Well, Natalie's days of sleeping through the night seem to have passed for the time being. For the past 4 or 5 nights, she has started waking up to eat. It's about every 3 to 3 1/2 hours which equates to about twice a night. I sure got spoiled, because I am TIRED now. I'm getting mixed signals as to whether or not this is acceptable 3 1/2 mo old behavior. Some things say that you "shouldn't start bad habits", while others say it's normal for babies that slept through the night early to start waking up around 3 months once they become familiar with their surroundings. I've read/heard you can't start "sleep training" until about 5 months. At first, I thought she was going through a growth spurt, but now I'm not sure. I don't want her to go hungry, but I don't want her to form bad habits either.
What do all you moms think?
5 comments:
I was still getting up with Aiden until about 3 or 4 months old once or twice a night. That said, we did sleep train Aiden at about 4 months old. I've got Dr. Ferber's book if you want it! It really works and after two or three nights of some tears he learned how to fall asleep himself which is KEY when they toss and turn during the middle of the night and don't know how to get back to sleep. I'd give it a couple of days to make sure it's not a growth spurt and if she is still waking up come get the book from me! :)
Addi didn't start sleeping through the night until almost 6 months!!
And I think it's pretty normal for them to hit a growth spurt at around 3 months...I remember Addi going through one at 3 months and then again at 6.
At 6 months is when we started letting her cry herself back to sleep when she would wake up during the night...Hard at first, but worth it in the long run!!
Natalie is still so little though...If she's crying and waking up, I bet it's because of the growth spurt! Thankfully these spurts dont's last long!!
Hope you get some sleep soon!!
It might be since you took her snuggly away she is whacking herself and waking herself up. Sometimes they don't have full control over their movements yet. Hannah was always smacking herself in the head because her arms would flail in her sleep. We tried Hannah cold turkey and then started back up taking one arm out at a time until she was used to sleeping without the snuggly.
I'm obviously a newbie at this too but maybe we can give each other tips? Nate's never slept through the night - he's too hungry for that! One thing we do which helps, though, is a dreamfeed. Pete gives him a bottle of expressed milk around 11pm (I go to bed at 10!)without waking him up which means (on a good night) Nate'll sleep til 3-4 and then til 6-7...so I count that as one wake and a very early start to the day!
I agree that Natalie might be waking up because you took her swaddle away. We kept EK in her's until she was almost 6 months (and I totally agree that it's the best invention!!). She might be going through a growth spurt, but our pedi told us once she was sleeping through the night consistently NOT to feed her in the middle of the night. A lot easier said than done though when you have a screaming baby! :)
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