didn't/doesn't nap according to her routine, i made sure he didn't sleep more than 3 hours per day - that seemed to help.
biting on 2 fingers...my bub started off with that before he found his thumb!
if you are going to stop swaddling, try a sleeping bag. mine really needs his grobag for bed. if i put him in cot with it, he knows it's sleepy time!
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Yes, I follow Gina Ford. Feeding times are on the minute, but just when i think he seems to be nicely following the nap times he goes all perverse on me LOL. He actually sleeps less than three hours during the day, about 30 mins in the morning, and then from 12-12:45, 1:30-2:30 (if we're lucky) and then 4:30-5pm. Most days it seems like he's getting close to 3 hours but not quite there. He goes down very well at 7 (touch wood touch wood touch wood), I feed him at 10:30pm, he goes down after that well too, but he wakes at 3am, has his feed, has a nice poo and pee, and then chatters away in the dark for 20 minutes!!! He's a happy baby (touch wood touch wood touch wood), barely ever cries, even if it seems to me he's not getting the prescribed sleep during the day. That's why its disconcerting when he wakes screaming, I'm wondering if its reflux or something.
I'm wondering if its time for solids, but if I can fully meet his needs till 6 months I do so want to fully breastfeed because of his eczema.
LOL! When did your bubs find his thumb? He sometimes puts his thumb in his mouth and then holds it there with his other hand (ohoh) but for now he seems to find his two fingers more satisfactory!
Do they sweat in the grobag? Is it fully cotton?
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FTM,
mine is 7.5 months and while most days he does 45 mins in the morning and about 1.5-2 hours during lunchtime, it took me a long time to achieve this and even then it doesn't always happen everyday.
your baby is 4.5 months...i am sure as time goes by, he'll drop that 3am eventually. unless your midwife or baby's PD advises, i think you should wait before you introduce solids. 4.5 months is abit early, if he is gaining good weight, you shouldn't worry.
i can't actually remember when he found his thumb but it made a huge difference when he did. i know many say it'll be tough to wean him off but it made self-soothing so easily at night if he did wake up! and now he doesn't do it much, only when he's very tired or upset. in a way, i like that because i take it as a cue to put him down for his nap/bed.
Grobags come in different thickness for the temperature that your baby sleeps in. I used it because my bub started to free himself from the swaddle and when i moved him to another room, it gave me a peace of mind to know that he was safe in agrobag and not potentially suffocating himself with a blanket....i was paranoid about SIDs!
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